Meteora Full Day Private Tour from Athens including Lunch

1. Athens
   4h 30m
   We start our tour early in the morning from Athens till Meteora. Our driver will pick you up from your hotel/ apartment or the airport/ port. The travel time is about 4,5 hours.
2. Pass by
   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.
3. Meteora
   3h
   We arrive at Meteora and visit up to three Monasteries. Breathtaking at first site, 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, you will be given a skirt on your way in.
4. Meteora
   1h
   Free time for lunch at a traditional Greek tavern with your friends and family or shopping at Kastraki, a picturesque village near Meteora.
5. Thermopylae
   Pass by
   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.
6. Campo della battaglia delle Termopili
   15m
   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."
7. Leonidas Monument
   15m
   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.
8. Athens
   4h 30m
   We start our way back to Athens late in the afternoon. The drive is about 4,5 hours.

Pickup details

This private tour is exclusively for your group, ensuring a personalized and flexible experience. Pickup time can be adjusted upon request.

Your driver can pick you up and drop you off either at the same location or at different locations of your choice within Athens.
* Hotel pickups: Your driver will be waiting in the hotel lobby.
* Apartment pickups: Your driver will be waiting outside the building entrance.
* Cruise port pickups: Your driver will meet you at the disembarkation gate, holding a sign with your name for easy identification.
* Airport pickups: Your driver will be waiting in the arrivals hall holding a sign with your name. We monitor all incoming flights to ensure a timely pickup, even in case of delays.

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• 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 sites with you, they can answer all of your questions about the places you visit with this tour.
• Third party activities and especially extreme sports are not allowed during the tour. This can be a cause for immediate cancellation of the tour.