Delphi, Itea, Galaxidi 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 • Relax by the sea at Galaxidi
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will get picked up from your hotel, apartment, Airbnb, Athens airport, or Piraeus port.
Arachova is a mountain town and a former municipality in the western part of Boeotia, Greece, originally called Karyai (also spelled Caryae). Its name is of South Slavic origin and denotes a place with walnut trees. It is a tourist destination due to its location in the mountains, its traditions, and its proximity to the town of Delphi. Arachova has a panoramic view, uphill small houses, and the cobbled streets show a picturesque architecture. The town center includes a huge and steep cliff, the Bell Tower, covered with dense ivy. At the top of the tower is a large 10m height clock. Arachova is famous for its black wine, its "brusque", the colorful textiles, carpets and rugs, handicrafts, and woodcut creations as well.
Livadeia is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia regional district. The area around Livadeia is mountainous, with farming activities mainly confined to the valleys. The area has traditionally been associated with the production and processing of cotton and tobacco, as well as the cultivation of cereal crops and the raising of livestock. The city is also known for having participated in the War of Troy in allegiance with Mycenae.
Mount Parnassus is a mountain in central Greece that towers above Delphi, north of the Gulf of Corinth. Mount Parnassus offers many advantages to the population of Greece. In peace, it possesses scenic views of the countryside and features olive groves and rolling hills. The mountain is also the location of historically, archaeologically, and culturally significant places of interest (such as Delphi). Recreationally, the slopes of Parnassus provide a medium for hiking (in the three warm seasons) and are skied in winter. Its melting snows provide water to the surrounding communities, reaching out as far as Athens. The mountain is composed of limestone, and its rock contains bauxite, ore that is rich in aluminum. In war, Parnassus has been a center of resistance if need be, providing cover and refuge to partisans.
Arrival at the archaeological site of Delphi after a 2,5 hours trip. Free time for a walk at: - sanctuaries of Apollo and Athena Pronaia - ancient stadium and theater
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.
Itea, is a town and a former municipality in the southeastern part of Phocis. Since 2011 local government reforms have made Itea a municipal unit of the municipality of Delphi.
Galaxidi is built on a natural double harbor on the west coast of the Gulf of Itea, which is a northward bay of the Gulf of Corinth. Galaxidi is a 2.5-3 hour drive from Athens and a popular weekend retreat. The territory of the municipal unit hosts the site of the ancient town of Chalaeum.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
This is a private tour. Only your group will participate. The pick-up time is adjustable upon your request. Your personal driver will pick you up and return you to the same place or to the point you prefer. In case of a hotel, he will be waiting for you in the hotel lobby. In case of an apartment, he will be waiting for you at the entrance of the building. For airport pick up, he will be waiting for you at the arrival hall holding a sign with your name on it to spot him upon arrival. We will track your flight and our driver will be there on time. For port pick up, he will be waiting for you at the gate, just as you disembark, holding a sign with your name on it to spot him upon arrival.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- 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(38)
This was a great tour and we had a wonderful time. The sites we saw were interesting and beautiful and our driver Fotis was really wonderful. He was friendly and very informative and he made the tour so fun and interesting. We would definitely do this tour again.
We are so grateful for your review! Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community. Greetings from Fotis!
Our family of five took this tour and enjoyed it thoroughly. Our guide was George and he was top notch - very knowledgeable, pleasant, able to converse on a wide variety of topics, punctual, flexible with the time and how it was spent at various locations, and more. He made the day really enjoyable. Highly recommend.
We are so grateful for your review! Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community. Greetings from George!
Our family of five took this tour and enjoyed it thoroughly. Our guide was George and he was top notch - very knowledgeable, pleasant, able to converse on a wide variety of topics, punctual, flexible with the time and how it was spent at various locations, and more. He made the day really enjoyable. Highly recommend.
We are so grateful for your review! Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community. Greetings from George!
Vasilis was our tour guide. We had a very comfortable ride to see Delphi, Itea, and Galaxidi. We had a wonderful lunch in Delphi that included authentic Greek cuisine. Highly recommend using Vasilis for a tour.
We are so grateful for your review. Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community. Greetings from Vasilis.
Spyros, the tour operator was great. Very professional and knowledgeable. He first stopped in a small mountain town, Arachova, that was not on the original plan but it was a welcome change. It was beautiful and a place I would like to visit again. Delphi was incredible and we were given more than enough time to scale the mountain. I say that in jest but it is a physical struggle to see Delphi and it required you to hike up steep slopes to see the ruins. The next stop was at Itea. It is a beautiful coastal town and I wish we spent more time there as well. We finished the tour in Galaxidi. Although quaint, that town was not worth the stop in my opinion. The lunch we had there was not great. Again we could have stopped in Itea and stayed there longer, had lunch there, and made the tour more perfect.
We are so grateful for your review. Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community.
Starting with the incredible service and attentiviness of the owner Aris, that customized our tour and, when the metereological conditions made our trip impossible, was very fast to help us find alternatives. The guide, Spiros, was absolutely perfect. He was punctual, knew A LOT about the history of all the places we’ve passed by and was helpful and caring with us, always providing us with water and a lovely conversation. The route was breathtaking, and the pacing allowed us to explore at our own time, without rushing it. The selection of cities - Delphi, Aranchova, It’ea and Galaxdi - were a good combination of history and sightseeing, mountains and sea. We ended perfectly with a lunch of fresh fish at Galaxdi. Super recomend for everyone and definetly will come back!
We are so grateful for your review. Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community. Greetings from Aris & Spiros.
From beginning to end, it was a seamless experience. We were taken between the scenic spots and always given as much time as needed to view everything. Our driver/guide gave us the local insights and recommended on what do to and not to really enhance the experience even further! When time for lunch, we were given the best table and view at taverna Vakhos (unforgettable) thanks to our driver!
We are so grateful for your 5-star review. Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community.
When looking at crowded buses and tourist guides that are stressing about time, it makes the choice of having a private tour so obvious :-) From beginning to end, it has been a seamless experience with transfer between scenic spots and always been given the time we wanted to explore. The unexpected visit on this tour was lunch at Taverna Vakhos with an amazing view overlooking green fields of olive trees and water, as well as Galaxidi town with it's authentic tavernas and crystal blue waters.
We are so grateful for your 5-star review. Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community.
This is a long tour. We asked to cut out the visit to the last seaside town as we were jet lagged. Delphi is amazing but come ready to hike. Panos was a good guide for the day. Lunch was excellent!
We are so grateful for your 5-star review. Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community. Greetings from Panos.
We had an amazing trip from Athens to Delphi and Galaxidi. Notis was very friendly and helpful. He is an extremely knowledgeable guide and we had fun and interesting conversations throughout the day. Thank you for the wonderful tour Notis!
We are so grateful for your 5-star review. Thanks for sharing your rating with us and the community. Greetings from Notis.