• 12 Dinner (D)
• 14 Breakfast (B)
• 6 Lunch (L)

• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• 4 & 5-star hotel and overnight cruise stays
• Business class coach with extended leg room, and cruise travel

• Athens: Taste seasonal dishes built around olive oil, grains, legumes and coastal produce, paired with wines from native grape varieties grown across mainland and island vineyards.
• Olympia: Taste unique Greek flavours and savour regional specialities over dinner.
• Athens: Toast the culmination of your travels with dinner in true Greek style at a local restaurant.

• Athens: Get up close and personal with ancient Greece as you explore Athens with your Local Specialist. With your Local Specialist, visit the monumental Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Arch of Hadrian. Then, ascend to the iconic Acropolis, where the Parthenon offers commanding views of the city. Discover the intricacies of the Temple of Athena Nike, also known as the Temple of Wingless Victory, and admire the six exquisite Caryatids supporting the Porch of the Maidens on the Erechtheion.
• Athens: Stroll through the ancient streets of Plaka, known as the “Neighborhood of the Gods” under the guidance of your Travel Director. Nestled beneath the Acropolis, explore Plaka’s timeless charm, discovering the historical treasures and hidden corners, before enjoying time at leisure along Adrianou, a bustling pedestrian hub, brimming with vibrant shops and traditional cafes.

• Olympia: Join a local chef who will share their passion for local ingredients and high-quality products. Learn how to make tzatziki and other regional dishes during a fun and immersive cooking demonstration.

Explore the atmospheric lanes of Plaka, the “Neighborhood of the Gods”, on a guided stroll beneath the Acropolis. Wander neoclassical streets, peek into tiny Byzantine chapels and discover Anafiotika’s island-style alleys before pausing along Adrianou Street for cafe culture and artisan boutiques.

Hear stories spanning Ottoman courts to Greece’s 19th-century revival, as everyday life unfolds in the shadow of antiquity. This included experience is offered as an alternative to the Acropolis visit, giving you a different lens on historic Athens.

Visit Thermopylae to view the monument to King Leonidas near the mountain pass where Spartan hoplites made their stand in 480 BC. Stand by the narrow defile where terrain shaped the battle, with slopes of Kallidromo and the Malian Gulf framing this storied gateway to central Greece.

Reflect on the Spartan-led defense that delayed Xerxes’ Persian army and became a byword for resilience. Your Travel Director helps unpack strategy, topography and legacy during a moment to pause for photos and reflection.

Explore UNESCO-listed Meteora with a Local Specialist and visit a centuries-old monastery perched on towering sandstone pillars. Step inside frescoed chapels scented with incense and take in soaring views over the Peneios Valley, where greenery spills beneath the rock spires.

Learn how hermits and monks forged a community “suspended in air.” Back at the base of the rocks, a short Kalambaka orientation points out lively squares and tavernas that serve as a convivial counterpoint to Meteora’s serene heights.

Explore Delphi with a Local Specialist, following the Sacred Way past the Treasury of the Athenians and the perfectly fitted stones of the Polygonal Wall. Your ascent culminates at the Temple of Apollo, set on Mount Parnassus with pine-clad slopes sweeping to the Gulf of Corinth.

Hear how the oracle’s consultations guided rulers and city-states across the Greek world. Marble, myth and mountain light combine to evoke a sanctuary long considered the omphalos—the navel—of the ancient Mediterranean.

Visit the birthplace of the Games and walk the Ancient Stadium where sprint markers still score the track. See the Temple of Zeus remains and the athletes’ gymnasium, imagining crowds gathering beneath olive trees as competitors sought glory in Zeus’ honor.

Trace traditions back to 776 BC and the Heraia, the athletic festival for women. Among column drums and laurel shade, the sanctuary’s scale and serenity illuminate how sport, ritual and civic pride intertwined in classical Greece.

Join a local chef for a hands-on cooking demonstration celebrating Peloponnesian flavors. Learn to prepare classics like creamy tzatziki and seasonal dishes infused with herbs, citrus and village olive oil before you savour a shared dinner featuring your creations.

Along the way, hear how regional produce and time-honored techniques shape Greek cuisine. The convivial table, warm hospitality and dinner in true Greek style make this evening a delicious window into everyday culinary culture.

Explore the Late Bronze Age powerhouse of Mycenae with a Local Specialist. Enter the Lion Gate, stride beside Cyclopean walls and examine royal graves before continuing to the beehive-shaped tholos tombs that speak to engineering skill and ancestor veneration.

From the hilltop, gaze across the Argolid plain and consider the world of traders, warriors and poets that seeded Homeric legend. Archaeology and myth meet here, illuminating the reach of Mycenaean culture across the Aegean.

Visit a working weaving atelier in elegant Nafplio to meet artisan Maria Gonidou and her daughter Nefeli. Watch a live demonstration on an ancient loom, feel hand-spun textures and learn how patterns and natural dyes preserve a living heritage.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience supports a family-run craft and aligns with UN SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Browse one-of-a-kind pieces while your visit helps safeguard skills passed carefully from generation to generation.

Witness a 19th-century engineering feat as you view the Corinth Canal, cut through the Isthmus to link the Aegean and Ionian seas. From the crossing you’ll see sheer limestone walls flanking a remarkably narrow channel where ships pass in single file.

Hear how the canal, opened in 1893, shortened sea routes that once circled the Peloponnese. It’s a striking spot to pause for photos and reflection on ambition, geology and maritime trade.

Walk the marble artery of the city as you follow the Arcadian Way with a Local Specialist. Admire the Library of Celsus, contemplate the scale of the Great Theatre and picture colonnaded streets alive with merchants, philosophers and pilgrims.

In the hills above, visit the House of the Virgin Mary, a peaceful shrine tied to early Christian tradition. Together the sites illuminate Roman urban grandeur and enduring spiritual resonance on Turkey’s Aegean coast.

Explore the Palace of Knossos through its northern gate to see restored frescoes of processions, bulls and ritual scenes. Your Local Specialist reveals Minoan civilization—its airy architecture, storerooms and throne room—along with the myths of King Minos and the labyrinth.

After the palace, a short Heraklion orientation highlights the harbor, market streets and museum district, helping you place the Bronze Age capital within Crete’s vibrant modern life.

Explore Santorini’s capital, Fira (Thira), set high on the caldera rim. Amble whitewashed lanes, step into blue-domed churches and linger at clifftop cafes as you gaze across the caldera to the volcanic islets that shaped the island’s dramatic crescent.

Along the way, learn how eruptions and sea filled the ancient caldera, forging today’s iconic skyline. Browse boutiques or frame quintessential photographs where sky and sea meet brilliant pumice cliffs.

Join an optional excursion to Filerimos Hill for sweeping island views. Walk the mosaic-lined Golgotha path and step into the tranquil Church of St George Hostos, part of a medieval monastery set amid cypress and pine.

From this serene lookout above Ialyssos, your guide illuminates Rhodes’ Byzantine and Knights-era heritage. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; timing is arranged locally.

Travel along Rhodes’ east coast to Lindos, where you’ll ascend the Acropolis of Lindos to the Temple of Athena Lindia. Take in sweeping views over sugar-white houses and the turquoise curve of St. Paul’s Bay.

After the summit, wander the village’s sun-bleached lanes lined with boutiques and courtyards. This is an optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour with your Travel Director.

Head to the island’s most photogenic village and visit the village of Oia, where lanes terrace down volcanic cliffs past blue-domed chapels and whitewashed mansions. As day softens, watch the famed sunset over the caldera ignite churches and rooftops in golden light.

This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Your team will time the visit to suit weather and daylight for the most evocative views.

Follow the coastal road of Attica’s Riviera to the headland of Sounion, where the Temple of Poseidon crowns sea cliffs. Admire its gleaming marble columns and a clifftop setting that commands an Aegean panorama dotted with islands and sails.

Often timed for the golden hour when light gilds the ruins, this optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. It’s a classic Athenian finale with sea air and horizon-wide views.

Discover ancient Athens with a Local Specialist as you join a guided tour of its headline monuments. Visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch before you ascend the Acropolis to stand by the Parthenon, where marble columns rise above the modern city and the Saronic Gulf shimmers beyond.

Gain insight into the Golden Age as you examine the Temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion’s Caryatids. This included experience is one of two ways to explore Athens; travellers typically choose this or the Plaka walk during their time in the city.

Insight Vacations