Our adventure trip captures all that is Greece: islands and mainland, village and city, ancient and modern plus time for adventure and rest. Dine in tavernas on cuisine considered the healthiest on the planet. Island-hop through the Cyclades from the caldera of Santorini to the windmills of Mykonos. Hike through tiny villages to see the dovecotes on the island of Tinos. Roam the great sites of Athens’ and view all from the splendid Acropolis. Explore the cliff-top monasteries of Meteora and visit the ancient site of the Delphic Oracle. Greek guides will share their classical history. Memories of marble columns, roadside poppies, goats bleating, tiny churches, blue skies, white cubic homes and idyllic Mediterranean beaches will be yours to treasure forever.
Saturday
Fly overnight to Greece. Suggest Delta 132 from JFK to Athens, departing 4:20pm.
Sunday
Arrive at Athens airport at 9.10am. Lunch on your own at the airport. Check in for Olympic 552 12.25am flight to Santorini arriving at 1.15pm. Your guide will meet you and transfer you to our hotel where you can sleep off jet-lag before gathering for dinner. Santorini is famous for its white, cubic homes clinging to precipitous cliffs. The harbor is a caldera formed when the volcano blew it's top in 1500 B.C. It's a perfect place for strolling after dinner.
Monday
After breakfast we'll saddle up for a two-hour horse ride exploring the country homes, beaches and olive groves of Santorini. After lunch at a taverna we'll visit Akrotiri, an archeological site of a vast Bronze Age Minoan city buried in the eruption. There is time for exploring the streets of Thira prior to dinner. We'll eat at a restaurant overlooking the harbor, enjoying the sunset.
Tuesday
Arriving by air and leaving by sea gives us two opportunities to take in the magnificence of the caldera that is Santorini. Catch a morning ferry to the island of Mykonos. We’ll store our luggage and have about five hours free to explore this island as you choose. You can get wonderfully lost in the back-alleys deliberately designed to foil invaders. You can hire a scooter and explore the beaches. Mykonos is famous for it’s windmills and pelicans. Gather at the port to catch the catamaran to the island of Tinos. Dinner near our hotel.
Wednesday
Meet with our Greek English-speaking guide. Travel by taxi to the village of Volax and hike from the top of Tinos down to the sea. We'll travel on ancient paths and likely come across local goat-herders on donkeys, flocks of goats, tiny Orthodox churches and wonderful views. Tinos is famous for it's Venetian dovecotes - ornately decorated buildings erected purely for the white doves which inhabit the island. Catch the ferry to Pireaus on the mainland. Dinner on board. Metro to a late arrival at our hotel in downtown Athens.
Thursday
Sleep-in and after a lazy breakfast we'll explore Athens by traveling the very efficient metro system. Our day will include visiting the archaeological museum, the incomparable Acropolis and shopping in the Plaka. After a rest bac at the hotel, we'll metro back to the Plaka for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant and beautiful views of the well-lit Parthenon at night.
Friday
Drive north on the mainland through the lush farmland of the Thessaly plain to the village of Kastraki and check into our hotel. Lunch in Kalambaka on route. Visit the ancient monasteries built high atop a cluster of perpendicular rock formations known as the Meteora. This is an amazing place and totally surreal if we catch a misty day. 600 years ago Byzantine monks began erecting monastic communities atop these rocks. A museum in the Great Meteoron shows the huge contribution Greek Orthodox priests made in preserving Greek culture and language during 400 years of Ottoman rule. The monasteries are still inhabited and we often see the monks at work. Dinner at a taverna near our hotel.
Saturday
Drive to Delphi where an archeological expert will guide us through the museum and up this famous site. The ancient Greeks flocked to Delphi believing that Apollo and his Delphic oracle could not lie. See ruins of classical temples including the Temple of Athena, an amphitheater and the stadium, host to athletic contests. Return to our hotel Athens in the afternoon. Farewell dinner.
Sunday
Sleep-in! Make your own way to the airport for 1:25pm departure on Delta flight 133 arriving at JFK in New York at 5:20pm same day. Transfer to flights to your hometowns.
