DELPHI TOUR
TOUR ITINERARY
Starting Point
We will pick you up from the port, airport or your hotel and start our tour.
Lake Yliki
Livadia
Monastery of Hosios Loukas
Arachova
Ancient Delphi
Temple of Apollo
End of Tour
We will return you to the pick up point or prearranged destination.
Important information about your private tour
INCLUDED
EXCLUDED
ENTRANCE FEES
**Please note that all our licensed tour drivers are fully knowledgeable of the history of each monument in your tour's itinerary. However, by law licensed tour drivers are forbidden to enter any archaeological site and conduct tours. Only licensed tour guides are allowed to conduct guided tours on the archaeological site itself. Upon your request, a licensed tour guide can be booked for you at the archaeological site of your choice at an extra cost.
TOUR DESCRIPTION
Our tour begins early in the morning. We take the national highway of Greece and head north. On our way to Delphi we will see the farmland which consists of cotton fields, tomato fields and watermelon fields. Around the 90th KM we will make a quick stop to see the water reservoir of Athens. We continue traveling by going through a valley which is surrounded on the left and right side by mountains. We will also pass by the city of Livadeia (means valley). Sometimes in the summertime I stop at the beautiful village of Krya Springs. Here we can have a refreshing drink at a cafe.
From there we travel towards the 11th century monastery of Hosios Loukas. Before reaching Hosios Loukas we come upon a monument which is dedicated to the Greek resistance movement against the Nazis. We continue our tour by going through small villages (village of Distomo, village of Stiri where Hosios Loukas was born). We then find ourselves witnesses to this beautiful site where you can see a monastery and right below it a valley with olive trees. This whole scene is surrounded by mountains. Osios Loukas is situated on a slope, which overlooks a beautiful valley with many olive trees. In the monastery you will see the church of Osios Loukas which is a copy of Agia Sophia in Constantinople. The monastery has been recently renovated and also has a guestroom. Apart from the monastery the visitors can feast their eyes on the wonderful view, enjoy the way towards the landscape which is full of greenery and be revitalized from the splendid atmosphere. The view is truly breathtaking during springtime.
From there we continue our journey towards Delphi through the picturesque town of Arachova, which is a very popular ski resort in the winter. It takes about 15 minutes to get to Delphi from Arachova. In this 15 min ride we are surrounded by mount Parnassos and another mountain and below us are thousands of scattered olive trees. We finally reach Delphi where the ancients traveled to hear the wisdom of the famous Oracle of Delphi. At Delphi we will see the Tholos monument, the Gymnasium and the Castalian spring. After seeing these sites we will see the main archaeological site which consists of: the treasury, the Sanctuary of Apollo, the ancient theatre and the stadium. After that we will go through the museum of Delphi. When we are done with the archaeological sightseeing we break for lunch at this beautiful local Greek taverna that looks out over a spectacular valley of olive trees.
This tour is flexible and can be adjusted according to your needs. If you get tired and you feel that it is time for a break we can break for lunch and then continue later on with the rest of the sites. After a long day the Delphi tour finishes with a drive back to Athens where you can take a nap and relax (some clients prefer to do so). Sometimes I also stop at a cafe so we can have a quick drink.