Meet your private driver/guide for your 8:00 – 9:00 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 central city of the 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 Open Air 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. The museum is closed on Tuesdays and a few Greek national holidays, so please inquire in advance.
- Stemnitsa village has a medieval feeling with the stone-made houses, cobble-stoned alleys in an amphitheatrical structure. The amazing Prodromou & Emyalon monasteries will be visited and of course Lousios river, the gorge, and the remaining ancient Gortys. All monasteries are in the beautiful gorge of the Lousios river and one of them requires an easy 15-minute hike. There will also be short walks through the narrow stone-built roads of both villages.
- The gorge and river of Lousios are the most important and beautiful natural monuments of Peloponnese, ideal for hiking, rafting, and kayaking while a drive around will reveal amazing landscapes.
- In the surroundings of Dimitsana and Stemnitsa villages, the important sights include the Emyalon & St John Prodromou Monastery, both located inside the Lousios gorge and river. At the spectacular landscape of Lousios Canyon, 3 km away from Dimitsana village we meet the Monastery Emyalon. It was built on a perpendicular cliff among cypresses probably on the ruins of another earlier building from the Byzantine period.
- One of the more impressive attractions of this area is the monastery of St John Prodromos built along the side of Lousios Gorge. You can’t see the monastery from its parking area at the top of the gorge and a sign sends you on to a cobbled path that leads down the side of the gorge. Just when you think it can’t possibly be here because there’s nothing but a steep-sided ravine and trees, you look up, and there it is, above you, a long mass of buildings clinging like limpets to the rock face, with some tiny, box-like structures with wooden buttresses underneath.
Somewhere in between these sites, you will enjoy a typical Greek lunch in a place to be arranged by your leader. For those seeking to discover real Greece, these villages are must-visits any time of the year.
At the end of the day, we return to your accommodation or the cruise ship in Athens or Nafplio.
☼ Private tour for 1-8 related people.
☼ Hotel pickup and drop-off.
☼ Private local driver with very good knowledge of the sites to be visited.
☼ Brand new (2018-22) non-smoking vehicle & non-smoking driver.
☼ The dress code of the driver depends on the season of the year, always informal but at the same time professional.
☼ Each adult traveler is allowed a maximum of one carry-on bag.
☼ Authentic Greek lunch & drinks with dessert.
☼ In-car information booklet & bottled water.
☼ Flexible itinerary.
☼ Free online consultation for all aspects of your planning and staying in Greece from the first moment you book the trip or any other day or multi-day trips of Eudaimonia.
☼ 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 (subject to a possible additional cost).
☼ Entrance fees to the Open Air Water-Power Museum (€3,00).
☼ Excess luggage is not allowed.
☼ Touristy souvenir/shopping stops unless requested by yourselves
☼ Gratuities (optional).
Total pricing is at €450 for 1 or 2 persons (not per person).
For larger groups of 3 to 8 (related people; couples, groups of friends, or large families) please contact us to get the best rate depending on the exact number of people and their age group. Also, if you are a solo traveler we will provide a discount or free extras. All our vehicles are brand new (2018-22). For 1-3 people a large 5 door sedan vehicle may be used for the trip; whereas for 3-8 people, a large minivan may be used.
Payments made by Paypal, either through the website’s check out or directly, are subject to an additional cost of 5%-6% which the client must include in the payment or pay to Eudaimonia on the day of the booked tour. This is the approximate fee that Paypal charges on all transactions.
On the way back to the main motorway we travel a different path out of the mountain range to enjoy the pine forest, time, and weather permitting.
Departure from the Athens area or Nafplio town. Your hotel, cruise ship (Piraeus or Nafplio port), or a pre-arranged meeting point very close to these locations. For other starting locations please contact us.
Corinth Canal (Optional but free)
☼ 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 canceled due to bad weather or any other extreme 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’ or ‘customer’ is the person or persons who have made a confirmed booking with Eudaimonia.
CANCELLATION POLICY FOR TOURS AND SERVICES
[If you booked your trip prior to January 1, 2021, the Booking Conditions you agreed to when you made your booking still apply]
(A) Cancellation Policy for the day or half-day tours or transfers:
☼ Cancellations made greater than 15 days prior to the scheduled tour date will be fully refunded minus expenses and/or services fees.
☼ 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 between 7 days to 48 hours prior to the scheduled tour date will be refunded 50% of the agreed total tour fee.
☼ Cancellations made 48 hours prior to the scheduled tour date will incur a 100% charge.
All of Eudaimonia’s expenses agreed through the email exchange of communication concerning the day or half-day tours or transfers, such as site tickets or train tickets or bookings for the client (wine tasting, restaurants, hotels, events, etc) will be deducted from the amount to be refunded. Additionally, a service fee of 5% (of the total amount agreed) will be deducted from any refundable amount including the 15-day full refund case.
(B) Cancellation Policy for multi-day tours:
☼ Cancellations made greater than 45 days prior to the scheduled tour date will be fully refunded minus expenses and/or services fees.
☼ Cancellations made between 20 to 45 days prior to the scheduled tour date will be refunded 80% of the agreed total tour fee.
☼ Cancellations made between 20 to 10 days prior to the scheduled tour date will be refunded 50% of the agreed total tour fee.
☼ Cancellations made 10 days prior to the scheduled tour date will incur a 100% charge.
All of Eudaimonia’s expenses concerning any multiday tour, such as site tickets, train tickets, bookings for the client (wine tasting, restaurants, etc), and hotels booked for the client will be deducted from any amount to be refunded after the initial 45-day full refund period. Additionally, a service fee of 10% (of the total amount agreed) will be deducted from any refundable amount including the 45-day full refund case.
(C) Special client-specific arrangements:
If any specific client’s payment (full or partial) or email communication/agreement for a tour is labeled or mentioned as “non-refundable”, this will precede 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”. Therefore, it is the specific written (email) agreement between the client and Eudaimonia that precedes this cancellation policy and determines the agreed cancellation for each client.
(D) Other issues:
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.
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.
Eudaimonia encourages all clients to communicate as early as possible concerning cancellation issues which can allow the agency to offer a better refund – partial or full- to a client despite the standard policy described in this document. This is a decision to be made entirely by Eudaimonia in an effort to better serve the client.
VALIDITY & DISPUTES
The above terms and conditions are valid for all bookings submitted after January 1, 2021. Any tours booked/submitted on previous dates are subject to the initially agreed terms shown in the corresponding communication/email which, in all cases, would have been “non-refundable”. However, we offer credit for the rescheduling of such tours until June 30th, 2022.
Any disputes will be resolved by the Greek legal system and its laws without the need for any arbitration.
The Client agrees to all the above when booking any of Eudaimonia’s tours and services.
