アテネ発：少人数ミケーネ、エピダウロス＆ナフプリオ旅行

This was a great trip. Alex was a great guide and our bus driver was excellent to. It was a nice, new bus that was comfortable. It was nice to take a break in Nafplio and eat and not have to walk as the Mycenae and Epidarius stops have lots of walking...uphill! But worth it! After walking all over Athens the day before, it was nice to ride for the day and have moments of walking. They even stopped at Corinth canal which I was super happy about.

Alex was a hilarious and informative guide bringing history and local character to ancient ruins in Mycenae and Epidaurus. It was a big day—we met at 8:00 and returned around 17:00, but the schedule felt reasonable with ample time for lunch in Napflio and breaks along the way. Climbing the hill at Mycenae was incredible. It’s hard not to feel the weight of history taking in those panoramic views and examining the cyclopsian walls. Only negatives were the somewhat chaotic pickup process and fellow highway drivers, though the Mercedes minibus was pleasant enough. Good luck to Alex in his studies—we wish him the best!

From Athens: Small-Group Mycenae, Epidaurus & Nafplio Trip Athens This is the only tour we booked with an unknown company on our 5 weeks of travel in 3 countries and a cruise. There were 8 of us and I wanted those with me to at least have a chance to see some of the Athens Peninsula (not just Athens and the cruise ports). This is an area i had never been and heard so much about so after much research and several emails back and forth (they had great communication), and discussing the options with the rest of the family we booked the Small Group tour. I had been told we would have a van too ourselves. I asked if the guide would use a microphone in the van (several have hearing aids) and was told we were so close to guide it wouldn’t be necessary. We opted for the not included lunch, to do it on our own. This was to be a ‘non-rushed- at our own pace tour since we didn’t have to wait for others or be in a crowd, avoid bathroom crowds, all the inconveniences of a big tour. Imagine our surprise when we were at the meeting spot with a LOT of other people. Lots of confusion over which group was which. We were then loaded onto a BUS without any explanation of the change! (and wound up in the back where we couldn’t hear). (it seemed several others on the bus also booked a small group tour). I immediately sent an email to the company from the bus and ask what was going on, why were we on a bus??? The reply was that my confusion and inconvenience was understandable. …….“Due to a last-minute operational issue, combined with increased demand ahead of the public holiday, we were required to adjust our planning and merge the groups. As a result, the tour was operated with a larger vehicle than originally scheduled.

That said, we would like to clarify that the group itself remained relatively small, with approximately 30 participants, meaning that the bus was only about half full. While this still falls within our broader small-group approach, we fully understand that it may not have matched your expectations at the time of booking.

As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer you a complimentary tour with our company, which you may join on any available date after May 2nd, depending on your preference and availability. We would be happy to assist you in selecting an experience that better reflects the small-group setting you were expecting.

Thank you again for your understanding, and we truly hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again and provide you with a much better experience.”…… WHAT? Compensation with a free tour? That didn’t fly with us. We booked a small tour in good faith to have our family together. In actuality the bus was pretty full. We left for a cruise the next day and the other 6 flew to USA the day the Cruse returned. The tour itself was really nice, the guide was wonderful. We would have shortened some of our stops at some places, and asked for a tad longer at others. In Nafplio we looked all over for ‘street food’ where the guide told us to go and wasted a lot of time as there was nothing except at the far side of the town where we entered. A few of us walked up to the castle but barely had time to get to the top, then return, and jump on the bus. Too little time to see the area. At one location the ladies room had a Huge line. My hubby had to stop the men from using theirs and guarded the door so the line of women could go in and use it….thus no time to see the museum at all. No time at the canal to read the signs…last off the bus and had to rush back after that bathroom line. There was no way to find our group which was very confusing when were in heavy crowds. No lanyard or marker, even finding our guide was hard at times. At the ruins the audio didn’t work. (took a very long time to load) No map. It wasn’t in sync with pathway markers so I never knew where to look for what the info was talking about. We got separated, turned around, had to rush back. Maybe downloading a tour from home if there is one would be better. All in all, I wouldn’t count on having a small group and if the price is comparable, at least the larger group may be more organized or allow more time. The tour was great to go on, but the rush and limited time on sights was very discouraging. Scenery was beautiful.

First things first: this is a small group bus ride out to the sites. Separate site admission is required. If you qualify for Discounted Tix (students, kids, 65+, Disabled) this is the best choice for you! My biggest gripe is the lack of time allotted for visiting. Stop at the (lame) Corinthian Canal for a pee break. Mycenae is really cool, but without a tour guide, 90m is not enough time for anything beyond "oh wow, great views...and lots of footprints of structures that used to be..." The Tomb of Atreus is unremarkable (10m stop on the way out). Nafplio could be a whole day into itself -- we got 90m. And spent half of it waiting for the ferry to take us to the island fortress (cool, but not really worth the extra 7€ on top of the 7€ ferry ride -- especially with only 90min. The town itself looks cute and could be fun for a couple hours. Epidaurus is interesting, but again, not nearly enough time to see everything and use the free Hellenic audio guide. Absolutely no food allowed on the bus. No wifi on the bus. The host (Alex) was friendly and knowledgeable, and had good stories on the way to/from the sites and the driver (Goran) got us there and back. Only reason this is not less than a 3. Overall, this "tour" was nothing special. Cheaper than renting a car and driving out yourself, but if you have more than 4 people in your group, consider doing just that.

Who wouldn’t want to go to see the home of King Agamemnon? This is such a great day out immersed in history. You can almost imagine Achilles running through the Lions Gate! It is a very hilly area terrain but my hubby managed this in a moon boot as had a broken metatarsal and loved it! we especially loved visiting the ancient Spartan port of Nafplio. This was a beautiful little village for a spot of lunch and meander around the shops. I loved that it was a small group tour as getting on and off the bus was stress free

Really great affordable tour on a comfortable bus with a great tour guide (Alex). So knowledgable and funny. Just the right number and duration of stops. The total bus riding time was just right for a simple day-trip out of Athens. The fees to access Heritage sites NOT included but still this is good value. Recommend.

Wonderful trip. Only reall negative was needed an extra half hour at Epidaurus. Not enough time to see everything comfortably.

Nice trip and full of knowledge!

One of the best tours and our tour guide was very knowledgeable and informative . She is and archeologist too. Really nice places to see.

It was the last day in Athens and it was such a great idea to take this trip and be taken to 3 very different places to discover their history and Nafplio is such a cute town that’s very Instagrammable! Alex is a super guide and I regret he does not go into the site for detailed explanations as he is very well versed in the history and George is a safe driver who got us everywhere. Highly recommended to all.