Oct 15th – Nov 5th 2015
April 16th – May 7th 2016 (approx.)
22 days
$10899pp
(based on twin share)
Experience where the
Clash of the Titans
Evolved
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Highlights

Acropolis/Parthenon of Athens

The oracle of Delphi

Ancient Olympia

Meteora Monasteries

Ancient Macedonia Kingdom

Mycenae

Nafplion

Epidaurus Theatre

Monemvassia

Thessaloniki

Wine Tasting

Aegina Island
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Day 1: Depart NZ for Athens, Greece
Day 2: Arrival in Athens city.
Free to relax after our long flight.
Day 3: (B, L) Athens
After breakfast we will be greeted at our hotel, by our guide, who will take us to
the historical centre of Athens where
we will begin our tour with a visit to
Acropolis Hill. We will go through
the Propylaea, its monumental gate,
to the Parthenon, a temple dedicated
to the goddess Athena, to
the Erechtheon, a site associated
with some of the most ancient and
holy relics of the Athenians, and the
small temple Athena Nike protecting
the gate of the citadel.
We will then continue on to visit
the Temple of Zeus, the largest in
ancient Greece, taking over 700 years to build. We will proceed to
the Panathenian Olympic Stadium where the first modern Olympic Games were
held in 1896. From here, we will continue on to Lycavettus Hill (the highest hill
in Athens) where we will have some great photo opportunities.
We will see the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
front of the Greek Parliament. We will then stop for a typical Greek lunch before
we continue on to the Ancient Agora, then head to the New Acropolis
Museum before making our way back to our hotel.
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Day 4: (B, L) Athens
Today we will have the morning free to do a bit of shopping, or perhaps just
relax at the hotel, before we are collected in the afternoon to go to Cape Sounio
to watch the sunset from Poseidons Temple.
Day 5: (B, L) Athens - Nafplion
We leave Athens behind to visit the Corinth Canal, which is the canal that
connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts
through the narrow Isthmus of
Corinth and separates
the Peloponnese from
the Greek mainland, effectively making
the former peninsula an island. It is 6.4
kilometres in length and only 21.4
metres wide at its base, making it
impassable for most modern ships. We
will then go to Ancient Corinth, and
Epidaurus theatre. The theatre is marvelled for its exceptional acoustics, which
permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from
the proscenium or skēnē to all 15,000 spectators, regardless of their seating.
The rows of limestone seats filter out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur
of the crowd, and amplify high-frequency sounds from the stage. We will then
head to the beautiful town of Nafplion where we will stay the night.
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Day 6: (B, L) Nafplion
We will spend the day in Nafplio which is a seaport town in
the Peloponnese in Greece that has
expanded up the hillsides. The
town was an important seaport
held under a succession of royal
houses in the middle Ages as part
of the lordship of Argos and
Nauplia. Nafplio is now the capital
of the regional unit of Argolis. We
will visit Bourtzi Castle and a walk
round the old town. We will have
the evening free to do as we wish.
We will stay the night again in
Nafplion
Day 7: (B, L) Nafplion - Monemvassia
After our breakfast we will leave
Nafplion, and have a stop at Mycenae,
here we will have a look at the
archaeological sites before we move
on to Nemea for some lunch and wine
tasting, before we drive to to
Monemvassia, where we will spend the
next 2 nights at one of the most
exclusive hotels in Greece, no more
than what you deserve..........you will
not be disappointed
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Day 8: (B, L) Monemvassia (the Gibraltar for Greece)
After a wonderful rest in
our fabulous
accommodation we will
then visit the castle and
Monemvassia, we can visit
in the morning, or evening
or both if you wish, which
is a walled fortress that
once accommodated an
estimated 50,000
Byzantine Greeks. The city
was first inhabited in
588A.D, (Cannot begin to imagine how many have walked amongst the walls
over the centuries), by Spartan and Lanconian origin who were fleeing invaders
and Arab slave traders. Its prime location made it an ideal target for several
invasion that changed hands over the centuries.
Day 9: (B, L) Monemvassia – Gytheio
After breakfast we will visit
Mystra* byzantine city.
Mystra,the 'Wonder of the
Morea', was built as an
amphitheatre around the
fortress erected in 1249 by
William of Villehardouin.
Reconquered by the
Byzantines, then occupied by
the Turks and the Venetians,
the city was abandoned in
1832, leaving only the
breathtaking medieval ruins,
standing in a beautiful landscape. The beauty of the churches of Mystras, which
during the Paleologus Renaissance had been covered with dramatic frescoes, the
renown of the libraries of Mystras and the glory of its writers (including Georges
Gemiste Plethon and Jean Bessarion who brought neo-Platonic humanism to
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Italy) gave substance thereafter for the legend of the "Wonder of Morea". Today
will involve a lot of walking!
Day: 10 (B, L) Gytheio
We will take a trip to the Diros caves
which cover an area of 16,700 m2 and
since 1949 about 2,800 water passages
have been explored. Where we will take a
40-min boat trip through the 2.5k of long
winding passage, where we will see the
intricate network of passages and
galleries, decorated with gleaming
stalagmites and stalactites, whose
reflection in the water accentuates their
natural beauty. After which we will
return to our hotel, in Gytheio for a second night.
Day 11: (B, L) Gtheio – Navarino
This morning we will head to Navarino stopping along the way to see Pylos,
where according to
the Greek
historian Thucydides , the area was "together with most of the country round,
unpopulated”. In 425 BC the Athenian politician Cleon sent an expedition to
Pylos where the Athenians fortified the rocky promontory now known as
Koryphasion or Old Pylos at the northern edge of the bay, and after a conflict
with Spartan ships in the Battle of Pylos, seized and occupied the bay. A little
later the Athenians captured a number of Spartan troops besieged on the
adjacent island of Sphacteria. Spartan anxiety over the return of the prisoners,
who were taken to Athens as hostages, contributed to their acceptance of
the Peace of Nicias in 421 BC.
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Day 12: (B, L D) Navarinao- Olympia
We head to Olympia today known for having been the site of
the Olympic Games in classical times. The Olympic Games
were held every four years throughout Classical Antiquity,
from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. (A long time
ago!!)The first Olympic Games were in honour of Zeus.
During this time the games were opened up to all citizens of
the Roman Empire. A programme of new buildings and
extensive repairs, including to the Temple of Zeus, took
place. In 150 AD, the Nympheum (or Exedra) was built. New
baths replaced the older Greek examples in 100 AD and an
aqueduct constructed in 160 AD. We will spend the night at
in Ancient Olympia.
Day 13: (B, L, D) Olympia – Arachova
We leave Olympia and drive to Arachova,
where we will be staying the night. Enroute we will stop for some wine tasting at
Katakolon, we will then head to Napfpaktos
where we will stop for some lunch,before we
drive to Arachova, which is a mountain
town, built on the southern slopes of Mount
Parnassus, altitude of 968 metres. It was
developed in the late 20th century with a ski
resort. The main produce from here is
olives. Here you may be able to buy/taste Formaell, which is a traditional
cheese and is only sold in Arachova
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Day 14: (B, L) Arachova - Meteroa
As we leave Arachova, we will visit the
site of Delphi, which was believed to be
determined by Zeus when he sought to
find the centre of his "Grandmother
Earth". He sent two eagles flying from
the eastern and western extremities, and
the path of the eagles crossed over
Delphi where the omphalos, or navel of
Gaia was found.
Overnight in Meteroa
Day 15 :( B, L) Meteora – Litochoro
Before we leave we will visit
Meteora monasteries, "middle of
the sky", "suspended in the air" or
"in the heavens above" is one of
the largest and most important
complexes of Greek
Orthodox monasteries in Greece,
second only to Mount Athos. The
six monasteries are built on
natural sandstone rock pillars, at
the north-western edge of the Plain
of Thessaly near the Pineios River
and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece. After which we will head to Litochoro
for our overnight stay
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Day 16: (B, L) Litochoro – Thessaloniki
From Litochoro we will
visit Vergina which is a
small town in
northern Greece, located
in the regional unit
of Imathia, Central
Macedonia. Since the
2011 local government
reform it is part of the
municipality Veroia, of
which it is a municipal
unit. The town became internationally famous in 1977, when the Greek
archaeologist Manolis Andronikos unearthed the burial site of the kings of
Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. We will
also visit the ancient city of Pella, and go to the archaeological Museum, before
we head of to Thessaloniki where we will stay for the next 2 nights
Day 17: (B, L) Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki was the second most important city of the Byzantine Empire, next
to Constantinople. We will visit the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki it is
classified amongst the best museums of Greece. We will also visit castles that
were originally built as Thessaloniki’s fortifications in earlier periods where they
were of an absolute necessity for the protection of the city. After lunch we will
make our way to the White Tower which is a round fort near the center of
Thessaloniki city, and then on to Agios Dimitrios Church, which constitute one of
the most significant Christian monuments and largest Greek Church, we may
also have a few surprises along the way.
Day 18: (B, L, D) Thessaloniki to Volos
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Today we have to leave Thessaloniki, to return to Athens, but on the way we will
stay over at Volos, which is famous for the best sea food. Here we will have
dinner and stay the night, to make our journey to Athens more enjoyable.
Day 19: (B, L) Volos – Athens
We depart Volos today to head back to Athens, where we can enjoy some
relaxation for the rest of the day.
Day 20: (B, L) Athens
Today we will have an unforgettable day tirp to Aegina Island, where according
to the Greek mythology; Aegina was named after a goddess bearing the very
same name. Zeus, the king of the gods, fell in love with her and abducted her.
Before her arrival to the island, it was known as Inoni, Inona or Inopiia. Zeus
and Aegina’s son, Aeacus, was banished to Aegina by Zeus’ wife, the jealous
goddess, Hera. Aeacus was the grandfather of Achilles, the demigod, the
legendary warrior in the Trojan War, according to Homer’s Iliad. Aeacus (in this
version) had prayed to Zeus to populate his land after a terrible plague, a wish
which Zeus granted him. Thus, the Myrmidons (“ant-people” in Greek), were
Aegina’s first residents
Day 21 and 22: (B) in transit to New Zealand
Sadly we have to leave the Greek Gods behind and return to New Zealand
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