-Day 1 Overnight flight to Greece (Athens)
Day 2 Yassou Athens
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Details: Athens city walk
You’re never more than a few steps away from the past in Athens. Accompany your Tour Director to the Plaka, the historic district that borders the Acropolis. In its twisting narrow streets you’ll catch glimpses of an older city, from wrought-iron balconies bursting with geraniums to traditional Greek dancing in basement tavernas. Continue on to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, begun in the 6th century B.C. and finished in A.D. 132 by the emperor Hadrian. Its enormous columns provide a sense of the scale of the original temple. Nearby, the elaborate Hadrian’s Arch separated the ancient and imperial sections of the city.
Details: Hadrian’s Arch
View Hadrian's Arch, an enormous triumphal arch built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, which is still a symbolic entrance to Athens.
Day 3 Athens
Details: Delphi guided excursion
Prophet from the past. Explore the impressive ruins at Delphi, which the Greeks considered the center of the world. Within the depths of the Temple of Apollo, a priestess would inhale intoxicating vapors that used to rise from the earth and, thus inspired, deliver the prophecies of Apollo. Modern visitors might find more inspiration in the view from Mount Parnassus, over 8000 feet high.
Details: Delphi Museum visit
Gain an understanding of what the Oracle might have looked like at the Delphi Museum.
Day 4 Athens
Details: Mycenae, Epidaurus & Nafplio excursion
See the sacred precinct of Epidaurus, a former health clinic and spa with a 4th-century BC amphitheater. Continue to Mycenae. Framed by twin mountains and looking out over the plains, Mycenae was a palace, a workshop, and a grave. Gold cups, jewelry, bronze armor, swords, and daggers, as described by Homer, were discovered here. Walk up to the remains of the citadel. Look out over the rolling hills. Imagine the bonfires blazing in all directions, signaling that Troy had fallen to Agamemnon.
Details: Mycenae & Epidaurus excursion
See the sacred precinct of Epidaurus, a former health clinic and spa with a 4th-century BC amphitheater. Continue to Mycenae. Framed by twin mountains and looking out over the plains, Mycenae was a palace, a workshop, and a grave. Gold cups, jewelry, bronze armor, swords, and daggers, as described by Homer, were discovered here. Walk up to the remains of the citadel. Look out over the rolling hills. Imagine the bonfires blazing in all directions, signaling that Troy had fallen to Agamemnon.
Details: Nafplio city walk
This is a lovely town dominated by the Venetian “Palamidi” castle. It was the first capital of modern Greece, and it has a very nice old center. You can have a very nice walk in the old center and on the sea-front promenade.
Details: Athens choir exchange concert
Perform with a local school ensemble and discover how music connects communities worldwide.
Day 5 Athens
Greek dinner in Plaka
Details: Athens guided sightseeing tour
Athens is one of the oldest and greatest cities of Western Civilization, with a recorded history that extends back 3,400 years. During the Classical Era, Athens was a center for the arts, learning, and philosophy. It was the home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. Modern Athens is still a vibrant city with a rich culture that takes great pride in its long and complex history.
Details: Acropolis site visit
Visit the Acropolis, which has overlooked Athens for over 2,000 years; habitation traces indicate that it was occupied as early as the Neolithic Age. View the Temple of Athena Nike, and its successor, The Parthenon. The Parthenon is the crowning achievement of the Doric order, built to demonstrate the wealth of Athens in tribute to its patron goddess, Athena.
Details: Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square, located directly in front of the Old Royal Palace, is the central square of Athens.
Details: Agora
The Agora, or marketplace, is located at the base of the Acropolis. It has been a meeting place for thousands of years, going through cycles of destruction and rebuilding. Signs of its changing nature are abundant.
Details: Acropolis Museum visit
The Acropolis Museum contains a superb collection of sculptures from the area. The monuments of the Acropolis have withstood the ravages of past centuries, both of ancient times and those of the Middle Ages. Until the 17th century, foreign travelers visiting the monuments depicted the classical buildings as being intact.
Details: Athens choir exchange concert
Perform with a local school ensemble and discover how music connects communities worldwide.
Day 6 Athens
Free time at Monastiraki Bazaar
Details: Ancient Agora of Athens guided visit
Discover the Ancient Agora, the political heart of Athens from 600 BC. With shops, a theater, and schools, the agora served as the center of social and commercial life. Highlights of the complex include the Hephaisteion, a particularly well-preserved temple, and the Stoa of Attalos, a reconstructed, colonnaded building that houses a small museum with finds from the agora.
Details: Greek evening with dinner and a show
Enjoy Greek cuisine, culture--and a show!
Day 7 Flight home from Athens
Day 7 Start Aegean cruise (tour must depart North America on Saturdays to do extension)
Details: Cruise for three days on the Aegean
Set out to sea. Take three days to tour four islands of the Aegean and get to know authentic Greek island culture and some of the Aegean's best beaches. First is Mykonos, one of the Mediterranean's busiest resorts, with everything from a great museum filled with 7th-century artifacts to pure white, cubistic buildings, Crayola-colored boats, gourmet restaurants and...more beaches. Next stop is Kusadasi, known for its myriad of shops and historic sites. Then it is on to the hilly, seahorse-shaped Patmos, you'll see gold-leafed Byzantine frescos at the Monastery of St. John, the capital city of Hora, the busy port of Skala and beautiful beaches. Cruise on to Heraklion, the capital of Crete and a former Minoan seaport, for an unparalleled collection of Minoan archaeological artifacts. Finally, you’ll visit Santorini, where whole villages seem to cling to the side of the volcano, and mysterious black sand beaches stretch into the sea. Itinerary is subject to change. Your cruise includes two shore excursions.
Details: Your cruise includes two shore excursions.
The following two excursions are included on your cruise: Ancient Ephesus through the ages - Hellenistic and Roman, and
Heraklion: Minoan Palace of Knossos - 1st European Civilization. Note that depending on the departure date of your cruise, shore excursions are subject to change.
Day 10 Athens
Details: Cape Sounion guided excursion
Contemplate the sea god Poseidon from his temple perched high atop the hill of Cape Sounion, the southern-most tip of Central Greece. Stand among the tall, marble pillars rising up from the slippery slabs of rock and look out over the calm blue Aegean Sea. The Temple of Poseidon, built around the same time as the Parthenon (between 450-440 BC), is a refreshing point of calm after the chaos of modern Athens.
Day 11 Flight home from Athens
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare and other transportation described in the itinerary
- 5 overnight stays (9 with extension) in hotels with private bathrooms
- Full European breakfast daily
- Dinner daily
- Full time, multilingual, WorldStrides tour director who is LEAP-trained in experiential education
- Local guide at sites and on city tours as described in the itinerary
- All of the venue arrangement fees and promotional costs for included concert performances
- LEAP! Learning through Exploration and Active Participation; trademarked immersive approach of learning by doing
- Entrances and transportation to sites and activities described in your itinerary
- Local guide and local bus driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
- Basic Medical, Dental, Emergency Evacuation Insurance during trip (U.S. travelers only)
- 24/7 On Tour Emergency Support
- Up to three college credits upon course completion (grades 9-12) or high school credit (grades 6-12) for U.S. travelers only.
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, costs for rental, transport of instruments or music stands, any passport or visa fees, or tips for the Tour Director or multi-day bus drivers. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid tips, or other customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
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