Private Daily Tour from Athens to Thermopylae –  Meteora  

A day of Saints and Monasteries

Meteora, meaning ‘suspended in the air’ (hence the word ‘meteorite’), is a rock formation in central Greece to the north of Athens. If the rocks themselves are remarkable, the Byzantine monasteries that sit upon them are amazing. Not surprisingly this unique combination of landscape and heritage is a UNRESCO world heritage site. In orthodox religious importance it is second only to Mount Athos.

The Monastery of Great Meteoron, founded by Saint Athanasios the Meteorite (sic), built on the most imposing rock, is the largest and most formal of the extant Meteora monasteries. Dating back to the middle of the 14^th century, Athanasios was the first to organize a systematic monastic community. Nearby, The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is named after its founder, the ascetic monk Varlaam who lived in a cave as a hermit and built a chapel on top of a rock. In the 16th century, enlarged the chapel and built a monastery. In total there are six monasteries here.

After Meteora we visit the city of Kalambaka where you have a chance to sample the local delicious traditional Greek cuisine. Our return journey takes us via historic Thermopylae, the location of the ancient battle between ancient Greeks and Persians that changed the course of European history. We’ll stop to see the battlefield, the statue of King Leonidas and the museum.

Highlights

• Grand Meteoro
• Varlaam Monastery
• City of Kalambaka
• Thermopylae battlefield
• Statue of King Leonidas

Info & Facilities

• Duration: Approx 10 hours
• Dep: Time requested by customer
• Vehicles is disinfected daily
• Drivers are vaccinated for COVID-19

Private Daily Tour to Delphi

A day of navel gazing

 The ancient site at Delphi, built around a sacred spring, is known in Greek as the ‘omphalos’ – which translates to ‘navel’. Literally ancient Greeks believed this was the centre of the world. Now a UNESCO  world heritage site, it is one of the most important archeological digs in Europe. Whilst a positive feast of cultural exhibits (see highlights) attract modern day tourists, it’s been a magnet for visitors since the 8^th century BCE when scholars and statemen from all over Greece would come to consult the famous Oracle. Known as the Pythia, a priestess, she would offer prophesies in a trance-like state, believed to be due to hallucinogenic gases issuing from a chasm in the rock!  Meanwhile, back on planet earth, we end our day visiting the small, picturesque village of Arachova famous for its woven handicrafts, its colorful carpets, wine and formaela cheese, made from sheep’s milk.

Highlights

• Treasury of the Athenians
• Temple of Apollo
• Delphi Museum
• Ancient Stadium
• Ancient Theatre
• Castalia Spring
• Temple of Athena Pronaia
• Sanctuary of Apollo Pythios
• Mount Parnassus
• Arachova
• Galaxidi

 Info & Facilities

• Duration: Approx 9 hours
• Dep: Time requested by customer
• Vehicles disinfected daily
• Drivers are vaccinated for COVID-19

Private Daily Tour at “CAVE OF LAKES”

A rare and beautiful natural phenomenon

The ‘Cave of the Lakes’ is situated about 120 kms from Athens, near the village of Kastria. A stunning freak of nature, it is a treasure trove of labyrinthine corridors, mysterious galleries and strange stalactite formations. But there is more – deep inside the cave you find string of cascading lakes forming three different levels, unique in the world.

A visit here is multi-dimensional. At one level it is a place of wonder and incredible natural beauty. At the same time it is a site of much cultural and historic interest dating back to 6,000 BCE. It’s a nine hour round trip, but well worth the effort.

Highlights

• Castalia caves
• Geology
• Geomorphology
• Microclimate
• Paleontology
• Zoology
• Anthropology

THE VISIT

Geologically speaking, the cave is an old subterranean river whose explored length is 1980 meters. In winter when the snow melts, the river forms natural waterfalls. In the summer months, part of the cave dries up revealing a lacework of stone-basins and dams up to 4m in height. The rest of the cave retains water permanently throughout the year in 13 picturesque lakes.

The accessible part of the cave is currently 500 meters long with artistic lighting. Visitors enter the cave through an artificial tunnel, leading directly to the second floor where the vista is awe-inspiring. The passage from lake to lake is possible by small man-made bridges.

PALEONTOLOGICAL INTEREST

On the cave’s lower floor human and animal fossils, including a hippopotamus were found. This part of the cave will eventually become a biological cave laboratory of international standing. The early findings date to the Late Neolithic, the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Ages.

The site was inhabited for long periods of time, the first indications going back to the sixth millennium B.C, and experts suggest the cave had been the nucleus of a small Neolithic community, with a farm. The discovery in the cave of fossil bones of deer and hippopotami has raised, among others, questions related to the area’s fauna and flora.

THE GREEK LEGEND

The experts may say one thing but, according to Greek legend, Tirynth, Lyssippi, Ifinoy and Ifianassa, daughters of King Proitos, bragged that they were more beautiful than the Goddess Hera and scorned worship of the God Dionysus. Zeus’s mate couldn’t forgive their vanity and took their sanity, making them believe they were heifers running wild on the mountains and meadows of the Peloponnese, infecting the women of Argolida with the craze of infanticide. Eventually they arrived at the cave of Aroanios were they were found by Melambodas who cured them.

Info & Facilities

•  Duration: Approx 9 hours
• Dep: Time requested by customer
• Vehicles are disinfected daily
• Drivers are vaccinated for COVID-19

Private Daily Tour Epidaurus – Mycenae – Nafplio

One day classical whirlwind

If you only have a day to visit the Peloponnese, and want to see as much culture as possible, this is the tour for you. First-off we drive to Corinth Canal for a quick photo opportunity. Next, it’s on to Epidaurus to visit the ancient Amphitheater, famous for its acoustics, and the sanctuary of Asclepius – the most important healing center of antiquity. Then we make time to visit Mycenae to pay our respects the tomb of Agamemnon and hear his tragic story. We end of the afternoon with a stroll around the beautiful neoclassical city of Nafplion, admiring the architecture. It may sound like something of a whirlwind visit – but we think it will whet your appetite to come back for more.

Highlights

• Corinth Canal
• Lion’s gate
• Cyclopean Walls
• Royal Tombs
• Mycenae Museum
• Palamidi Fortress
• Bourzi island
• Theatre of Epidaurus
• Sanctuary of Asclepius

Info & Facilities

• Duration: Approx 9 hours
• Dep: Time requested by customer
• Vehicles disinfected for COVID-19

Private Tour from Athens – Steps of St. Paul

St. Paul and the Corinthians

St. Paul lived, worked as a tent maker and taught the word of God at the foothills of the Corinthian Acropolis for 18 months. Our tour visits the ruins of the ancient city, walking in the same paths that he walked thousands of years before. We take in the 6^th century BC Temple of Apollo, the Fountain of Peirene, and the Agora where Paul’s trial by Gallio took place, and where the famous Bema stands. Afterward we pass by the ancient port of Kechries, where Paul departed from for Ephesus and later stop to view the marvelous engineering feat of the Corinth Canal. Amazingly a canal here wa designed in St. Paul’s time, but not finally built until the late 1890s.

Highlights

• Ancient Corinth
• Temple of Apollo
• Museum
• The step of Apostle Paul
• Ancient port of Kechries
• Corinth Canal

Info & Facilities

• Duration: Approx 5 hours
• Dep: Time requested by customer
• Vehicles are disinfected daily
• Drivers are vaccinated for COVID-19

Private Daily Tour from Athens to Olympia

See where the Olympic Games began

This daily tour from Athens gives you the opportunity to visit the beautiful green archeological site of Ancient Olympia and museum, now a UNESCO World heritage Site. The ancient stadium was designed to hold up to 40,000 visitors, with the important guests housed in the Leonidaion which is also on show. We also get to see the ruins of the Temple of Zeus (Father of Gods in Ancient Greece), the Gymnasium, and the Altar of Goddess Hera where the Olympic Flame is lit every four years for the modern Olympics.

A further highlight is The Archeological Museum of Olympia, located in a park full of trees and squares, which opened in 1982 and is home to an outstanding collection of statues and artifacts found during the excavations.

En route to Ancient Olympia we pass the amazing modern engineering masterpiece of the Corinth Canal where we stop for a photo opportunity.

Highlights

• Temple of Zeus
• Gymnasium
• Altar of Goddess Hera
• Archeological Museum
• 4th century BC Hermes of Praxiteles
• Corinth canal

Info & Facilities

• Duration: Approx 11 hours
• Dep: Time requested by customer
• Vehicles are disinfected daily
• Drivers are vaccinated for COVID-19

Private Athens City Tour – Parthenon – Acropolis Museum

Athens in a day!

Short on time but want to see everything that Athens has to offer? We know how to get you around all the ‘must see’ sites and sights.  Our Athens city tour takes you to the most important sites of the historic capital. The Panathenaic Stadium, site of the first Olympic Games of modern times in 1896. The Prime Minister’s residence (ex. Royal Palace) guarded by the Evzones in their colorful uniform. The Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch, Parliament and the memorial to the Unknown Soldier, the Academy, the University, the National Library, Omonia Square. We make a short stop at each place.

Of course, we can’t leave out the Acropolis, home to the Architectural Masterpieces of the Golden Age of Athens: The Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and ‘the harmony between material and spirit’, the monument that ‘puts order in the mind’, the Parthenon and the Theatre of Dionysus’. Concluding the tour, we will visit the new Acropolis Museum and admire the wonders of the classical era.

Highlights

Parthenon, Acropolis Museum, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Greek Parliament, Temple of Zeus, University of Athens, Academy of Athens, Panathinaikon Stadium, National Gallery, Hadrian’s Ark, Constitution Square, Herodian, and Dionysus Theater

Info & Facilities

•  Duration: Approx 5 hours
• Dep: Time requested by customer
• Vehicles disinfected daily
• Drivers are vaccinated for COVID-19

Private Daily Tour Athens Riviera to Cape Sounion

A TRIP TO ONE OF THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED SITES IN GREECE.

The Acropolis may be the most photographed site in Greece, but the stunning temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion runs it very close. Doric in style and dating back to around 440 BCE it’s one of the major monuments to the ‘Golden Age’ of Athens. As sunset is the best time for a photo opportunity, with Homer’s ‘wine dark’ blue Argean sea in the background, the most popular time to start a visit is the afternoon. Alternatively, we do also offer it as a morning half-day trip.

The drive takes us along the marvelous “Athenian Riviera”, a scenic bit of coast that is much loved by locals, but little known to tourists. It’s well worth discovering. En route we visit the hidden Attic gem of Lake Vouliagmeni, a unique geological phenomenon, where we offer you the chance to swim in the warm crystal-clear blue waters.

Highlights

• Glyfada
• Vouliagmeni
• Swim and photo stop at Lake Vouliagmeni
• The Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion

Info & Facilities

 Duration: Approx 5 hours

• Dep: Time requested by customer
• Vehicles are disinfected daily
• Drivers are vaccinated for COVID-19