9 AM - 6 PM IST - Mon-Fri

10 AM - 1 PM IST - Sat

The Best of Greece ( 6670)

10 Day Tour from Athens to Athens

2024 Tour Details

On this Best of Greece tour, discover the highlights of historic and mythical—as well as modern—Greece. As the birthplace of Western civilization, Greece has some of the world’s most fascinating archaeological sites, and now is your chance to explore the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese peninsula. Your affordable tour of Greece starts and ends in Athens with overnights along the way in Nauplia, Sparta, Olympia, Delphi, and Kalambaka. Step back in time as you visit some of Greece's ancient sites where the Mycenaean civilization thrived between 1600 and 1200 BC. Enjoy the included guided sightseeing tour of the Mycenae archaeological site and learn about its history and legends. In Athens, visit the Acropolis, still standing after 2,500 years. Your Local Guide will give you many insights on this ancient masterpiece. Dedicated to the goddess Athena, the Acropolis sits high on a rocky hill and is a symbol of the wealth and power of Athens at its apex. In Epidaurus, climb the limestone steps of the amazingly well-preserved, 2,300-year-old open-air theatre and marvel at the perfect acoustics. You'll step back into the Middle Ages when you walk around the medieval Byzantine Citadel of Mystra, a castle founded in 1249. You’ll also love the mystic mountain landscape of Meteora with its 24 rock-top monasteries set in almost inaccessible sandstone peaks. On this affordable Greece tour, you’ll travel to Olympia, legendary home of the Olympic Games, and Delphi, where people visited in ancient Greece to seek the advice of the Oracle. But that’s not all…you’ll experience modern Greece as well, as you cross over one of the world's longest cable-stayed bridge, the spectacular Rion-Antirion Bridge, linking the Peloponnese peninsula to the Greek mainland. From ancient ruins to contemporary engineering —with beautiful landscapes in between—this affordable Greece tour is perfectly designed for value-minded travel lovers. You’ll agree that your Greece vacation is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

To know more about the visas for this vacation, click here

 Tour Highlights

Sightseeing:

ATHENS
Guided sightseeing, visit the Acropolis

CORINTH CANAL

EPIDAURUS
Visit the open-air theater

MYCENAE
Guided visit of the archaeological site

SPARTA
Visit

MYSTRA
Visit the Byzantine citadel of Mystra and olive oil museum

RION-ANTIRION BRIDGE

DELPHI
Visit

METEORA
See the mystical rock Monasteries

Guides:

Local Guides for city sightseeing in Athens; professional Tour Director while touring

Scenic Highlights:

Scenic Highlights:
Peloponnese, Mount Parnassus, Arcadian Mountains, Corinth Canal, Rion-Antirion Bridge

UNESCO World Heritage

World Heritage Sites are designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance. The sites are judged to contain cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.

The following UNESCO World Heritage Sites can be seen or visited on this vacation:

  • Acropolis Athens
  • Archaeological site of Mystras
  • Archaelogical Site of Olympia
  • Archaeological site of Mycenae
  • Meteora
Transportation:

Touring by private, first-class, air-conditioned motorcoach with free Wi-Fi

 Meals

 Meals & Itinerary

Buffet breakfasts daily; 3 dinners

 Itinerary

Day 1

ARRIVE IN ATHENS, GREECE Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to start exploring the Greek capital with the help of the CosmosGO app. Later, meet your Local Host.

Day 2

ATHENS A day to relax and discover Athens at leisure. Our suggestion: join an optional day cruise to the islands of Aegina, Hydra, and Poros. In the evening, free time to enjoy the lively atmosphere of the tavernas and nightclubs in the old Plaka district with its narrow streets and sound of bouzouki music.
Breakfast Breakfast

Day 3

ATHENS–CORINTH–NAUPLIA Join the included guided tour of Athens, featuring the highlights of this ancient capital with a visit to the Acropolis. Cross the Corinth canal, a project conceived in ancient Greece but only completed in 1893, and head for the coast to the picturesque seaside town of Nauplia.
Today’s Distance: 90 mi/ 145 km
Breakfast Breakfast

Day 4

NAUPLIA–EPIDAURUS–MYCENAE–SPARTA 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.
Today’s Distance: 126 mi/ 202 km
Breakfast Breakfast Dinner Dinner

Day 5

SPARTA–MYSTRA–OLYMPIA Enjoy the included visit of the medieval Byzantine citadel of Mystra, at one time known as the “Florence of the East.” Before arriving in Olympia, visit an olive oil museum.
Today’s Distance: 99 mi/ 160 km
Breakfast Breakfast Dinner Dinner

Day 6

OLYMPIA–PATRAS–DELPHI Explore Olympia, where the athletes of antiquity performed as a tribute to of the king of deities. Spend some free time in this pretty town, or learn more about the history of the Olympic Games on the optional archaeological site sightseeing tour. Later, drive north to Patras, the capital of the Peloponnese and the west coast’s largest port. Continue crossing the spectacular Rion-Antirion bridge through the picturesque fishing villages along the south coast of the mainland to legendary Delphi.
Today’s Distance: 134 mi/ 215km
Breakfast Breakfast

Day 7

DELPHI–KALAMBAKA Enjoy free time in town or join the optional morning sightseeing tour of the archaeological site in Delphi, where the oracle of Apollo spoke. It was the site of the omphalos, the 'navel of the world'. 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. On to Kalambaka.
Today’s Distance: 143 mi/ 230 km
Breakfast Breakfast Dinner Dinner

Day 8

KALAMBAKA–METEORA–ATHENS Discover Meteora, a cluster of spectacular 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.
Today’s Distance: 224 mi/ 360 km
Breakfast Breakfast

Day 9

ATHENS Spend a full day at leisure to explore the unseen parts of the city, do last-minute shopping, or to visit a museum. Tonight, enjoy the optional Greek dinner.
Breakfast Breakfast

Day 10

ATHENS Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.
Breakfast Breakfast

 Tour Director

With Cosmos, there’s no better way to get to know your destination than through the eyes of your Tour Director. Averaging over a decade... we’d like you to meet a Tour Director, who is representative of the type of expert that will be with you on your vacation.

MARIEKE KOENDERS

Escorting tours for more than 20 years

" Traveling through Greece, history and mythology come alive. You can smell the wild thyme, see the islands with their white-washed houses, taste the olives and sun-kissed tomatoes, listen to church bells in Meteora and touch the marble of a centuries' old monument. Greece is a country that awakens all the senses and it will be a pleasure to share my passion for it with you."

Tour Director -  MARIEKE KOENDERS

 Accommodation

ATHENS

MOXY ATHENS CITY

Hotel as shown or similar
First-Class
  Free Wifi

NAUPLIA

REX

Hotel as shown or similar
First-Class
  Free Wifi

SPARTA

MANIATIS

Hotel as shown or similar
Superior Tourist-Class
  Free Wifi

OLYMPIA

OLYMPIA PALACE

Hotel as shown or similar
First-Class
  Free Wifi

DELPHI

APOLLONIA

Hotel as shown or similar
Superior Tourist-Class
  Free Wifi

KALAMBAKA

FAMISSI EDEN RESORT HOTEL

Hotel as shown or similar
Tourist Class
  Free Wifi

 Optional Excursions

Contact your Travel Consultant for more information.
Price Ranges

$ ($50 USD and under)
$$ ($51 - $100 USD)
$$$ ($101 - $150 USD)
$$$$ (Over $150)



* The "Starting at" or listed price is based on the lowest price available to book. Price is per passenger based on double occupancy and does not include airfare; additional fees/charges are not included. If a price is crossed out, the new price includes a limited time promotional offer(s) – please review current promotions or deals for additional information. Some tours require intra-vacation flights (and in some cases intra-vacation segments must be purchased from Cosmos).
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