Our mobile friendly website www.toursingreece.info
Appropriate clothing is required for everybody that visits the monasteries.
Departures and prices
NOVEMBER-APRIL the 2-day tour to Delphi – Meteora is organized on Wednesdays only.
MAY-OCTOBER the 2-day tour is organized on Mon, Wed, Thu and SELECTED SATURDAYS
3* superior Hotel – DBLB with breakfast = 135 + fees | SGLB = 165 + fees
4* Hotels – DBLB half board = 170 + fees | Single room = 215 + fees
(Thu + Sat) hotel AMALIA | (Mon + Wed) Hotel GRAND METEORA
* Follow the “4 steps to book” in the footer and send us the request. .
THE ABOVE PRICES INCLUDE:
– transportation in modern, air-conditioned buses
– Pick up/drop off from or near your hotel (See the hotel list at the footer of this website).
(This service is from central hotels in Athens. The airport and the Port of Piraeus are not included).
– Entrance fees to the Delphi site and the 2 monasteries that are open on the day that you visit Meteora.
– Short stopover at the monument of the Spartan King Leonidas at THERMOPYLAE
– Services of the professional tour guide all along the tour.
– 1-night accommodation in the hotel of your choice.
– All taxes except the hotel tax of 1.50 € (in 3*) & 3.00 € (in 4*) per room, per night.
NB:Lunch on both days is not included. The bus stops at local restaurants, but the lunch is extra. In Kalambaka, the bus stops at the central square where there are lots of restaurants to choose from.
Copied from a client’s blog:
The tour which I joined was organized by G.O. TOURS. However, I did not book through their website. I booked it through ASTORIA TRAVEL
After browsing through the web, I found that ASTORIA TRAVEL offers the cheapest tour packages in Athens. Initially, I was quite skeptical. How can this tour agent offer such a low price compared to the other travel companies? Is this a scam? Well, it was not a scam and the complimentary arrival transfer was true. I even booked my first two nights in Athens at Hotel Arethusa in Syntagma at a very cheap price through ASTORIA TRAVEL. Read more in the testimonials section…
BEST TOURS: Tour to Sounion 33 € | 1 day Delphi 69 € | 1 day Argolis 69 € | 4 day classical & Meteora | 1 day cruise 110 €
HOW TO BOOK A TOUR | Booking Request | PAY ONLINE | CONTACT US
Places visited
This tour includes two of the most important sites, in mainland Greece. It presents a picture of ancient Greek civilization beginning with the Mycenaeans, the Greek Bronze Age, and continuing through Archaic, Classical, and, to a lesser extent, Hellenistic, and Roman Greece. It provides a glimpse of the spiritual splendor of Byzantine art and architecture.
It is a full itinerary, but the pace is manageable. Plenty of time is available on the sites, allowing time for adequate exposition by the tour guide and time for further exploration on your own.
* The traditional village of Arachova.
* The modern Village of Delphi.
* The sanctuary with the temple of Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi.
* The monument of Leonidas, the Spartan King, in Thermopylae.
* 2 monasteries are visited. One of them is the nunnery of St. Stephen.
* NB. The archaeological museum in Delphi is not visited on this tour.
ORACLE OF APOLLO in DELPHI-the centre of the universe
According to the myth, Zeus released two eagles. One flew east and the other one west. They met over Delphi, determining that the center of the world was there. A temple dedicated to the god Apollo was built there in the 7th c BC. The oracle of Apollo became a religious center where common people and kings alike, came to consult the priestess of the sanctuary.
The ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE consists of the temple of Apollo, the treasury houses, the theatre, and the stadium.
METEORA-THE ART OF NATURE
Beautiful rocks from another world embrace Kalambaka. The monuments are under the protection of UNESCO and are recorded as the second largest Monastic community after the Holy Mountain.
It’s a region of inaccessible sandstone peaks where the monks found protection and settled on these “columns of the sky” since the 10th c. AD. 24 monasteries were built, despite incredible difficulties at the time of the great revival of the monastic ideal in the 15th c. Their 16th c. frescoes mark a key stage in the development of the post-Byzantine painting.
The monasteries at Meteora grew out of the need to avoid Turkish persecution during the occupation in the 14th c. Monks lived in caves in the rocks of Meteora since the 11th c. but the inaccessible peaks provided safety for Greek Orthodox monks. Over time a large number of hermitages and monasteries were built on these rocks, making Meteora the second largest monastic complex in Greece after Mount Athos.
Seeing the beautiful stone structure, surrounded by mist, is enough to make you understand why the monks and nuns selected this area for unceasing prayer. Today, from the many monasteries that existed, only six are open to the public: The monasteries of St. Nicholas Anapafsas, Grand Meteoron, Varlaam, Roussanou, Holy Trinity, and St. Stephan. The Holy Meteora is the most visited religious monument in Greece.
“Here at these barren rocks thousands of orthodox monks learned wisdom, humility, and morals “
Itinerary
DAY 1: The bus starts the pick up at 07.30 am and, traffic allowing, it departs from the terminal in the center of Athens at 08.30 am.
Passing by THEBES (the town of mythical Oedipus), LEVADIA (short restroom stop), and the traditional village of ARACHOVA, you arrive in DELPHI at +/- 11.30 am.
Delphi was considered by the ancient Greeks to be “the center of the universe”. With the professional tour guide, you will explore the legendary site of the Oracle.
13.30 The group proceeds for lunch, and at +/- 14.45 departs via AMPHISSA, LAMIA, and TRIKALA for Kalambaka with a short photo stop at THERMOPYLAE, the site of the famous battle between the 300 Spartans against the huge Persian army in 480 B.C. took place. In antiquity Thermopylae (= hot gates,) was a narrow coastal passage. Its name comes from its hot sulfur springs. “Hot gates” is also “the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades. After a brief rest stop outside Lamia, we shall arrive at your hotel in Kalambaka at +/- 19:00. Overnight.
DAY 2: 08.15 You visit two of the monasteries that are open on that day.
12:30 Return to Kalambaka for lunch and at +/- 14:00 you start the return and arrive in Athens at 19:30.
Time Tour Plan & Services
8:30 Depart from the terminal at +/- 08:30
11:30 After a short break outside Levadia you arrive in Delphi
11:45 With the professional tour guide you visit the sanctuary
13:45 Proceed for lunch at a local restaurant (not included in the price).
15:00 Continue to Kalambaka via Thermopylae (photo stop) and Trikala.
19:15 Arrival in Kalambaka. Check-in at the hotel and (optional) dinner at 19.30
08:15 Depart from the parking of Hotel ORFEAS
09:00 Drive to Meteora and visit 2 monasteries (entrance fees included).
12:00 Have lunch at a local restaurant. (Not included in price)
14:00 Start the return and arrive in Athens at +/- 19:30. Hotel drop off by 20:00
Tour options
Meteora is one of the most beautiful areas of mainland Greece and the monasteries are one of the country’s most unique attractions. Join one of the following tours and visit Meteora.
FAQs
QUESTION: How many hours do we stay at the ancient site in Delphi? ANSWER: You spend 1.30 hours in the ancient site of Delphi.
QUESTION: Is there any free time, or is it all guided? ANSWER: There is free time but I suggest you break from the group as early as possible. The tour doesn’t go to the top of the mountain to see the Delphi stadium.
AT METEORA: You spend about 1 hour in each monastery but there is no need to break early.
Appropriate clothing is required to visit the Monasteries and nunneries. Skirts below the knees for ladies and long trousers for gentlemen.
The monasteries/nunneries provide wrappings that the visitors can wear over their clothing before entering.
FREE TIME: After the guide takes you around, you have enough time to see whatever is left to see.
IN DELPHI the 2-day tour to Meteora meets the 3-day classical tour, and the tour company usually moves guests traveling to Meteora onto another bus and they proceed to Kalambaka and visit Meteora together.
For the 2-day tour to Delphi and Meteora clients: The restaurant in Delphi is 3 km after the modern Delphi village.
Testimonials
littlebluekingfisher, Bangalore, Re: Astoria Travel, Jan 14
My family and I are just back from a wonderful trip to Greece. I’d done some research and bookings before I ran into a brick wall trying to book train tickets to Meteora. Searching around I found a note by another traveller on Tripadvisor, who’d had exactly the same problem and stumbled on Astoria Travel. He’d had a great experience with them and recommended them highly. So I contacted Kosta at Astoria, and am blessing the stars that I did so!
If we had a good, sensibly planned trip in which we saw as much as we could without being run ragged, it was thanks to Kosta. Over the course of several emails, he helped refine my plans; even to the extent of arranging to hire a taxi from Delphi to Levadia railway station to catch the train from there to Kalampaka and not lose a day.
He also arranged our train and ferry tickets (to Santorini) — getting the latter at a cheaper rate than that quoted on the web! I wish we’d done our hotel bookings through him too, as according to people that we met in Greece, he got them good rooms at the hotel that we all stayed at lower than the rates that we were found through www.booking.com
I visited them at their office in Athens. It was impressive to see that Astoria Travel has been in business since 1958, and through experience has been able to attune its services and offerings to a very wide range of traveler needs. Their list of contacts is vast, which worked helpfully in our favor: Kosta just picked up the phone and got a taxi to pick us up at Kalampaka station (paying no more than the normal rates, despite being booked ahead).
Moreover, they are a family-run concern, so their levels of friendliness, personalization of services, and traveler support are several notches higher than what a more impersonal agency could provide.
I would highly recommend Astoria Travel not just for booking tickets, tours, and hotels, but for help and advice in planning your holiday as well. He graduated from a University in South Africa, his English is excellent and he is highly knowledgeable and courteous.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
From: https://travelbunny8.blogspot.com/2016/07/greece-4-days-classical-greece-tour.html
(Visit the excellent blog site, read the description and comments)
If you wish to see the major sights of mainland Ancient Greece including UNESCO-listed ancient sites of Mycenae, Epidaurus, Olympia, Delphi, and Meteora monasteries, then I recommend you to join a 4 Day Classical Greece Tour.
The tour departs from Athens and returns to Athens.
5 UNESCO World Heritage Site in 4 days. I have to warn you that 4 out of the 5 World Heritage sites are in ruins. The tour which I joined was organized by G.O. TOURS. Information about the tour can be found on their website at http://www.gotours.com.gr/en/
However, I did not book through their website. I booked it through ASTORIA TRAVEL http://www.astoria.gr/price-tours-classical-4day.html that can be contacted at athens@astoriatravel.gr. I e-mailed Mr. Kosta and since I booked the tour through him in 4-star hotels, I got a free arrival transfer offer to my hotel. Actually, Kosta himself came to the airport and took us to the hotel.
After browsing through the web, I found that Astoria Travel offers the cheapest tour packages in Athens. Initially, I was quite skeptical. How can this tour agent offer such a low price (20% cheaper) compared to the travel company’s price? Is this a scam? Well, believe it! I even book my first two nights in Athens at Hotel Arethusa (very near Syntagma Square) at a very cheap price through Astoria Travel.
I took the First-Class package as the price difference was not much compared to the Tourist Class package and the complimentary airport transfer sounded attractive. During the tour, some of my fellow travelers took the Tourist Class package. Frankly, I don’t think there was much of a difference compared to the First-Class hotels. In fact, the Tourist Class hotels were located nearer to the town center while the First-Class hotels were located at quieter locations outside the towns providing small luxuries (swimming pools, good dinners, breakfasts, etc.)
After checking into the hotel, you can actually explore the town of Kalampaka, and don’t miss the 9th-century church at Kalampaka. The church is about 15 minutes walk from the hotel.
The tour includes visits to two of the six monasteries of Meteora.
As the tour group was small, we got to know each other pretty quickly.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Singh, Melbourne, posts 60, reviews 8. Re: Astoria Travel
Just came back from 2 days Delphi and Meteora tour arranged by Kosta. He gives such good service with fast replies and the issuing of vouchers. Kosta gives excellent value for money. He is highly knowledgeable, caring, and courteous. Very trustworthy. There were 6 of us going on the tour and on the morning of the tour, he personally came by and made sure we got on the tour! Great discount for the tour and we did save €’s by booking with him rather than directly with a tour company or Viator. On the bus, we met and became good friends with a couple that bought their tour from Viator and we could compare prices and services for the same tour in the same hotel. Kosta gives excellent value for money. He is highly knowledgeable, caring, and courteous. His English is excellent, he is very experienced, extremely helpful, and proud of Greek history and Greek culture.
contact us
Astoria Travel (est. 1958)
48 Stadiou street, Athens 10564, Greece.
Tel. +302103250380, +306932888585.
SEND your message to: bookings@astoriatravel.gr
In the footer of this website, you find the “4 steps to make a booking”. If our offer sounds interesting, send us the booking request.
prices
NOVEMBER-APRIL The 2-day tour is organized on Wednesdays, only.
MAY-OCTOBER the 2-day tour operates on Mon, Wed, Thu and SELECTED SATURDAYS
No 2-day tour departs from Athens on TUESDAYS.
Clients that want to combine 1-day Nafplion and 2-day Delphi + Meteora,
travel to Nafplion on Monday, return to Athems and travel to Meteora on Wed.
*Delphi Entrance fees: NOV-MAR 8 € per person, APR-OCT 15 € p.p. must be added.
3* Superior – DBLB = 135 € | SGLB=165 € p.p with breakfast. Dinner = 15 € extra
4* Hotel AMALIA or GRAND METEORA – half board, double=170 € | Single=215 €
(Thu + Sat) hotel AMALIA | (Mon + Wed) Hotel GRAND METEORA
* Follow the “Book a tour”found in the footer. Send us your request
INCLUDED :
– transportation in modern busses
– Pick up/drop off near your hotel in central Athens.
(hotel list at the footer of website, airport and Port of Piraeus are not included).
– Entrance fees to 2 monasteries, open on the day that you visit Meteora.
– Short stopover at the monument of the Spartan King Leonidas at THERMOPYLAE
– Services of the professional tour guide all along the tour.
– 1-night hotel accommodation in the hotel of your choice.
– breakfast in the hotels.
NOT INCLUDED :
– Lunch on both days. The bus stops near restaurants but the lunch is extra.
– The hotel tax of 3.00 € (in 4* hotels) per room, per night.
Appropriate clothing is required for everybody that visits the monasteries.
For men: Sleeveless clothing and shorts over the knees are not allowed, and
For ladies: Skirts below the knees are required.
NB:The bus stops at local restaurants, but the lunch is extra. In Kalambaka, the bus stops at the central square where there are lots of restaurants to choose from.
FOLLW THE STEPS TO BOOK A TOUR | REQUEST FOR TOUR DETAILS | CONTACT US
Highlights
This tour includes two of the most important sites, in mainland Greece. It presents a picture of ancient Greek civilization beginning with the Mycenaeans, the Greek Bronze Age, and continuing through Archaic, Classical, and, to a lesser extent, Hellenistic, and Roman Greece. It provides a glimpse of the spiritual splendor of Byzantine art and architecture.
It is a full itinerary, but the pace is manageable. Plenty of time is available on the sites, allowing time for adequate exposition by the tour guide and time for further exploration on your own.
* The traditional village of Arachova.
* The modern Village of Delphi.
* The sanctuary with the temple of Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi.
* The monument of Leonidas, the Spartan King, in Thermopylae.
* 2 monasteries are visited. One of them is the nunnery of St. Stephen.
Itinerary
DAY 1: The bus starts the pick up at 07.30 am and, traffic allowing, it departs from the terminal in the center of Athens at 08.30 am.
Passing by THEBES (the town of mythical Oedipus), LEVADIA (short restroom stop), and the traditional village of ARACHOVA, you arrive in DELPHI at +/- 11.30 am.
Delphi was considered by the ancient Greeks to be “the center of the universe”. With a professional tour guide, you will explore the legendary site of the Oracle.
13.30 The group proceeds for lunch, and at +/- 14.45 departs via AMPHISSA, LAMIA, and TRIKALA for Kalambaka with a short photo stop at THERMOPYLAE, the site of the famous battle between the 300 Spartans against the huge Persian army in 480 B.C. took place. In antiquity Thermopylae (= hot gates,) was a narrow coastal passage. Its name comes from its hot sulfur springs. “Hot gates” is also “the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades. After a brief rest stop outside Lamia, we shall arrive at your hotel in Kalambaka at +/- 19:00. Overnight.
DAY 2: 08.15 After breakfast you will visit a local art studio.
You continue and visit two of the monasteries that are open on that day.
12:30 Return to Kalambaka for lunch and at +/- 14:00 you start the return and arrive in Athens at 19:30.
Time Tour Plan & Services
8:30 Depart from the terminal at +/- 08:30
11:30 After a short break outside Levadia you arrive in Delphi
11:45 With the professional tour guide you visit the sanctuary
13:45 Proceed for lunch at a local restaurant (not included in the price).
15:00 Continue to Kalambaka via Thermopylae (photo stop) and Trikala.
19:15 Arrival in Kalambaka. Check-in at the hotel and (optional) dinner at 19.30
08:15 Depart from the parking of Hotel ORFEAS and visit an icon exhibition
09:00 Drive to Meteora and visit 2 monasteries (entrance fees included).
12:00 Have lunch at a local restaurant. (Not included in price)
14:00 Start the return and arrive in Athens at +/- 19:30. Hotel drop off by 20:00
SEE ALL THE TOURS that visit Meteora in guided tours.
For real pleasure, combine walking and touring between the monasteries. Give yourselves an extra day to explore Meteora on your own. The sight of the Meteora is a unique spectacle and experience, but walking on the well-marked paths, between the rocks, is breathtaking. One morning in Kalambaka is not enough. Spend an extra night there, wake up early and go for a walk. Experience and observe the local flora and fauna, join the optional “sunset” tour and you will remember Meteora forever.
Days & Prices
Organized April-October,
Depart Wednesday with a group and a tour guide, you visit the ancient site in Delphi and spend the night in Kalambaka. Thursday in Kalambaka, you explore Meteora on your own. Friday, you join another group and with the professional tour guide, you visit 2 monasteries that are open on Fridays and return to Athens at +/- 19:30 .
PRICES: Organizing tours throughout Greece since 1958, we have secured the best deals in all aspects of travel. Our prices, per adult, are:
1) Share a room with your partner, 2 nights, 2 breakfasts=148+15 entrance fees
2) 2 nights in a single room, 2 breakfasts=200+15 entrance fees
In Kalambaka we use the 4* “Hotel KOSTA FAMISI”.
The prices include:
– transportation on modern air-conditioned buses
– Pickup / drop off from or near your lodging. (See the list of hotels in the footer of this page).
(This service is from hotels in Athens. The airport and the Port of Piraeus are not included).
– The services of a professional tour guide on Wed & Friday. Thursday you are on your own.
– Hotel accommodation in single/double rooms with BREAKFAST.
– The entrance to the ancient site of Delphi (April-Oct = 15 €)
– The entrance tickets to the two monasteries visited.
Not included:
– Hotel accommodation tax is paid by clients to the hotels: 4* hotels=3 € per room/per night.
OFFERS and DISCOUNTS (only one discount allowed – the higher one):
a) 5% TRIPLE ROOM DISCOUNT: Share a room with another two of your friends and gain 5%.
– Read the “4 Steps 2 book” link in the footer of this page and start the communication.
– Bookings must be made 10 days before departure. Requests under 10 days are considered last-minute and last-minute bookings are not accepted.
– In the footer of the website you also see our location, contact information, and working days/hours.
Copied from a client’s Blogspot:
The tour which I joined was organized by G.O. TOURS. Information about the tour can be found on their website at http://www.gotours.com.gr/en/
However, I did not book through their website. I booked it through ASTORIA TRAVEL https://astoriatravel.gr/
After browsing through the web, I found that ASTORIA TRAVEL offers the cheapest tour packages in Athens. Initially, I was quite sceptical. How can this tour agent offer such a low price (30% cheaper) compared to the travel company’s price? Is this a scam? Well, believe it! It was not a fraud. I even booked my first two nights in Athens at Hotel Arethusa (next to Syntagma Square) at an unbelievably cheap price through ASTORIA TRAVEL.
Useful links: 4 STEPS 2 BOOK / booking-form / Send us a message
Highlights
DELPHI-the centre of the universe
Delphi was the most sacred place in the ancient world and thousands of pilgrims, from kings and philosophers to common people, came to hear the prophecies of the Oracle and to watch and compete in the Pythian Games, like the Olympics, which was organized in Delphi. The archaeological site is one of the best in Greece with ancient temples and shrines placed on the slopes of Mt Parnassus, making Delphi one of the best places to visit all year round. It is a 2.30 hr drive from Athens.
According to the myth, Zeus released two eagles. One flew east and the other one west. They met over Delphi, determining that the centre of the world was there. A temple dedicated to the god Apollo was built there in the 7th c BC. The Oracle of Apollo became a religious centre where common people and kings alike, came to consult the priestess of the sanctuary.
The archaeological site consists of the temple of Apollo, the treasury houses, the theatre, AND the stadium, while the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia consists of the best-known landmark – the “tholos”, a circular structure with 3 of its original 20 Doric columns restored, the gymnasium and the sports facilities, used for training during the “Pythian Games”.
Today, next to the archaeological site, there is an impressive museum, displaying findings from the local excavations, which started in 1892. The highlights are offerings by the oracle visitors, such as the famous Charioteer, the statue of Antinoos, the two “kouros” statues, the “omphalos”, the sculptured stone that represented the navel of the world, and many others.
METEORA-the art of nature
In a region of inaccessible sandstone peaks, monks found protection and settled on these “columns of the sky” from the 10th c. onwards. 24 monasteries were built, despite incredible difficulties, at the time of the great revival of the monastic ideal in the 15th c. Their 16th c. fresco marks a key stage in the development of post-Byzantine painting.
More than a million people visit the area of Meteora every year and admire this “unique” natural phenomenon.
The huge rocks of Meteora formed millions of years ago, a mixture of sandstone, pebbles and hard gravel. These mountain pillars are extraordinary, with horizontal stripes and strange shapes, reaching 600 m tall. The art of Nature; a rocky forest. Meteora has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and since 1995 the Hellenic government declared it a ” sacred area”, belonging to everybody and protected from any change or interference. What makes them even more remarkable are the exquisite monasteries, built by hermits during the 9th c. AD, at the pinnacles of the rocks. For centuries these towers of sandstone provided cliff-top retreats for the monks.
Useful links: 4 STEPS 2 BOOK / booking-form / Send us a message
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE TOUR
1st DAY: Depart at 08.30 from Athens and drive via THEBES (the town connected with legendary Oedipus), LEVADIA (shortstop) and ARACHOVA, the group arrives in DELPHI at 11.30 am. With the tour guide, you visit the sanctuary of Apollo, and the archaeological museum, located near the site.
13.30 break up for lunch at a restaurant outside the modern Delphi town, and at 15.00 proceed after a short stop at THERMOPYLAE, the area where the Spartan king LEONIDAS and his 300 soldiers fought the Persians in 480 BC you arrive in Kalambaka, at +/- 19.00. Overnight in Hotel KOSTA FAMISI.
2nd DAY: Today you are free to explore the area of Meteora. Start in the morning hiking on the path towards Holy Trinity and St. Stephen. When you get up there, sit at the edge of one of the rocks, and let your mind travel a million years back. Imagine that you get your foot in the water of a huge lake. A lake covers the whole valley. Look at the horizon and imagine the lake drying gradually, recovering all this natural beauty in front of you. This is the most probable example of how all these were created. You are in front of a geological phenomenon universally unique, where words like admire, unexplainable, and impressing which we usually find in many writings can describe its size only to one point.
Follow the same path for your return or walk on the asphalt road back to Kalampaka. Relax in one of the cafeterias and when you recover, walk to Kastraki and find the cave dwellings at Badovas. Here is where everything started. Here, you will see old hermitages, original cloisters, and monasteries built in the caves.
You haven’t finished yet. Walk inside the old town of Kalambaka and find the old Byzantine church. It’s the most important monument of Kalambaka. Another “must-do” is to take the optional “Sunset Tour”, visit one monastery (usually the Rousanou) and capture beautiful sunset photos. Return to the hotel overnight.
Local tours: “Afternoon Sunset tour”, “Morning 4-hour tour” or “4 hours hiking tour”. The special price is 20 € for either one.
3rd DAY: After breakfast, meet and join the group and on the bus this time, drive to the METEORA and visit 2 of the monasteries that are open on that day. One of them is St. Stephen (the only one with easy access).
Return to Kalambaka for lunch, and after lunch, you say farewell to mystical Meteora and start the return to Athens. Arrive in Athens, +/- 19.30.
itinerary
DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY: The bus departs from the terminal at +/- 08.30
Passing from THEBES, LEVADIA (shortstop) and the village of ARACHOVA, you arrive in DELPHI,
the famous “Temple-Bank”, at 11.30. Delphi was considered by the ancient Greeks and the Romans as “the centre of the universe”.
With a professional tour guide, you will explore the legendary site of the Oracle band and the nearby archaeological museum.
13.30 The group proceeds for lunch, and at +/- 15,00 departs via THERMOPYLAE, the place where the famous battle between the Spartan King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan soldiers against the huge Persian army of Xerxes 480 B.C. took place (Shortstop), LAMIA (stop for restroom), KARDITSA and TRIKALA for KALAMBAKA. Arrival at +/- 19:00, and overnight in hotel KOSTA FAMISSI.
DAY 2 – THURSDAY: This is the extra day. You are free to explore the area.
Wake up early to experience the surrounding terrace, the flora, and the fauna of the area.
We suggest that in the morning you explore the area on your own, using a local bus (May-October), to visit the monasteries, or hire our taxi driver, or do an easy hiking trip.
In the afternoon, take the optional “SUNSET TOUR”. Our pre-booked price is 20 € per person. The tour bus will pick you up from the hotel at +/- 15.30 and you will be back at +/- 20.00.
DAY 3 – FRIDAY: After breakfast, at +/- 08:15, meet the bus behind your hotel, join a new group, drive to the METEORA, and visit two of the monasteries that are open on Fridays. One of them is the monastery of St. Stephen, the only monastery easily accessible.
+/- 12:00 Return to Kalambaka for lunch and after lunch, you return to Athens arriving at +/- 19.30.
Time Tour Plan & Services
08:30 Hotel pick up starts from 07.30 Depart from the terminal in Athens at +/- 08:30
11:30 After a short break near Levadia, arrive in modern Delphi village
11:45 With the professional tour guide, visit the ancient sanctuary site. Entrance fees are added.
13:45 Lunch at a local restaurant, outside the modern village of Delphi. (Optional).
15:00 Via Thermopylae (shortstop), Lamia (stop), Karditsa & Trikala, you proceed to Kalambaka
18:30 Arrive in Kalambaka and at 19:30 check into the hotel of your choice.
09:00 Today you are free to explore Meteora. Do your hiking exercise and visit GRAND METEORO.
16:00 Take the optional “Sunset Tour” and capture beautiful sunset memories. (Optional tour)
09:00 After breakfast, with a new group, visit 2 monasteries. Entrance fees are included.
12:00 Lunch at a local restaurant. (Not included in price).
14:00 Start the return to Athens and arrive in Athens at +/- 19:30. Hotel drop off by 20:00
contact us
Astoria Travel (est. 1958)
48 Stadiou Street, Athens 10564, Greece.
Tel. +302103250380, +306932888585.
Click here and send us a message
All options
In the footer of this website, you find the “4 steps to make a booking”. SEND US THE BOOKING FORM. Without the booking form, we cannot make your booking.