Secrets of Greece including Corfu
Experience Overview
An in-depth Greece trip for history buffs and lovers of Greek food and culture. You’ll enjoy traditional dinner and dancing on an olive farm, travel to the enchanting island of Corfu and explore ancient sights like Mycenae, Olympia and Delphi.
Highlights
Dining Summary
- 3 Dinner (D)
- 13 Breakfast (B)
Be My Guest
- Olympia: Say "opa!" to a traditional Greek experience with the Karabelas family on their olive and wine farm. Join the family for dinner and dancing, and learn about their history on the land.
Dive into Culture
- Nemea: Learn about the winemaking tradition of the Nemea region and enjoy a local wine tasting.
Iconic Experience
- Ancient Theatre of the Asklepieion at Epidaurus: Visit the Theater of Epidaurus and view the Sanctuary of Asclepius during a stop in the Peloponnesus.
- Archaeological Site of Mycenae: Walk through the Lion Gate past the royal beehive-tombs where Schliemann uncovered golden treasure, while hearing tales of Agamemnon from your Local Specialist.
- Archaeological Site of Olympia: Join a Local Specialist to view the stadium of Olympia which hosted the ancient Olympic Games and Heraia, the women's games in honor of Hera. See the Temple of Zeus, athlete's gymnasium and the stone marker where the sprint began.
- Corfu: Enjoy time at leisure to explore Corfu's Old Town narrow streets and arcaded squares.
- Corfu: Visit the Achilleion Palace, former summer home of Elizabeth 'Sissi' Empress of Austria and Hungary.
- Meteora: With a Local Specialist, visit one of the remarkable centuries-old monasteries of Meteora, teetering on towers of rock and arguably the most spectacular place to visit in Greece.
- Thermopylae: See the Leonidas Monument dedicated to the brave warrior and his 300 Spartans.
- Delphi: With your Local Specialist, walk to The Sacred Way once lined with offertory temples. See the reconstructed Athenian Treasury and pass the superb Polygonal Wall to reach the Temple of Apollo, where people once sought divine wisdom from the mysterious Oracle.
- Athens: Delve into Athens with a Local Specialist. See the iconic highlights of this ancient city, from the Acropolis to the site of the first modern Olympics.
- Santorini: Enjoy an orientation of stunning Santorini upon arrival.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
- Delphi: Visit Axion Esti, a family-run organic beekeeping facility in Stemnitsa. Meet Sophia and Anthony and learn how their passion for bees has grown into an award-winning operation. Suit up to see the hives up close, explore the museum, and sample local honey while discovering the importance of pollinators to the ecosystem. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land.
Must-see Highlights
- Explore Epidaurus, Mycenae, Olympia, Meteora, Delphi and Athens
- Visit the ancient theater at Epidaurus, Olympic Stadium in Olympia, Monastery of Paleokastritsa and Achilleion Palace in Corfu, rock Monastery in Meteora and Acropolis in Athens
- View the Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus and the Parthenon, Royal Palace and Temple of Zeus in Athens
- See the Corinth Canal, the Lion Gate and Agamemnon's Palace at Mycenae
Trafalgar Difference
- Nafplio: Set amongst beautiful gardens with palm trees and flowers, Amalia Hotel Nafplio features eco-friendly practices to save energy, water, and manpower. It employs geothermal technology for heating, cooling, and hot water, eliminating the use of diesel fuel and reducing CO2 emissions.
Trip Details
Product Code: 34442
Tour Type: Group Tour
Accommodation: Deluxe
Transport: Private
Guide Language: English
Travel Styles:
Explorer
Tour Operator:
Trafalgar (CA)
Supplier Code: 764.891B
Starts: Athens, Greece
Finishes: Athens, Greece
Duration: 14 days
Departures: Not Guaranteed
Physical Rating:
Easy
Includes
Whats Included
- An expert Travel Director and professional Driver
- Cherry-picked hotels, all tried and trusted
- All porterage and restaurant gratuities
- All hotel tips, charges and local taxes
- Breakfast daily and up to half of your evening meals
- Must-see sightseeing
- Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing
- Luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi in most countries or alternative transportation (such as rail journeys)
- Return ferry to Corfu
- Optional Experiences and free time
- High-speed ferry from Athens to Santorini
- Flight from Santorini to Athens
- On occasion, hotels of similar standard and location may be utilized
Price
Price per person: (Double Occupancy) CAD $8145 ($582 /day)
Itinerary
Venture back to a time when great philosophers roamed the halls of the Agora and gods competed for mythical supremacy. Your journey delving into the treasures of Greece begins in its vibrant capital, which you'll have an opportunity to explore after being transferred to your hotel. Kick off your in-depth discovery of what was once the 'Cradle of Western Civilization' this evening, when you meet your Travel Director and travel companions for a light meal.
Accommodation: Divani Caravel, Radisson Blu Park, Crowne Plaza Athens City Center
Meals: Dinner
Journey to a land of legends this morning. Travel through the scenic northeast Peloponnese, passing the Corinth Canal, which links the Saronic and Corinthian gulfs. Stop at the ancient theater of Epidaurus and the Sanctuary of Asclepius, God of Medicine. Take to the stage and experience the remarkable acoustics that once entertained over 14,000 spectators. Continue to a family-run olive oil mill for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience and discover how sustainable farming supports local traditions. Taste award-winning olive oil and learn how ancient methods meet modern practices. Later, arrive in the seaport town of Nafplion. Wander its neoclassical streets or relax over a traditional meal by the bay.
Accommodation: Amalia Nafplio
Meals: Breakfast
Continue your journey inland and join a Local Specialist for a guided visit of Mycenae, whose ruins remains a testament to what was once a major palatial center of the late Bronze Age in Greece. Stroll through the Lion Gate and Agamemnon's Royal Palace before seeing the tomb of this fearless Greek leader who commanded the Greeks in their battles against Trojan forces. This afternoon, Dive Into Culture and sample delicious local vintages, gaining insights into wine production in the Nemea region. You'll have free time to stroll through the seaside retreat of Nafplion, perhaps with a delicious Greek ice cream in hand.
Accommodation: Amalia Nafplio
Meals: Breakfast
Crossing the Peloponnese and head towards the famous village of Olympia, where sacrifices were once made to the gods, and athletes competed for supremacy in the ancient Olympic Games. Visit the ruins of temples, the museum and the stadium, with our Local Specialist, imagining agile runners racing in honor of Zeus. This evening, join the Karabelas family on their olive and wine farm for a traditional Be My Guest experience including dinner and dancing.
Accommodation: Olympic Village
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Leave the Peninsula and return to mainland Greece, continuing north past Amphilochia and Preveza, before arriving in Nikopolis to see where the Battle of Actium took place. Board a ferry and cross to the beautiful island of Corfu, where you'll have time at leisure to admire its splendid architecture, arcades and Spianada, one of the largest and most impressive squares in Greece.
Accommodation: Cavalieri
Meals: Breakfast
Begin your day with an orientation tour of the island, followed by a visit to the Venetian Castle and the Monastery of Paleokastritsa. Later, stop at the Phaeacian-styled Achilleion Palace, built by Elizabeth 'Sissi' Empress of Austria and Hungary, who so admired Greece and its culture that she decided to build an enchanting summer retreat. Stroll through its Imperial Gardens and enjoy magnificent views of the lush valley and glistening Ionian Sea beyond before returning to your hotel for an evening on your own terms.
Accommodation: Cavalieri
Meals: Breakfast
Bid farewell to island living on Corfu and sail back to the mainland, continuing to the lively lakeside city of Ioannina, where you'll spend the rest of the day at leisure. Stroll along the tranquil lakeshore and through the Old Town to admire its Ottoman and Byzantine treasures, including the imposing castle that overlooks Lake Pamvotis.
Accommodation: Du Lac
Meals: Breakfast
Start your day with the rich, smoky flavors of Metsovone cheese before heading to Kalambaka. Here, you’ll visit the UNESCO-listed Meteora rock formations, where your Local Specialist shares the history of these towering pillars and the monasteries that have stood atop them for centuries. This evening, choose an Optional Experience to Trikala, a town steeped in history and legend. Walk along the riverside before settling in for a Greek family-style dinner, where delicious local dishes and free-flowing wine promise a night to remember.
Accommodation: Amalia Kalambaka
Meals: Breakfast
Traversing the peaks of Parnassos and Giona, stop in Thermopylae, the mythical entrance to Hades and the site where Leonidas and his 300 Spartans fought bravely against the invading Persians. Join a Local Specialist for a guided visit to Delphi, the seat of the most important oracle in the classical world. Walk the Sacred Way to the 4th-century Temple of Apollo and ramble through what remains of this ancient sanctuary, once the site of the Pythian Games, a precursor of the modern Olympics. travel towards the Corinthian Gulf and stop in the harbor village of Galaxidi for the night.
Accommodation: Nostos
Meals: Breakfast
Return to cosmopolitan Athens for a day of delving into antiquity, coming face-to-face with the treasures of Ancient Greece. Ascend to the Acropolis and join a Local Specialist for a sightseeing tour with magnificent views of Athena's Parthenon, the Agora, Royal Palace and Temple of Zeus. See Hadrian's Arch, built to celebrate the arrival of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, and view the stadium where the first modern Olympics took place in 1896. On our final evening together, join your fellow travelers for dinner to celebrate the millennia and miles explored together on this epic voyage of discovery.
Accommodation: Divani Caravel, Radisson Blu Park, Crowne Plaza Athens City Center
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Board a high-speed ferry to the idyllic island of Santorini, your home for three nights. Transfer to your hotel with an orientation on arrival and spend free time exploring. Comprising of a small circular archipelago of volcanic islands in the southern Aegean Sea, Santorini is all that remains of an enormous volcanic explosion. The island's spectacular physical beauty coupled with its dynamic nightlife makes it one of Europe's most popular hotspots.
Accommodation: El Greco, Santorini Palace, Kallisti
Meals: Breakfast
Santorini offers a wealth of exciting things to do. You might like to spend your time relaxing in the sun or wander down winding cobbled streets full of whitewashed houses. Admire breathtaking views across the caldera and witness a stunning sunset.
Accommodation: El Greco, Santorini Palace, Kallisti
Meals: Breakfast
Santorini makes some of the Greek islands' best wines so perhaps take a tour of a winery and taste some for yourself. Consider a ride in a caique to the volcanic island of Nea Kamini to swim in the hot springs. Embrace the magic of Santorini.
Accommodation: El Greco, Santorini Palace, Kallisti
Meals: Breakfast
Take a short flight back to Athens this morning. Say goodbye to Greece as your trip ends at Athens airport, please do not book flights prior to 13:00.
Meals: Breakfast
Similar Tours
Tour Operator
Trafalgar (CA)
Family owned and run since 1920, The Travel Corporation (TTC) is the world leader in immersive travel experiences across an extensive range of travel categories. Each year TTC's 40 award winning hospitality and travel brands connect over 1 million happy travellers to the world. We give you access to the 12 DMC’s behind these brands, so you can build your business by capitalizing on the extensive experience, local expertise, and financial assurance of TTC. LOCAL EXPERTISE The world leaders in travel for over 100 years, we offer unparalleled local expertise with a global footprint. Our 12 DMCs, led by experienced in-destination teams, deliver experience rich travel solutions in more than 80 countries. Additionally, our market based teams are on hand to support across our 40 offices worldwide
In Business Since 1931
Reviews
Trusted Customer - Traveled, March 2017
We had such a wonderful trip to Greece. We loved not having to research hotels, places to eat, and sights to see. We were cared for almost the entire time by our travel guide, who was very knowledgeable about all the sights we saw. We would recommend this trip to friends! The Secrets of Greece including Corfu was an absolutely fabulous trip and I'd highly recommend to any of my friends. Our guide was wonderful, the sights were fabulous, and the food was delicious! The Santorini extension was not well cared for, and our whole group felt Trafalgar dropped the ball on the nine of us who went on to Santorini.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 04/20/2017
Trusted Customer - Traveled, September 2017
We saw the very best of Spain and Portugal loved to have stayed longer. The trip itinerary was excellent we have great memories thank you. Greece is special because it is a natural environment unlike anywhere else in Europe the countryside and coastline is beautiful the towns are very interesting in each region and the people are friendly and very hospitable Greece is a JOY.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 09/26/2017
Trusted Customer - Traveled, September 2017
Great Fun in Greece! Everything was great! Dina, the Tour Guide and Jonnis, the coach driver. the tours & excursions. I felt safe and completely accommodated my whole trip. Very comfortable and there was much to see.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/21/2017
Trusted Customer - Traveled, July 2017
I have been on tours with Cosmos and Gate 1 Travel and the tour guides were always very attentive to the needs of the travelers, but it was my experience on this tour that whenever there were obstacles, the guide handled them in a very emotional way and leaned on the few friends in the group she had made to bolster her (other smokers, since they spent time smoking together) and wore the stress all over her face and in her announcements to us. She also just rattled off facts, rather than trying to make them interesting and had no sense of humor. She scolded us like school children if we did something that didn't meet her expectations and it was embarrassing to the person being scolded. I don't expect a tour guide to act that way and have never experienced it before with guides in other companies. We had a problem with our trip to Corfu that was impeded by a ferry strike, but instead of having a plan B in place, since the Greece agent announced the possibility of a strike at our reception on the first night, we spent about 6 hours sitting around waiting for arrangements to be made, on a boat that would have made us all stand like refugees for 2 hours, at which point our guide announced that we were skipping Corfu. Most of the group protested loudly, since Corfu was one of the reasons we chose this tour over those offered by other companies. We ended up going on to Ioannina and backtracked to Corfu on Saturday, but this should have been taken care of seamlessly, instead of the way it was handled, with the guide acting totally stressed out all day. At Pelion, she assigned my friend and I to substandard rooms at the Hotel Despotiko because they couldn't accommodate everyone in the newer building. (Our guide & the bus driver stayed in the new bldg.) My friend and I requested different rooms because the shades in our showers were covered with mildew and my friend's room had mildew all over the shower enclosure. The glass provided in my room was chipped at the rim and the bedspread did not smell clean. (I have photos of my room.) Instead of handling it in a delicate way, she announced our request to the whole group in a shaming manner, without saying why we asked to change, and we were shunned by the whole group that night and all of the next day. Whereas others had always sat with us at meals, we were suddenly ostracized. I'm sure the incident left a lasting impression of us with the rest of the group, since we didn't try to explain and make it worse, and we felt like outsiders for the rest of the time. Then our guide got into an argument with 3 nuns at the monastery at Meteora because she was telling us her opinions about religion and actually said that religion is silly. She later laughed it off, saying "Good girls go to Heaven, but Bad girls go everywhere", but I was shocked to hear a tour guide give her opinion about religion to a group of people she knew nothing about. I thought it was inappropriate even before the nuns confronted her. One other thing I would have liked was to use Greek words. On tours with other companies, we have been encouraged to say "good morning, please, thank you" in the language of the country we were in, but our guide always spoke English with us. I think it's a nice touch to use local words. In stark contrast, I would like to tell you how wonderful Simone was on Santorini. My friend and I were the only ones in our original group who went on to the Santorini extension, so Simone agreed to watch over us and he is the only reason I will consider traveling with Trafalgar again in the future. He couldn't have been more attentive to the needs of each person in the group and walked us everywhere, even when it wasn't necessary, because he said he wanted to make sure we got there okay. He even got up early the day we went back to Athens, just to see us off. He was knowledgeable, funny and caring. When I spend my money on a vacation, this is the kind of guide I want to have. I really enjoyed the places we visited, especially Metsovo (wish we had more time there), Delphi, the wonderful hospitality of the small bed and breakfast at Galaxidi and the "Be My Guest" event was fantastic! I also loved every minute of my time on Santorini. I did all the optional and really enjoyed all of them.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 08/20/2017
Trusted Customer - Traveled, November 2016
Generally, service was excellent. Our only problem occurred as we were ending our stay on Santorini. Our travel director advised us Trafalgar's contractor for the tour (Siva) stated to him that our package did not include a transfer from the Athens airport to our hotel nor from the hotel back to Athens airport the following day for our departure home. Siva suggested we take the train from the airport to the hotel! We showed the travel director our coupon stating transfer from the hotel to the airport was, in fact, included. However, we had no such documentation showing transfer from the airport to the hotel upon our return from Santorini (an apparent oversight on Trafalgar's part). After much telephone discussion and faxing of material between our travel director and Siva, it was agreed that the transfers would be provided. Kudos to our excellent travel director. Additionally, our hotels were not always the ones stated on the list provided by Trafalgar.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/28/2016
Trusted Customer - Traveled, June 2015
The Trafalgar staff were exceptional in there attentiveness and professionalism. The knowledge of our Tour Guide for the mainland section was extraordinary. She made the whole experience very enriching through the depth and quality of her understanding of the archaeological sites and the Greece culture generally.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 07/19/2015
Download a personalized trip brochure!
Why Choose Us?
We Work for You
Our goal to make you happy! That means ensuring our travel consultants have the best product knowledge and excellent customer service. A positive customer experience is our #1 goal!
Our Products
We offer an broad selection of travel products, including all-inclusive vacation packages, pre-packaged tours, custom travel itineraries, destination weddings, and luxury vacations.
Escapes Cares
We believe in giving back. When you book with us, you are contributing to tree planting through our partners at Veritree, as well ocean conservation though Oceana Canada.
