Athens to Athens
Flexible
In the morning you will visit the site of the ancient Olympic stadium, where the first games were held at around 776 BC. The importance of these games was apparent, given the extensive participation of the Greek cities, which suspended hostilities throughout the celebrations. The Olympiad was recognized as the only accepted chronological event all over Greece and, in essence, constituted the period of four years between two consecutive events.
In the morning and after a solid breakfast you will visit Delphi, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the center or navel of the ancient world. It was here where the renowned Oracle of Delphi, a counsellor of kings and pilgrims, could be found. You cannot miss out on a visit to the museum, which houses the “bronze charioteer”, a masterpiece of Greek sculpture.
Early in the morning you will visit Meteora, also recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1988. In this mysterious landscape, the natural beauty is combined with the compelling presence of the eternal monasteries suspended or “meteora” on top of the huge rocks. Currently there remain only six in use, five for the male and one for the female monastic community. (Dresscode in the monasteries: Sleeveless clothing and shorts over the knee for men are prohibited. For ladies skirts and shawls are available at the entrance in case they don’t have such clothing to cover themselves.)
After your breakfast and at the appointed time, you will commence the panoramic tour of the Athenian Neoclassical Center: the Parliament, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the University, the Library, and National Academy, the Ilion Palace, the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Gate, the Panathenaic Stadium, and many other monuments and sites of great interest. You will learn all there is to know about their history and background from the licensed English-speaking Tour Guide accompanying you on this tour.
Early in the morning, one of our private vehicles will be waiting for you along with your assistant to transfer you to the port of Piraeus where you will board the ferry to the famous island of Mykonos. The crossing is scheduled at the ideal time of the day so as to enjoy the sun on deck and marvel at the deep blue of the Aegean sea. The chosen name is said to be “the heap of stones” or the “rocky place”, but a later version states that the island’s name is connected to the hero Mykono, son of the king of Dilos Aniou.
Free day to enjoy this magnificent island. Mykonos is the meeting point of the international “jet set”, famous for its wonderful beaches, the dazzling shops and vibrant nightlife.
Free day for you and your companion to explore this magical island, considered to be the lost continent of Atlantis, at your own pace. The name of the island was given by the Venetian Giacomo Barozzi due to the presence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Eirini. His descendants remained until 1576, when it became part of the Duchy of Naxos and until the Turkish conquest by Piyale Pasha.
At the agreed time, you will be transferred to the airport of Santorini, from where you will board your flight back to Athens. Your arrival at the airport will correspond to your international flight, which should preferably have a departure later than 12:30 hrs.
We booked a Best of Greece tour with Eskapas. From the moment we arrived in Athens everything went very smoothly. All the tour guides, and drivers were excellent. Our rooms were nice and the meals were good. Everything ran like clockwork and we were extremely happy with the whole experience. We would highly recommend Eskapas to anyone. We would also like to give a shout out to Alex who was very helpful in planning our trip and answering all our questions.
Overall we would rate our experience as excellent. This was our first ever trip to Europe. Greece was a fabulous destination to visit. Absolutely everything about Greece was above and beyond our expectations. Our tour that we booked through Eskapas was a huge contributor to this trip being remarkable. Everything was organized perfectly. Thomas, Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and his insights at each museum and archeological sites were very impressive. All the hotels offered us comfort, friendly staff, and great food! There was only one transfer that was a bit confusing as to where we were to meet our driver; but was quickly resolved with a quick call to our tour rep! Thank you to all involved for making this trip so fantastic!
I have so many wonderful things to say about our guide Yannis. He was wonderful during the tour—funny, charming, and compassionate. We appreciated how he was able to socialize with everyone despite the demands of keeping us all together and on schedule. We were almost 30 travelers during Mainland Tour and completely private during island hopping to Mykonos and Santorini. The hotels were all lovely and spotless. Every detail was made explicit and simple to understand in the program. It ran smoothly. Good value for the money.
I and my husband were very excited and had some stress before the trip but everything ran smoothy. I thank first of all Alex who answered our never-ending questions. I thank also our guide Eleni and driver Vasil who were careful, informative and very kind during Meteora, Delphi tour. Islands must be heaven! Hotel were top. We really liked Hotel Santorini Palace. Island hopping was more easier than we thought. We really recommend this trip. Thank you again.
Wonderful, we really liked it.