Ancient Corinth and Canal half day private tour from Athens
Description
Venture south of Athens to discover highlights of the Peloponnese. Cross the Corinth Canal to leave mainland Greece and explore the Ancient Corinth, antiquity’s most powerful commercial crossroads. The wealthiest city in all the ancient world, a leader amongst the powerful Greek city-states, built at the foothills of the rocky hill of Acrocorinth, discernible from afar, a striking lookout against potential enemies coming by land or sea.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will get picked up from your hotel, apartment, Airbnb, Athens airport, or Piraeus port.
The Corinth Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, arguably making the peninsula an island. The canal was dug through the isthmus at sea level and has no locks. It is 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) in length and only 21.4 metres (70 ft) wide at its base, making it impassable for many modern ships. From high up, you can enjoy the best view of Corinth's isthmus and admire the steep limestone walls while you observe the vessels below you navigate their way through the canal.
Corinth was a city-state on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnese to the mainland of Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. The modern city of Corinth is located approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northeast of the ancient ruins. For Christians, Corinth is well known from the two letters of Saint Paul in the New Testament, First and Second Corinthians. Corinth is also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as part of Paul the Apostle's missionary travels. In addition, the second book of Pausanias' Description of Greece is devoted to Corinth. Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities of Greece, with a population of 90,000 in 400 BC. The Romans demolished Corinth in 146 BC, built a new city in its place in 44 BC, and later made it the provincial capital of Greece.
The Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth was constructed between 1931-1932, with intentions to display the numerous recent archaeological excavations. The museum is located within the archaeological site of Ancient Corinth, Greece, and lies under the jurisdiction of the 37th Ephoreia of the Greek Archaeological Service. Key aspects of the Archaeological site of Ancient Corinth include: • Hadgimoustafa spring • Lechaion Road • Basilica • Fountain of Peirene • Stoa • Agora • Odien • Other temples • Theatre
The Temple of Apollo at Corinth was constructed in 550 BC.
Acrocorinth, "Upper Corinth", the acropolis of ancient Corinth, is a monolithic rock overseeing the ancient city of Corinth, Greece. With its secure water supply, Acrocorinth's fortress was repeatedly used as a last line of defense in southern Greece because it commanded the Isthmus of Corinth, repelling foes from entry by land into the Peloponnese peninsula.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
This private tour is exclusively for your group, ensuring a personalized and flexible experience. Pickup time can be adjusted upon request. Your driver can pick you up and drop you off either at the same location or at different locations of your choice within Athens. * Hotel pickups: Your driver will be waiting in the hotel lobby. * Apartment pickups: Your driver will be waiting outside the building entrance. * Cruise port pickups: Your driver will meet you at the disembarkation gate, holding a sign with your name for easy identification.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Our drivers are not official tour guides, but they are knowledgeable and can provide fascinating commentary in fluent English. Although they will not enter the archaeological sites with you, they can answer all of your questions about the places you visit with this tour.
- Third party activities and especially extreme sports are not allowed during the tour. This can be a cause for immediate cancellation of the tour.
Reviews(112)
The driver was very knowledgeable of Athens and Corinth. He was very accommodating with our needs. Great tour.
Thank you very much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us. Your kind words truly mean a lot to our team and motivate us to continue providing the best possible service to our guests. It was our pleasure to be part of your trip to Greece, and we hope to welcome you again in the future! Thank you once again for choosing us.
We had a great day out with Michael, our driver and Tour guide for the day. The canal was very interesting and worth a visit and Ancient Corinth has some amazing archaeological ruins. Just note that if going up the entire site, tennis shoes or shoes with very good grip are highly recommended as many of the stones are marble and you travel up fairly steep terrain. We had lunch at a restaurant right by the site and we’re treated wonderfully by the staff and had a great view!
Thank you very much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us. Your kind words truly mean a lot to our team and motivate us to continue providing the best possible service to our guests. It was our pleasure to be part of your trip to Greece, and we hope to welcome you again in the future! Thank you once again for choosing us.
Michael was a great guide--friendly and knowledeable. We really enjoyed the day, and saw everything that was promised. GREAT meal at a local rstaurant was included. I highly recommend this tour.
Thank you very much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you had a great experience with us. Our team works hard to provide memorable transfers and tours, and excellent service, so your kind words truly mean a lot. We hope to welcome you again in the future and wish you many more great travels ahead!
We started in Athens with a stop at the Parliament House, Acropolis, and the Olympic stadium then off to Corinth. On the way to Corinth we stopped by the canal to see the work that had been done there to connect the 2 bodies of water. Also we visited some of the historic places where the Apostle Paul would have walked. The Acropolis (castle) and the ancient city ruins where he would have preached. Our tour guide, George, was very knowledgeable about the city and history surrounding Greece and about Paul as well.
Thank you very much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you had a great experience with us. Our team works hard to provide memorable transfers and tours, and excellent service, so your kind words truly mean a lot. We hope to welcome you again in the future and wish you many more great travels ahead!
Dispute rainy weather we learned a great deal on our tour with Notis. He is very knowledgeable about the history of Ancient Corinth and of ancient Greece as well as a strong understanding of the links between Greek and English. The museum was well appointed but due to the weather our walking tour of the Corinth Agora and the Temple of Apollo was cut short. We went up to Acrocorinth and spent a bit of time exploring the original Corinth Acropolis but again the weather cut the walk short so we did not go up to the Temple of Aphrodite. Luckily our tour began with the Corinth Canal and we had a chance to take photos while it was still sunny. I would highly recommend a tour with Notis. He is knowledgeable, professional and friendly.
Thank you very much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you had a great experience with us. Our team works hard to provide memorable transfers and tours, and excellent service, so your kind words truly mean a lot. We hope to welcome you again in the future and wish you many more great travels ahead!
It wasn't going great at first because I think my family thought that our driver was supposed to be a guide and he didn't have a lot of information on Corinth or the areas we were trying to visit but he was flexible because he ended up taking us to Acropolis and the Pantheon which was not on our route so we ended up having a great time, the vehicle was awesome!
Thank you very much for your kind review and for sharing your experience with us! We’re really happy to hear that, despite the initial confusion, you ended up having a great time and enjoyed both the flexibility of your driver and the comfort of the vehicle. We would like to clarify (for future travelers as well) that our drivers are not licensed tour guides. While they are knowledgeable and always happy to share general information, they are not able to provide in-depth historical guiding inside the archaeological sites. For guests who are looking for a more detailed and guided experience, we do offer the option to include a licensed tour guide who can accompany you at the sites. That said, we’re especially glad to hear that your driver was flexible and went the extra mile to adjust the itinerary and include additional highlights like the Acropolis, helping turn your day into a memorable experience. We truly appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you again in the future!
The day of the tour it was rainy and miserable. Not much can be done about that. The issue we had was with the guide. He was training someone that rode along with us and he was more concerned with the training than he was in guiding us. He spoke to us very little. This set the tone for the whole tour. We were very irritated with him and we could feel his annoyance with us. A pretty defensive man.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that your experience in Corinth did not meet your expectations. While the weather is beyond our control, what you described does not reflect the standard of service we aim to deliver. As part of our usual practice, we always ask our guests for permission before including a trainee on a tour. In this case, we did ask, and you kindly agreed to have the trainee join. That said, this should never impact the quality of your experience. The driver’s focus should have remained entirely on you, ensuring clear communication and an engaging atmosphere throughout the day. Your comments regarding limited interaction and the overall tone are taken seriously. At the same time, we would like to note that the driver assigned to your tour is a professional with many years of experience and consistently excellent feedback, and he did his best to answer all questions during the tour. We would also like to mention that, from the beginning of the day, your overall mood seemed affected—possibly due to the weather—and you did not even visited some sites included in the itinerary. We regret that you felt tension during the tour and that the overall experience was not as pleasant as expected. This is certainly not the impression we want to leave, and your feedback has been shared internally so we can review it with the driver. Thank you again for your comments—they are valuable in helping us improve. We sincerely regret that your experience did not meet expectations.
Great experience. Spyros was an excellent guide with lots of knowledge. He kept us entertained for the whole day!
Thank you very much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you had a great experience with us. Our team works hard to provide memorable transfers and tours, and excellent service, so your kind words truly mean a lot. We hope to welcome you again in the future and wish you many more great travels ahead!
It was a nice morning tour. We left on time. We toured Corinth, which was a very interesting site. Could have spent a little more time as there was a lot to see and read. The driver also took us up to Acrocorinth for us to see the area and take some pictures. April was a good time of year to have gone as the crowds were not large. The driver was friendly, acommondating and professional, providing interesting factiods as we drove there and back. Spoke english very well.
Thank you very much for your kind review and for rating your experience with 4 out of 5 stars! We’re really glad to hear that you enjoyed your visit to Corinth and Acrocorinth, and that you found the tour interesting and well-paced overall. It’s also great to know that you appreciated the quieter atmosphere of traveling in April, as well as your driver’s professionalism and insights along the way. We also truly value your comment about the time spent at the site. As this is a private tour, the itinerary is fully flexible and can always be adjusted to better match your preferences — including spending more time at specific locations like Ancient Corinth. We always encourage our guests to let us know their priorities so we can tailor the experience accordingly. Thank you again for choosing us, and we hope to welcome you back for another customized experience in the future!
Excellent day out. Alex was very knowledgeable and helpful, he didn’t rush us. Took us to a great restaurant for lunch.
Thank you very much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you had a great experience with us. Our team works hard to provide memorable transfers and tours, and excellent service, so your kind words truly mean a lot. We hope to welcome you again in the future and wish you many more great travels ahead!
