Classical Greece & the Wonders of the Ancient World including flights

Travel Highlights : 

HOME OF THE GODS

A fascinating journey that brings to life the wonders of the Classical Greek civilisation and the histories of the Byzantine and Roman periods.

This wonderful week-long odyssey features stays in the fascinating city of Thessaloniki and the bustling metropolis of Athens. Enjoy escorted tours of some of the most fascinating and absorbing sites of Classical Greece, including the staggering Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the 5th-century Acropolis of Athens and the monasteries at Meteora.

Tour Highlights 

• Spend eight days exploring some of Classical Greece’s best-preserved sites
• Explore fabled Athens, ‘The Glorious City’
• Discover historic Delphi, home to the Temple of Apollo
• Enjoy a boat ride around the UNESCO-listed Mount Athos
• Learn about the fascinating history of Thessaloniki on a city tour
• Enjoy a visit to Mount Olympus, where Homer lived
• Discover the UNESCO­­­-listed Meteora monastery, filming location of James Bond's For Your Eyes Only

WHAT DOES THIS PRICE INCLUDE?

• Seven nights’ carefully chosen bed and breakfast accommodation
• One evening meal
• Return flights to Thessaloniki
• Coach travel and transfers throughout
• Fully escorted by a friendly, experienced tour manager

Summer Sale! Save 5% on all Holidays

Terms and Conditions :

• 5% discount on UK, Ireland, European and Worldwide tours and holiday.
• The Summer Sale offer applies to new bookings only booked between 1st September and 30th September 2021 inclusive.
• The Offer does not apply to holidays with late availability pricing and excludes Ocean Cruise, River Cruise, Lapland Day Trips and Wimbledon.
• This offer cannot be combined or used in conjunction with any other discount, promotion or concession.
• When booking a holiday as described above, prices shown will automatically have the 5% applied. The discount applies to your final holiday price (excluding holiday insurance) at the time of booking. The Offer is subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time.

Accommodation : 

CLASSICAL GREECE & THE WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD TOURING HOTELS  

Guests will be staying in a series of comfortable hotels that are conveniently located for your tour itinerary. 

Holiday Inn Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki nights 1–4 : Located in the heart of Thessaloniki, less than a mile from the bustling port, this well-equipped hotel features comfortable, air-conditioned rooms, together with a gym, bar and restaurant.  

Hotel Amalia, Delphi night 5 : Boasting wonderful views over a green valley and out toward the sea, this hotel features an outdoor pool, well-manicured gardens and an inviting lounge. Rooms are light and airy, with air conditioning and complimentary Wi-Fi. The hotel is home to a restaurant and bar. 

Hotel Bomo Palace, Athens nights 6–8 : This comfortable hotel is located right on Glyfada’s waterfront, and boasts spacious, airy rooms, together with an outdoor pool, restaurant and bar. Complimentary Wi-Fi is provided throughout, and Piraeus port is close by. 

Please note, for certain dates on selected departures, we may use different hotels, but of a similar standard.

More Information : 

Hotel transfer time : 

The transfer time from the airport to your hotel is approximately ***

Combining hotel transfers : 

New Market holidays sometimes need to combine transfers to and from your hotel. We always try to keep any wait to a minimum, but you may be asked to wait at the airport for up to an hour, while other incoming flights arrive, before the transfer to your hotel. Similarly, we may need to transfer you back to the airport up to three hours before your flight home departs.

Special requirements : 

If you have notified us of any special requirements, please check that they have been noted and acknowledged. This is especially important with any dietary needs you may have.

Disabled access : 

The majority of our tours involve a certain amount of walking, including a short walk from the coach stop to the town, attraction or venue you're visiting. If you are bringing a wheelchair, please let us know at the time of booking so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Itinerary Change : 

Occasionally, for operational reasons, we may have to change the order of the excursions on your holiday. The final day-by-day itinerary will be confirmed on your Final Travel Documents, which you will receive approximately three weeks prior to your departure.

Changes of hotels :

Should circumstances require, we reserve the right to accommodate you in alternative hotels, of a similar standard, nearby. Full details of your hotels will be sent with your Final Travel Documents.

Day 1 : Fly to Thessaloniki

Upon arrival, meet your tour manager for the short 30-minute transfer to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day relaxing and acclimatising to your new surroundings.

Depending on your time of arrival, you might choose to talk a stroll into Thessaloniki, which was once the wealthiest city in the Byzantine Empire. Take a walk along the seafront promenade, perhaps pausing for a souvlaki and a beer at one of the numerous cafés and restaurants, no doubt looking forward to a fascinating week ahead.

Day 2 : Included tour of Thessaloniki and Mount Athos

Join your tour manager for a fascinating tour of Thessaloniki, which, despite being Greece’s second-largest city, has a compact centre that is perfect for exploring on foot. Founded in 315 BC, Thessaloniki was an important city during the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods, and is home to several well-preserved sites from these eras. Visit the stunning Byzantine Church of Saint Demetrios, honouring Thessaloniki’s patron saint, a Roman soldier killed on the site of the church in 306 AD by Emperor Galerius, infamous persecutor of Christians. Continue to the Arch of Galerius, a magnificent symbol of the emperor’s power with intricate panel carvings commemorating a decisive victory over the Persians, and the waterfront White Tower, an Ottoman fortress and perhaps Thessaloniki’s most famous landmark. The tower was built in the 15th century on the site of a Byzantine fortification and was used to protect the harbour.

Enjoy lunch at your leisure in Thessaloniki, which has a well-earned reputation as a powerhouse of Greek gastronomy, before the tour continues to Halkidiki for a boat tour around the UNESCO­­­-listed Mount Athos. The ‘Holy Mountain’, as it is also known, sits on a peninsula that juts out in the Aegean Sea, and is home to 20 monasteries. According to myth, the mountain was created by Athos, who was one of the Gigantes. Sit back and relax as your guide explains the legend of Mount Athos, as you gain a unique perspective from the sea.

Day 3 : Optional Mount Olympus Tour

Enjoy a morning at leisure, before this afternoon brings the choice of exploring Mount Olympus on an optional tour or continuing your exploration of Thessaloniki under your own steam.

In Greek mythology, Mount Olympus was the home of the 12 Greek gods. Your tour guide will bring these fascinating myths to life as you explore the mountain, which is Greece’s highest peak, reaching to 9,573ft above sea level. Homer, legendary author of the Odyssey and Iliad is also believed to have lived here. Mount Olympus is famous for its unique biodiversity and is classified as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The mountain’s forested slopes are home to 32 species of mammals, 108 species of birds and countless different reptiles and amphibians, together with 1700 plant species, which equates to roughly 25% of all the plants found in Greece. 

Day 4 : Included Meteora Tour

Join your tour manager after breakfast today for an included tour of the rock formations at Meteora. The stunning landscape is littered with enormous rock columns, some as tall as 1,800ft. There are six monasteries precipitously perched on top of these gigantic columns, which are a designated UNESCO ­World Heritage Site. The monasteries date back to the 14th-century, and one of them, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, was featured in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Spend a wonderful day exploring this truly unique landscape, before returning to your hotel this evening.

Day 5 : Transfer to Delphi

This morning, after breakfast, board the coach and transfer to Delphi. Stop en route for lunch (payable locally), before arriving at your new hotel in the late afternoon. Relax and take the time to settle in, perhaps heading to explore the town, or enjoying an apéritif at your hotel, before an included dinner is served this evening.

Day 6 : Incldued tour of Delphi and Transfer to Athens

After breakfast, join your tour manager for an included tour of sacred Delphi. Site of the oracle consulted for a thousand years for her wise utterances, Delphi’s remains include the Sacred Precinct, with its fabled Temple of Apollo and its reconstructed Treasury of the Athenians. Marvel at the 5th-century BC bronze charioteer, one of Classical Greece’s most priceless remains and visit the fabled Castalian spring, into which Byron once plunged.

After a wonderful day spent exploring Delphi, transfer to Athens, and your new hotel in Glyfada. Depending upon your arrival time, enjoy a first taste of the bustling Greek capital. Choose to dine in the hotel, or perhaps in one of the innumerable restaurants or tavernas close to your hotel.

Day 7 : Included Tour of Athens

This morning our included guided sightseeing tour will introduce you to this extraordinary, beguiling city. Explore the fabled Acropolis, the massive rock buttress topped with the familiar ruins of the Parthenon, one of the world’s most enduring symbols. The great double gatehouse, the Propylaea, the elegant Temple of Athena Nike and the great Erechtheion complete the major monuments that are awe-inspiring windows to the 5th-century BC era of the great Classical Greek Civilisation and its immortal leader Pericles.

Entrance is included to the Acropolis Museum, which houses items rescued from the monuments, and don’t miss the great Roman Herodes Atticus Theatre, the nearby ruins of the 17-000-seat Theatre of Dionysos, which once witnessed the masterworks of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and the stupendous remains of the Temple of Zeus, once the largest temple on the Greek mainland.

Modern Athens surrounds the relics of the past – and your tour will leave you keen to explore under your own steam, before, this evening, you enjoy some traditional Greek hospitality in your choice of restaurant, reflecting on a wonderful week.

Day 7 : Return to UK

Depending on the time of your flight, you may have some free time today to explore Athens before you transfer to the airport to begin your journey home.

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