The Best of Greece

The Best of Greece

On this Best of Greece tour, discover the highlights of historic and mythical—as well as modern—Greece. As the birthplace of Western civilization, Greece has some of the world’s most fascinating archaeological sites, and now is your chance to explore them. Your affordable tour of Greece starts and ends in Athens with overnights along the way in Nauplia, Sparta, Olympia, Delphi, and Kalambaka and covers the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese peninsula. Step back in time as you visit some of Greece's ancient sites where the Mycenaean civilization thrived between 1600 and 1200 BC. Enjoy the included guided sightseeing tour of the Mycenae archaeological site and learn about its history and legends. In Athens, visit the Acropolis, still standing after 2,500 years. Your Local Guide will give you many insights into this ancient masterpiece. Dedicated to the goddess Athena, the Acropolis sits high on a rocky hill and is a symbol of Athen’s wealth and power at its apex. In Epidaurus, climb the limestone steps of the amazingly well-preserved, 2,300-year-old open-air theatre and marvel at the perfect acoustics. Step back into the Middle Ages when you walk around the medieval Byzantine Citadel of Mystra, a castle founded in 1249. You’ll also love the mystic mountain landscape of Meteora with its 24 rock-top monasteries set in almost inaccessible sandstone peaks. On this affordable Greece tour, you’ll travel to Olympia, legendary home of the Olympic Games, and Delphi, where people visited in ancient Greece to seek the advice of the Oracle. But that’s not all…you’ll experience modern Greece as well, as you cross over one of the world's longest cable-stayed bridge, the spectacular Rion-Antirion Bridge, linking the Peloponnese peninsula to the Greek mainland. From ancient ruins to contemporary engineering —with beautiful landscapes in between—this affordable Greece tour is perfectly designed for value-minded travel lovers. You’ll agree that your Greece vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

What's Included

• Private home pick-up service
• Flights
• Transfers
• Bed & breakfast plus 3 dinners
• Sightseeing
• Services of a tour director
• Accommodation
• Free Wi-Fi on coach
• Porterage
• All airport taxes

Day 1: Arrive In Athens, Greece

Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to start exploring the Greek capital with the help of the CosmosGO app. Later, meet your Local Host.

Day 2: Athens

A day to relax and discover Athens at leisure. In the evening, free time to enjoy the lively atmosphere of the tavernas and nightclubs in the old Plaka district with its narrow streets and sound of bouzouki music.

Day 3: Athens - Corinth - Nauplia

Join the included guided tour of Athens, featuring the highlights of this ancient capital with a visit to the Acropolis. Cross the Corinth canal, a project conceived in ancient Greece but only completed in 1893, and head for the coast to the picturesque seaside town of Nauplia.

Day 4: Nauplia - Epidarus - Mycenae - Sparta

This morning, stop in Epidaurus, located in the hilly countryside dotted with pine trees and oleanders. In this magnificent setting, visit the ancient open-air theatre, which can still seat 14,000 spectators. Later, enjoy the included guided excursion to the archaeological site and museum of Mycenae, with the imposing ruins of the great city that dominated the eastern Mediterranean world from the 15th to the 12th century B.C. It played a vital role in the development of classical Greek culture and is linked to the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Travel into the Peloponnese to Sparta, where history hangs between reality and legend.

Day 5: Sparta - Mystra - Olympia

Enjoy the included visit of the medieval Byzantine citadel of Mystra, at one time known as the “Florence of the East.” Before arriving in Olympia, visit an olive oil museum.

Day 6: Olympia - Patras - Delphi

Explore Olympia, where the athletes of antiquity performed as a tribute to the king of deities, Zeus. Spend free time in this pretty town or join an optional excursion to explore this birthplace of the first Olympic Games. Later, drive north to Patras, the capital of the Peloponnese and the west coast’s largest port. Continue by crossing the spectacular Rion-Antirion bridge, through the picturesque fishing villages along the south coast of the mainland to legendary Delphi.

Day 7: Delphi - Kalambaka

Enjoy free time in town or join an optional morning sightseeing tour of the archaeological site in Delphi, where the oracle of Apollo spoke in the omphalos, the 'navel of the world'. Blending harmoniously with the superb landscape and charged with sacred meaning, Delphi in the 6th century B.C. was indeed the religious hub and symbol of unity of the ancient Greek world. On to Kalambaka.

Day 8: Kalambaka - Meteora - Athens

Discover Meteora, a cluster of spectacular Christian-Orthodox monasteries perched in an unforgettable manner on a set of rising rock formations. They were originally built by hermit monks living in caves carved into the rocks. Your included visit is certainly the day’s highlight. Continue south to Athens.

Day 9: Athens

Spend a full day at leisure exploring the unseen parts of the city, doing last-minute shopping, or visiting a museum. Tonight, it's all Greek with an optional dinner of local specialties served to the sound of bouzouki and the rhythmic dance moves of sirtaki.

Day 10: Athens

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.