Argolis Olympia Delphi Meteora - 4 Days Tour

You are here: Home

This classical four-day private tour, is definitely suitable for you if you want to see the top UNESCO Sites of Greece and also get to know the true beauty of Greece, while traveling through the countryside of Peloponnese, Mainland Greece and Thessaly.
Travel to Argolis and get the feeling of travelling back in time, from the Bronze Age to the Classical Period and the modern history of Greece.
Visit Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games.
Discover the mysteries of the greatest oracle of Ancient Greece, Delphi.
Enjoy the amazing views of the most impressive natural scenery in Greece, Meteora!

Itinerary

1st Day

Starting early in the morning from Athens and after an hour of driving we will be stopping at the Corinth Canal, a great piece of work completed in 1886, which connects the Aegean to the Ionian Sea and technically transforms the Peloponnese peninsula into an island. Originally, what used to be an isthmus, meaning a narrow strip of land connecting Peloponnese to Mainland Greece, is now a canal, which joins these two region through several bridges.
As our trip continues, we will be arriving at the site of Ancient Corinth. Ancient Corinth, due to its strategic location next to the Isthmus, exceeded Athens in terms of wealth. Ancient Corinth, played an important role at the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars and was also an important city-state from the classical times to the Roman Times, as a capital of the Roman province of Achaia, and until the Byzantine period.
At the site, you can see the temple of Apollo (7th Century BCE), the ruins of the Roman city (44 BCE) and the Acrocorinth, a fortress, which was continuously fortified from the Neolithic times until the end of the Ottoman occupation (1822).
After a 30’ scenic drive through orange groves and vineyards we will be arriving at Mycenae, the kingdom of mythical Agamemnon, first sung by Homer in his epics. Mycenae was the richest and most important palatial centre of the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE) in Greece. Its name was given to one of the greatest civilizations of Greek prehistory, the Mycenaean civilization. During your stay, you will have the chance to walk through the “Lions’ Gate” and live the myth of a powerful kingdom, which started a war against Troy in order to take the beautiful Helen back. Your experience will be enhanced as you visit the amazing royal tombs of Mycenae.
After Mycenae we will be travelling for 30’ to the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, the most amazing and best preserved of all the ancient theatres, widely admired for its phenomenal acoustics. There, you will also visit the Sanctuary of Asclepius, a healing centre which dates back to the 4th century BCE.
Leaving Epidaurus, we will be traveling for 20’, to finally arrive at the picturesque seaside town of Nauplio, the first capital of independent Greece. This was the place where the hero of the Greek revolution, Theodoros Kolokotronis, who liberated the city from the Ottomans, was imprisoned by the Greeks and where the first governor Ioannis Kapodistrias, who dedicated himself to the country’s progress, was assassinated by one of the leaders of the war of independence. While in Nauplio, you will have the chance to wonder around the old city and see the three highlights of Nauplio which are the three castles: Acronauplia, Palamidi and Bourtzi. You can also enjoy lunch at a local Greek restaurant in the traditional centre of the town, or at one by the coast.
As planned, we will be spending the night in Nauplio.

2nd Day

The next morning, after a good breakfast we will get back on the road and head to Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The archeological site of Ancient Olympia is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Within the site you will see the ancient stadium that hosted the Olympic Games every four years from 776 BCE to 393 AD, as well as the Palaistra, where the athletes used to train for the wrestling events. Additionally, you will visit the ruins of the temple of Zeus, where the colosal statue of Olympian Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the world, used to stand proudly. Last but not least, you will see the workshop of Phedias, the great sculptor, painter and architect who designed some of the greatest statues of his time, such as those of goddess Athena Parthenos, Athena Promahos and Olympian Zeus.
After your visit to the site and the museum of Ancient Olympia, a late lunch or an early dinner is required before we start our way to Delphi, which will last 3 hours.
After an hour drive we will be crossing the longest fully-suspended bridge in Europe, the Patra’s Bridge, which connects the Peloponnesse to Mainland Greece. After crossing the bridge, we will be having a beautiful, scenic drive along the coast and via the picturesque town of Naupaktos, we will arrive at Galaxidi where we will be spending the night. Galaxidi is a small, beautiful and quiet seaside town with very good restaurants and bars.

3rd Day

The following morning we will drive for 30 minutes to Delphi, an archeological site with the greatest significance in Greece, which according to Greek Mythology, it was described as the centre of the universe, or the naval of the Earth.
Indeed, for thousands of years Delphi was the centre of the known world, the most important religious centre and the oracle with the greatest reputation of its time. Ancient Greeks used to travel for days and under harsh conditions in order to visit the oracle of Delphi and consult god Apollo, through a priestess called Pythia.
There you will visit the Castalia Spring, where both Pythia and pilgrims used to wash in order to purify themselves.
Once you enter the site you will walk through the “Sacred Way” that leads to the Temple of Apollo. Along the way, you will pass by the ‘’Treasury of the Athenians’’, built after the battle of the Marathon. In this treasury, the Athenians used to host their valuable offerings in tribute to God Apollo, as tokens of appreciation for his assistance in achieving victory against the Persians at the battle of the Marathon. Continuing your way up to the slope of the mountain, you will see the ancient theatre and further above the stadium where the Pythian Games were hosted.
Below these areas are the temple of Athena Pronoia and the gymnasium where the athletes who competed in the Pythian Games used to train.
Your experience will be completed after visiting the museum of Delphi, located right next to the site. Once you have completed your visit, we will pick you up and drive to the town of Arachova, where you can have lunch at a local restaurant.
After lunch, we will get back in the car and drive for three hours through the scenic route of the mountains of mainland Greece and the plane of Thessaly, towards Kalampaka.
As we will be approaching Kalampaka, you will be amazed by the view of the Meteora rock formations rising behind the town.
As planned we will be spending the night at Kalampaka.

4th Day

Meteora is not only a holy place, but also a unique phenomenon that you cannot easily describe with words. The monasteries located at the top of the dark vertical rocks, mesmerize every tourist who has ever visited this place.
The following morning of the tour we will be driving up to Meteora, where you will experience the beautiful panoramic views of this amazing natural phenomenon and get to know the history of the monasteries as well as the monastic life of the monks, while visiting three of the six monasteries.
The tour will end with a Greek traditional lunch in Kalmpaka, which will be followed with the drive back to Athens.