Delphi, Thermopylae full day private tour from Athens
Description
Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Delphi, home of the 4th-century-BC Temple of Apollo on this private, full day excursion from Athens. Travel in private, air-conditioned vehicles and get around all the sites your group is interested in visiting within the extensive mountainside archaeological complex before returning comfortably to Athens. - Your guides are not official site guides, but can explain all about the sites on the way to and from Delphi - Stop at the Delphi ruins, the Temple of Apollo, and Delphi Archaeological Museum - See the sanctuaries of Apollo and Athena Pronaia, ancient stadiums, and theatres - Visit Thermopylae where the battle took place and the statue of Leonidas
Tour Options
Itinerary
Thermopylae is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. In Greek mythology the Hot Gates is one of the entrances to Hades. Thermopylae is the site of a battle between the Greek forces and the invading Persian forces, commemorated by Simonides of Ceos in the famous epitaph, "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, That here obedient to their laws we lie." Thermopylae is the only land route large enough to bear any significant traffic between Lokris and Thessaly. To go from north to south along the east coast of the Balkan peninsula requires use of the pass, and so Thermopylae has been the site of several battles.
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Ancient Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas I of Sparta, and the Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I. It was fought in 480 BC over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. The battle took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium. It occurred at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae ("The Hot Gates") in August or September 480 BC. The Persian invasion was a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece, which had been ended by the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. By 480 BC, Xerxes had amassed a massive army and navy and set out to conquer all of Greece. The Athenian politician and general Themistocles had proposed that the allied Greeks block the advance of the Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae, while simultaneously blocking the Persian navy at the Straits of Artemisium.
Leonidas was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus. Leonidas was son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC. Leonidas had a notable participation in the Second Persian War, where he led the allied Greek forces to a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) while attempting to defend the pass from the invading Persian army; he died at the battle and entered myth as the leader of the 300 Spartans. While the Greeks lost this battle, they were able to expel the Persian invaders in the following year.
Next to the monument of Leonidas, in the historic Thermopylae, lies the innovative museum of the Lamia Municipality, dedicated to the 480 BC battle that changed the course of Greek history.
Free time for a walk at: - sanctuaries of Apollo and Athena Pronaia - ancient stadium and theater
An intriguing architectural marvel nestled within the archaeological site of Delphi. Tholos provides us with a window into the ancient world and the rich tapestry of beliefs and traditions. The Tholos of Athena Pronaia is a circular building with a distinctive architectural design, featuring a ring of Doric columns surrounding a central chamber. Built in the 4th century BCE, this unique structure served as a sanctuary dedicated to Athena Pronaia, a variant of the goddess Athena worshipped in Delphi.
Delphi Archaeological Museum is one of the principal museums of Greece and one of the most visited. It is operated by the Greek Ministry of Culture. Founded in 1903, it has been rearranged several times and houses the discoveries made at the Panhellenic sanctuary of Delphi, which dates from the Late Helladic (Mycenean) period to the early Byzantine era. Organized in fourteen rooms on two levels, the museum mainly displays statues, including the famous Charioteer of Delphi, architectural elements, like the frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, and ex-votos dedicated to the sanctuary of Pythian Apollo, like the Sphinx of Naxos. The exhibition floor space is more than 2270m2, while the storage and conservation rooms (mosaics, ceramics, and metals) take up 558m2.
The Temple of Apollo, god of music, harmony, light, healing, and oracles occupied the most important and prominent position in the Delphic Panhellenic Sanctuary. The edifice with the partially restored colonnade visible today dates to the 4th century BC; it is the third temple built at the same place. The famous oracle, the Pythia, operated inside the temple, the location chosen, according to one tradition, due to a sacred chasm beneath the site emitting vapors, which were inhaled by the Pythia. Some ancient writers state that the Pythia then entered a state of delirium and uttering inarticulate cries, which were then turned into equivocal oracles by the priests. This interpretation is controversial, and has been challenged by scholars such as Joseph Fontenrose and Lisa Maurizio, who argue that the ancient sources uniformly represent the Pythia speaking intelligibly, and giving prophecies in her own voice.
Free time for lunch at a traditional Greek tavern with your friends and family or shopping.
Free time for a coffee before we start our trip back to Athens.
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. * Airport pickups: Your driver will be waiting in the arrivals hall holding a sign with your name. We monitor all incoming flights to ensure a timely pickup, even in case of delays.
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(78)
We used MyAthensTransfers for this tour and for airport pick up and drop off for our group. Each time, our driver was on time and professional. The day tour was informative. Delphi was awesome. The spot we went for lunch was beautiful and great. I will say that Thermopylae was really underwhelming. It consists of two statues. This has nothing to do with the tour, but just a spot that was kinda lost to history.
Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback! We’re delighted to hear that our drivers were consistently punctual and professional, and that you enjoyed the Delphi tour and the lunch stop. We also appreciate your honest thoughts about Thermopylae. While the site itself is quite modest today, its historical significance makes it a meaningful stop for many visitors. We’re glad that overall you had a great experience with My Athens Transfers and hope to welcome you back to Greece again in the future!
Our driver was excellent, it was a lot of driving in one day and really great to have someone to drive us in a spacious, clean and comfortable vehicle. For 4 of us, the price was only a little more than going on a coach tour, so this felt very good value for money and our driver arranged a table in a wonderful restaurant with epic views for us. It was a highlight of our holiday and the best food we ate in Greece! We did two private tours and two airport transfers with this company and the service & drivers were exceptional. Highly recommend!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed your private tour and found the vehicle spacious, clean, and comfortable. It’s especially great to know that the restaurant recommendation and those incredible views made the day such a memorable highlight of your holiday! We truly appreciate you choosing us for your two private tours and airport transfers, and we’re thrilled that our drivers provided exceptional service throughout your stay. Thank you for your kind recommendation — it means a lot to our team! We hope to welcome you back to Athens and Greece again soon.
Wow! What a great day! We have been on a lot of tours but this one was truly memorable. We wanted to see Thermopylae and Delphi while on this trip. But what made the trip was our guide, Notis. This tour requires a long car trip together there. The time passed quickly and enjoyably with us just chatting with Notis. Learning about Greek culture, history and other topics. It was like visiting with friends over coffee. Thermopylae has changed over the years but the museum had a great 3-D 12 minute film that answered most questions. The memorial was touching as the story of bravery and loyalty is a great one. Delphi was different. The museum there has the result of many years of excavation, making the site very real. The actual site requires a lot of uphill walking but many spots were awesome. Real History. To recap, Notis is my new Greek friend. I need to ask where else ha can take us. We will gladly go with him again.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted that Thermopylae and Delphi made for such a memorable experience, and even happier to hear that Notis made the journey so special. His passion for sharing Greece’s history, culture, and hospitality is exactly what we hope every guest experiences. We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to him—he’ll be thrilled to know he has made a new Greek friend! We look forward to welcoming you back and showing you even more of Greece on your next adventure.
Such a great day trip. It is a long day from Athens but worth the drive if interested in the history of the battle and Delphi. Temple of Apollo was the draw. The museum was basically empty and the 3D show was neat. Our driver was amazing and got us there fast and made the trip better. It was hot so be prepared with plenty of water and wear decent shoes up the trek to see the temple, theater and stadium. The Delphi Museum was wonderful and packed with such interesting points but as we were so overheated and tired from the archeological site, we did not take the time the museum deserved. It would have been helpful and more interesting to have a guide inside the archeological site as we did not so just read the various signs.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed the trip to Delphi and Thermopylae, and that our driver helped make the long journey comfortable and enjoyable. We'll be sure to pass along your kind words to them. We also appreciate your helpful feedback. Delphi is indeed a fascinating archaeological site, and we understand that exploring it in the summer heat can be quite demanding. Your advice about bringing plenty of water and wearing comfortable shoes will certainly be useful for future travelers. We also agree that having a licensed guide inside the archaeological site can greatly enrich the experience by bringing the history and mythology to life. While our standard tour includes transportation with an experienced professional driver, licensed guides are available as an optional upgrade for guests who would like a more in-depth visit. Thank you again for choosing us. We hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back on another tour of Greece in the future!
We had an amazing trip! Everything was really nice. We have visited Thermopylae and Delphi Museum and Arheological Site. On our way back we stop for a lunch which was amazing. Dimitris Tabone was realy helpful and kind. He was asking always if we are ok, if we need a break, he explain to us some things about Delphi. We strongly recommend this trip and this driver.
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 tour. Our guide, Notis, was very knowledgeable and informative. His timing was perfect as he knew the itinerary well. He was always ready and waiting for us when we were finished with a destination. I would highly recommend this tour! His vehicle was also comfortable and pristine.
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 an amazing time on this tour. Mike (Menelaus) was the best driver/guide. Mike reached out the night before to introduce himself and confirm pick-up time. The day of the tour, we wanted to skip one stop on the itinerary and instead stop at a shop on the way to purchase honey - Mike was very accommodating. He was a wealth of information, easy to chat with, and provided us with many recommendations for restaurants in Athens. He even thought our daughter might like to attend an outdoor movie near where we were staying, and looking up the information for us. If you are lucky enough to have Mike as your driver/guide, you will not be disappointed.
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.
Our driver Panos was excellent, friendly and professional making the long drive enjoyable by keeping us informed about the places we visited. We would highly recommend this trip to Delphi and the Spartan 300 monument and place where the battle took place, not a lot to see there but still interesting. Lovely lunch in Delphi at a beautiful restaurant. Thank you Panos.
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.
Firstly, I would like to say a hude thank you to Mike our driver. Mike was very friendly and really knowledgeable about the history of thermopylae, Delphi, Athens and most places we drove by. He also recommended us a beautiful restaurant with an incredible view in Delphi. There drive up through the mountains was amazing. We would highly recommend this trip. Car was comfortable spacious with air con. Yet again, thanks Mike for a great day out, you really went above and beyond thank you. Rob and Rachel
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.
If you've ever been to Athens, you know driving can be wild. This tour gave us the opportunity to see sites away from the city, without the stress of trying to get there on our own. Panos our driver was was engaging and informative. He told us so much history, and pointed out notable sites along the way. We left early in the morning and arrived at Thermopylae before any other tourists, which was a pleasant surprise. Delphi is a must see. It could be challenging for some, but having the flexibility with the schedule kept the worry of "missing a bus" or not going fast enough, at bay. Our driver recommended an outstanding local taverna for lunch. Arachova was a delightful surprise. The vibe of the town is very unique, and it is incredibly picturesque. We recommend this tour 100%.
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.
