Meteora private full day trip from Athens
Meteora private full day trip from Athens
Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Meteora, a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries on this private, full-day excursion from Athens.
Travel in private, air-conditioned vehicles and get around all the sites your group is interested in visiting within the extensive mountain complex before returning comfortably to Athens.
- Walk around the rock formations and visit up to three of the monasteries for an up-close look at ancient hermit life
- Take photos and create lifelong memories at this picturesque yet imposing natural beauty
- Enjoy authentic Greek food in Kastraki village
- Return to Athens via Thermopylae, hearing battle tales along the way where 300 Spartans fought 100,000 Persians
- Professional drivers with deep knowledge of history (not licensed to accompany you in any site)
- Hotel/ airport/ port pick-up and drop-off
- Private transportation
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- WiFi on board
- Bottled water
- Lunch (With Greek Traditional Food option)
- Licensed tour guide (upon request and depending on availability)
- Entrance fees to the monasteries (€3 per person per monastery)
- Gratuities
- Our drivers are not official tour guides, but they are knowledgeable and can provide fascinating commentary in fluent English. Although they will not enter the archaeological sites with you, they can answer most of your questions about the places you visit with this tour.
- Our company complies with all the health instructions of the World Health Organization about COVID-19
- Third party activities and especially extreme sports are not allowed during the tour. This could be a cause for immediate cancellation of the tour.
- This is a private tour. Only your group will participate. The pick-up time is adjustable upon your request. Your personal driver will pick you up and return you to the same place or to the point you prefer.
- In the case of a hotel pick-up, he will be waiting for you in the hotel lobby.
- In the case of an apartment pick-up, he will be waiting for you at the entrance of the building.
- For airport pick up, he will be waiting for you at the arrival hall holding a sign with your name on it so you can spot him upon arrival. We will track your flight and our driver will be there on time.
- For port pick up, he will be waiting for you at the gate, just as you disembark, holding a sign with your name on it so you can spot him upon arrival.
- Comfortable clothing
- Athletic/ walking shoes are recommended
- Hats, sunglasses, and suntan lotion are highly recommended
- You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
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Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Tour itinerary
13 hours roundtrip | 3 stops total | 1 stop for lunch
Start our tour from Athens
We start our tour early in the morning from Athens to Meteora. Our driver will pick you up from your hotel/ apartment or the airport/ port. The travel time is about 4.5 hours.
Kalabaka
Kalabaka is a town and seat of the municipality of Meteora in the Trikala regional unit, part of Thessaly in Greece. The population was 12,000 at the 2011 census, of which 8,330 in the town proper. The Meteora monasteries are located near the town.
Meteora
We arrive at Meteora and visit up to three Monasteries. Breathtaking at first sight, the Monasteries are of great cultural and natural importance. Split from earthquakes, weathered from the wind and the water over millions of millions of years, these immense rocks are an authentic masterpiece of mother nature.
The Meteora is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox Monasteries. The six (of an original 24) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area.
Meteora is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the name means "lofty", "elevated", and is etymologically related to meteor.
Please be modestly dressed. Women are suggested to wear long skirts & long sleeves. If you do not have one, you will be given a skirt on your way in.
Kastraki
Free time for lunch at a traditional Greek tavern with your friends and family or shopping at Kastraki, a picturesque village near Meteora.
Thermopylae
Thermopylae is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. In Greek mythology the Hot Gates is one of the entrances to Hades.
Thermopylae is the site of a battle between the Greek forces and the invading Persian forces, commemorated by Simonides of Ceos in the famous epitaph, "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, That here obedient to their laws we lie." Thermopylae is the only land route large enough to bear any significant traffic between Lokris and Thessaly. To go from north to south along the east coast of the Balkan peninsula requires use of the pass, and so Thermopylae has been the site of several battles.
Battlefield of Thermopylae
As we leave the magnificent Meteora behind us, let us not overlook the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BCE, which has long been the topic of cultural motivation, as it is perhaps the most famous military last stand of all time. The monument of the Great Leonidas, King of Sparta, in Thermopylae, will grace our path on our way back to Athens in the late afternoon.
Thermopylae is world-famous for the battle that took place there between the Greek forces (notably the Spartans, Lakedemonians, Thebans and Thespians) and the invading Persian forces, commemorated by Simonides in the famous epitaph, "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, That here obedient to their laws we lie."
Leonidas momument
Leonidas was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus. Leonidas was son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC.
Leonidas had a notable participation in the Second Persian War, where he led the allied Greek forces to a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) while attempting to defend the pass from the invading Persian army; he died at the battle and entered myth as the leader of the 300 Spartans. While the Greeks lost this battle, they were able to expel the Persian invaders in the following year.
Way back to Athens
We start our way back to Athens late in the afternoon. The drive is about 4.5 hours.
Map Overview
Available Pickups
NOTE: Pick-up starts 10 minute(s) before departure.
We offer pick-up to the following places for this experience:
Tour info
Experience type
Day tour / activity
Difficulty
Easy
Booking in advance
Cut off: 1 day
Live tour guide
English
Awards & Certifications
Trip Advisor Reviews
My husband and I were on a full day tour with Panos. He picked us up at the port and gave us a detailed description of what we would be doing that day. My favorite thing about Panos is his ability to make you immediately feel like you’re his best friend in town on holiday. He gives great cultural explanations and I feel like I learned so much more than I did on my previous tour of Athens where I just received a basic historical tour. I really appreciate Panos’ ability to be flexible and adjust the tour when we were feeling tired. As someone who has health issues and never knows quite how they will feel each day, I appreciate his kindness. We would wholeheartedly recommend this tour!
Review about: Athens full day private tour
Morgan W
5.0
We had Tom as our driver and had a very enjoyable day. We saw everything as described and it was amazing. Tom was good about helping my mother with walking disabilities get around and still see everything. We had as much time as we needed to see everything and still have lunch by the water. Thanks for a wonderful day!
CherylIndiana
5.0
Wonderful day exploring Ancient Corinth, Epidaurus, Nafplio full day private tour from Athens. Everything was just perfect and our guide was fabulous!! So Knowledgeable about everything that we saw. It was a wonderful day truly enjoyable thank you!
DanaB
5.0
This tour was excellent and George, our guide was very professional, polite and informative. The museum at the ancient city of Corinth was very interesting and the canal was impressive.
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FurryCanines
5.0
Delphi was magnificent! So much more than we thought it would be. The grounds were magical (as expected) and the museum was outstanding. The artifacts all around were definitely something to behold. Words and pictures cannot do them justice. Just to think how these temples and stadiums were built is mind blowing! We are also very grateful that we had Takis as our guide/driver. He was very friendly, helpful and professional, gave us good information and tips, and took us through all the winding city streets of Arachova. Another gem of a town we thoroughly enjoyed!
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Donna D
5.0
We booked on TripAdvisor and communicated ahead of time about where we would meet our driver. Everything went very smoothly with the pickup and Dimitri was very friendly. He shared interesting information about his life, how he grew up, Greek history, mythology and more. He has a very nice Mercedes taxi, and it was a very smooth comfortable ride. We stopped at the Corinth Canal and then had about an hour and 15 minutes at the Mycenae site. He recommended a popular souvlaki place when we returned to Athens and overall, it was a great half day trip!
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Chris A
5.0
This was the most fun I’ve had in a tour ever. For the first time in all my years of traveling, I had the same tour guide in two separate tours. I happened to have THE MAN Notis as my tour guide again. With that being said, we were already very well acquainted from the first tour I had with him earlier that week; so I just asked a couple of questions for my notes and then we spent the rest of the way talking about so many different topics. Highly recommend this tour for solo travelers, couples, or small groups.
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Saúl Navarro
5.0
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