• Experience a guided tour of the historic Acropolis in Athens
• Enjoy free time at Olympia, site of the world’s first Olympic games
• Saunter through the laid-back seaside town of Nafplio
• Be privy to special visits of Delphi and Meteora, led by local experts
• See the famous Lion Gate at Mycenae, a bronze age town which predates many of Greece’s other ancient sites

• Private, air-conditioned transportation from the Athens International Airport to your Athens hotel
• 7 nights of accommodation at comfortable, centrally located hotels
• 9 meals (7 breakfasts, 1 multi-course dinner, 1 lunch)
• Guided tours of the Acropolis at Athens, the ruins at Delphi, and the Great Meteoron Monastery, including entry fees
• Entry tickets to the highly significant archaeological sites at Mycenae and Olympia
• A special boat excursion at Nafplio
• All transportation between destinations, mainly by private coach, including a trip back to your starting point of Athens
• All hotel taxes, tips, and porterage fees
• A Blue Onyx Travel Tour Leader to handle all logistical aspects of your tour and guide your group from start to finish

DAY 1:  ARRIVE IN ATHENS

Arrive at Athens International Airport where a Blue Onyx Travel representative will meet you and direct you to your private transportation en route to your centrally located Athens hotel.  At 7 p.m., your tour group will meet in the lobby of the hotel with your Tour Leader where there will be a brief orientation.  Afterwards, the group will proceed to the welcome dinner.

MEAL:  Dinner        ACCOMMODATION:  Acropolis Museum Boutique Hotel (2 nights)

DAY 2:  TOUR OF ACROPOLIS, FREE TIME

After a leisurely morning, your group will meet in the lobby in the early afternoon where a Local Expert will lead you to the historic Acropolis to give your group a guided tour of The Parthenon, The Erechtheion, The Temple of Athena Nike, and other sections.  After the tour, you may want to continue your exploration of ancient Greece by visiting the nearby Ancient Agora of Athens which contains the magnificent Temple of Hephaestus.  Or dabble in local cuisine, shop in the trendy Monastiraki district, and navigate the ancient cobblestone streets of our favorite section of Athens: The Plaka.

MEAL:  Breakfast

DAY 3:  SIGHTSEEING IN CORINTH AND MYCENAE, ARRIVAL IN NAFPLIO

Following hotel checkout, your group will voyage to Corinth for a fun photo opp at the Corinth Canal.  Afterwards, you’ll make your way to Mycenae, an ancient citadel and the center of Mycenaean culture.  Later, you’ll arrive in the beautiful Peloponnesian village of Nafplio – a place that many travelers rank as their favorite place in Greece.  (Shhh…. don’t tell anyone.)

MEAL:  Breakfast        ACCOMMODATION:  Hotel Agamemnon (2 nights)

DAY 4:  OPTIONAL EXCURSION TO EPIDAURUS, FREE TIME, BOAT EXCURSION 

In the morning, you’ll have the option of visiting the ancient town of Epidaurus, which, according to legend, was the birthplace of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine and one of Apollo’s seven sons.  A local expert will lead you on a tour of the ampitheatre of Epidaurus which is renowned for its astonishing acoustics.  Should you opt for the excursion to Epidaurus, you’ll still have ample time for relaxation back in Nafplio, followed by a brief boat excursion to Bourtzi Castle, a Venetian fortress in the middle of the harbor.

MEAL:  Breakfast

OPTIONAL EXCURSION:   Guided tour of Epidaurus, including entrance fee – $28 per person (to be reserved and paid for on day one of the tour).

DAY 5:  FREE TIME AT OLYMPIA, ARRIVAL IN DELPHI

Today you will travel to Olympia, the birthplace of the original Olympic games.  After a brief orientation from your Tour Leader, you’ll receive entry tickets for both the outdoor archaeological site and its corresponding museum.  In the afternoon, you’ll arrive in Delphi.

MEAL:  Breakfast        ACCOMMODATION:  Hotel Nidimos or Arion Hotel (1 night)

DAY 6:  GUIDED TOUR OF DELPHI, FREE TIME AT KALAMBAKA/METEORA 

In the morning, you’ll meet with a local expert who will guide you throw the different areas of the Delphi archaeological site, which the ancient Greeks considered to be the center of the world.  Later, you’ll arrive in Kalambaka (the city in which the Meteora are located) with ample time for relaxation.

MEAL:  Breakfast        ACCOMMODATION:  Hotel Meteoritis or Hotel Kosta Famissi (2 nights)

DAY 7:  GUIDED TOUR OF HOLY MONASTERY OF GREAT METEORON,  FREE TIME

The name “Meteora” – which is actually a contraction of a Greek phrase which means “suspended in air” – refers to a group of monasteries constructed atop a cluster of tall and unusual rock towers.   Only six of the original twenty four monasteries have survived and on this day a local expert will guide your group on a tour of the oldest and largest of these, the Monastery of Great Meteoron.  On this, your last full day in Greece, you’ll also have plenty of time to organize visits to the other monasteries or explore other parts of the area.

MEALS:  Breakfast

DAY 8:  FAREWELL LUNCH, VOYAGE BACK TO ATHENS

We’ll need to depart Kalambaka relatively early in order to allow time for our farewell lunch and afternoon arrival at the Athens International Airport.  We strongly urge you to book your return flight no earlier than 4 p.m.  If you should need to get back to Athens earlier, please inform your Tour Leader on the first day of the tour and he/she will help you make arrangements.   In any case, we sincerely hope you enjoyed our journey through Ancient Greece!  Many happy returns!

MEALS:  Breakfast, Lunch       

THE WEATHER
Like most Mediterranean places, Greece tends to have long, warm summers and moderate, cool winters.  In the month of August, highs generally reach the mid 80’s to mid 90’s and lows range from the mid-60’s to the mid 70’s.  Rainfall is rare.

We advise you to bring sunscreen with you on this tour.  

BUGS AND PESTS
Mosquitoes can be prevalent during the summer in Greece. The mosquito problem begins in June, peaking in July or August, and abating in September.

Some hotels in Greece have insect repellent plug-ins that look like air fresheners.  Be sure to ask the front desk of your hotel to see if they can supply you with a plug-in.  You may want to bring some insect repellent with you. We also recommend that you keep your hotel room windows closed at night and leave the air conditioning on.  Mosquitoes don’t like air conditioning.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF TOUR
On a scale of 1 to 10, the level of physical activity of this tour is 8, which is high.  Several days will incur a great deal of walking, and there will be some steep stairs to ascend, such as on the slopes of the Acropolis and other places.  

IMPORTANT SUGGESTIONS
We urge our guests to use common sense on our tours.  Be wary of strangers offering you something or trying to sell you something.  Keep guard of your important belongings, such as purse, wallet, keys, and cell phone.  Pickpocketing is a problem in Athens, and pickpockets are wily.  A common scam that occurs is where one person will walk up to you, pretending to ask directions, while his or her partner in crime will slip past you from another direction entirely, casually taking your wallet or cell phone.  Be aware of your belongings at all times.

We also urge our guests to use extra caution while crossing the street in Athens.  Walk defensively and look in every direction before crossing. Don’t walk distracted.

WHAT TO BRING
We urge our guests to pack light.  As previously stated under our Terms and Conditions, all of our guests are allowed one carry-on measuring 45 linear inches (22 x 14 x 9) and a personal item, such as a laptop bag or purse.  We strongly recommend bringing travel size toiletries. We recommend bringing sunscreen and possibly insect repellent.

JOURNEYS BETWEEN DESTINATIONS
The journeys between destinations on this trip tend to be moderate, with longer journeys on days 5 and 8.  

OUR HOTELS
We always book hotels that are centrally located, well received, and close to major attractions.  Having said that, there are a couple of things that one should understand about hotels in Europe, especially if one is from the United States.  More often than not, hotel rooms in Europe are smaller than hotel rooms in the United States. Additionally, hotel rooms in Europe may not have the same amenities that our American guests may be used to seeing.  For example, some hotels in Europe do not have elevators, although the majority of the hotels we book do have them.  

On the other hand, for our American guests who are traveling to Europe for the first time, the breakfasts that are offered at European hotels are a breath of fresh air.  There is usually an abundance of protein sources in the form of cold cuts, cheeses, eggs, milk, and yogurt, along with an assortment of fresh fruit, pastries, cereal, fruit juice, tea, and coffee.  Occasionally, some European hotels will serve a hot breakfast as well and this often consists of scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, and pancakes or waffles.

OUR RESTAURANTS
We strive to treat our guests to meals at restaurants that are highly rated and which serve a wide variety of dishes.  Unlike most tour companies, we often allow you to order right off the menu as opposed to limiting you to two or three predetermined options.  

CURRENCY EXCHANGE AND CREDIT CARD USAGE
The Tour Leader will be able to tell you where to exchange currency and there will usually be a place to do so within walking distance of your hotel.  Most major banks will be able to exchange any currency that you have brought with you, for a small fee.

In most European countries (Greece included), the best exchange rate can be obtained by simply withdrawing money from a standard bank ATM using your debit card (not to be confused with your credit card).  For instance, let’s say it’s your second day in Athens and you need withdraw some euros. Just go to a local bank which has an ATM machine (often in a small, enclosed lobby-style room) and withdraw the amount of money you want.  Nearly all standard ATM machines worldwide have the capacity to issue instructions in English, so English speakers should have no problem at all understanding how to use them.

When we tell you to seek out standard bank ATM machines, we mean it.  Avoid the omnipresent stand-alone ATMs which are not part of a bank. Euronet, Moneybox, Travelex, and Cashzone are examples of independent ATM machines which have very unfavorable exchange rates.  If you have any questions at all while on tour, just ask your Tour Leader to point you the direction of a standard bank ATM. Now it’s true that your home-based bank, such as Wells Fargo, will charge a small fee ($5) for this transaction, but the European bank will not.

But wait, why don’t I just use my credit card for all my purchases, you may ask?  That’s okay, but there’s usually a 3% foreign transaction fee (or higher) for these types of transactions.  And there might even be an additional transaction fee from the store or restaurant in which you’re using your VISA card.  Dollar for dollar, withdrawing cash from a standard bank ATM is the most cost-effective way to exchange currency.

THE TOUR LEADER
All of our Tour Leaders must undergo a rigorous training course designed to help them handle not only the ups and downs of a tour group situation, but also the disparate personalities that they might encounter.  All of our Tour Leaders are thoroughly background checked and must adhere to a strict code of conduct at all times. You can rest assured that we are placing you with a Tour Leader who has your best interests at heart