INCLUDED FIRST CLASS SERVICES

• Services of Insight’s professional multilingual Tour Director Days 2 - 6

• Headsets for all guided visits and walking tours

• Luxury air-conditioned 40 seat coach with extended leg room and on-board restroom

• Athens hotel including service charges, taxes and porterage

• Insight Traveller Welcome pack

• Services of Insight’s resident manager in Athens

• Arrival & departure transfers between the airport and your Insight tour hotel

INCLUDED HIGHLIGHTS

• Athens: Climb the Acropolis to admire the Parthenon and enjoy amazing views. See Hadrian’s Arch, the Temple of the Wingless Victory and Temple of Zeus.

• Corinth Canal: Cross the breathtaking canal.

• Mycenae: Walk through the Lion Gate past the Cyclopean Stones to the ‘beehive’ tombs.

• Epidauros: Visit the Museum, the Asklepeion and the superb 4th Century BC theatre.

• Olympia: Tour the original Olympic Games site seeing the Gymnasium and Olympic Stadium.

• Delphi: Ascend the Sacred Way past the Treasury of the Athenians to the Temple of Apollo.

• Thermopylae: Hear tales of Leonidas and his heroic Spartans.

• Metéora: Visit one of the monasteries, perched atop towering pinnacles of rock.

INCLUDED QUALITY DINING

• A Welcome Reception with light informal meal (WR)

• Enjoy a highlight Celebration DInner at your hotel in Kalambaka with wine and good company (CD)

• 6 Breakfasts (BB), and 3 special-menu Dinners, or Buffets, plus tea or coffee (D)
 

Day 1 - ATHENS AT LEISURE

Welcome to Athens, ‘City of the Gods’, and the cradle of European civilisation! There’s so much in Greece to delight you, and this Insight tour makes sure you don’t miss any of it. You are met at the airport and transferred to your tour hotel. Then there is time to settle in and relax or start exploring this ancient and thriving city. Later, get to know your fellow travellers and Insight Representative over a Welcome Reception with drink and a light meal.

Hotel: Divani Caravel

Meals: Welcome Reception

Day 2 - ATHENS - MYCENAE - NAFPLION

All the glories of Athens are on display on your sightseeing tour this morning. Highlight of the tour, of course, is a visit to the Acropolis, that mighty rock formation standing 230 feet above the city and still dominating the frantic bustle of modern Athens with its serene presence. Admire the Parthenon, built atop the Acropolis to house the long vanished statue of the goddess Athena Parthenos, and still amazing in its grace, despite the ravages of time and the loss of the Elgin Marbles. You also see the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of the Wingless Victory and Hadrian’s Arch - a magnificent list of treasures from the Classical age. Now follow the shores of the Saronic Gulf to the Corinth Canal. This amazing rock-cut channel dividing the Peloponnese from mainland Greece was begun in the 1st century BC by the emperor Nero, but not completed until the 19th century. Next is the ruined city of Mycenae, featured in epics of Homer, its 3000 year old monuments only discovered in 1874 by the controversial archaeologist Schliemann. Walk through the Lion Gate and see the giant Cyclopean stones used to build the city walls. Visit the royal ‘beehive’ tombs where Schliemann uncovered golden treasure, and hear tales of Agamemnon who was hacked to death in his bath! Continue to the elegant seaside town of Nafplion, first capital of modern Greece.

Hotel: Nafplia Palace/Ippoliti

Meals: Buffet Breakfast / Dinner

Day 3 - NAFPLION - OLYMPIA

After breakfast this morning travel into the heart of Argolis to visit the sanctuary of Asclepios at Epidauros with its superb 4th century BC theatre, still in use for the annual festival. Visit the Museum and the Asklepeion. Then, heading west, a delightful drive takes you through the mountains of Arkadia to Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games.

Hotel: Antonios/Europa

Meals: Buffet Breakfast / Dinner

Day 4 - OLYMPIA - DELPHI

In Olympia this morning, see the Olympic Stadium where the original games were first held in 776BC, plus the athletes’ gymnasium and the city’s ancient temples. Then head north to Patras on the tip of the Peloponnese and cross the soaring Rio-Antirrio bridge to the mainland. Follow the coast road before climbing into the foothills of Mount Parnassus and on to your hotel.

Hotel: Amalia/Santa Marina

Meals: Buffet Breakfast / Dinner

Day 5 - DELPHI – KALAMBAKA

With its elevated site on the slopes of a mountain terrace and dwarfed on either side by the ominous crags of Parnassus, it’s easy to see why the ancients believed Delphi to be the centre of the universe. Ascend the Sacred Way, once lined with offertory temples and statues to the honour of Apollo. See the splendid Parian marble Treasury of the Athenians which has been recreated by modern archeologists, (though without the riches that once filled it!) Pass the superb Polygonal Wall, its stones so perfectly interlocked, that even thousands of years have not harmed it. Now approach the legendary Temple of Apollo itself, where the mysterious Oracle of Delphi breathed her enigmatic ‘words’. Leave Delphi and head north into the heart of Greece. Stop at the pass at Thermopylae, where in 480BC, Leonidas and his 8,000 Greek soldiers held out to the very last man against a great invading army of Persians, believed to be some 30,000 strong. Continue through the market town of Trikala, famous in ancient times for its sanctuary to Asklepios. Your destination is the town of Kalambaka. This evening enjoy a Celebration Dinner at your hotel complete with wine and good cheer.

Hotel: Divani/Meteora

Meals: Buffet Breakfast / Celebration Dinner

Day 6 - KALAMBAKA - ATHENS

This morning after breakfast, visit the amazing monasteries known as Metéora, which means ‘in the air’, incredibly perched on top of pinnacles of rock. Visit one of the monasteries and enjoy stunning views over the Peneios Valley and Pindos Mountains. Afterwards, cross fertile Thessaly, once described as the ‘bread basket of ancient Greece’. Enjoy a scenic drive along the coast to return to Athens for your final night in this fascinating city. Perhaps round off your tour with a celebration Greek style dinner at a local taverna?

Hotel: Divani Caravel

Meals: Buffet Breakfast

Day 7 - DEPART ATHENS

Sadly, your tour comes to an end today. Transfer to Athens airport for your onward flight.

Meals: Buffet Breakfast