Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Meteora, a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries on this private, full-day excursion from Athens.
Travel in private, air-conditioned vehicles and get around all the sites your group is interested in visiting within the extensive mountain complex before returning comfortably to Athens.
• Walk around the rock formations and visit up to three of the monasteries for an up-close look at ancient hermit life
• Take photos and create lifelong memories at this picturesque yet imposing natural beauty
• Enjoy authentic Greek food in Kastraki village
• Return to Athens via Thermopylae, hearing battle tales along the way where 300 Spartans fought 100,000 Persians
Inclusions & Exclusions
✔ Private transportation
✔ Athens hotel/ Piraeus port/ Athens airport pick-up and drop-off
✔ Bottled water
✔ On-board WiFi
✔ Professional drivers with deep knowledge of history (not licensed to accompany you in any site)
✔ Lunch (With Greek Traditional Food option)
✔ In-vehicle air conditioning
✖ Licensed tour guide (upon request and depending on availability)
✖ Entrance fees to the monasteries (€3 per person per monastery)
Pickup Locations
1. Foivos Hotel Athens
2. Alter Athens Hotel
3. Ruby Rooms Athens
4. Zenith Hotel
5. Athens City Plaza
6. Wyndham Athens Residence
7. Apollo Hotel
8. Titania Hotel
9. Athens Zafolia Hotel
10. Philippos Hotel
11. The Editor Athens Hotel
12. Vision Omonia
13. Anixis
14. Crowne Plaza Athens - City Centre, an IHG hotel
15. Novotel Athenes
16. Hotel Tier Collection
17. Hotel Byron
18. Bob W. Eolou Athens
19. Ambrosia Suites
20. Exarchion Hotel
Additional Info: This is a private tour. Only your group will participate. The pick-up time is adjustable upon your request.
Your personal driver will pick you up and return you to the same place or to the point you prefer.
In case of a hotel, he will be waiting for you in the hotel lobby.
In case of an apartment, he will be waiting for you at the entrance of the building.
For airport pick up, he will be waiting for you at the arrival hall holding a sign with your name on it to spot him upon arrival. We will track your flight and our driver will be there on time.
For port pick up, he will be waiting for you at the gate, just as you disembark, holding a sign with your name on it to spot him upon arrival.
Itinerary
1
Athens
We start our tour early in the morning from Athens till Meteora. Our driver will pick you up from your hotel/ apartment or the airport/ port. The travel time is about 4,5 hours.
Duration: 4.5 hours
2
Kalabaka is a town and seat of the municipality of Meteora in the Trikala regional unit, part of Thessaly in Greece. The population was 12,000 at the 2011 census, of which 8,330 in the town proper. The Meteora monasteries are located near the town.
3
Meteora
We arrive at Meteora and visit up to three Monasteries. Breathtaking at first site, the Monasteries are of great cultural and natural importance. Split from earthquakes, weathered from the wind and the water over millions of millions of years, these immense rocks are an authentic masterpiece of mother nature.
The Meteora is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox Monasteries. The six (of an original 24) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area.
Meteora is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the name means "lofty", "elevated", and is etymologically related to meteor.
Please be modestly dressed. Women are suggested to wear long skirts & long sleeves. If you do not have, you will be given a skirt on your way in.
Duration: 3 hours
4
Meteora
Free time for lunch at a traditional Greek tavern with your friends and family or shopping at Kastraki, a picturesque village near Meteora.
Duration: 60 minutes
5
Thermopylae
Thermopylae is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. In Greek mythology the Hot Gates is one of the entrances to Hades.
Thermopylae is the site of a battle between the Greek forces and the invading Persian forces, commemorated by Simonides of Ceos in the famous epitaph, "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, That here obedient to their laws we lie." Thermopylae is the only land route large enough to bear any significant traffic between Lokris and Thessaly. To go from north to south along the east coast of the Balkan peninsula requires use of the pass, and so Thermopylae has been the site of several battles.
6
Battlefield of Thermopylae
As we leave the magnificent Meteora behind us, let us not overlook the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BCE, which has long been the topic of cultural motivation, as it is perhaps the most famous military last stand of all time. The monument of the Great Leonidas, King of Sparta, in Thermopylae, will grace our path on our way back to Athens in the late afternoon.
Thermopylae is world-famous for the battle that took place there between the Greek forces (notably the Spartans, Lakedemonians, Thebans and Thespians) and the invading Persian forces, commemorated by Simonides in the famous epitaph, "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, That here obedient to their laws we lie."
Duration: 15 minutes
7
Leonidas Monument
Leonidas was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus. Leonidas was son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC.
Leonidas had a notable participation in the Second Persian War, where he led the allied Greek forces to a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) while attempting to defend the pass from the invading Persian army; he died at the battle and entered myth as the leader of the 300 Spartans. While the Greeks lost this battle, they were able to expel the Persian invaders in the following year.
Duration: 15 minutes
8
Athens
We start our way back to Athens late in the afternoon. The drive is about 4,5 hours.
Duration: 4.5 hours
Additional info
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Our drivers are not official tour guides, but they are knowledgeable and can provide fascinating commentary in fluent English. Although they will not enter the sites with you, they can answer all of your questions about the places you visit with this tour.
• Third party activities and especially extreme sports are not allowed during the tour. This can be a cause for immediate cancellation of the tour.
