Great day and experience . Seemless day
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Bottled water
- WiFi on board
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Professional Drivers (Not licensed to accompany you into the sites)
- Athens Hotel/Piraeus Port pickup and drop-off included
Excludes
- Entrance Fees for the Hosios Loukas Monastery & the Delphi Archaeological Site (30.00 Euros per adult)
- Lunch
- Local licensed tour guide (Optional / 180 Euros payable in cash). Subject to availability.
- Airport pickup/drop-off on request (additional fee varies by vehicle type)
- Gratuities
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- Traveler pick up offered
Itinerary
Hosios Loukas Monastery meaning “Esteemed Saint Luke” was not built in honor of Luke the Evangelist, but was established by the Greek monk Loukas. He was buried in the crypt of the monastery when he died in AD 953. One of the most striking aspects of the monastery is found at the entrance. If you look up, you will see a spectacular gold mosaic of the saint. Attached to the abbey is a large church, Katholikon, which in its turn is attached to a smaller temple, or Theotokos, erected between 997 and 1011 to honor the Virgin Mary. The temples are beautifully decorated with numerous frescoes and mosaics, all perfectly preserved. Underneath the Katholikon is the crypt where the remains of the saint lie. Although Hosios Loukas is smaller, the building may remind you of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul or St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
At Delphi, we will visit Castalia spring, the ancient Sanctuary of Apollo, the Treasury of the Athenians, the ancient Stadium, the ancient Theatre, the unique bronze Charioteer, and the Museum. Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town on the southwestern slope of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. In Greek mythology, it was the navel of the earth, the site of the Delphic Oracle and a major site for the worship of god Apollo after he slew the Python, a dragon who protected the navel of the earth. Apollo spoke through his oracle. The priestess of the oracle known as the Pythia had to be an older woman and sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth. Apollo possessed Pythia and she prophesied. People consulted the Delphic Oracle on everything from important matters of public policy to personal affairs. The Oracle exerted considerable influence throughout the Greek world and consulted before all major events. The ancient Stadium held the Python Games, which were one of the four Pan-Hellenic Games held every four years. We will conclude our visit to Delphi by having lunch at a local restaurant enjoying the view of the Itea Gulf followed by a visit to the Temple of Athena Pronea and the Gymnasium.
The Archaeological Museum of Delphi, one of the most important in Greece, exhibits the history of the Delphic sanctuary, site of the most famous ancient Greek oracle. Its rich collections are comprised primarily of architectural sculpture, statues and minor objects donated to the sanctuary. These reflect its religious, political and artistic activities from its early years in the eight century BC to its decline in Late Antiquity. The museum is housed in a two-storey building with a total surface area of 2270 square metres, with fourteen exhibition rooms, 558 square metres of storerooms and conservation laboratories for pottery, metal objects and mosaics.
The traditional town of Arachova is located just 10km from Delphi. A visit in Arachova, reveals the charming combining of the old with the new, at the holy grounds of the mountain of Apollo. Arachova is undoubtedly the queen of Parnassos. It is built in an amphitheatric way and it spreads magnificently to the south hillsides of Parnassus, at an altitude of 960 meters, ending up at a cliff where Pleistos river flows. Arachova is full of life. The wild beauty combined with its unaltered traditional character, its cosmopolitan face and the numerous activities the majestic mount Parnassos offers, place it rightfully at the top of the Greek winter tourism and at the list with the top destinations for the other seasons too.
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
My son, daughter-in-law and I traveled to Greece earlier this month. We booked the Full Day Tour of Delphi with H.P. Tours and couldn't have been happier. Jimmy arrived in front of the apartment we rented in Athens on time, with a smile on his face. Jimmy shared his insights about current day Greece while we made the drive to Delphi. On the way, we made a planned stop at the Monastery of Hosios Loukas. Jimmy's insights about the monastic community there and the Monastery itself helped to bring it to life. Jimmy's reverence for this holy place was inspiring and informed our visit there. A shared cup of Greek mountain tea, along with some sweet snacks was a great ending to our visit to the Monastery. From the Monastery, we continued to Delphi, through the charming mountain village of Arachova. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant where Jimmy knew the owners in Delphi. The attached photo says it all. The view was spectacular and the food was delicious. After lunch, Jimmy dropped us at the Delphi Archaeological Museum to meet our guide there. Important note: Jimmy was our driver for the day, but is not a state licensed tour guide. We arranged a licensed guide on our own. After our tour of Delphi, Jimmy picked us up and took us back to Athens, with a quick photo stop outside of Arachova. Jimmy and I talked about world events, travel and our out day with him on the way back to Athens while my kids rested. The day was magical and Jimmy was a big part of the reason. I would heartily recommend H.P. Tours and Jimmy for a long, satisfying day trip to Delphi for anyone visiting Athens.
Wonderful day trip out of Athens. Cristo, our driver, was on time, arriving with a new model, clean, comfortable van for our 6 passengers. He was well-groomed, polite, very friendly and we felt safe and comfortable at all times. He took us to lunch at a fabulous taverna in Delphi with great food and views. It was a full day with lots of walking. Monastery was a great stop too. Pay extra for the private guide for the Delphi museum and site. Well worth it.
Wonderful tour! Great driver. Excellent car. Accommodating to our needs. Great story telling. Felt like family at the end! Wonderful day! WAY better than the tour bus!
HP Tours is an excellent provider to book any tours, transfers, and transportation in/around Athens. HP came very well recommended to us by a friend, and didn't disappoint. They are highly communicative, fairly priced, have great vehicles, and very friendly drivers. We connected with Tasos our driver and had a great sense of security, knowledge, and professionalism knowing he'd be there for us and tell us about the things we'd want to know; customize our trips. HP also can help organize professional tour guides for all destinations - making things easier. Will continue to recommend HP to all of our friends!
I was on a meditation retreat and the groups book the ride to Delphi … frank was the best driver EVER! Felt two safe and taken care of … he is really amazing!!!
We had such an amazing time, Jimmy was our driver after we had him last summer to go to Epidaurus, Myceneae, and Corinth, as well as a half day going to the Temple of Poseidon at Suenion. Yesterday he took us to Elefsina and Wine Tasting, and then today was to Delphi, Chaironeia, and the monastery church of saint loucas. Jimmy is always the most lovely person, we were so happy to have him again. I would absolutely recommend using this service as we always have the best time!!
Jimmy, the driver, was amazing. His knowledge of the areas, the convenience of the drop offs and his attention to detail was fantastic. We hit all of the spots of interest and Jimmy pick a really amazing place for lunch with the most picturesque views.
Jimmy was an excellent and knowledgeable tour guide and driver. The roads to Delphi from Athens were very windy- I highly recommend this tour rather than driving. Amazing tavern for lunch with an unforgettable view.
Excellent tour. Very interesting site. Great meal afterward. Thank you Panos, our driver/tour guide for a great day. Thank you.
Our 5th time with Frank and Panos and coming back for more! This is our 5th time working with Frank and his team at Hellenic Private Tours. From picking up our large group of 10 up at the airport to showing us amazing sites all over Greece in Delphi, Peloponnese and Athens this time they make it so easy to relax on vacation and spend family time together while they take care of everything. The modern sprinter van has WiFi so my kids were amused. They have a sound system and had short movies to explain the sites we were about to visit. They have access to private guides and drivers who know the history and culture of Greece. They know some fantastic local restaurants with too notch food and service and all the little spots that make the experience a memory forever, even for my teenagers. Thank you so much. We are already planning our next time to come visit Frank and his team.
Excellent service, kind and knowledgeable drivers who were the perfect balance of sharing insights and history, but also able to give time for silence and we felt safe and comfortable the entire time. We will definitely book again for a Meteora 2 day trip in the future.
Athens and Delphi Tours How blessed we were to have had a fantastic driver for two days! Michael greeted us with a big smile and was the utmost gentleman. He was prepared for anything we needed and even had videos for us to watch on some of the sites. Michael was professional, respectful, attentive, knowledgeable, entertaining and had a positive and uplifting demeanor. We are grateful for the wonderful memory filled experience, thank you! We would highly recommend this company for your tours!
Jimmy looked after us so well during our day trip to Delphi. He was extremely knowledgeable and gave us some great background knowledge the area before we entered the archeological site. Highly recommend!
Great trip, great guide. Both Frank who helped us with our booking and Panos our guide were awesome. They made us feel like it was a family road trip. Panos was wonderful, very personable and knowledgeable. Our lunch in Delphi was delicious with an amazing view.
Amazing guided tour of the Temple of Apollo and museum by George Malissos of Delphi Local Tours. Extraordinarily knowledgeable, putting together Greek and Ancient history generally in a way that truly conveyed the whole picture. Also a a wonderfully smooth and pleasant drive from Athens by Alex.
Our tour guide Frank was just amazing. He took care of us all day long, interacting with our group, taking us to a great restaurant, very knowledgeable about the sites in Athens and all along the way to Delphi, and this tour was so much more. We were so impressed with Frank and H.P. tours that we arranged transportation from the port to the airport to catch an early flight. Our driver was prompt and got us to the airport on time. If you are looking for a great private tour, I highly recommend Frank and H.P. tours. They helped make a great tour unforgettable.
We took this tour with Jimmy in addition to the Argolis tour offered by HP. We had a wonderful experience, and were super grateful that they had arranged for us a private guide of the museum at Delphi and the archaeological site. 10/10 recommend.
We had the most amazing time. Jimmy picked us up from our Athens hotel at 8am and took us on a full day adventure. On our way out of town, we made a brief stop for coffee and snacks before we made our way to a monastery. This place was spiritual and peaceful. We could have spent a whole day here losing ourselves in the beauty and tranquility. Jimmy was incredibly knowledgeable and personally walked us through this sacred place. Then we made the drive to Delphi where Jimmy provided us the history of the site. He dropped us off right at the entrance and gave us plenty of time to walk through the archaeological site and museum (about 2 hours). Jimmy was ready for us at the exit when he took us to a quaint restaurant overlooking a valley of olive trees stretching all the way to the sea. After our late lunch, Jimmy took us back to our hotel in Athens, telling us all about ancient Corinth. We enjoyed our tour and our time with Jimmy so much, we booked a full day tour for the next day.
Even in the rain, we had a fantastic tour. Our private driver was Jimmy (he is the best) and our guide was Georgia. She made the ruins come alive. I definitely recommend HP tours for all the tours. They personalize the experience and the communication is superb.
This is a great tour for those looking to have a daily trip to Delfi. Despite the unreliable schedule the site keeps during the holiday seasons (they publish the sites close at 5pm but in fact they close at 3:30pm) Panos, our driver, was able to readjust the schedule to make sure we would be able to make the tour on time after stopping at the monastery of Saint Lukas (that closes at 12:30pm) and the temple of Athena, but not before having stopped to the popular Atachova. Lunch at To Patrico Mas afterwards is a must. Highly recommended.
Great driver and tour guide at Delphi First toured the museum to get the details then the site Driver also set us up at a local taverna with a great view and fantastic food
Answered all emails promptly with all information. Very punctual, friendly and organized. Exactly what we asked for. Very helpful driver.
It was a great experience with our driver/guide Jimmy and HP Tours. Jimmy was very knowledgable and informative in reference to the monastery and the Delphi ruins. He made the long trip fun and enjoyable. A great experience.
Our entire experience using HP tours was amazing. We booked a driver from Athens to Delphi. Our driver Evan went above and beyond all expectations. He was knowledgeable, courteous and very personable. Our 2.5 hr driver was very scenic in the clean Mercedes sprinter van which allowed us to fully appreciate the panoramic views of the mountains. Evan even made us reservations at a restaurant with one of the most amazing views after we had a tour of the wonderful Delphi area. HP tours booked us a guided tour though Delphi who was a local and extremely knowledgeable about the ruins. The entire experience was the best of our vist. Would highly recommend Evan and HP tours.
We were extremely well taken care of. Highly recommend it!! The driver and guide were friendly and made sure that we went at our own pace
The whole experience with Hellenic was wonderful. I especially want to thank Jimmy who escorted my family to Delphi. Jimmy was polite, down to earth and friendly. He arrived at our apartment on time and was never rush. We enjoyed our trip with Jimmy’s accompany. We left Greece with a mind set that we will return next year and definitely will use Hellenic private tour again. Thank again.
Dem was a superb driver and provided an exemptpliary and thorough description of the mythology and history of the area. You can't go wrong choosing this tour or driver!
I can’t say enough great things about Frank and his team. The car ride was comfortable, our driver Panos was extremely friendly and kind, and our tour guide knowledgeable and sweet. We booked for three tours and all of them were great! I highly recommend having Hellenic Tours as your travel buddy! They made our family trip a very memorable one.
Unforgettable trip! Frank and the team of Hellenic Private Tours are all very professional, accommodating and knowledgeable about Greek history, mythology and culture, which make the trip a complete experience. Highly recommend! We had a fantastic and stress free time in Greece thanks to Hellenic Private Tours.
After such a positive experience on our Sounion tour, we booked this one. Both trips were just my partner and myself. Our driver again was outstanding. Both trips he supplied us with cold water and many interesting pieces of information about the area through which we passed. Leave the driving to someone else, book with this company. For the record we don't usually do tours. We are both very pleased with Hellenic Private Tours.
We had a great tour of the Hosios Loukas Monistary and Delphi. The driver was prompt and knowledgeable. Dem was engaging with our three kids (age 8-14) and accommodating with bathroom stops and a stop for a family photo. He also made great recommendations of local places to stop for authentic greek cheese pie and lunch. I would highly recommend H.P. Tours - Hellenic Private Tours and use them in the future if we return.
This tour was a little more expensive than some others offered, but it was very high quality and worth it. It was worth it for me to have trust in my travel arrangements as the bus option, with the current state of covid, was not too desirable, nor being in a shuttle with others on a small (40 people) group tour. Petros, my driver, was such a gentleman: opening my door, stopping for me to go to the bathroom, showing videos of the area, and being very accommodating. Petros picked me up at my hotel (putting my heavy luggage in the trunk of his air- conditioned Mercedes) in Athens, we stopped at Hosias Loukas Monastery (beautiful!) and we drove to Delphi: visiting temple of Apollo and the Delphi Museum. We also stopped for lunch at one of his favorite Greek restaurants. I would highly recommend H.P. Tours/Hellenistic Private Tours!
The whole experience was fantastic. The driver, Panos, was excellent and flexible to what we wanted to do. He also took us to a restaurant in Delphi that has one of the best views we’ve ever seen. Absolutely recommend.
This tour was amazing, driver was great as well. We spent about an hour and a half at the Hosios Loukas Monistary, and then continued on to Delphi. Spent about 3 hours walking the museum and archeology site before heading into town for an amazing lunch. This trip is well worth the money and this is an amazing company to go with. Anything we needed was made accessible, all the time needed for the sites was given, and because it was a 2.5 hour drive a movie was played for our 9 year old.
Great tour! It was perfect to have the day and schedule to ourselves and to move on our own time. Kostas was great, very friendly and accommodating and I would definitely recommend it. If you are looking for a tour without the crowds and a more independent/dynamic way of exploring the ruins, this is definitely the tour company for you.
Our driver was phenomenal! He got us to each place easily and quickly! It was a wonderful way to view the sites! Would definitely do this again!
Thank you for a very accommodating and welcoming driver, with lots of knowledge. The private guide they set us up with at Delphi was a steal (she was amazing). And the dinner afterwards was storybook worthy. Thank you for a wonderful and relaxing trip to Delphi
I booked this trip 2days before the departure because the small group tour by other company cancelled due to not enough travelers. But I’m glad I booked with H.P. Tours. The driver Kosta was on time and very friendly has lots of knowledges. Made my trip comfortable. Specially for female solo traveler like me taking long ride makes me little bit nervous but I didn’t feel any of that. Kosta drove me not only to Delphi but also Arachova area and monastery near by. I really enjoyed. The price was reasonable compare to other tour companies do private tour. Highly recommend!
Our driver Frank picked us up on time at our hotel in downtown Athens. His van was spotless and beautiful. As soon as we entered the van he offered us water from his on - board refrigerator, and the day began. He skirted all the busy traffic of Athens and soon we were out in the stunning countryside of Greece. What a difference from the city. The entire journey was filled with stories of history, wars, etc. We stopped once for coffee/bathrooms, then onto Delphi. When we arrived we were greeted by an amazing English speaking tour guide who accompanied us into the museum with a thorough explanation of artifacts that had been buried, then outside to the Delphi Historical site, which makes a person speechless. Then, a short drive to an amazing restaurant for lunch overlooking the sea. On the way back, Frank found the time to stop by a Historical Monastery, then back to Athens. I can't say enough good about the professionalism of HP tours, and Frank. It was the highlight of our time in Greece.
Our driver, Dave for the day arrived punctually at 8:00 am at our downtown hotel on Mitropoleos. We then headed to Delphi and he explained pertinent information all along the route in a clear and concise manner. Our stop at the Monastery of Hosios Loukas was made more relevant by his comments on the way to the monastery. He did the same thing as we made our way to Delphi, giving us necessary and relevant information about the archeological site as well as the Delphi Museum. He was always polite and courteous. I would highly recommend him to future visitors to Delphi.
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