Our highlights of the trip:
- The spectacular scenery driving around the mountainous regions close to the sea!
- More history & culture than you could see in a lifetime.
- Amazing value for money away from the over-tourism of the Greek islands.
Trip summary:
Mainland Greece oozes history, spectacular scenery, and beaches! It’s an amazing place for a road trip! You could spend anywhere from a couple of days out of Athens, to a couple of weeks touring without getting bored. If you haven’t got long, then focus on Delphi and Meteora, both within a few hours’ drive of Athens. Longer trips can head north to the mountains and the natural wonders of the Zagori National Park, or south to the Peloponesse taking in sites such as Olympia, Mystras, and Monemvasia, not to mention Classical Myceanae and the theatre at Epidaurus. Mainland Greece has a low level of tourism compared to the islands and a road trip gives you the freedom to explore the sites that appeal. Spectacular uncrowded beaches and ancient hot springs can be easily combined with vineyard tours – with Greek wine garnering more praise internationally, it’s a great time to visit. Let our local expertise guide your tour of the home of the gods – you really can summit Mount Olympus!
Our insider tips:
- There are many native varieties of Greek grape. To truly enjoy the wine, learn about the four main varieties; assyrtico, moschofilero, agiorgitiko and xinomavro.
- Take a guided hike in Zagori. It’s a huge area and hard to see the highlights unless you know where you’re going.
- Greeks love their bakeries and coffee culture is huge with freddo iced coffees the addictive must have!
Hotel highlight:
The wonderful calm of Euphoria Retreat in the UNESCO site of Byzantine Mystras will leave you truly blissed out. This destination spa resort has beautiful temple-style villas and delicious Mediterranean dishes served in Gaia Restaurant. Mystras has a plethora of ruins to explore and the hillside is crowned by Villehardouin’s Castle. It is also close to ancient Sparta and makes a great base for exploring the region. Euphoria Retreat is part of our SLH partner program so we can secure clients:
- Hotel credit ($50-100) which can be used in the spa or on food & beverages
- Daily continental breakfast for two people
- Room upgrade to next room category, subject to availability
- Early check-in, subject to availability at the time of check-in
- Late check-out, subject to availability
Dates:
Any time of year depending upon what you like doing. We would only avoid August as it gets so hot in the mainland interior.
Price:
Dependent on duration.