Ancient Greece & Adriatic Odyssey

Welcome to Athens. You have 1 night to explore the city.

Piraeus is a port city within the Athens urban area, in the Attica region of Greece. It is located in the Athens Riviera, 8 kilometres southwest of Athens’ city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf.

Kefalonia is an island in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. It’s marked by sandy coves and dry rugged landscapes. Its capital, Argostoli, is built on a hillside overlooking a narrow harbor. Kefalonia’s indented coastline is made up of limestone cliffs, bays and short strips of white sand, like Myrtos Beach in the north. Many beaches are only accessible on foot or via narrow twisting roads.

Dubrovnik is a city in southern Croatia fronting the Adriatic Sea. It’s known for its distinctive Old Town, encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century. Its well-preserved buildings range from baroque St. Blaise Church to Renaissance Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector’s Palace, now a history museum. Paved with limestone, the pedestrianized Stradun (or Placa) is lined with shops and restaurants.

Kotor is a fortified town on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, in a bay near the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. Characterized by winding streets and squares, its medieval old town has several Romanesque churches, including Kotor Cathedral. It’s also home to the Maritime Museum, which explores local seafaring history. Sveti Đorđe, one of 2 tiny islands off the ancient town of Perast, features a centuries-old church.

Bari is a port city on the Adriatic Sea, and the capital of southern Italy’s Puglia region. Its mazelike old town, Barivecchia, occupies a headland between 2 harbors. Surrounded by narrow streets, the 11th-century Basilica di San Nicola, a key pilgrimage site, holds some of St. Nicholas’ remains. To the south, the Murat quarter has stately 19th-century architecture, a promenade and pedestrianized shopping areas.

Corfu, an island off Greece’s northwest coast in the Ionian Sea, is defined by rugged mountains and a resort-studded shoreline. Its cultural heritage reflects years spent under Venetian, French and British rule before it was united with Greece in 1864. Corfu Town, flanked by 2 imposing Venetian fortresses, features winding medieval lanes, a French-style arcade and the grand Palace of St. Michael and St. George.

Katakolo is a seaside town in the municipality of Pyrgos in western Elis, Greece. It is situated on a headland overlooking the Ionian Sea and separating the Gulf of Kyparissia from the rest of the Ionian. It is 11 km west of Pyrgos.

Make your way from the port to your hotel to start your Best of Greece Tour. The rest of the day is free for you to start exploring the Greek capital. Later, meet your Local Host.

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

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

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.

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

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 score a perfect 10 with an optional guided tour of the birthplace of the 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, and through the picturesque fishing villages along the south coast of the mainland to legendary Delphi.

Enjoy an orientation of the town of Delphi. 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. Enjoy free time or join an optional excursion to the archaeological site of Delphi. If you wish, you can take part in a visit to this historic location, where the Oracle of Apollo once spoke at the omphalos, known as the “navel of the world”. On to Kalambaka.

Discover Meteora, a cluster of 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.

Spend a full day at leisure exploring the unseen parts of the city or visiting a museum. Tonight, it’s all Greek with an optional dinner of local specialties, served with the rhythmic dance steps of the Sirtaki keeping time with the sounds of the bouzouki lute.

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.