Our first stop is at the impressive Corinth canal as your driver describes its many interesting ill-fated and varied History’s from Ancient times to the present.
After a short drive further into the Peloponnese we stop to explore the beautifully preserved remains of Ancient Corinth, one of Greece’s most powerful and influential city states of Antiquity. Stroll through the streets, temples, markets, and fountains in the footsteps of the Classical Greeks, Ancient Romans & St. Paul before you. Refreshments & rest stops are also on hand at the local Cafes at its entrance if needed.
Next we come to the imposing remains of Ancient Mycenae, one of the most important sites in the development of Ancient Greece. Home to the citadel of the legendary Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War. The ‘Mycenaean period,’ from 1600 to 1100 BC, references this ancient city, indicating its importance in Greek civilization. Pass through the 20-foot-wide (6-meter) city walls, enter the Lion’s Gate to Agamemnon’s throne room, and explore the very buildings of his palace and enter into the awe inspiring treasury of Atreus, You will also have the time to visit the modern on-site museum housing the many precious artefacts uncovered from the site.
After a short drive through olive fields & small countryside roads our next stop is at the UNESCO-listed Sanctuary of Asklepios, first healing centre of the Ancient World. You will also see the impressive Theatre of Epidaurus, one of the most visited ancient sites in Greece. The temple and theatre date from the 4th century and feature masterpieces of classical Greek architecture. Join the other visitors who test its world famous acoustics with a poem or a song
After the many sites of the morning we enjoy lunch in the beautiful medieval & historical port city of Nafplio by the sea with views to the Venetian castle of Bourtzi in the bay. This city has a definite artistic feel so take time for a stroll and explore the many local craft shops & boutiques of the charming old city before your evenings onward travel to your hotel in Olympia and the comfort of your specially selected Boutique or 4-Star Hotel
Our morning is dedicated to Ancient Olympia, and one of the most magical locations in Greece. Famous for its Olympic Games of antiquity you will see the places where the original athletes trained, learned and go through the tunnel to emerge in the stadium in which they competed. The site is still home to the Temple of Zeus and Hera where the Olympic Flame is lit, workshop of Phidias, and extensive Museum containing significant masterpieces from the site.
After Olympia we head to the west coast to find one of the longest suspension bridges in the world & a great fete of engineering as we travel over this impressive landmark connecting the Peloponnese back to the Greek mainland on your way to Delphi
Stunningly beautiful picture postcard Venetian port, & perfect lunch stop. Nafpaktos is a little known village you will never forget. Seemingly forgotten & untouched by tourism with a Medieval charm and a fairy-tale vibe. Overlooked from the hillside above, its 15thCentury Venetian Castle is a reminder of its former Historic importance, from the time of the Crusades & stretching back to the Peloponnesian wars of Antiquity.
Lying by the sea near the ancient port of Delphi, this beautiful village is an ideal location to spend your evening wondering through the pretty streets, cafes & restaurants with sea views away from the more mass touristic feel of Delphi. A warm welcome awaits you as well as amazing local and authentic cuisine.
Inset on wide terraces along the hillside we are fortunate that the landslides of previous centuries preserved much of the ancient remains for us to witness including the 4th century BC temple of Apollo from where the Oracle spoke her prophesies along with the Castilian spring of Mythology, theatre, treasury buildings, temples of Athena and Gymnasium where athletes gathered before the Pythian games to bath in the sacred waters. During your visit to Delphi, see the physical structures associated with this incredibly long history, and learn about their rich mythology. A beautiful addition to the site is the modern museum dedicated to the finds which stretch back in time to at least 1500 BC, as well as those notably which adorned the temples & streets of the ancient city at its peak around the 4th century BC with outstanding pieces such as the Naxos Sphynx, the twin Kouroi and famous Bronze Charioteer among others.
Set in beautiful countryside on the slopes of Mt Parnassos we next visit one of the most important and well preserved Byzantine Monasteries & which is UNESCO listed. Explore its 1100 year old Architecture along with its unique & impressive fresco's. An optional visit you can choose to omit this site if you wish.
Lunch Stop. Spend time enjoying the local craft shops and wonderful views over the olive filled Pleistos river valley over lunch before continuing to Kalambaka in the shadow of Meteora
After breakfast we ascend towards the monasteries above. Built on a natural formation of sandstone rock pillars up to 1,312 feet high, the six remaining monasteries date from the 14th century and form a remarkable and awe-inspiring combination of nature and spiritual significance. We visit at least two of the most outstanding monasteries, normally the Grand Meteora Monastery, Varlaam or Agiou Stefanou, and learn about their long history and the hermits and monks that lived there alongside the majestic landscape views.
Pause for a traditional lunch in one of the towns main squares to refresh yourself before continuing.
After our visit to the Monastaries we return south towards Athens for approximately 90 minutes to the site of Thermopylae, stopping to see the monument and enter the newly built Visitor’s Center which recreates the ancient battle where King Leonidas led the 300 Spartans in 480 BC. After pausing for lunch or a break by the sea in one of the many local villages we finally continue to your onward destination with the memories and images from these wonderful experiences.
Our experience of travelling with Warm Penguins was first class. Our interaction with the company, the logistics of the tour, the places we visited, and the archeological site tour guides were all excellent. To top it all our amazing driver/guide Vasilis was the icing the cake.
The tour covered the highlights of ancient Greece traveling in a comfortable van. The hotels including breakfasts were excellent particularly in Nafplio. We added guides in 4 of the sites and it was money well spent. Knowledgeable guides gave a thorough explanation at the level of a college professor. Lastly our driver/guide was Petros Jajas who is really a walking encyclopedia of Greek history. On top of that very helpful and accommodating considering our group was all Seniors. Overall a great experience that we can highly recommend.
Charles_N, Jun 2025 The itinerary was excellent, however, the quality of the excursion is dependent upon the willingness or not of the driver to provide at least a big picture overview of the sites to be visited. Ours provided little to none. Also general questions about the areas we were visiting were generally answered with a response of “I have no idea” or “I don’t know”. To us this was unacceptable behavior and resulted in an excursion that although well thought out by Viator, was not very well executed by the “driver”. One other suggestion to Viator, the selected hotels were of good quality, however we would have preferred to have a hotel located within the city limits to enable easy walking access to restaurants and local merchants rather than to be located well outside the city away from local pedestrian activities.
We had a wonderful experience exploring the classical sites of Ancient Greece! Our driver and guide was very kind and knowledgeable about each of the sites. Every step in our journey revealed an astonishing new facet of Greek civilization. We will remember this experience all of our lives!
We followed David’s advice and the four-day Classical Greece Tour proved perfect to meet all our requirements with excellent accommodation. Our driver, Yannis, is an excellent driver and travelling companion as well as being extremely knowledgeable about Greece and its history. He went out of his way to assist us in practical ways such as handling our baggage, choosing great lunch venues and keeping the vehicle immaculately clean. He also fitted in an additional drive to see the monasteries of Meteora in the evening light! William and Robyn, Sydney
Warm Penguin and our superb driver/guide, Yannis ensured that our journey through the extraordinary region of the Peloponnese was fascinating, comfortable and flexible in terms of being prepared to vary the daily schedule to meet the distinctive needs of each of the four, highly experienced travellers ( from the UK and from Australia). Not sure though, that Yannis will ever get over the fact that none of us wanted to see the Cave of Lakes(!) but he remained calm always as he deftly drove his spotless, spacious vehicle to avoid car-sickness, regardless of the winding roads up to the magnificent ruins of Mycenae, the Mani, Messini and up to Dimitsana ( to name a few of the areas we explored). Often he went out of his way to find us beautiful beaches for a quick dip on a number of days during our travels. Yannis' knowledge of, and passion for, Ancient ( and modern) Greek history was almost palpable. He judged perfectly how much information to convey as we wended our way through the varied landscapes. We had decided not to hire additional guides at each main site as we were well researched and Yannis never hesitated to fill in additional commentary as our questions arose. Each of the hotels we stayed in within the Peloponnese was quirky, atmospheric, spotless and each offered great beds. Breakfast at most of them offered us insight into delicious local cuisine and were lavish in their offerings. Each evening and at each place, Yannis gave us thoughtful recommendations for our evening meals all of which we enjoyed but we also had a hilarious meal or two as a result of not following his advice( because the places he recommended were full). The mother/ daughter tiny restaurant in Monemvasia( a little village carved into a sea rock) was a case in point. Diners were packed in so tightly that the grandma had to climb on the top of one of the chairs in which we were sitting to reach the wine behind us, and although we waited an hour and a half for one of our dishes ( maybe they had to go and catch the fish) it was huge, incredibly fresh and perfectly cooked. Highlights of this trip were numerous- everywhere we visited filled us with awe at the evidence of the incredible civilisations that have preceded us. The beauty of the mountains and the lowlands transported us fully away from our usual day to day concerns. The scenic railway ride (Odntotos railway) and the visit to the haunting Kalavrita museum which commemorates the slaughter of the villagers by heartless nazis in WW2) are also not to be missed. We really feel as if Warm Penguin have given us a wonderful gift in matching us with Yannis for our tour- we all highly recommend this company to others looking for a personally tailored adventure that will delight!
The tour itself is well designed and includes must see sights. As an added bonus, we were fortunate to have Vasilis as our driver! He was extremely professional, personable, and knowledgeable. He gave us information on each stop we made and along the way as we drove. He went out of his way to make sure we were well taken care of and would pick us up any time we needed him. My husband had a medical issue and he went above and beyond to make sure everything was okay and adjusted to accommodate. He even texted several times after the trip was over to check in to make sure my husband was doing okay. He is truly a special individual.
We had a phenomenal experience with WarmPenguin’s private 4-day tour around Greece. Our driver Tolis was knowledgeable and superb. Not only was he incredibly professional and accommodating, but we also enjoyed his gentle humor, kindness, and informative insights. He truly went above and beyond to help us have a great experience. He made our trip special far beyond our expectations. It is impossible for us to imagine a better introduction and guide to Greece. We certainly will highly recommend WarmPenguin and Tolis to all of our travel-minded friends.
First of all, Warm Penguin was an absolute delight to work with. From the time we booked, they were amazingly prompt with replies to inquiries, and very accurate with clear and detailed information. As for the tour itself, we knew from the moment we met our driver, Yannis, at the airport, that we were in for a fantastic four days with him. He treated us more like visiting family from out of town than clients, He speaks English well, and is very knowledgeable, entertaining, and has a terrific sense of humor, making conversations easy and laughter frequent. He made sure we made each stop on the itinerary, but gave us the flexibility to customize start and end times to our liking, as well as making suggestions for a few little extra surprises along the way. He would drive us from town to town, where a different local tour guide would take over to tour the archeological sites in each different city. Each of these guides were top-notch as well. Not a single disappointment in the whole trip. We also loved each of our more boutique-style guest house accommodations, with some amazing homemade breakfasts, and every day was fantastic fresh seafood lunch at a restaurant usually on the water with seaside views. Yannis also had terrific recommendations for dinner in each town, and we didn't have a single disappointing meal. Our entire family loved this tour, and would recommend it without reservation.
We toured the mainland for 4 days with two families of 5. The van was very nice, clean, and comfortable. The hotels we stayed at were nice. All had swimming pools and free breakfast. We were able to see a variety of amazing historical sites and the tour guides at each were interesting and knowledgeable. Our driver for the 4 days, Vas, was beyond amazing. He was fun, personable, and very knowledgeable on many topics. He would allow us to stop at places that weren't officially planned. We enjoyed his take on Greek life as one who lives there. We even invited him our dinners while we were there. Overall, an excellent trip!
Having booked many private tours over the last 5 years, we still arent sure what we will get. Many tour operators say their drivers are also "guides"; but few deliver. Vasilis is 1 of only 3 amongst the many (over 20) drivers cum "guides" (i need to be careful how i refer to him) that i would honestly recommend!!!! From Day 1, he shared with us a lot of good and accurate information on each site before we arrived. He often whipped out his map and tablet to supplement his information with visual aids If you work with him and can be disciplined on timing, he often surprised us with small daily side trips that werent on the itinerary (eg view of the sunset on Day 3 at Meteora, etc) He also looked after our meals each day by giving us great recommendations. But in this respect, what impressed us were the dinners on Day 2 and 3. The drive from napflio to delphi is long and tiring. We arrived at our hotel in delphi at about 6.30 pm after a tough drive up the mountain. Vasilis was under no obligation to take us to town for dinner but he insisted on doing so as our hotel was a distant from the town On Day 3, he recommended a restaurant a 15 min walk from our hotel in Meteora. He dropped us off and told us that at the end of the dinner, should we require, we could call him and he would drive us back to the hotel. We enjoy walking a new town; and also wanted him to rest after another day of tiring driving. So after dinner, we walked back to the hotel on our own. Unbeknownst to us, Vasilis had actually driven back to the restaurant; without us asking him to do so, to drive us back to our hotel I cannot say enough about Vasilis. Warm Penguins as a company is truly fortunate to have a person like Vasilis working for them If you ever book a tour with Warm Penguins, ask for Vasilis
We toured as a party of 6. Yannis gave excellent commentary as we were approaching every major stop, and we quickly attained an understanding about how long we wanted to spend exploring the numerous sights. The small hotels were all very good, and his recommendations of restaurants were all excellent (including for Athens, after our tour). Could not have been better organised.
<p>This was truly the most amazing tour we have ever been on 19 countries and counting. Yes, it is pricey, but it is worth every single penny. Our tour guide, Notis, was kind, generous, attentive, flexible, intelligent, well-spoken, and educated. He was professional and caring. He treated our children as if they were his own and my girls cried at the end of the trip when he had to leave us. </p> <p>We saw the most beautiful sites and Notis added in a few things sunset over Meteora, ice cream rolls from a local shop, etc. that made the trip even better. He was knowledgable about local restaurants in every town and knew where to take us to eat wonderful Greek food. If you take this tour, you should ask for him if you can get him. His full name is Anagnostis Tsipros. </p> <p>We saw Olympia, Corinth, Meteora, Nafplio, Epidavros, Delphi, and Mycenae. The hotels were charming be warned that the Meteoritis Hotel in Meteora does NOT have an elevator, nor a bellman to help haul the luggage up the stairs - but the view was SO worth it! and the experience is altogether a phenomenal one. Be prepared to lay out money for tips and meals, as they are not included in the price. The ride we had a VW Passat was comfortable and we stopped as often as we needed or wanted to. </p> <p>We stayed at the Nidimos Hotel in Delphi my favorite town. If you stay in the front rooms, you will have a spectacular view, but you may have some street noise very small street, at any rate. The back rooms overlook an attractive courtyard with wall art - very quiet.<br/> In Olympia, we stayed at the Arty Grand Hotel. We had high hopes for this one, as it was the only one that had an indoor pool, but the pool was closed. There was no explanation as to why. The rest of the hotel was fine, though. Hotels vary on this tour - you may not get the same ones we got, but we sure did like them all. </p> <p>The only drawback we had was that Notis could not enter the historical sites with us - you have to arrange for different site guide for each area, which we did not do. Apparently, one has to be licensed to give a tour of historical sites and the drivers are not. This being said, Notis knew enough about each site that he told us about them, and any tips he had to offer, beforehand. Given the plethora of signage, we did not really need tour guides for the sites, but it would have been nice to know that beforehand.</p> <p>Bring your walking shoes - there is a LOT of walking and much of it is uphill. Greece is a mountainous country and many sites are at the top of mountains. We averaged between 10,000 and 11,000 steps per day. </p> <p>Pros:<br/> excellent tour guide<br/> nice hotels<br/> wonderful sites<br/> low stress</p> <p>cons:<br/> tour driver cannot enter sites</p>
Viajamos con mi esposa, y nuestro guía Petros. Es difícil elegir momentos. Todo el tour fue extraordidnario. Los lugares arqueológicos, los museos, los hoteles, la comida. Si tengo que elegir me conmovieron los sitio arqueológicos de Olympia y Delfos. Nafplio es un pueblos bellísimo. Una mención aparte para nuestro excelente guía. Siempre nos proveía información interesante que enriquecía la experiencia en cada lugar. Muy comunicativo y atento a todos los detalles, de principio a fin. Si van a hacer este tour u otro traten de ekegir a Petros como guía. No se van a arrepentir
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