Athens Greece Transfer & Tours

4 Days tour with overnight at Kalambaka (Meteora), 2 nights Thessaloniki

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Suggestion: Continually working with 4&5 star hotels, we can help with your bookings.

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DAY 1: DELPHI

You will be greeted at your hotel, airport, port or outside your cruise terminal and will make your way to the most authentic and famous places in Greece. This tour is a great opportunity for those who have a combined interest in the Greek past and the country’s natural beauty. Visit the archaeological wealth of Greece. Admire the works of the Golden Age and let the ancient myths and history that gave birth to the Greek civilization travel you back in time. Enjoy activities and local specialties of Greek cuisine, 

Our tour starts with a drive on the national highway towards northern Greece. Along the way, you will see the plain of Beotia and you will also pass through the city of Thebes, the birthplace of King Oedipus. Then we will be on slopes of Mt. Parnassus before reaching Delphi.

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You will then drive on to Delphi, which dates to the 9th century B.C. Known as the << navel of the world >> this is the place of Greece's most important oracle. The area was also a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python, a deity who protected the navel of the world (center of the world). Findings in the Delphi region are dated back to the Neolithic period, 4000 years B.C. and with break of thousands of years, they are identified during the Mycenaean times too ( 1600 B.C. - 1100 B.C. ). The sanctuary of Delphi became the heart of the ancient Greek world and the entire eastern Mediterranean, because of the oracle's power and prestige, which individuals and entire cities visited to receive answers to their questions even to questions of political nature. You will see the Roman Agora, walk along the Sacred Way and view the monument of the Argive Kings, the Polygonal wall, the monument of Platea and the Tample of Apollo where the oracle resided. Above the Temple, you can visit the well preserved 3rd-century Theater. On the lower slope of the mountain is the Tholos, a building whose exact purpose is unknown but architecturally speaking is considered one of the masterpieces of the ancient world. You will also see the Palestra where the athletes trained in preparation for the Pythian Games.

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After you visit the archeological site, you will visit the Delphi archeological Museum. As its centerpiece, are the antiquities found in the complex of Oracle which dates from the 18th century B.C.Pythian Games, and many other artifacts.

After your visit to the museum, a stop will be made for a traditional Greek lunch in the village of Delphi, 
After lunch we depart through Central Greece, following, not taking the national highway, to see the real Greek country side.  Overnight stay in Kalambaka or Kastraki village.

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DAY 2: KALAMBAKA  - METEORA

Next morning,after your breakfast, is devoted to an unreal, fantastic landscape of Meteora with its 24 rock-top monasteries. Your guide leads you to the base of the gigantic rocks and explains that sitting atop those boulders are Monasteries that date back 1,000 years. A network of steps leads to the top of the bluffs. The view the valley below is breathtaking. You can see beyond the foothills of the encompassing mountain to the valley beyond Kalambaka. The small mesas rise 984 feet above the valley floor. The Great Meteoron Monastery is the largest of the six remaining monasteries of the area. It was founded in the 14th-century and has preserved the historic frescoes glistening inside the church.

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The tower structure with a timber roof holds a winch used to hoist supplies up the hillside. From below, the monasteries looked as though they were suspended in mid-air. From the top, you can wander around the jutting rocks and windswept grass. The frescoes showcase elements of Greek Byzantine art dating back to the 15th-century. The unique placement of the churches and their magnificent décor that exemplifies the monk’s dedication to their faith makes the monasteries at Meteora special. After your visit to some of the Monasteries, you will have time for a traditional Greek lunch of Kalambaka and evening walk.  After your free time we will depart for Thessaloniki. Overnight stay in THESSALONIKI

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DAY 3: THESSALONIKI (our second largest city) - VERGINA

On the following day we will depart for Vergina (Ancient Aiges) driving by the rivers Penios and Aliakmonas and small Greek villages through the Greek mountainous countryside. On reaching Aiges you will be able to visit one of the most glorious sites of the Macedonian Empire. The city of Aigai, the ancient first capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia, was discovered in the 19th century near Vergina, in northern Greece. The most important remains are the monumental palace, lavishly decorated with mosaics and painted stuccoes and the burial ground with more than 300 tumuli, some of which date from the 11th century B.C. One of the royal tombs in the Great Tumulus is identified as that of Philip II, who conquered all the Greek cities, paving the way for his son Alexander and the expansion of the Hellenistic world.

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You will be able to visit the museum that developed around the original location of the Royal Tombs full of their golden belonging and more importantly you will face the twelve monumental temple-shaped tombs are known. Among them is the tomb of Euridice, mother of Philip II and the unlooted tombs of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, and his grandson, Alexander IV, which have been discovered in 1977-8 and made a worldwide sensation. The quality of the tombs themselves and their grave-goods places Aigai among the most important archaeological sites in Europe.

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Next we will drive towards the archaeological site of Dion (meaning “the city of Zeus” in Greek) It boasts a large temple dedicated to Zeus, a series of other smaller temples and a 2,200 year-old exquisite statue of the Greek goddess Hera. It was in Dion that Alexander the Great assembled his army before he began his conquests to Asia. It was a city with of a huge strategic importance according to the Macedonian Kings. After having lunch at the village of Dion we will drive back to THESSALONIKI you will have free time to discover the many faces of the city.

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DAY 4: THESSALONIKI (The City In The Morning) - ATHENS

For our last day you will have free time, The day begins with bougatsa (sweet custard pie with phyllo filled), a bagel or a fresh spinach pie and of course coffe. Nobody here starts the day without coffe, since the coffe frappe; the favorite beverage of the city 
you can enjoy your coffe in one of the thousands cafes of the city. You only need to choose where! you can have your coffe in the city center, by the sea or at Ano Poli (Upper part of Town), enjoying the panoramic view of the city. The Thessalonians always combine coffe with shopping in the city's busy market. After your coffe and shopping we will have a traditional northern Greek lunch at the region of “Ladadika”. In the afternoon we will drive back to Athens  following the national highway. On the way we will be making a stop at Thermopylae where King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans heroically faced the Persian army.