Pre-Cruise Packages

• 1 nt Before, Athens Discovery
• 2 nt Before, Athens Discovery
• 3 nt Before, Athens Discovery

Post-Cruise Packages

• 1 nt After, Athens Uncovered
• 2 nt After, Athens Uncovered
• 3 nt After, Athens Uncovered

Itinerary

Day 1, Athens arrival

Upon arrival into Athens airport you will be greeted outside customs and immigration with signage by our local representative. You will be taken to your hotel for check-in, rest and relaxation for the rest of the day.

Overnight in Athens.

Day 2, Athens departure, The Acropolis & New Acropolis Museum

Following a leisurely morning, you will be met in the lobby of your accommodation by our local expert. We strongly advise departing early for the Acropolis of Athens to avoid the large crowds and long queues.

The acropolis still dominates the Athens skyline and was an important site as early as the Bronze Age, when it housed a Mycenaean citadel. For thousands of years the Acropolis has been the symbol of Athens, the sacred rock, the link that connects the magnificent ancient civilization with the modern. On the hill of the Acropolis you will see the masterpieces of: Parthenon, Propylea, Temple of Athena Nike, Erechtheion & The Cariatides, Ariopagus (Mars Hill), Herodion Theater and the Theater of Dionysus.

Continue with a pleasant, short walk passing by Herodion and Dionysos Theater, in order to visit the new Acropolis Museum. Enjoy your time inside the New Acropolis Museum which offers main attractions such as: votives, artifacts of everyday life, statues from the Archaic Period, Caryatids and of course the Parthenon hall with the metopes, the pediments and the frieze which will all impress you. It is designed in a way that allows visitors to see all the exhibits in natural light and incorporates a number of on-site excavations including a large urban settlement dated from the Archaic to Early Christian Athens.

On our way to the port, we will see the Panathenaic Stadium where the first Olympic Games of modern times were held in 1896 (short stop). Continue and 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).

At the conclusion of our tour, we will make our way to the the Port of Piraeus for check-in to your cruise ship.

(Duration of tour is approximately 5hrs)

Meals: B

Discovery Option 2

Itinerary

Day 1, Athens arrival

Upon arrival into Athens airport you will be greeted outside customs and immigration with signage by our local representative. You will be taken to your hotel for check-in, rest and relaxation for the rest of the day.

Overnight in Athens.

Day 2, Athens departure, Cape Sounion

Following a leisurely morning, you will be met in the lobby of your accommodation by our local expert.

Take a wonderful drive along the scenic coastal road which affords a splendid view of the Saronic Gulf, passing through some of Athens most beautiful suburbs (Glyfada, Vouliagmeni, and Varkiza) to Cape Sounion where you will visit the 5th Century B.C. Temple of Poseidon.

Cape Sounion is noted as the site of ruins of the ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea. Here you will find one of the most breathtaking panoramic views in the world. On a clear day, you can see at least seven islands. The precipice is a sheer 197 foot drop to the sea.

There were two ancient temples on this site, one dedicated to Athena (of which only the foundations remain) and the other the famous one to Poseidon. From this jutting headland, there is a panoramic view of the surrounding Aegean islands. Nearby are the islets of Makronisi and Patroklou or Patroclus. Further away, to the south, the larger islands of Kea, Kithnos, Serifos and, on a clear day, as far as Milos, 60 miles (97 km) distant. To the east, looming behind Kea can be seen the 994 m (3261 ft) peak of Andros island. To the west, the mountainous shore of the Argolis peninsula, across the Saronic Gulf.

We finish this wonderful and very interesting private tour with drop-off at the port of Piraeus..

(Duration of tour is approximately 3.5hrs)

Meals: B