2 day tour (Private tour)
Athens - Delphi - Olympia - Corinth Canal - Athens
This is a tour for those of you that do not have much time to spend out of Athens but still want to see as many of the Greek highlights as possible.
Combine two of the most famous Greek archaeological sites, Delphi and Olympia, and drive through some of the most picturesque and historical parts of the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese.
Day 1: Your private vehicle and driver will come and pick you up from your hotel in Athens and you will start driving north out of it. That is where the area of Marathon still lies and where one of the most important battles of the Medic wars was fought in 490 BC. On your way to Delphi your driver will comment about the most important places you will drive by. Once in Delphi, you will meet your tour guide who will offer you locally a guided tour of the museum in which one can see among other archeological treasures, the unique bronze statue of the charioteer. Then proceed though the sacred way to the Athenian treasury, the stoa of Athens, the temple of Apollo, where the oracle was and the theater. On your way down you can stop and drink water from the ancient sacred Kastalia spring, where all visitors would get purified, before entering the Oracle. Nearby lies the ancient gymnasium and the site of Athena Pronaia. After your guided tour in Delphi, you will have lunch in Delphi before starting your drive towards Olympia. As you descend from mount Parnassus, you will pass the largest olive grove in Greece next to the city of Itea. Then you will continue your drive along the Corinthian gulf coastline and reach the historical city of Nafpaktos where you can have a short coffee stop. In the waters of Nafpaktos the famous battle of Lepando between the fleets of the Ottoman Turks and the Christian Alliance was fought. There you can admire the well preserved Venetian fortification of the small port and the statue of the famous Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, who also participated in the battle there. Continuing your drive you will cross one of the largest suspension bridges in the world that connects the mainland to the Peloponnese and then driving through the large and lush valley of Elis you will get to Olympia, where you will spend the night.
Day 2: After breakfast, you will finally be able to admire the unique and serene landscape of the Olympia land, surrounded by several hills, filled with pine trees. Then you will enjoy a private guided tour through the site-birthplace of the Olympic Games, where still lie the ancient gymnasiums, the temple of Zeus and Hera and the stadium. A few meters away from the site is where you will visit one of the most impressive museums in the world, since it houses the originals pediments of the temple of Zeus and Hermes by Praxiteles. After your tour you will have a short stop at the modern town of Olympia and then continue your journey back to Athens. The drive to Athens is approximately 4 hours through the highway and the mountains to the other side of the Peloponnese. If you do not mind driving very windy roads you can also take the old road across so that you make stops by the picturesque mountain villages like Lagadia or Dimitsana, for coffee or lunch. On the way a stop by the famous Corinthian Canal or else Isthmus that unites the Ionian and the Aegean Sea will be made, for pictures and coffee. The Corinth Canal is approximately one hour drive from Athens where you will be dropped off at your hotel or the airport.
