The Best of Greece

Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to start exploring the Greek capital with the help of the CosmosGO app. Later, meet your Local Host.

A day to relax and discover Athens at leisure. In the evening, free time to enjoy the lively atmosphere of the tavernas and nightclubs in the old Plaka district with its narrow streets and sound of bouzouki music. (B)

Join the included guided tour of Athens, featuring the highlights of this ancient capital with a visit to the Acropolis. Cross the Corinth canal, a project conceived in ancient Greece but only completed in 1893, and head for the coast to the picturesque seaside town of Nauplia. Today's Distance: 90 mi/ 145 km (B)

This morning, stop in Epidaurus, located in the hilly countryside dotted with pine trees and oleanders. In this magnificent setting, visit the ancient open-air theatre, which can still seat 14,000 spectators. Later, enjoy the included guided excursion to the archaeological site and museum of Mycenae, with the imposing ruins of the great city that dominated the eastern Mediterranean world from the 15th to the 12th century B.C. It played a vital role in the development of classical Greek culture and is linked to the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Travel into the Peloponnese to Sparta, where history hangs between reality and legend. Today's Distance: 126 mi/ 202 km (B/D)

Enjoy the included visit of the medieval Byzantine citadel of Mystra, at one time known as the “Florence of the East.” Before arriving in Olympia, visit an olive oil museum. Today's Distance: 99 mi/ 160 km (B/D)

Explore Olympia, where the athletes of antiquity performed as a tribute to the king of deities, Zeus. Spend free time in this pretty town or join an optional excursion to explore this birthplace of the first Olympic Games. Later, drive north to Patras, the capital of the Peloponnese and the west coast's largest port. Continue by crossing the spectacular Rion-Antirion bridge, through the picturesque fishing villages along the south coast of the mainland to legendary Delphi. Today's Distance: 134 mi/ 215km (B)

Enjoy free time in town or join an optional morning sightseeing tour of the archaeological site in Delphi, where the oracle of Apollo spoke in the omphalos, the 'navel of the world'. Blending harmoniously with the superb landscape and charged with sacred meaning, Delphi in the 6th century B.C. was indeed the religious hub and symbol of unity of the ancient Greek world. On to Kalambaka. Today's Distance: 143 mi/ 230 km (B/D)

Discover Meteora, a cluster of spectacular Christian-Orthodox monasteries perched in an unforgettable manner on a set of rising rock formations. They were originally built by hermit monks living in caves carved into the rocks. Your included visit is certainly the day's highlight. Continue south to Athens. Today's Distance: 224 mi/ 360 km (B)

Spend a full day at leisure exploring the unseen parts of the city, doing last-minute shopping, or visiting a museum. Tonight, it's all Greek with an optional dinner of local specialties served to the sound of bouzouki and the rhythmic dance moves of sirtaki. (B)

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)