Greek Islands with Ancient Ruins

Greek islands with ancient ruins: the terraced ruins of ancient Kamiros on Rhodes under a clear blue sky

Greek islands with ancient ruins stretch from Crete and the Cyclades to Rhodes, Kos, Samos and Samothrace. Small-group outings on these islands run as hosted trips through Greece. Delos, Akrotiri and Ancient Thera feature below, with Lindos on Rhodes and the Asclepieion of Kos. So do the Heraion of Samos, Gortyn, the Temple of Sangri, … Read more

Best Cyclades Islands

Best Cyclades islands: the white Hozoviotissa Monastery built into a sheer cliff on Amorgos

Best Cyclades islands sit in the southern Aegean Sea. Small-group trips with a host or a skipper take place across this island group. This page covers Naxos and its Chora, Paros, Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, Syros, Tinos with Exomvourgo, and Amorgos. Smaller islands follow, among them Kea, Ios, Serifos, Kimolos, Koufonisia and Anafi. Naxos tours and … Read more

Greek Souvenirs

Greek souvenirs: the domed Tzistarakis Mosque with its arched porch on Monastiraki Square in Athens, below the rock of the Acropolis

Greek souvenirs come from crafts and flavours found across the country. The tours on this page are outings with a host, held in Athens, Thessaloniki, Crete, Naxos and Rhodes. This page covers red-figure pottery, the meander border, Tanagra figurines, the mosaics of Delos and Cretan school icons. It turns to evil eye charms, the crepida … Read more

Greece in Spring

Greece in spring: the Treasury of the Athenians at Delphi, with green slopes, a long valley and mountains beyond

Greece in spring runs from the March equinox to the June solstice. During that season, tour-leader trips for small groups cross the mainland and the islands. Station readings from Kastoria, Chios and Orestiada sit beside Sieber’s crocus and a southern Aegean tulip. Rüppell’s warbler, the martis thread and the Thargelia festival of Athens follow. Related … Read more

Dodecanese Islands

Dodecanese islands: the medieval windmills on the mole of Mandraki harbour in Rhodes town, with moored boats in front

Dodecanese islands lie in the south-eastern Aegean Sea, with Turkey to the east and Crete to the south-west. Outings with a host and longer trips through Greece take place across this island group. Its places include the city of Rhodes, the acropolis of Lindos and the town of Kos. Karpathos, Kalymnos, Leros and Astypalaia join … Read more

Greek Gods

Greek gods: the standing columns of the Temple of Apollo on the acropolis of Rhodes, on a stepped base beside a tree under a clear blue sky

Greek gods give their stories to mythology walks and day trips with a host. These outings run in Athens, Olympia, Crete and Thessaloniki. The stories start with the twelve Olympians, then Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hephaestus and Ares. Older gods and Titans come next, then four common questions close the page. Related stories run … Read more

Mountains in Greece

Mountains in Greece: the grey rocky summit of Mytikas, the highest peak of Mount Olympus, under a pale blue sky

Mountains in Greece shape the mainland and the islands. Trips with a host run through these highlands, from Macedonia to Crete. Topics run from Olympus, the Pindus, Smolikas, Kaimakchalan, Tymfi, Vardousia, Parnassus and Mount Athos to island peaks. The list then moves on to Taygetus, Mount Ida and other summits of the Peloponnese and the … Read more

Waterfalls in Greece

Waterfalls in Greece: the Pozar falls and thermal pools near Loutraki in Pella, northern Greece

Waterfalls in Greece give a theme to small-group trips across the mainland and the islands. Falls, gorges and rivers shape the land from Macedonia and Epirus to Thessaly, the Peloponnese and Crete. Topics run from Edessa Falls and Balta of Striga to the Gorgopotamos, the Pineios and the Strymonas. Later parts turn to the springs … Read more

Ancient Greek Architecture

Ancient Greek architecture: the marble Tower of the Winds in the Roman Agora of Athens, with relief figures of the winds near its top.

Ancient Greek architecture tours are expert-led trips through Greece, from Athens and Cape Sounion to Olympia and Nafplio. The subject reaches from temple columns to open-air theatres. Its key parts include the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, capitals, friezes, caryatids and pediments. Later parts turn to theatres, stoas, agoras, architects and building stone. Related reading … Read more

Oracle of Delphi

Oracle of Delphi: the sunlit polygonal wall that holds up the terrace of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi

Oracle of Delphi tours take place in central Greece, north of the Gulf of Corinth. There, the sanctuary of Apollo stands on Mount Parnassus. They are small-group or private trips through Greece with a host. Topics include the Pythia, Apollo’s temple, the adyton, laurel and the tripod. Later sections turn to famous answers, such as … Read more

Minoan Civilization

Minoan civilization: the paved central court of the Minoan palace at Phaistos on Crete, with snow-capped Mount Ida behind

Minoan civilization tours run on Crete and Santorini, each one led by a host. Both islands hold remains of a Bronze Age culture. Its palaces stood at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Zakros. Towns grew at Hagia Triada, Kommos, Gournia, Palaikastro, Petras and Akrotiri. Art, writing, religion, trade and the end of the Minoans follow, with … Read more

Villages in Greece

Villages in Greece: red-roofed houses of Kastraki village below the grey Meteora rocks in Thessaly

Villages in Greece range from stone settlements in the Pindus mountains to island villages of the Aegean. Each tour is a small-group trip across Greece, on the mainland or among the islands. Sections follow Syrrako, Ampelakia, Vitsa, Kastraki, Delvinaki, Dimitsana, Galaxidi, Oia, Lindos, Kritsa and Mithymna. Related pages are Pelion tours, Greece hiking tours and … Read more