1st DAY : ATHENS AIRPORT – ATHENS
Arrive at Athens airport, transfer at hotel and overnight.
2nd DAY : ATHENS WALKING CITY TOUR WITH ACROPOLIS.
Breakfast at hotel.
The tour begins in front of the Parliament in Syntagma Square where you will see the Monument of the Unknown Soldier and the change of the famous Guards. A pleasant walk will follow through the National Garden and on to the Zappeion Hall, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Hadrian's Arch. From here you will enter the Plaka area heading to the Acropolis and visit with your guide the Propylaea, the Temple of Nike, and the Parthenon, the monuments that remind us of Glory of Ancient Athens and the Golden Age of Pericles. See also in the surrounding the Athenian Agora, the Observatory, the Hill of Democracy (Pnyx), Mars and Philoppapos Hill, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, and the Theater of Dionysus. At the end of the tour, and since you are so close, do not miss the opportunity to visit on your own the New Acropolis Museum.
N.B : The Entrance Fee (20,00 €) to the Acropolis it is not included in the price
3rd DAY : ONE DAY CRUISE AT 3 SARONIC GOLF ISLANDS (time 08.00 – 19.00)
Breakfast at hotel.
Pick you up from your hotel early in the morning in order to take you by coach to the port for embarkation on the cruise ship. At 08:00 the cruise ship departs and sails for the first stopover on the island of Hydra. You will spend approximately 1 hour, thus you have free time to explore the unique island. Embarkation and sail to the island of Poros, separated from Peloponnese by a narrow strait and offering a most enchanting view of Poros town. Leisure time in Poros will be approximately 60 minutes. After 2 hours trip we shall arrive to the last port, the island of Aegina, where you have time either to make an optional tour visiting the Athena Afea Temple or to swim to the nearest beaches of the island. Total time to be spent 1,5. Lunch is served on board during the voyage. Re-embarkation & sailing back to the port.
Arrive late afternoon & transfer by coach back to your hotel.
4th DAY : PIRAEUS – SANTORINI
Breakfast at hotel.
We pick you up from your hotel early in the morning in order to transfers you at the port of Piraeus, embarkation at boat 07.25 sail to island Santorini. Arrive at 14.50, transfer to hotel, check in, free time & overnight.
5th DAY : SANTORINI
Breakfast, free time and overnight at hotel.
Discover the island with optional tour.
OPTIONAL VOLCANO, HOT SPRINGS & SUNSET ON BOARD (starts 15:30 from the old port)
A peaceful romantic trip with the essence of a cruise to be unforgettable is the below excursion. It departs from the old port of Fira at 15:30 with a wooden sailing boat. After a short trip of 10 minutes it reaches the small port of Nea Kameni , where the active volcano is. Your time there is for about 1 hour & 15 minutes where you can walk up and visit this wild landscape with the different volcanic rocks and the active craters of the volcano, where there is still smoke coming out and keenly smells sulfur. To continue , the boat will depart for the island of Palaia Kameni , where the hot springs are located. Inside the small bay of Agios Nikolaos the water temperature is 30-35 degrees Celsius but it constantly mixes with seawater. The boat stays for about 30 minutes , enough time since there is no beach , but you have to climb down a ladder of the boat into the sea and swim a distance of about 30 meters to the interior of the small bay , where the mud baths are. After swimming at the hot springs the boat will start a sail around the caldera where you can take magnificent pictures of the landscape and the houses that literally hang on the edge of the cliff , in combination with the beautiful colors of the
sunset. On a wooden boat with sails , listening to nice music and enjoying a glass of local wine. After the sunset the boat returns back to the old port of Fira.
6th DAY : SANTORINI
OPTIONAL MONASTERY OF PROPHET ELIAS, PYRGOS VILLAGE, VOLCANO, HOT SPRINGS, THIRASIA, SUNSET
This bus tour takes us to the Center of the island and on the highest point where you will visit the hidden gems of the area. 1st stop of the tour is the 16th century Monastery of Prophet Elias which was built on the highest point of the Island 550 meters above sea level. From there you will have a panoramic view of the whole island and it is breathtaking!!! After Prophet Elias we will continue to the village of Pyrgos, with its Cycladic architecture, Byzantine churches and a Venetian Castle. The village is one of the highest points of the Island and the View is amazing overlooking the North West part of Santorini. From Pyrgos we continue to Athinios where we board the boat King Thiras. Our first stop with King Thiras boat will be the Volcanic Island of Nea Kameni where we walk up the ascending soil path and approach the crater of the still active Volcano to reach the crater. After reaching the crater you walk down the dirt path to the boat to continue our journey to the Island of Palea Kameni where the boat will stop around 50 meters from the opening and you can swim in the green sulphur waters of the hot springs, wet your feet or just enjoy the view. The journey continues after the hot springs to Thirassia Island which was once part of Santorini before the big Explosion of the Volcano. There you will stay for 2 hours and you will have the opportunity to do some activities like swimming on the beach of Thirassia, have lunch next to the Sea or just explore the Village of Manolas with its winding steps and traditional houses. King Thiras brings us then to the port of Amoudi underneath Oia where you will walk up the steps to reach Oia in order to enjoy one of the most amazing sunsets in the world. The tour ends 30 minutes after the sunset when you will gather at the pickup point in Oia where the bus will be waiting to bring you back to the point where you started from.
7th DAY : SANTORINI - PIRAEUS
Breakfast at hotel.
We pick you up from your hotel in order to transfer you at the port of Santorini embarkation at boat 15.30 sail back to Piraeus. Arrive at 23.15, transfer to hotel, check in & overnight.
8th DAY : ATHENS - ATHENS AIRPORT
Breakfast at hotel, transfer to Athens airport for fly back home
*** CITY TOUR OF ATHENS CAN BE ALSO BE BY BUS WITH FOLLOWING DETAILS***
ATHENS CITY TOUR (time 09.00 – 13.00)
Breakfast at hotel, then city tour of Athens. This tour gives you an opportunity to observe the striking contrasts that make Athens such a fascinating city. Our expert guides will take you to see the Panathenaic Stadium where the 1st Olympic Games of modern times were held in 1896 (short stop).
Then we pass by the Prime Minister's residence (ex Royal Palace) guarded by the Euzones in their colorful uniform, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Hadrian's Arch, the Parliament and the memorial to the Unknown Soldier, the Academy, the University, the National Library, the Constitution Square (Syntagma).
On the Acropolis visit the Architectural Masterpieces of the Golden Age of Athens: The Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and finally "the harmony between material and spirit", the monument that "puts order in the mind", the Parthenon. Return to hotel, free time and overnight.