Highlights of the full day tour to Ancient Olympia and Corinth Canal
• The birthplace of the Olympic Games in Olympia
• The famous Corinth Canal
• A trip in the beautiful Greek countryside
• Experienced and skilled English speaking driver
• A 10 hours magnificent tour through modern and ancient.
- Travelers can customize the tour within the itinerary!
Inclusions & Exclusions
✔ Private vehicle
✔ Transportation by air-conditioned vehicle appropriate for the size of your group
✔ A professional English speaking tour driver
✔ Piraeus port pick up /drop off
✔ Hotel pickup and drop-off in Athens
✖ Entrance fees to the archaeological sites and museum
✖ Gratuities
✖ Food and drinks
✖ English-speaking licensed tour guide (We can arrange for a tour guide for you with an extra cost)
Pickup Locations
1. Hotel Albion
2. Zenith Hotel
3. Athens City Plaza
4. Athens Odeon Hotel
5. Wyndham Athens Residence
6. Crystal City Hotel
7. Apollo Hotel
8. Titania Hotel
9. Hotel Minoa
10. The Editor Athens Hotel
11. Iniohos Hotel
12. Arion Athens Hotel
13. Anixis
14. Noma Hotel
15. Athens Tiare Hotel
16. Novotel Athenes
17. Hotel Tier Collection
18. Hotel Christiana
19. Bob W. Eolou Athens
20. Hotel Solomou Athens
Additional Info: Departure Point: HOTEL MEETING INSTRUCTIONS: We will meet you at the main entrance of your hotel. Please inform the porter that you are expecting your tour driver to call for you. If you are staying in a small hotel, please inform the receptionist instead.
CRUISE PORT MEETING INSTRUCTIONS: Please disembark and walk outside the terminal exit door, where our driver/guide will be waiting for you holding a sign with your name on it.
Return point: Return at the same spot
Itinerary
1
Piraeus
Pick up from your accommodation in Athens or your cruise ship pier at Piraeus port. The Port of Piraeus is the chief seaport of Athens, Greece, located on the Saronic Gulf on the western coasts of the Aegean Sea. Piraeus port is the largest port in Greece, home to Europe's biggest passenger port, and as such is a huge draw for cruise ships from around the world bringing tourists eager to explore this centuries-old city, and one of the largest in Europe. But yet another major draw is the fact that it's easy to visit Athens because it's located nearby. The Greek capital city of Athens is just 12 kilometers or 7 miles from Piraeus port. We will drive directly to the Acropolis to admire the Temple of Democracy!
2
Attica
You will be traveling through Attica, a journey” in 6,000- year history, the land that gave birth to ideas and arts, has created and shaped what we call today the western civilization. Today, a visit to Attica offers visitors a unique experience. A “journey” in its 6,000-year history, including the chance to see renowned monuments and masterpieces of the art of antiquity and the Middle Ages, and the architectural heritage of the 19th and 20th centuries. Here lies Athens, the capital of Greece, the busiest city of the country with the most prominent archaeological site and symbol of the country, the world-famous sacred rock of the Acropolis.
Attica is home to some of the world’s most important and fascinating museums and archaeological sites, testimony to its long and prominent role in world history. Festivals featuring ancient Greek drama, as well as performances, sports, or culinary events are organized throughout the year, spellbinding the audience. Then travel towards Peloponnese!
3
Admire the travel along the coastal road of the Saronic golf till we will arrive at the famous Corinth canal in Peloponnese. The Peloponnese is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which separates the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf. Peloponnese grape varieties have a very special place in the treasure of native Greek grape varieties. Τhe Peloponnese Wine Roads take you on a journey to a modern, sometimes rare and definitely unknown to many wine world, full of authenticity and history. Native Peloponnese grape varieties do not only reflect the diversity of Greek and Peloponnesian wine, but also the significance of some very special Greek varieties. Among them are two of the four most renowned varieties of the Greek vineyard in the world’s best markets: the exotic Moschofilero-Mantinia and the captivating Agiorgitiko-Nemea. Moreover, Mavrodafni is known for the popular dessert
Duration: 55 minutes
4
Corinth Canal
The Corinth Canal one of the most important projects of modern Greece, which played a catalytic role for the Mediterranean trade, has constituted an inspiration for centuries and was completed 25 centuries after the conception of its idea. It is a man-made canal in Greece, that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, arguably making the peninsula an island.
Back to the late 7th century B.C., and specifically in 602 B.C. At that time, the tyrant of Corinth Periander decided to connect the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf. His purpose was to try and open a canal in the isthmus of Corinth which would allow the avoidance of a dangerous circumnavigation of the Peloponnese and shorten the route. The plans of Periander, one of the seven sages of antiquity, as ancient writers testify, remained unaccomplished.
Duration: 15 minutes
5
Argolis Region
You will be traveling through part of Argolis, Arkadia and Ilia. Region of northeastern Peloponnese. The Argolid Peninsula in the Peloponnese region has a variety of historical sites and is absolutely beautiful with a rich culture for tourists looking for a spectacular vacation in Greece. Argolis owes its name to what became the main city of the region, Argos, itself named after several mythological heroes by the name Argos, the first of whom was a son of Zeus and Niobe, daughter of Phoroneus, and the brother of Pelasgus. Argos reigned over all of Peloponnese, which was then called Argolis (hence the name “Argives” which is often used in the Iliad to designate the Greeks as a whole). Later, the name Argolis was restricted to the part of Peloponnese around the city of Argos.
Duration: 60 minutes
6
Arkadia Region
Arcadiа is an administrаtive and gеographiсаl regiоn in the cеntral part οf Pеlоpοnnese. Most part оf it is mοuntаinous and the mоuntains οf Arcаdia arе often mentiоnеd in Greek mythοlogу. The rеgion includes bоth high mοuntains (with а ski resort) and a sеаside area with bluе pebbled bеасhes. Arcadiа is beliеved to be a grеat plасe fоr ecοtourism and hiking.
Most оf the mοuntainous villаgеs are wоrth tο seе as their аrchiteсturе is traditional аnd well presеrved. Some оf thе mοst visited among them аrе Stemnitsa,Кarytainа. Karytаina has аlso an оld castle аnd οld Frankish bridgе whiсh are worth tо seе. Other intеresting sights are thе monаsteries likе Agiοs Ioаnnis Prоdrοmos (nеar Stemnitsа) and Аgiоs Nikοlaos Sintzаs (near Leοnidio). Capitаl of Arcadia is the tоwn οf Tripοli.
The largеst villаges in the coastal аrеa оf the regiοn arе Leonidiо, Тyrοs, Pοulithrа and Astrοs.
Duration: 20 minutes
7
Elis or Ilia is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was Elis Prefecture, covering the same territory.
Embark on a cultural safari that takes in Ancient Olympia and the Temple of Apollo Epicurius, with stopovers at beaches in the Gulf of Kyparissia, and the oak forest in Foloi.The regional unit of Ilia, or Elis, is a strange place; it’s full of treasures. It’s good to keep this in mind as you start getting acquainted with one of the most important, beautiful, and contradictory areas in Greece.
Duration: 1.5 hours
8
Olympia
In the western Peloponnese peninsula, in the so-called "valley of the gods", Ancient Olympia grew to be the most celebrated sacred site of Ancient Greece, and the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the most important sports events in all antiquity, founded in the 8th century B.C. (776), all Greeks across the world would be united every four years and all hostilities would be suspended so that everyone could take part in these games in the true spirit of sportsmanship.
Travel to Olympia’s archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and tour the impressive remains of buildings that the ancient Greeks used as worship areas, sports and symposia centers, etc.
Its ruins include athletic training areas, a stadium and temples dedicated to the gods Hera and Zeus. The Archaeological Museum exhibits finds, including a statue of Hermes attributed to the sculptor Praxiteles. Olympia is now, a famed destination, a powerful landmark known the world over.
Free time for lunch. (optional)
Duration: 3 hours
9
Piraeus
We will take now the way back to Athens and Piraeus port. Our tour ends by dropping you off at the same spot we have picked you up.
Thank you for choosing us for your tour in Greece!
Duration: 3.6666666666667 hours
Additional info
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
• Dress code is formal
• Important note: - A professional English speaking tour driver will be with you and with good knowledge in history and culture of Greece, to guide you till you enter archaeological sites and museums according to the program. Tour drivers are not licensed to companion you inside the archaeological sites and museums. If you'd like to have one, we can arrange it for you with an additional cost. Licensed by the state tour guides are freelance and it is subject of availability on bookings day!
• Athens International Airport transfers can be arranged on request at ane extra cost!
• We suggest that you have your admission tickets pre-purchased as there is a chance not to find availability, please note that we can buy the tickets for you in advance -under a small service fee.
