Mystras Castle Town, Sparta & Museum of Olive Oil – Day Tour from Athens or Nafplio with Traditional Lunch with the Locals
€430
Ride to Sparta & Mystras from Athens or Nafplio with a private driver, then explore on a self-guided tour.
Your visit will be very rewarding and give you a chance to see Greece without the crowds! During this 9-hour experience, up to 8 people can relax on the private car ride to the Byzantine Mystras Castletown and Sparta. After drop-off, stroll around the Byzantine ruins which are a UNESCO world heritage site. You can view a Byzantine church and fortress as well as do a lot of hiking around the area.
An extra reason to take this tour? Sparta is one of the best places in Greece for purchasing olives and/or olive oil. Not as famous as the neighbor and better marketed Kalamata (city) olives but the quality is just perfect. We will “guide” you to all the right places for authentic olive oil.
Sparta – King Leonidas Statue
Next, enjoy a sit-down, traditional Greek lunch & drinks in a non-touristy location surrounded by locals.
In the town of Sparta, you can wander through the very modern Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil.
Let your tour leader know of any special interests you have that could determine extra stops/explorations:
☼ mountain village for lunch
☼ Elonis cliff-hanging monastery
☼ coastline return
Pickup and drop-off at your hotel or cruise ship are included.
Duration: 8-9 hours
Language: English
Departure: 8:00 a.m. from Athens
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.
From Athens: Meet your private driver in the lobby of your hotel for your early departure. Begin your drive towards the west area of Athens and make a quick stop to see the Corinth canal.
From Nafplio town: Ride on to the central Peloponnese and you will arrive at the 1989 declared UNESCO world heritage archaeological site of the mystical tower town of Mystras (next to Sparta) in just 2 hours, without any unnecessary stops that many scheduled bus tours make.
Sparta was the ancient rival of Athens and known for her fierce warriors.
The Mystras Byzantine ruins are one of the best archaeological sites you can see in the area. Be the knight or princess of your childhood fairytales in the Byzantine town of Mystras. Wander around the castle city and sense through the silence the city’s sheer grandeur: the Palace of the Despots, the Houses of Laskaris and Frangopoulos, the beautiful Cathedral of Saint Dimitrios, and the impressive Monasteries of Our Lady Pantanassa, and of Our Lady Perivleptos.
In the town of Sparta, you can visit the modern Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil. Here you can discover all there is to know about olive oil, an important staple of Greek life.
Next, enjoy a sit-down, traditional Greek afternoon lunch before returning to your vehicle and start your drive back towards Athens or Nafplio.
☼ After your booking, expect full communication at all times with all details, questions answered, pick-up location/times, etc.
☼ Full and detailed itinerary of the trip after your booking.
☼ Private tour for 1-8 related people.
☼ Hotel, cruise ship, or Airbnb pickup and drop-off.
☼ Private driver/guide & vehicle.
☼ Brand new (2018-20) 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. Remember that he/she tours & guides you at all times except when you self explore the sites (unless specifically requested to accompany you there too).
☼ Entrance fees to sites if only one person is traveling.
☼ Only one carry-on bag per person is allowed.
☼ Authentic lunch, drink, coffee and dessert in a convenient location with local people.
☼ In-car information booklet, bottled water.
☼ Local mobile phone for communication with your driver/tour leader while self-exploring.
☼ Free online consultation for all aspects of your planning and staying in Greece from the first moment you book this 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 additional cost)
☼ Excess luggage not allowed
☼ Entrance fees (Mystras archaeological site €12/person and Olive oil museum €3/person)
☼ Shopping stops unless required by the traveller/s
☼ Professional guide (optional)
☼ Gratuities (optional)
Total pricing is at €430 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 just a single person we will provide a discount. All our vehicles are brand new (2018-20). For 1-3 people a large sedan 4-door 2018-20 vehicle may be used, whereas for 3-8 people a large 2019 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% which the client must include in the payment or pay to Eudaimonia on the day of the book tour. This is the approximate fee that Paypal charges on all transactions.
The itinerary shown on the map includes the add-on return mountain & coastline route. This is via Mount Parnon (stop for lunch), a visit to the monastery of Elonis, and then the coastline route with a coffee stop at a seaside town, before joining again the motorway to Athens and before the Corinth canal. This option will add an extra 2-2.5 hours to the whole tour. Please contact us for details if you would like to consider this add-on.
From Athens or Nafplio town. Your hotel, cruise ship (Piraeus or Nafplio port) or a pre arranged meeting point very close to your location. For other starting locations please contact us.
Depending on the schedule and time of year, you can arrange to include add-on experiences in your itinerary, including:
[1] alternative return route via mount Parnon, Elonis monastery, and coastline villages of East Peloponnese
[2] visit Ancient Corinth [just after the Corinth canal]
[3] Winery visit & wine tasting
[4] visit an olive oil production unit for fresh olive oil tasting and/or buying [availability from September to January]
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.
The Mystras & Sparta day tour is also part of the ultimate way to explore the Mythical Peloponnese which is the five-day 5-Day Peloponnese-Corinth, Mycenae, Nafplio, Epidavros, Monemvasia, Mani, Sparta, Mystras, Olympia, Arcadia tour
It can also be combined with several day-tours and create a multi-day tour.
☼ Mountain Villages and Cliff-Hanging Monasteries of Arcadia
☼ Ancient Olympia Site & Museum
☼ Food Lovers tour in the Mythical Peloponesse
☼ Cave of Lakes, Ancient Corinth & Canal, Odontotos Rack Railway Day Tour
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 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.
