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Athens and Santorini Plus One Day 3 Island Tour

June 22 - 29, 2010

Contemporary Athens can compete with any of the world’s capitals.  It is sophisticated, lively and stylish.  And the big bonus is the beauty of the Acropolis inspires wonder at the heritage of classical Greece.  Our tour includes Santorini, the most beautiful of all the Greek Islands, and a one-day cruise to three islands: Aegina, Poros, and Hydra. In Berlin, the New Museum reopened after 70 years following the museum’s bombing by the British in 1943. Its opening completes the restoration of Museum Island with its several museums as one of the world’s greatest heritage sites. Instead of totally restoring the museum to its original appearance, the English architect David Chipperfield, chose to preserve what still remained after almost total destruction. He created a new museum within the shell of the old. Thankfully, most of the museums treasures were secreted away in 1939. The exquisite bust of Nefertiti is once again on display along with many other Egyptian treasures.

Our Itinerary:

Day 1 (Saturday, September 13)
Arrive in Athens and transfer on your own to our hotel, just a short walk from Constitution Square.  We can arrange for you to be picked up at the airport by a private limo service that we use (cost not included in tour price).

The Acropolis Museum

Late afternoon orientation walk around Athens center, and its fashionable Kolonaki neighborhood.

Early dinner at a typical taverna.

Day 2
Morning sightseeing trip around Athens. Visit the Acropolis, climb to the top, if you want or wait at the halfway point.  Visit to new Acropolis
Museum will be highlight of Athens tour.

In the afternoon, we’ll travel outside the city along the coast road to the Temple of Poseidon, a 5^th century BC archaeological treasure at Cape Sounion.

Day 3
Early morning departure for one-day cruise to 3 islands: Aegina, Hydra, and Poros.

A Harbor Scene

The island of Aegina was a total surprise to me.  It’s a gem.  See the Temple of Afala, one of the best preserved temples of the 5th century BC.  It ranks in importance with the Parthenon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.  We also stop at the Byzantine monastery of Saint Nectarios, impressive and beautiful.  Aegina is also a center for pistachios; try delicious pistachio ice cream or buy a jar of honey with pistachios.

Hydra with its picturesque harbor, is what everyone expects a Greek island to look like. Wander away from the harbor and its excellent shops to see even more of Greek island architecture.

Poros, tiny and hilly, a brief stop, gives us another view of Greek island living.

There’s lunch on board, and you have your only chance to see a performance of Greek folk dancing.

Day 4

Santorini has just been voted the third "best island" in Travel & Leisure's annual survey. It ranks right behind Bali and Great Barrier Reef.

Transfer to Piraeus and departure for the beautiful island of Santorini, a four-hour high speed ferry ride.  Our hotel is right in the center of Fira, convenient to shopping and many restaurants, with stunning views of the sea. There’s a pool at the hotel and most important, it’s on level ground so we don’t have to navigate the scenic but treacherous hills to reach our hotel.

Explore Fira.

Day 5
Sightseeing bus tour (5-½ hours) visiting Museum of Prehistoric Fira with fascinating archaeological artifacts, wine tasting at a winery, black pebble beach at Perissa for lunch, and a swim, if you want.  (The excavations at Akritori, a city covered by lava, was closed in 2006 for renovations.)

Day 6
Morning trip to Ia, a major town on Santorini, the site of world famous sunsets. Its beauty and shops for browsing or buying make it a perfect 10.  

Sunset Cruise on a sailing vessel.  Visit volcano (climb to top)or wait for your athletic friends down below).  Hot springs, where many people take a brief swim, are a short distance from the boat.

Wine and snacks while you watch the legendary sunset over Ia, all the while listening to the music from a live saxophone player.

Day 7
Depart for Piraeus and instead of returning to Athens, we overnight in the suburban town of Kifissia.. It gives you a brief look at an upscale Greek suburb comparable to Southampton or La Jolla. Time to walk around the town before you have dinner.

Day 8
Transfer to airport and your flight home.

 Note:  There may be minimal changes to the itinerary.

Cost
$3,475 (USD) includes hotel (single occupancy, no single supplement), all breakfasts, lunch on the cruise ship (comparable to a dinner), 4 dinners, all activities outlined in itinerary. 

Price does not include airfare to and from Greece, airport transfers, lunches, 2 dinners (one dinner in Santorini and the your final dinner), wine and alcoholic beverages, coffee stops, personal expenses.  We can arrange transfers to and from airport with a reliable driver who we have used for years.

A Note on 2010 Tour

This year we’ve changed our itinerary, omitting the island of Paros (not to be confused with Poros) and a one-day excursion to Mykonos and Delos. Although Mykonos and Delos are great destinations, there are drawbacks to visiting them in one day.  There are no affordable tours in Delos (guides charge a few hundred dollars) and there are no tours that work for us in Mykonos either.  We also love our hotel in Paros but adding another long ferry trip with the necessity of managing our own luggage may be too ambitious.  

We also find that a seven-day schedule is the best length for our trips.  It also helps to offset the plunging dollar.  The cost of our 2010 tour is slightly less than last year’s price.

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