2-Day Tour to Ancient Olympia, the Arcadia Cliff-Hanging Monasteries & the Mountain Villages from Athens or Nafplio
€950
Experience the birthplace of the most important athletic event of all times, the Olympic Games but also authentic Greece from a local point of view. A two-day trip to the mountain villages, gorge, Losios river, and monasteries of the Arcadia region in central Peloponnese plus the most celebrated sanctuary of ancient Greece; Olympia.
Why this tour?
Although Ancient Olympia is a branded and famous site, it will be the visit and stay at the Arcadia mountain villages that will provide a sense of hospitality and authenticity making the tour an experience rather than just a visit to a “site”.
Duration: 2days – 1night
Language: English
Departure: 8:00 a.m. from Athens or 8:30 a.m. from Nafplio
You can book this tour online now. The pricing shown is for 1 or 2 people (not per person).
For more pricing details & options please see the “Pricing” tab below or Contact Us to get a quote for more than 2 people.
Day1: Meet your private driver/guide for your 8:00 a.m. departure. In a short trip of no more than 2 1/2 hours, we shall reach our destination in this “real Greece” experience.
Starting from Athens, we drive towards the Corinth canal and make a quick 10 min stop to see the Corinth canal. If we start from Nafplio town we drive directly towards the mountains without the Corinth canal stop. We head towards Tripoli town (mountainous center of Peloponnese) and start our village exploration of mount Mainalo in the region of Arcadia. Not for nothing is the name Arcadia used as a shorthand for bucolic beauty.
The main destinations are the awesome villages of Dimitsana & Stemnitsa and also a couple of cliff-hanging monasteries. Dimitsana is one of the most attractive villages in the mountainous Arcadia region. It is set on a double hump overlooking the Lousios river. In this beautiful stone-built village, there are six beautiful churches since the Frankish and Norman rule. Just two km south of Dimitsana we shall be visiting the Water-Power Museum containing a reconstructed watermill, tannery, and gunpowder mill showing how the basic pre-industrial techniques used water as the main energy source for the production of various products.
Stemnitsa village has a medieval feeling with the stone-made houses, cobble-stoned alleys in an amphitheatrical structure. The amazing Prodromou & Emialon (or Philosofou) monasteries will be visited and of course Lousios river, the gorge, and the remaining of ancient Gortys. All monasteries are in the beautiful gorge of the Lousios river and one of them requires an easy 15-minute hike.
The gorge of Lousios is one of the most important and beautiful natural monuments of Peloponnese, ideal for hiking, rafting, and kayaking while a drive around will reveal amazing landscapes.
Somewhere in between these sites, you will enjoy a traditional Greek lunch and drink in a place to be arranged by your local driver. For those seeking to discover real Greece, these villages are must-visits any time of the year. There will also be free time for you to wander around through the narrow stone-built roads of both villages before relaxing and spending your night in a beautiful guest house.
Day2: Start with breakfast with the fresh mountain air and the view of the Lousios gorge before a 1.5 hours drive to ancient Olympia.
On the way, we stop at the traditional village of Lagkadia. A special place of natural beauty, lots of sightseeing, and a photographer’s playground! Lagadia village is the homeland of skilled stone craftsmen and for many generations built houses, churches, and schools all over Greece. The village houses are the living proof of their amazing talent and made them famous as the best in the art of stone building.
Then, we move on to Olympia. You can walk through the impressive ruins of the area where athletes trained and ran in the ancient stadium; just as the ancient Olympians did after their victory 3,000 years ago. In front of the Temple of Hera burns the Olympic Flame during the modern-day Olympic Games. You can also visit the world-famous museum and get the chance to see some unbelievable sculptures such as the sculpted decoration of the marble temple of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the famous Hermes carved by the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles.
Tour the monuments of the archaeological site, including the former gymnasium and Palaestra (where athletes practiced before competing), stadium, hotel & crypt. Let your imagination run to the times that Greece’s finest athletes strove to honor the gods through the Olympic ideal.
At the end of the day, we return to your accommodation or cruise ship in Athens or Nafplio with a few stops (to stretch and have a drink) at the stone-built villages of the area and possibly an extra historic monastery. The tour can be done the opposite way by firstly visiting Olympia and the mountain villages on the second day (depending on the time of year).
☼ Private tour!
☼ Hotel, airbnb, or cruiseship pickup and drop-off.
☼ Private driver/tour leader.
☼ Non-smoking vehicle & driver.
☼ One-night accommodation (including breakfast), arranged at an awesome stonebuilt guesthouse and based on double or triple occupancy depending on your group/family. Contact us if in doubt.
☼ Lunch is also included on both days and at selected locations.
☼ In-car bottled water & tour information booklet.
☼ Each person is allowed one normal size suitcase and a small carry-on bag.
☼ Flexible itinerary.
☼ Evenings out transport.
☼ Optional: Vegetarian lunch can be arranged in most cases. Please let us know in advance.
☼ Pickup and drop-off in areas outside of Athens or Nafplio (additional cost).
☼ Excess luggage not allowed.
☼ Entrance fees to the sites (Olympia €12 and €6 during off-season children under 18 are free – Water power museum €3).
☼ Dinner.
☼ Professional guide (optional).
☼ Shopping stops unless required by yourselves.
☼ Gratuities (optional).
Pricing (total for 1 or 2 persons) is at €950.
For larger groups of 3 or more related people (couples, groups of friends or large families) please contact us -before booking- to get the best rate depending on the exact number of people and age group. Also, if you are just a single person we will provide a discount. All our vehicles are brand new (2018-2020). For 1-3 people a large four-door saloon 2018-20 vehicle is used for the trip whereas for 3 or more people a large minivan is used.
Payments made by Paypal are subject to an additional cost of 5% which the client must include in the payment and corresponds to the fees Paypal charges on all transactions.
From Athens or Nafplio town. Your hotel, airbnb, cruise ship (Piraeus or Nafplio port) or a pre-arranged meeting point very close to your location. For other starting locations please contact us.
Many thanks to the Adventure Therapy Club for the great drone video of the two monasteries
[3]Ancient Messene (will add 2+ hours to the return trip)
Please contact us for details and pricing. Not all add-ons can be included in all tours either because of time limitations (daylight time, closing times of sites) or because of the time of the year, etc. Some add-ons require an earlier starting time than the typical 8:00 a.m. pick-up.
This tour can be combined with several other tours to explore the full of sites Mythical Peloponnese.
Please contact us for details, availability and pricing.
☼ All our tours include lunch and drinks and all multiday tours include quality accommodation. Professional guide, dinner (on multiday tours), and tickets to the sites are not included. You can read more about why we have these inclusions and exclusions.
☼ Children must be accompanied by an adult.
☼ Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not suitable for people with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair.
☼ We are flexible and the duration of the tour is flexible, so there is no rushing during the tour except when there are specific restrictions (like not to miss the closing time of the sites during off-season).
☼ If our agency cancels due to bad weather or any other extreme last-minute situation, you will be given the option of an alternative date or a full refund.
‘Eudaimonia’ is the trading name of Eudaimonia Private Tours of Greece, a tour provider officially registered under the Greek National Tourism Organization with business license number: 1245E70000044101. The ‘client’ is the person or persons who have made a confirmed booking with Eudaimonia.
ALL TOURS AND SERVICES HAVE THE FOLLOWING CANCELLATION POLICY
For “booking” dates on or after July 1, 2020
☼ Cancellations made greater than 15 days prior to the scheduled tour date will be fully refunded.
☼ Cancellations made between 7 to 15 days prior to the scheduled tour date will be refunded 80% of the agreed total tour fee.
☼ Cancellations made within 7 days of the scheduled tour date will be refunded 50% of the agreed total tour fee.
☼ Cancellations made within 48 hours prior to the scheduled tour date will incur a 100% charge.
If any specific client’s payment -full or partial- for a tour is labeled as “non-refundable” (e.g. last-minute bookings, etc), this will proceed to any other interpretations made from this cancellation policy, and it is only at Eudaimonia’s discretion to refund fully, partly or not at all, even under certain conditions including “Force Majeure”.
In all other cases: Eudaimonia reserves the right to make subtle changes to tour itineraries. Eudaimonia reserves the right to substitute vehicles and/or drivers should they arise. Eudaimonia reserves the right to change or cancel your booking in accordance with operating requirements or circumstances beyond its control. Should change and/or cancellation prove necessary we will give you reasonable notice thereof, in the circumstances, & where available, offer you a comparable alternative. If an alternative is not available or acceptable you will be entitled to either a full refund or monies paid by you to us or you can transfer to another Eudaimonia tour without payment of any transfer fee.
If the change or cancellation is due to force majeure (i.e. circumstances like political unrest, war or threat of war, riots, civil strike, closure of airports or ports, industrial disputes, terrorist activity, natural & nuclear disasters, fire, epidemic or health risk, Acts of God, adverse weather conditions or other similar events beyond Eudaimonia’s control) we will give a full refund of any monies paid to us less reasonable expenses incurred by us in respect of your booking (hotels, tickets, etc).
Eudaimonia is not responsible for the costs of any other travel arrangements affected due to our cancellations or rescheduling of any tour departure.
The client’s booking does not cover travel insurance. Eudaimonia strongly recommends that the client purchases travel insurance.
Dietary requirements must be requested from clients and forwarded at the time of booking or at least one week before the tour.
VALIDITY
The above terms and conditions are valid for all booking dates from July 1st, 2020 to December 31st, 2021.
Any tours booked on previous dates (before July 1st, 2020) are subject to the initially agreed terms which, in all cases, would have been “non-refundable”. However, following the COVID-19 issues, it is also offered credit for the rescheduling of such tours until December 31st, 2021.
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