The only way to visit Ancient Olympia in a day is by hiring a self-driven car, hiring a taxi, or, taking our day trip.
With the extra expense of a local tour guide, experience a 3 hours guided tour in the ancient site and the archaeological museum, and, on your own, in the museum of the ancient Olympic Games.

– Starting from your lodging at 06.45 am, we stop at Corinth canal (photo-stop), and arrive at Olympia at 10.45 am.
– Meet the tour guide (recommended) and with her, visit the archaeological museum, and the  ancient site.
– When you finish the sightseeing, relax having lunch in the peaceful setting of the modern Olympia town, and
– At +/- 16.00 start the return trip and arrive in Athens before 20.00.

In the ancient site, the stadium, and the Olympia Museum, there is so much to see, that visitors should give themselves at least half a day to explore and experience ancient Olympia.
_________________________________________________________________________

Prices in euro, per person

The trip is costly and this is the reason that there is no price for 2 passengers. Persuade one or more friends to join you and share the cost of this day trip.
The price includes: transportation and tolls. The entrance fees and the lunch mentioned are not included and are paid locally.
A local professional tour guide can be arranged for an extra fee.

• Bookings 3 -1 days before departure CAN BE DONE ONLY IN OUR OFFICE (48 Stadiou str. near Omonia square).
• In order to book the tour you must fill and submit the booking form found in the top menu of this website.
• Plan a 2-day trip combining ancient Olympia with the Venetian town of Nafplion, Homer’s Mycenae and the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus, or, with the lakes of Polylimnio, Navarino, and Ancient Messene, an archaeological site generally accepted as the most beautiful site in Greece. We suggest hotels for you to choose.

Visit a similar One-day tour to Olympia and compare services and prices.

The minibus seats 9 passengers in 3 rows of seats.

Listen to Prof. Hale’s excellent lecture, and include Olympia in your itinerary.

Olympia became the most important religious and athletic center in Greece and must be included in everybody’s itinerary. The only way to visit Ancient Olympia on a day trip is by hiring a self-driven car or a taxi, or by taking our private day trip, preferably with the extra expense of a local guide.

Ancient Olympia, the Acropolis of Athens, and the Oracle of Delphi are 3 sites that the services of a professional tour guide are appreciated. There are a lot of myths and interesting stories about Olympia and the Olympic Games that the tour guide will talk about.
The professional tour guide will speak about:
* The four Pan-Hellenic Games, (the Games at Olympia were one of them. The other three were, the Isthmian, the Pythian, and the Nemean Games).
* Ancient Olympia was not a city as such. It was only the sanctuary, the stadium, the sports facilities, the VIP hostel, and the administration buildings,
* The city that was responsible for the organization of the ancient Olympic Games was ILIS, +/- 30kms from Olympia,
* The temple of Zeus, that housed one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the statue of Zeus, made by the Pheidias.
* The structures in the “sacred” sanctuary were dedicated to the gods, except the Philippeion and the villa of Nero.
* The Zannes, being the statues of the cheaters. (Emperor Nero was the biggest cheater of the ancient Olympic Games).
* The amazing organization of the ancient Olympic Games, similar and even better than today’s organization.
* The females had their own Games. They called them Heraia Games and were organized in favour of goddess Hera, Zeus’ wife, and sister.
* Learn the story of Kallipateira, the mother that disguised herself as a man in order to watch her son competing and winning in the Games.
* The story of Kinishka, the tomboy Spartan princess, a chariot owner, that became the first female Olympic winner.
* The lighting of the Olympic flame and the torch relay celebrated every year (summer, winter, youth Olympics, etc.).
* Following the Baron’s last wish, his heart was buried at Olympia, at the base of the monument in the I.O.A. grounds.
* The emblems (the five Olympic rings) of the modern Olympic Games, revived by Baron Pierre De Coubertin.

The ancient Olympic Games started about 3000 years ago, when Hippodamia, daughter of the local King, Oenomaus, fell in love and married Pelops. Pelops, a local hero, decided to name the whole peninsula after his name and called it Peloponnesus (= Pelop’s island). However only in 776 BC, the first Olympic Games win was recorded, and that year marks the first Olympiad. Since then, every four years the Olympic Games were held attracting athletes of Greek origin from all the Greek city States. A month before the opening ceremony, until a month after the closing day of the games, the Olympic truce was in effect and all hostilities were suspended, for the spectators to visit Olympia and return safely from Olympia to their city-states. At Olympia, the victors’ prize was an olive branch wreath.

The first recorded win in the ancient Olympic Games was in 776 B.C. and since then, the Games were held, between August 6 and September 19, every four years for over 1000 years, devoted to Zeus. The four years period between two Olympic Games was called an Olympiad and was used as a meter of chronology. The spirit of sport and friendly rivalry was the ideal of these Olympic games. The “Olympic truce”, that is the ceasing of fighting in the whole Greek world for as long as the Olympic games were on, was strictly observed with one or two exceptions. The Spartans in 420 BC were excluded from the games on the ground of truce breaking. In 426 BC emperor Theodosius II ordered the destruction of the temples and the Altis was burnt.
Taking part in the Games was a great honour for the athlete and his native city. The athletes were men of Greek origin that had not committed the crime of sacrilege(had done something unholy). The athletes competed nude. Women were forbidden to watch the games, with the exception of the priestess of goddess Demeter. Violation of this rule was punishable by death. According to Pausanias, the only time this rule was broken and the death sentence was not carried out, was the case of Kallipateira, daughter of the Olympic winner Diagoras of Rhodes, who came to the stadium disguised as the trainer to encourage her son Peisidorus who was taking part in the games. In her enthusiasm for his victory jumping over the trainers’ enclosure wall, her chiton fell down revealing her feminity. The Hellanodikai spared her life out of respect to her family, the Diagorides, who had three generations of Olympic winners: her father Diagoras, her brothers Eukleas and Kallianaktas nad her son Peisidorus. This incident was the reason for passing the law, which compelled the trainers to attend the stadium naked, like the athletes.

Organization of the Games.
The highest dignitaries of the Games were the 12 Hellanodikai (umpires), responsible for organizing the games and application of the rules. They had the authority to disqualify individuals because of violation of the rules and to impose fines and punish those concerned. They were helped by the alytai( a kind of policeman), the mastigophoroi (whippers), and the ravdouchoi(staff bearers). All of them answered the alytarch(chief of police). Being part of religious ceremonies, there was also, the theokoloi, who conducted the sacrifices, the spondoforoi, assigned to travel throughout the Greek world to announce the Games and the celebrations, the seers that gave prophecies and had special prestige, the priests for special sacrifices, the flute players, the dancers and the head of ceremonies.
Ten months before the beginning of the Games, the Hellanodikai stayed in a special building where they were informed of their duties and learned the rules of the Games. The athletes had to announce to them their participation one year before the Games began. One month before the Games they had to come to Olympia with their trainers in order to prepare themselves.
The Games lasted five days. On the first day, the opening ceremony was carried out. The athletes registered and in front of the Zeus Orkios, they and their trainers took a vow(orkos). They vowed that “they compete fairly and without violating the rules”. The Hellanodikai also took a vow to be honest and fair in their judgments. The second day included horse and chariot races in the hippodrome and the pentathlon. The third day was the most important. It included glorious rites devoted to the worship of Zeus in the morning. There was a large festive procession of priests, athletes, the Hellanodikai, and notables of Ellis and of the other Greek cities. In the afternoon the foot races were held. On the fourth day the so-called heavy events – wrestling, boxing, pankration, and the race in full armour took place. On the fifth and last day, the festive awarding of the prizes was carried out in front of the statue of Zeus. The crowning of the winners took place among the applause, the hymns and songs of the friends and relatives and the celebrations would last until the next morning. The Olympic winner received as a prize an olive tree crown as well as other important prizes in kind and money and the victory gave the athlete great fame during his lifetime and posthumously. A victory ode was written especially for him as well as a statue of the athlete was made. The statue portrayed the ideal of the “good and honest” man. His native city participated in his victory and his proud fellow citizens knocked down part of the city walls through which he made his entry.
The Events: The Olympic Games consisted of 10 events: running, pentathlon, jumping, discus, javelin, wrestling, boxing, pankration, chariot, and horse racing.
The foot – race is the oldest contest that took place in Olympia. The athletes were running nude, in an area around 600 feet (192.27m), called one Stadion. This distance gave its name to the area used for the performance of the event. The stadiums were situated on hillsides or in small valleys, thus enabling the spectators to follow the events. Later and as the crowd of spectators grew, artificial slopes were built and the spectators sat on the ground. The stadium at Olympia had a capacity of 45,000 spectators. There are no records of the achievements of the athletes during Archaic times as there were no means of keeping time.
Pentathlon The pentathlon was a combination of events. It included jumping, running, javelin, discus, and wrestling. The athlete had to combine many qualities and skills of the body.
Jumping Similar to the long jump. The athlete jumped into a pit holding halters in his hands.
Discus An event loved by the Greeks most and known from Homeric poems. A moment of discus throwing is captured in the famous statue of the Discus-thrower, opposite the Panathenaic Stadium, in Athens.
Javelin One of the favorite events of many mythical heroes. We find the “ekevolon” javelin throwing which was judged by the distance the javelin was thrown and the “stohastikon” javelin throwing where the javelin was thrown at a specific target.
Wrestling It is referred to for the first time in Homer’s Labours for Patroclus. One of the pentathlon events but also independent in the Pan-Hellenic games. Even today it is called Greek-Roman wrestling.
Boxing One of the oldest events, as shown by the early reference to the event by Homer and the representation of two children boxing on the mural from Akrotiri in Santorini.
The Pankration A combination of wrestling and boxing, it was considered as the most worthy event for men in the games.
The horse & chariot races Took place in the hippodrome, a space used for the horse races. The horse races comprised of various events and were conducted with horses, chariots, and a quadriga. The most spectacular event was the quadriga race, an event in which the most prominent historic personalities had competed.

Independently of the Olympic games, the HERAIA GAMES, foot races for women only in honour of goddess Hera, was also taking place in Olympia. These games were also held every four years. The women ran having their hair loose, dressed in short tunics. There is a perfect image of a statue in the Athens Archaeological Museum of a girl taking part in the games.

Olympia is still in our lives with the lighting of the flame and the torch relay, ceremonies that every year will bring back memories of this tour.

Despite the damage by the earthquakes and the floods, the site is worth your visit. The setting is magical, making it the most beautiful major site in the Peloponnese. Both, the archaeological museum and the museum of the ancient Games are among the finest in Greece, making your visit to Olympia a must. There is no modern equivalent for ancient Olympia – a religious and at the same time an athletic centre. Men travelled from every part of the ancient World to compete in these Games and the winners became legends. Over 50,000 spectators came to watch the Games every four years and support the athletes.
The area was buried under the alluvial deposits of the two rivers until its discovery in 1852. Since then, millions of people visit Olympia every year and admire its wealth and importance in antiquity. A visit to the original site of the Olympic Games is a moving experience. Running in the original stadium is an unforgettable one.
If your visit to Greece is short and does not allow you to join a longer tour, take our ONE DAY TOUR TO OLYMPIA and visit the huge, but walkable, sacred ancient site.

Ancient Olympia has cultivated ideals. The importance of taking part in the Olympics was a great honour, being an Olympic winner was even greater.
The ancient Greeks visited the sanctuary of Olympia every 4 years. Join one of our tours and visit it once in your lifetime.

The whole region of Olympia is filled with history and beauty, and it is not difficult to imagine the atmosphere of the ancient games so many years ago.
With the Archaeological Museum exhibiting findings from the area, Olympia is generally accepted as one of the most interesting and educational sites you will find in the Peloponnese.

The archaeological site of Ancient Olympia is one of the most popular sites to visit in the Peloponnese. Birthplace to the Olympic Games, and home of the Olympic Flame, Olympia is a site that every visitor to Greece should include in his itinerary.

Join one of the tours below and visit the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia:

• 2 days Argolis (Mycenae, Nafplion, Epidaurus & Olympia)
• 3 days classical tour to Epidaurus, Mycenae, Olympia & Delphi
• 4-day Monday’s special classical tour, o/night in Nafplion
• 5 days Classical tour as above & an extra day to visit Meteora
• 5-day Monday’s special classical tour & Meteora, o/night in Nafplion
• 7-day Grand tour of Greece
• Visit Olympia on the Intercity bus

thetis2017, Grantham, United Kingdom. “One day trip to the archaeological site at Olympia”

Kosta gives excellent value for money. He is highly knowledgeable, caring, and courteous. We shall definitely book another trip with him next year.
_____________________________________________________________________________

GDS_10 Grand Rapids… Re: Astoria Travel

I can highly recommend Astoria Travel and Kosta in particular. He went out of his way to assist my wife and me during our visit to Athens in early May.
First, he got us rates in Athens’s hotels that were significantly lower than any we could book on the web. He gave us excellent advice about what would be open and what would be closed during a national strike on May 7 and booked us for a wonderful one-day cruise that day (at a rate lower than that advertised by other agents).
I had trouble finding someone to take us on a one-day trip to Olympia, Kosta volunteered and drove us there and back. He also accommodated my request to visit the site of the Marathon battlefield-again, driving us personally, explaining the vicinity and the history, and recommending a cafe and several special Greek dishes for lunch.
His English is excellent, he is knowledgeable, highly experienced, and extremely helpful.

HOTELS in NAFPLION: (3* with breakfast), Hotel ELENA or Hotel NAFPLIA
HOTELS at OLYMPIA: (3* with breakfast) Hotel KRONIO, or Hotel NEDA
HOTELS in DELPHI: (3* with breakfast) PARNASSOS, or similar

PRICES: After 60 years organizing tours throughout Greece we have secured the best deals.

Double room, per person, with breakfast

300.00

Entrances to museums / sites are included.

Special discounts: (One option of 5% discount is applicable).
* Persuade a friend, share a triple room with your friend and save 5%
* Persuade your friends, make a team of 5 or more adults and save 5%
* Take advantage of our PAY IN ADVANCE 5% discount (see in the footer)
* Combine it with the 1 day cruise and pay a special price for the package.