Short Greece tours before boarding ship?

Hi,

We are on the Cities of Antiquity & the Holy Land tour departing Nov 23 from Athens and we would like to come in early and do a 4-5 day tour of Greece - perhaps the Peloponnesian Peninsula, Delphi...? Does anyone have any ideas or previous experience with this? We are looking for a tour operator. We have spent time in Athens previously and would like to use this opportunity to explore more of the country.

Thanks,

Mia

If you haven't already, check out the ports of call section as well. The audience is bigger there and you might get more responses to your question.

Look into Private Greece Tours. This March we used them for an all day tour of the Pelopponese Peninsula, an overnight to Delphi and Meteora, and two transfers. It was just the two of us and the driver. We covered lots of ground and had a great time. Let me say if you don't do anything else in Greece go to Meteora. Heaven on Earth. If any questions just ask.

Look into Private Greece Tours. This March we used them for an all day tour of the Pelopponese Peninsula, an overnight to Delphi and Meteora, and two transfers. It was just the two of us and the driver. We covered lots of ground and had a great time. Let me say if you don't do anything else in Greece go to Meteora. Heaven on Earth. If any questions just ask.

Hi Squigmond,

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check them out.

I was reading the posts on the Cities of Antiquity, March11, 2017 roll call and noticed that you were getting a group together for an overland tour in Israel. How did this work out? Were you happy with the tour provider? How did your experience compare with the Viking tour? We're booked for Nov 23 and saw the Haifa to Ashdod tour, it sounded very interesting but Viking did not have much detail and no prices. Difficult to work with that, so we're looking at alternates. I would appreciate any insight you could provide.

Mia

Hi Squigmond,

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check them out.

 

I was reading the posts on the Cities of Antiquity, March11, 2017 roll call and noticed that you were getting a group together for an overland tour in Israel. How did this work out? Were you happy with the tour provider? How did your experience compare with the Viking tour? We're booked for Nov 23 and saw the Haifa to Ashdod tour, it sounded very interesting but Viking did not have much detail and no prices. Difficult to work with that, so we're looking at alternates. I would appreciate any insight you could provide.

 

Mia

We did get a small group together. There was us and another couple for the two days. We started in Ashdod on day one and went to Masada and the Dead Sea area with time to float in the Dead Sea. We spent the night in Jerusalem. The second day we toured Jerusalem and Bethlehem and back to the ship which was now in Haifa. The next the day the same little group went to Nazareth and the Galilee area and back to the ship. If I had it to do over again I probably would not have gone back to the ship after day one. I would have made it two nights off the ship. The travel logistics would have been better for more time at the sites on day three. We used Travel Israel (also called Travel Udi). ( travelisrael.co.il ) Udi was our guide for the three days and he was a delight and wealth of knowledge and we all enjoyed it very much. The other couple said it all was the highlight of the trip for them. I can't comment on the Viking overnight as I did not talk to anyone that did it. The Viking trip was about $540 per person. Ours was $470 per person but we bought our own food. Both included lodging and entrance to sites. It was great to have a small group and be able to move at our own pace.

We did get a small group together. There was us and another couple for the two days. We started in Ashdod on day one and went to Masada and the Dead Sea area with time to float in the Dead Sea. We spent the night in Jerusalem. The second day we toured Jerusalem and Bethlehem and back to the ship which was now in Haifa. The next the day the same little group went to Nazareth and the Galilee area and back to the ship. If I had it to do over again I probably would not have gone back to the ship after day one. I would have made it two nights off the ship. The travel logistics would have been better for more time at the sites on day three. We used Travel Israel (also called Travel Udi). ( travelisrael.co.il ) Udi was our guide for the three days and he was a delight and wealth of knowledge and we all enjoyed it very much. The other couple said it all was the highlight of the trip for them. I can't comment on the Viking overnight as I did not talk to anyone that did it. The Viking trip was about $540 per person. Ours was $470 per person but we bought our own food. Both included lodging and entrance to sites. It was great to have a small group and be able to move at our own pace.

Thanks for the reply and referral to Udi. I checked out his trip advisor reviews and they are all pretty positive. Did you ask for Udi specifically? I noticed there seems to be a few other guides working with the company, but Udi (like from you) got pretty rave reviews re his knowledge and personableness. My email is (travellingmia at yahoo dot ca).

Thanks for your help,

Mia

We did not ask for Udi but I would think that you could. I believe he does all the tours personally that he can. About the price: The $470 per person was for a group of 4 for the two day overnight. If there are more it is less per person and if there are less it is more per person. The third day was an extra cost. Again that was less each for more people.

We did not ask for Udi but I would think that you could. I believe he does all the tours personally that he can. About the price: The $470 per person was for a group of 4 for the two day overnight. If there are more it is less per person and if there are less it is more per person. The third day was an extra cost. Again that was less each for more people.

I have heard that Udi talks about the political situation in the Middle East. I'm just wondering about his observations about the current situation. I noticed that one of the reviews in tripadvisor was from a group that were working on Israeli-Palestinian communication.

Mia

Udi will talk about anything and everything. He is not shy to give an opinion but will listen to the other side and give you the other side.

Udi will talk about anything and everything. He is not shy to give an opinion but will listen to the other side and give you the other side.

I'm just aware that talking politics can be pretty incendiary here, and also want to make sure that this is someone that we (the group) can travel with comfortably.:o

Mia

Look into Private Greece Tours. This March we used them for an all day tour of the Pelopponese Peninsula, an overnight to Delphi and Meteora, and two transfers. It was just the two of us and the driver. We covered lots of ground and had a great time. Let me say if you don't do anything else in Greece go to Meteora. Heaven on Earth. If any questions just ask.

Great tip!

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Thank you all for your advice.

We ended up booking a 3 day tour with Viator. As mentioned, they are a vendor for other tour companies and the tour is supplied by Chat tours. With only one departure per week in November, we had to miss Meteora in order to catch the ship:(...We'll just have to see that another time:D

But the tour covers the Corinth canal, Mycenae, Epidaurus, and Olympia. Unfortunately only licensed guides can give tours in those locations, so we decided not to go only with a driver.

Mia