3-day private tour to picturesque Olympia, Delphi, Meteora

The most famous and visited areas in the world. Meteora, Delphi, Olympia, Thermopylae! This three days private tour is the same as the 4 days classical tour in Greece! It’s designed for those who want to visit the most famous places of the ancient world and they have limited time!

Highlights of the 3-day private tour to picturesque Olympia, Delphi, Meteora

• The famous Corinth canal
• Temple of Apollo in ancient Corinth agora
• Epidaurus theater
• The longest cable bridge in Europe of Rio-Antirio
• The impressive oracle of Delphi
• Experienced English-speaking tour driver

Athens to Delphi (Delfi) through central Greece. Tour Greece to meet the ancient history. Delphi was the most celebrated place in the ancient world, Here the democratic lows of Athens were approved. The uncompromising philosophers respected Delphi. Even the wised of men Socrates respecter Delphi. Learn the future secrets discovering the secrets of the past here in Delphi.

Ancient Olympia: The birthplace of the Olympic games,  The Original Field of Dreams

Meteora is in a region of almost inaccessible sandstone peaks, monks & nuns settled on these ‘columns of the wind & sky’ from the 11th century onwards. 24 of these monasteries were built, despite incredible difficulties, at the time of the great revival of the eremetic ideal in the 15th century.

Thermopylae ( The Hot Gates):

The Battle of Thermopylae;  was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in August or September 480 BC, at the pass of Thermopylae. During these two full days of battle, the small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road by which the massive Persian army could pass, and after the second day of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks by revealing a small path that led behind the Greek lines. Leonidas dismissed the bulk of the Greek army and remained to guard the rear with 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians,  the vast majority of whom were killed. ” Molon Lave”  come and get us, has been heard for the first time in the world. A word that since 480 BC  inspires the world.

The Corinth Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth (Ionian Sea) with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland, thus effectively making the former an island. Greek & French builders dug the canal through the Isthmus at sea level; no locks are employed. It is 6.3 Km (3.9 mi) in length, 8,5 mt deep, 24 meters (79 ft) wide, 52 meters highland, and built between 1881 and 1893. Finally, it is the Shortest Route, and the Safest Waterway.

Itinerary

Tour description

Day 1: Corinth Canal | Patras | Pyrgos | Olympia

Your Greece tours private chauffeur will start your private tour driving along the coastal road of Saronic Gulf. Admire the views of the island and feel the great battle between the Athenians and The Persians.

Our first stop is at the Corinth canal. capture in your camera the breathtaking view of the narrow pass.

We will continue your Greece tour through many nice towns of Peloponnese till we reach ancient Olympia. Visit the archaeological site, the museum, and take place to run because the starting line of the first Olympic game is still there.

Ancient Olympia: The original Olympic games, held in the summer of 776 B.C. at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, are widely believed to be the first precisely dated events in the annals of ancient Greece. It is a tradition as old as history: Athletes from distant lands gather to test their mettle before throngs of cheering fans.

Every four years for more than a millennium approx 3 century AD, rival and often warring city-states put aside their differences and invoked a sacred truce. The kingdoms (city-states) sent their fastest, their strongest, their most skillful men to compete for personal bragging rights and homeland pride. The greatest Olympic athletes were known throughout Greece, their likenesses re-created in sculpture and on pottery for the ages.

The Olympics disappeared for more than 1,500 years due to tyranny in Greece and were reborn in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Since then, repeatedly every 4 years they’ve traveled to cities around the world and drawn an increasingly global field of competitors, as well as an increasingly global audience. The year 2004, came home once again to Greece, as the Summer Olympics return to Athens. Overnight.

Day 2: Pirgos | Patras | Rio Andirio Bridge | Nafpaktos | Galaxidi | Itea | Delphi | Arachova

Breakfast and your Greece Tours private chauffeur will drive you to a scenic drive to Delphi.

Tour description: Delphi Greece is one of the most important archaeological sites of Greece, the most important in the ancient world, and accordingly, it seems to appear in the itinerary of every traveler who is attracted to the oracle that influenced affairs in the known world for over a thousand years.

Start your Greece private tour from your cruise ship or your Athens hotel to a centuries trip.

Greece tours private chauffeur will drive you through the fertile plain of Beotia, passing through THERMOPYLAE (hot gates) about 220 km from Athens, the place that the battle of the 300Spartans and LEONIDES took place.

Visit the modern memorial to King Leonidas on one side of the highway that shows the Spartan King on the top of a memorial wall with the words “Molon Lavei” written under the statue. The phrase means, “Come and get it”, this is the phrase that Leonidas said to the Persian king Xerxes when he told Leonidas to hand over his weapons. The phrase has become a slogan of defiance all over the world. Shortly After the battle, the ancient memorial was placed just across the highway from the modern memorial. It is a small carved stone plaque that says, “Stranger, tell the Spartans that we lay here obedient to their laws”. This ancient memorial is on a small hill across the national road from the modern one and KAMENA VOURLA.

Delphi

Arrive at Delphi, the center of Ancient World – the «Omphalos» (Navel of Earth) – whose prestige extended far beyond the boundaries of the Hellenic World. On the slopes of Mount Parnassus, in a landscape of unparalleled beauty and majesty, lie the ruins of the Sanctuary of Apollo Pythios.

Our private Greece tour continues visiting Delphi’s Treasury of the Athenians, the Temple of Apollo, and the Delphi Museum containing such masterpieces of Ancient Greek sculpture as the bronze Charioteer and the famous athlete Aghias. Lunch in Delphi, and start traveling to Meteora following the highway to Lamia and the Kartdisa and Trikala. Overnight in Kalambaka or Kastraki, by the feet of Meteora.

Day 3: Kalambaka | Meteora | Athens

Tour Description: Start in the morning traveling with Splendid Greece Tours to reach Meteora. Here visit the unique in the world the breathtaking METEORA and its byzantine monasteries built on the top of high rocks standing between Sky earth & wind.

The monasteries of Meteora are 6:

• The Monastery of Great Meteoron. It is the biggest of the Meteorite monasteries.
• The  Monastery of Varlaam is the second, after the Great Meteoro, big in size monastery.
• The Monastery of Rousanou. It is dedicated to ‘The Transfiguration’ but honored to Saint Barbara.
• The Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausas. It is the first to meet on our way from Kastraki to Meteora.
• The Monastery of St. Stephen. It is one of the most attainable as we don’t have to cope with innumerable stairs to reach it.
• The Monastery of Holy Trinity is very difficult to reach. The visitor has to cross the valley and continue high up through the rock before we arrive outside the entrance.

Have lunch in Kalambaka in a traditional homemade Greek food restaurant by the feet of Meteora.

After lunch, Greece tours private chauffeur will start traveling back to ATHENS. Late arrival at your Athens hotel.

Celebrate now the glory of Delphi,  the Olympics, Meteora, Thermopylae ancient and new, in this gallery of images of the original fields of dreams ….

Important notes

Tour Type

• Shore Excursion – Private tour
• Activity level: Moderate

Included

• A professional driver with good knowledge of the history and culture of Greece
• Transport by air-conditioned vehicle appropriate for the size of your group
• Accommodation is based on availability (for multiple-day tours only)
• Pick-up from and return to your hotel
• Free Pick-up & drop off from Piraeus cruise port
• First-class transport: By Mercedes E-Class or similar; Mercedes minivan or Mercedes minibus according to the size of your party. All new models with full leather and A/C.
• Road tolls and local taxes
• Our terminal: Leof. Andrea Siggrou 37, 117 43 Athina, Greece.
• The private tour is 100% exclusive for your party

Excluded

• Entrance fees to the archaeological sites and museum
• Wine tasting fee (wine tours)
• Athens Airport transfer:  arranged on request with a surcharge
• Gratuities (optional)
• Food and beverage
• Your private chauffeur/guide will discuss a program best suited to your interest and mobile abilities. Option for a professional tour guide with a state license at an extra cost.

Additional info

• Dress: religious and marmoreal sites: shoulders and knee must be covered
• Terms & Conditions, F.A.Q , Privacy policy & Cookies
• Confirmation will be received at the time of booking
• A voucher will be emailed to you with our contact numbers and all necessary information for your tour.
• This is your ticket and proof of purchase. On the day of the tour please present a paper voucher in order to redeem your tour/activity.

Persons with Disabilities

• Due to uneven surfaces, certain sites are not recommended for persons with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair. Such sites are the Acropolis,the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, Mycenae, Delphi, and Meteora
• In all cases, we recommend comfortable flat-soled walking shoes, sunglasses, and sunscreen.

Opening hours & Admission fees

• Opening Hours: Summer April 1st to October 31st from 08:00 AM to 07:30 PM
• Winter: November 1st to March 31st from 08:30 AM to 03:00 PM
• Free admission fees: Children under 18 & Students from E.U.
• Reduced admission fees: Citizens of the E.U. aged over 65 & Students from countries outside the E.U.

Free admission days

• March 6: In memory of deceased Minister of Tourism & visionary Melina Mercouri
• June 5: Environment international day
• April 18: International monuments day
• May 18: International museums day
• September 27: International tourism day
• The last weekend of September annually (European Heritage Days)
• National Holidays
• Sundays in the period between 1 November and 31 March
• The first Sunday of every month, except for July, August, and September
• NOTE: If the first Sunday is a holiday then the second is the free admission day

Holidays in Greece

• January 1: closed
• January 6: 08:30 AM – 03:00 PM
• Shrove Monday: 08:30AM – 03:00 PM
• March 25: closed
• Good Friday: 12:00 PM – 03:00 PM
• Holy Saturday: 08:30 AM – 03:00 PM
• Easter Sunday: closed
• Easter Monday: 08:30 AM – 03:00 PM
• May 1: closed
• Holy Spirit Day: 08:30 AM – 03:00 PM
• 15 August 15: 08:30 AM – 03:00 PM
• October 28: 08:30 AM- 03:00 PM
• December 25 & 26: closed