CYCLADES ISLAND HOPPING, CRETE and ATHENS
Athens-Mykonos-Naxos-Paros-Santorini-Crete
In this Greek island hopping package you take it ALL. Visit five Greek Aegean islands loved by sun seekers, with glorious beaches, impressive mountain escapes, unspoiled traditional villages, cosmopolitan life and become part of the island’s rich gastronomic culture. What else you want for your holidays!!!!
Athens is by Itself iconic! Chic and bohemian the same time, with a very strong energy, which is difficult to explain it, if you don’t live it. The unique Acropolis up to a hill in the middle of the town, the artistic old town, Plaka, the central flea markets with amazing local street food, compose one of the best urban destinations. Mykonos…maybe the most world known Greek island! Cycladic sun-touched cubic houses, Aegean crystal waters, the “out of a travel book” windmills and the most cosmopolitan town (Chora) of the Cyclades. Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades island group. It was the center of archaic Cycladic culture. Its fertile landscape spans ancient ruins, long stretches of beach and traditional villages perched high on mountain tops, where the inhabitants still wear their traditional dress and live off the fruits of the land. Paros, the island with the amazing whitewashed villages, next to traditional little ports with colorful fishboats. Don’t miss to taste the local specialty, the famous fish soup, bouillabaisse. Santorini! An active volcano in the middle of the sea makes the sunset over Caldera one of the best in the world, the dark grey earth is the ideal background for the white houses and its wine..great, fabled all over the world. Crete is the largest of the Greek islands, a tapestry of splendid beaches, ancient treasures and landscapes, vibrant cities and dreamy villages, where locals share their traditions, wonderful cuisine and generous hospitality.
TOUR DETAILS
- Tout Code: IH-15cyCA
- Duration: 15 days / 14 nights
- Operating: All the year round
HIGHLIGHTS
- Athens sightseeing with Acropolis and Museum
- Mykonos island
- Naxos island
- Paros island
- Santorini island
- Crete island
INCLUDED
- All transfers with luxury private car or minivan / bus
- Hotels 3*, 4*, 5*
- Meals, Breakfast (BB) (B,_,_) – A dinner in Paros, to taste the local specialty of Bouillabaisse fish soup.
- English speaking official guides
- Entrance fees to archaeological sites and museums
- Ferry Tickets
- Meet & Greet at the airport on the arrival
NOT INCLUDED
- Flight tickets (Flight tickets can be issued upon request)
- Accommodation taxes (1,5€ per room per day for 3*hotels – 3€ per day per room for 4* hotels – 4€ per day per room for 5* hotels)
*All packages are flexible and dynamic for any changes according to any personal needs and desires upon request.
Welcome to Athens
1st day: Athens arrival (_,_,_)
Arrival to Athens airport, meet our staff at the airport, welcome. Private transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day at leisure. In the afternoon you can walk (escorted upon request) at the Athens old town, Plaka. One of the most worth-seeing areas of Athens, where the architecture mirrors the Greek tradition and culture. On the way you have the chance to shop Greek folk-art products and taste our local street food, souvlaki. OPTIONAL Dinner at a traditional tavern at Monastiraki with souvlaki and shish kebab dishes.
2nd day: Athens full day sightseeing, (B,_,_)
Constitution Square (Syntagma), the House of Parliament, the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier and the National Library. Driving down Herod Atticus st. you will see the Evzones in their picturesque uniform and the Presidential Palace. On your way to the Acropolis you will see the Hadrian’s Arch, visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus and you will make a short stop at the Panathenaic Stadium where the first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896. Then Acropolis, the architectural masterpieces of the Golden Age (5th century BC) of Athens, Propylaea, Temple of Athena Nike, Erechtheion, and finally Parthenon, an ode to civilization. We complete the visit with the Museum of Acropolis. OPTIONAL dine at a traditional music tavern in Plaka with Greek dances performance, local dishes and Greek wine. The best way to introduce you Greece is through our culinary and our unique way in nightlife! Overnights in Athens.
3rd day: Piraeus – Mykonos
Morning private transfer to Piraeus port to take the ferry to Mykonos Island. On the arrival private transfer to hotel and rest of the day is free to explore Mykonos. Wander around the colorful and busy streets of Chora (the capital town of the island), with the most glamorous of all, Matogianna street, with brand name stores and gourmet restaurants. Choose a small tavern to try local specialties like Kopanisti – a pepper flavored creamy cheese, the island’s gastronomic trademark or the delicious Mykonian sausages, made from local pork. On this sun-touched island there are plenty of dining options to choose. Mykonos is also known for its nightlife. Don’t miss to experience a night party which lasts until the early hours and get little or no sleep at all. Overnight in Mykonos.
4th day: Mykonos island
Free day in Mykonos! Enjoy a branch in the picturesque Little Venice or walk the pebble streets of Mykonos, swim at the most cosmopolitan beaches of Greece, Paradise beach and Super Paradise beach, where parties start from 4pm every day with some of the world’s top DJs or if you prefer a more family orientated beach head to Ornos and Psarou with clean shallow waters and seaside restaurants to taste fresh fish. There are also less organized beaches like Agia Anna, Kapari, Houlakia and Agios Stefanos all with crystal clear waters and golden sands. OPTIONAL take a Delos island half day cruise to the island of gates Apollo and Artemis.
5th day: Mykonos- Naxos (B,_,_)
Morning ferry to Naxos island, the largest island in the Cyclades, amongst the most famous summer destinations, as it offers a wide variety of beaches for all tastes and is considered to be the windsurfers’ hot spot. Transfer to your hotel. Free time to walk in the town and visit Kastro in the oldest quarter in Naxos. See Portara, a marble gate standing on top of a small islet, connected to town through a small passageway. This gate is the only remain from a 6th century BC temple of Apollo. Visit the authentic mountainous picturesque villages in the center of island, Apiranthos, Halki, Filoti and Potamia. Swim in Naxos fantastic beaches Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios, Mikri Vigla and Alyko, at western side of island with the crystal-clear waters and soft sand. Some are organized, while others are totally remote. Drive to the best beaches for windsurfing and kitesurfing, Orkos, Agios Georgios, Laguna and enjoy the power of wind. In these beaches, you can find sports centers that rent equipment and offer surfing courses for all ages.
6th Day: Naxos Island (B,_,_)
Relax day. Swim in Naxos fantastic beaches Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios, Mikri Vigla and Alyko, at western side of island with the crystal-clear waters and soft sand. Some are organized, while others are totally remote. Drive to the best beaches for windsurfing and kitesurfing, Orkos, Agios Georgios, Laguna and enjoy the power of wind. In these beaches, you can find sports centers that rent rent equipment and offer surfing courses for all ages.
7th day: Naxos- Paros (B,_,_)
After breakfast transfer to port to catch the ferry to Paros island. Arrival and private transfer to hotel. Paros located in the heart of the Cyclades. Parikia is the Island’s capital and the main port. The old town of Parikia is picturesque, with a Venetian castle standing on a hill at the center of the village, offering an amazing view of Parikia. Don’t forget to admire a major Byzantine monument in Greece, The Church of Panagia Ekatontapyliani (the church of 100 doors), located in the center of Parikia and built in the 4th century.
8th day: Paros island (B,_,_)
Free day to explore this beautiful island. Sun-drenched beaches like Pounda and Chryssi Akti, waiting every year the visitors who love the sun, the daily beach parties and the water sports. There are other beaches too. Absolutely worth to visit Kolymbithres, near picturesque village of Naousa and maybe the best beach of the island. You can try the ideal for families beach Sant Maria, Piso Livadi and Logaras with the crystal shallow waters and seaside restaurants. OR (our suggestion) take the opportunity to join an exhilarating tour all around the coast of the island by a boat. In the afternoon you can visit the villages of Paros. First choice is Lefkes, a small village hidden in mountains, full of white houses and clinging bougainvillea. There, you can visit the Museum of Aegean Folk Culture, a great way to discover the Aegean world. Another lovely village is Piso Livadi, a small fishing village less trendy than Naoussa but with its quite and family atmosphere to make it an ideal choice for a fresh grilled fish and test the specialty of the island, Bouillabaisse soup (fish soup).
9th day: Paros -Santorini (B,_,_)
Continue this magical Cycladic island hopping, this morning we take the ferry Santorini island. Santorini..it is difficult to find the words to talk about this island..everything sounds too little! There is no denying the uniqueness of this destination. A Caldera (crater) in the middle of the sea, Santorini’s trademark landscape, is what left from a large volcanic eruption thousands of years ago and made actually the whole island a huge natural geological museum. Today this caldera is offering the best sunsets in the world and the unique volcanic-sand beaches.
10th day: Santorini-island (B,_,_)
Fira is the capital of Santorini. Walk in and around Fira is the only way to savor its beauty and walk the edge of the caldera is the only way to admire its views! Walking down the 587 steps you reach the small port of Fira, Skala. For the return you can take Santorini’s cable car or donkey taxi. The next village called Firostefani and located about 15 minutes walk from Fira. After halh-hour walk from Fira you reach Imerovigli, the highest point of the caldera edge. In Santorini there is a magical hour which is strongly connecting in people’s mind with a magical place. The hour when the sun go down and the sky turn these incredible shades of pink, purple and orange, the only place that you should be is in Oia. Oia is a beautiful village, where the whitewashed houses and the small churches with blue dome, provide an ideal background of the warm colors palette which gives the sun when dive into the dark blue Aegean sea. The best place to watch the sunset in Oia is the Byzantine Castle. Only a few minutes away from the cosmopolitan Oia, do not miss to visit the old wineries of Finikia. These old wineries have been converted into homes and painted in ochre, blue and pink, contrary to the Cycladic architecture, compose today a fairy tail settlement that remind a painting. Also below Oia located a small fishing village called Amoudi Bay. You can get there walking down the footpath from Oia but you can also drive there. The islanders the best swimming spot in Santorini but not a beach. Just jump from the rocks into the amazing emerald waters. Definitely the seaside taverns is the best choice in Santorini if you like fresh fishes.
10th day: Santorini island (B,_,_)
Swimming in Santorini is an exhilarating experience, a refreshing natural spa in Red, White and Black sand beaches with volcanic pebbles and impressive lunar landscapes. Red beach is Santorini’s most famous beach and fairly so! Emerald-blue waters and unusual red sand which comes from the pulverized volcanic rocks. Perivolos, Perissa and Kamari are large beaches with black volcanic sand. They are organized, lined with beach bars and taverns. And of course Vlychada beach, one of the most unusual beaches with black sand and white lunar cliffs making a unique – out of the world- landscape. Vlychada beach is a semi-organized beach. In the afternoon you can visit some of the vineyards of the island or take OPTIONAL take a Wine Tour (a very popular activity in Santorini) and taste excellent wines-known as some of the best in the world. Santorini with thousands of years of wine-making tradition, remains the home of a major wine industry, based on the indigenous grape variety of Assyrtiko. If you decide to visit the wineries on your own we suggest the Santo Wines (maybe the most popular) and also Venetsanos Winery. Don’t miss to taste Santorini’s delicate products. Because of the climate and the volcanic soil, the traditional products of Santorini growing in perfect conditions and giving tastes and flavors that make the island a gastronomic paradise. Some of them as the cherry tomatos, the wine and the yellow split peas-called fava-, have been labeled as Protective Destination of Origin products by E.U.
11th day: Santorini- Crete (B,_,_)
Today before departure you can join a Volcano and Hot Springs Boat tour. A very popular tour in Santorini, you will stay on the volcano for about an hour where you can walk to the active craters and then you visit Palaia Kameni for the hot springs and the famous mud baths. In the afternoon transfer to port and get fast ferry (1,5 hrs) to Heraklion Crete. Transfer to your hotel.
12th day: Crete – Knossos visit (B,_,_)
Meet our guide at your hotel and drive to Knossos for a guided visit to Minoan Palace and Archeological museum of Heraklion. The site was continuously inhabited from the Neolithic period (7000-3000 B.C.) until Roman times. The Palace is also connected with thrilling legends, such as the myth of the Labyrinth with the Minotaur, and the story of Daidalos and Icaros. Later we’ll visit the Heraklion museum with the treasures of Minoan civilization. Then drive to Diktaion Andro at Lasithi Plateau, where Zeus was born according to Mythology. Return to Heraklion. Optional. In the evening drive to Karouzanos Village for dinner with Cretan food (mezes) and local dances.
13th day: Rethymno – Chania – Night Ferry (B,_D)
After breakfast drive to picturesque Rethymnon. Walk around the old city, Venetian Lotzia, a beautiful building of 6th century, the Nerantze mosque, go up to Paleokastro hill and walk in Fortezza. Then continue to picturesque town of Chania with the Venetian Harbor, the old port, the narrow shopping streets and waterfront restaurants. Later joint the Cretan traditional cooking lessons (4 hrs) in Vamos village. You will cook, taste and enjoy local recipes and prepare delicious dishes with the guidance and assistance of professional cook. After cooking, you will all eat together on a long monastery-style table, enjoying the fruits of your creativity with local wine and bread, Greek music and nice stories. In the night (21:00 hrs) take the night boat to Piraeus, or have an overnight at Chania.
14th day: Departure
Morning arrival at Piraeus port. If time permits drive to Monastiraki area, flea market for last minute shopping. Then transfer to Athens airport for your flight back home.