Highlights

• ✓Hassle-free round-trip transport from Athens to A-list archaeological gems
• ✓Visit the Corinth Canal plus ruins and museums at Mycenae and Epidaurus
• ✓Free time in Nafplio to take in the old town and unwind on the beach
• ✓Customize your itinerary with a private day trip and dedicated driver

What you'll see & do

• ✓The Corinth Canal is a waterway that crosses the narrow isthmus of Corinth to link the Gulf of Corinth to the Saronic Gulf. As such, the canal separates the Greek mainland from the Peloponnese, turning it into an island The canal, though executed in the late 19th century, has been a 2000-year-old dream. Before its construction, ships in the Aegean Sea that wanted to cross to the Adriatic or anchor in Corinth, a rich shipping city, had to circle the Peloponnese, which would prolong their journey an extra 185 nautical miles. It is believed that Periander, the tyrant of Corinth (602 BC), was the first to conceive of the idea of digging the Corinth Canal. As the project was too complicated given the limited technical capabilities of the times, Periander constructed the diolkos, a stone road which allowed ships to be transferred on wheeled platforms. The Corinth Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea.
• ✓The archaeological site of Mycenae comprises the fortified acropolis and surrounding funerary and habitation sites, which are located mainly to its west and southwest. Most of the visible monuments date to the centre's great floruit, from 1350 to 1200 BC. Great Cyclopean walls surround the almost triangular acropolis, which is accessed from the northwest through the famous Lion Gate, the symbol of the Mycenaean rulers' power. The gate was named after the two opposing lions carved in relief and set into the relieving triangle, a typical feature of Mycenaean architecture, over the door.
• ✓The fortified citadel of ancient Mycenae, the seat of the mythical and mighty King Agamemnon. An impressive and well-preserved site, the city of Mycenae gave its name to an entire civilization. Admire sites such as the Tomb of Clytemnestra, the infamous Lion’s Gate, the Cyclopean walls and learn of their blood-stained past. In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece, Crete, the Cyclades and parts of southwest Anatolia. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae. At its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares.
• ✓‘Rich in Gold', the kingdom of mythical Agamemnon, first sung by Homer in his epics, is the most important and richest palatial centre of the Late Bronze Age in Greece. Its name was given to one of the greatest civilizations of Greek prehistory, the Mycenaean civilization, while the myths related to its history have inspired poets and writers over many centuries
• ✓The Lion Gate was the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae, southern Greece. It was erected during the 13th century BC, around 1250 BC, in the northwest side of the acropolis and is named after the relief sculpture of two lionesses or lions in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance. The Lion Gate is the sole surviving monumental piece of Mycenaean sculpture, as well as the largest sculpture in the prehistoric Aegean. It is the only monument of Bronze Age Greece to bear an iconographic motif that survived without being buried underground, and the only relief image which was described in the literature of classical antiquity, such that it was well known prior to modern archaeology.
• ✓The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is a theatre in the Greek city of Epidaurus, located on the southeast end of the sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek God of medicine, Asclepius. It is built on the west side of Cynortion Mountain, near modern Lygourio, and belongs to the Epidaurus Municipality. It is considered to be the most perfect ancient Greek theatre with regard to acoustics and aesthetics. The monument retains the characteristic tripartite structure of a Hellenistic theatre that has a theatron, orchestra, and skene. During Roman times, the theatre (unlike many Greek theatres) did not suffer any modifications.
• ✓The Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon is a large tholos or beehive tomb on Panagitsa Hill at Mycenae constructed during the Bronze Age around 1250 BC. The stone lintel above the doorway weighs 120 tons, with approximate dimensions 8.3 x 5.2 x 1.2m, the largest in the world. The tomb was used for an unknown period. Mentioned by the Roman geographer Pausanias in the 2nd century AD, it was still visible in 1879 when the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the shaft graves under the "agora" in the Acropolis at Mycenae.
• ✓The Epidaurus amphitheatre: Famous for its classic Greek construction and astounding acoustics. Enjoy the arts! Be captivated by the theatrical performances from Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes and Aeschylus. Drop a pin or coin on the stage... it will be heard even if you are sitting at the last seats of the theater. The Epidaurus Archaeological Museum: Noted for its reconstructions of temples and its columns with inscriptions.  The Asclepius: The sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek demi-god of medicine Asclepius. A marvelous ancient medical retreat.The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is a theatre in the Greek city of Epidaurus, located on the southeast end of the sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek God of medicine, Asclepius. It is built on the west side of Cynortion Mountain, near modern Lygourio, and belongs to the Epidaurus Municipality. It is considered to be the most perfect ancient Greek theatre with regard to acoustics and aesthetics.
• ✓Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus is a museum in Epidaurus, in Argolis on the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. The museum, noted for its reconstructions of temples and its columns and inscriptions, was established in 1902 and opened in 1909 to display artifacts unearthed in the ancient site of Epidaurus in the surrounding area.The museum is located in the archaeological site of the sanctuary of Asclepius. It hosts architectural parts from the temple and the buildings of the shrine, as well as inscribed columns and pedestals, altars, bronze medical equipment, sculpted votive offerings and tablets, representations of the Asclepius temple (4th c. BC), and sections of the Tholos. The museum was built by P. Kavadias during the period 1902-1909. More wings were constructed in time to house the sculptures, the pottery and the collection of inscriptions that came progressively came to light during the excavations on the site.
• ✓The Temple of Asclepius was a sanctuary in Epidaurus dedicated to Asclepius. It was the main holy site of Asclepius. The sanctuary at Epidaurus was the rival of such major cult sites as the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia and Apollo at Delphi. The temple was built in the early 4th century BC. If still in use by the 4th century AD, the temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, when the Christian Emperors issued edicts prohibiting non-Christian worship.
• ✓Free Time For Lunch Coffe Shopping Nafplio is a seaport town in the peloponnese in Greece that was expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf.The town was an important seaport held under a successsional of royal houses in the middle Ages as a part of the loardship of ARGOS and NAUPLIA .The town was the capital of the First HELLENIC republic and of the kingdom of Greece from the start of the Greek Revolution The Lion of the Bavarians It's impressive, it's huge, it's carved into the rock above Michael Iatrou Street, with a small park under its feet. The sleeping lion is the work of German sculptor Christian Ziegel, commissioned by King Louis, father of Otto, in memory of the Bavarian soldiers of Otto's dynasty, who died in Nafplio in 1833 of a typhoid epidemic. The locals, of course, say that what killed them was the many bitter things they ate, hence the other, unofficial name of the monument (echm) Agouroon.
• ✓One of the most well-preserved castles in all of Greece, Palamidi offers spectacular views of the city from its loopholes, wonderful routes inside and terrifying terrain in the hole-prison of Kolokotronis, Palamidi is a fortress to the east of the Acronauplia in the town of Nafplio in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. Nestled on the crest of a 216-metre high hill, the fortress was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the area (1686–1715). The fortress commands an impressive view over the Argolic Gulf, the city of Náfplio and the surrounding country. There are 913 steps in the winding stair from the town to the fortress. However, to reach the top of the fortress there are over one thousand, while locals in the town of Nafplion will say there are 999 steps to the top of the castle.
• ✓The Akronaufplia is the oldest part of the city of Nafplio in Greece.Until the thtirteenth century it was a town on its own.The arrival of the venetians and the Franks trensformed it into part of the towns fortifications.Later part of it was used as a prison until the Greek government decided that the view provided from its location would benefit the Local Tourism.
• ✓Enjoy the view of the water castle of Bourtzi a Venetian Castle located in the middle of the harbor of Nafplio and take fascinating photos from the Harbor side
• ✓Enjoy Free Time shopping lunch at Nafplio
• ✓The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is a theatre in the Greek city of Epidaurus, located on the southeast end of the sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek God of medicine, Asclepius. It is built on the west side of Cynortion Mountain, near modern Lygourio, and belongs to the Epidaurus Municipality. It is considered to be the most perfect ancient Greek theatre with regard to acoustics and aesthetics. The monument retains the characteristic tripartite structure of a Hellenistic theatre that has a theatron, orchestra, and skene. During Roman times, the theatre (unlike many Greek theatres) did not suffer any modifications.

What's included

• ✓Pick-up and drop-off service: Athens Hotel, Airbnb residence or Port
• ✓Car Seats: Book in advance if you require infant or child seats.
• ✓Transportation via modern, first-class private vehicle
• ✓Expert English-speaking Tour Drivers with extensive historical knowledge
• ✓All vehicles with WiFi, A/C, Bottled Water
• ✓Small private groups (up to 5 guests) in a luxury minivan—each passenger enjoys their own space.

What's not included

• ✓Entry or admission fees for archaeological sites
• ✓Entry/Admission - Archaeological Site Mycenae
• ✓Entry/Admission - Archaeological Museum of Ancient Mycenae
• ✓Entry/Admission - Epidaurus Archaeological Museum
• ✓Entry/Admission - The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus
• ✓Entry/Admission - Palamidi Castle
• ✓Licensed guide to accompany you into archaeological sites
• ✓Optional airport pick-up, available at an additional cost.
• ✓Kindly note that gratuities and tips are not included in the price and are left to your discretion.
• ✓Meal in Nafplio - Lunch stops are scheduled, but meal costs are not included.

Good to know

Cancellation policy

• •A full refund will apply if you cancel more than 24 hours before the activity start time.
• •No refund is possible if you cancel less than 24 hours before the activity start time.