Athens & Santorini

Every part can be changed to suit your group.

1. Day 1 Arrival in Athens

   Fly to Athens and our driver takes you to your hotel in the Plaka, the old quarter at the foot of the Acropolis, with its neoclassical houses, bougainvillea and small Byzantine churches. In the evening walk up through the lanes of Anafiotika, a tiny village of whitewashed houses built by builders from the island of Anafi, hidden on the hillside below the Acropolis. Enjoy your first Greek dinner on a rooftop terrace with meze, grilled octopus and the Parthenon lit up above you.

   
2. Day 2 The Acropolis

   Early in the morning, before the heat and the crowds, your licensed guide takes you up to the Acropolis: through the Propylaea gateway to the Parthenon, the temple of Athena built 2,500 years ago, and the Erechtheion with its six Caryatid maidens. From the rock you see the whole city down to the sea. Then visit the modern Acropolis Museum, where the original sculptures stand in light-filled halls. In the afternoon explore Monastiraki and the Ancient Agora, and enjoy dinner with souvlaki and Greek salad.

   
3. Day 3 Fly to Santorini

   A short flight of about 45 minutes brings you to Santorini, an island shaped by a volcano. Our driver takes you up the winding road to your hotel on the caldera rim in Fira or Firostefani, where white houses and blue domes cling to a cliff 300 metres above the sea. Spend the afternoon by the pool, then walk the cliff path towards Imerovigli and Skaros Rock as the light turns golden. Watch your first Santorini sunset with a glass of local wine.

   
4. Day 4 Caldera cruise and Oia sunset

   Board a traditional wooden boat in the old port of Fira and sail across the caldera, the flooded crater of a volcano that erupted about 3,600 years ago. Climb the black lava cone of Nea Kameni to see the steaming vents, then swim in the warm, rust-coloured sulphur springs of Palea Kameni. Have lunch in a taverna on the quiet island of Thirassia. In the evening go to Oia, where hundreds of people gather at the castle ruins to watch the sun sink into the Aegean and applaud.

   
5. Day 5 Island day

   Visit Akrotiri, a Bronze Age town buried by the eruption and preserved under a modern roof. Often called the Greek Pompeii, it has multi-storey houses, painted walls and streets 3,600 years old. Continue to the dramatic Red Beach below red volcanic cliffs. In the afternoon taste crisp Assyrtiko white wine and sweet Vinsanto at a winery, where the vines are woven into low baskets to protect them from the wind. Farewell dinner with fresh fish by the sea in Ammoudi Bay below Oia.

   
6. Day 6 Departure

   Enjoy a last breakfast on your terrace with a view over the caldera, the volcano and the blue sea, and, if time allows, a final walk through the lanes of Fira for jewellery or local capers and tomato paste. Then our driver takes you to Santorini Airport for your flight home via Athens or directly to Germany. Ancient Athens and the island of sunsets in six days: our team stays in touch after the trip and will gladly plan your next journey in the Mediterranean.