Is the Delphi excursion tiring?

It's a full day — roughly two and a half hours each way by car, plus walking the archaeological site. The mountain scenery is beautiful and the sanctuary is extraordinary, but guests who prefer a lighter day can swap Delphi for a free day in Athens or a coastal excursion to Cape Sounion.

Is this trip suitable for children?

Yes, though the full-day excursions are long. We can adjust the pacing, shorten visits, and add age-appropriate stops. Epidaurus's acoustics and the Lion Gate at Mycenae are particular favourites with children.

What happens after I request this trip?

You'll complete a short planning form with your dates, group size, and any preferences. A travel specialist will respond within one business day with a personalised proposal and exact pricing. No obligation — it's a conversation.

6-Day Private Package Journey

Essence of Greece

Athens, Corinth, Mycenae, Nafplion & Delphi — Greece's classical heritage in six days.

Available as Private Semi-Private Self-Guided

From €1,630 per person 6 days / 5 nights

View Itinerary

Tour Overview

6 days across Greece.

Six days based entirely in Athens — the city where Western civilisation began, explored properly rather than rushed. This private journey uses the Greek capital as a base for three of the most important archaeological excursions in the Mediterranean: the Acropolis and its museum, the ancient sites of Corinth, Mycenae, and Nafplion in the Peloponnese, and the oracle sanctuary of Delphi in the mountains above the Gulf of Corinth. With a private driver and expert guides throughout, this is Greece's classical heritage distilled into less than a week — ideal for travellers with limited time who want depth rather than distance.

Trip Quick Look

Duration: 6 Days / 5 Nights
Destinations: Athens, Corinth, Mycenae, Nafplion, Delphi
Group Size: 2–10 guests (private)
Dates: Year-round, flexible
Tour Type: Private Package
Accommodation: 4–5★ centrally located hotel
Meals: Daily breakfast
Transport: Private driver throughout

From €1,630 per person, based on double occupancy

Activity Level

Moderate to Active

This tour involves full days of walking at archaeological sites on uneven ancient stone and gravel paths. The Acropolis requires a steep uphill climb. Corinth and Mycenae involve significant walking on rough terrain. Comfortable, closed-toe walking shoes are essential. Days can be adjusted for those who prefer a gentler pace.

Detailed Itinerary

Your journey, day by day.

Every day is designed with breathing room. Sleep in, take a detour, linger at lunch — the itinerary flexes around you, not the other way around.

Day 1

Arrival in Athens

The city where it all started — and still hasn't finished.

Your private driver meets you at Athens International Airport and delivers you to your hotel in the historic centre, within walking distance of the Acropolis, Plaka, and Monastiraki. After settling in, the rest of the day is yours to absorb Athens at your own pace. The neighbourhood of Plaka — the oldest continuously inhabited district in Athens, built on the slopes below the Acropolis rock — rewards the slow approach: narrow lanes, Byzantine churches tucked between neoclassical houses, cats on every doorstep, and tavernas where the grilled octopus has been in the sun since morning. We'll share our curated list of favourite restaurants for your first evening in Greece.

Private airport transfer to central Athens
Curated restaurant recommendations for your first evening

4–5★ centrally located hotel, Athens historic centre

Day 2

Corinth, Mycenae & Nafplion

Lions, kings, and the first capital of modern Greece.

Your private driver and guide collect you after breakfast for a full-day excursion into the Peloponnese — one of the richest archaeological landscapes in the Mediterranean. Begin at Ancient Corinth: the Temple of Apollo, the vast agora where St. Paul preached, and the towering Acrocorinth fortress visible above. Continue to the ancient theatre of Epidaurus, whose acoustics are so precise that a coin dropped on the orchestra floor is audible from the highest of its 14,000 seats. The route then climbs to Mycenae — the Bronze Age citadel of King Agamemnon: the Lion Gate, the massive Cyclopean walls, the royal shaft graves where Heinrich Schliemann found the gold death mask he believed belonged to Agamemnon himself. End the day with a stroll through Nafplion, Greece's first capital after independence — a graceful harbour town of Venetian fortresses, neoclassical mansions, and waterfront tavernas below the Palamidi fortress. Your driver returns you to Athens in the evening.

Temple of Apollo and Acrocorinth at Ancient Corinth
Epidaurus ancient theatre — extraordinary acoustics
Mycenae: Lion Gate, Cyclopean walls, and royal tombs
Nafplion harbour town and Venetian fortresses

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Athens historic centre

Day 3

Day Trip to Delphi

Where the ancient world came to ask its most important questions.

Your private driver takes you northwest from Athens into the mountains above the Gulf of Corinth — a drive of roughly two and a half hours through the Boeotian plain and then up through pine forests to Delphi, the sanctuary where the ancient Greeks believed they could hear the voice of the gods. Your guide brings the site to life: the Sacred Way climbing past the treasuries of rival city-states to the Temple of Apollo, where the Pythia — the oracle — delivered her prophecies from a tripod above a fissure in the earth. Above the temple, the ancient theatre and the stadium where the Pythian Games were held. The Delphi Archaeological Museum houses the extraordinary Charioteer of Delphi — one of the finest bronze sculptures to survive from antiquity — and the Sphinx of Naxos. On the return journey, stop in the mountain village of Arachova, perched on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, for a coffee or a late lunch before the drive back to Athens.

Delphi sanctuary: Temple of Apollo, theatre, and stadium
Delphi Museum — Charioteer of Delphi and Sphinx of Naxos
Mountain village of Arachova on Mount Parnassus
Scenic drive through the Boeotian plain

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Athens historic centre

Day 4

Athens: The Acropolis & Its Museum

Twenty-five centuries of marble, still catching the morning light.

Your private guide — an archaeologist who has been working on Athenian sites for two decades — meets you after breakfast for the Acropolis before the heat and the tour groups arrive. The climb through the Propylaea gateway, past the elegant Temple of Athena Nike, to the first full view of the Parthenon is a moment that no amount of photographs fully prepares you for: forty-six outer columns of Pentelic marble, its apparently straight lines built with subtle curves that counteract the eye's natural distortions. Your guide explains the engineering, the politics, and what the building meant to the Athenians who built it with the treasury of the Delian League. The Erechtheion with its Porch of the Caryatids, the Theatre of Dionysus on the southern slope, and the panoramic view from the summit that takes in the ancient Agora, the city, and the sea beyond. Below the rock, the Acropolis Museum holds the original friezes and pediment sculptures in climate-controlled galleries, the Parthenon visible through the glass walls above. The afternoon is free to explore at leisure.

Acropolis skip-the-line with archaeologist guide
Parthenon, Erechtheion, and Porch of the Caryatids
Theatre of Dionysus and panoramic views
Acropolis Museum — original friezes and sculptures

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Athens historic centre

Day 5

Athens City Tour & Farewell

The neighbourhoods, the markets, and the city behind the monuments.

Your guide meets you for a morning walking tour that reveals Athens beyond the Acropolis. Begin at the ancient Agora — the marketplace where Socrates argued, where democracy was practised, and where St. Paul preached to the Athenians — and its remarkably intact Stoa of Attalos, now housing the Museum of the Agora. Walk through the Monastiraki flea market and into the Psiri neighbourhood, where street art meets traditional workshops. Continue to Syntagma Square to watch the ceremonial changing of the Evzones guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then through the elegant neighbourhood of Kolonaki and up Lycabettus Hill for a panoramic view of the city with the Acropolis below and the Saronic Gulf beyond. The afternoon is free for last-minute exploration — perhaps the National Archaeological Museum with its gold death mask of Agamemnon, or a final afternoon in Plaka browsing the shops and savouring a Greek coffee. We'll have restaurant recommendations ready for your final evening.

Ancient Agora and Stoa of Attalos
Monastiraki, Psiri, and Syntagma Square
Lycabettus Hill panoramic views
Free afternoon for last-minute exploration

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Athens historic centre

Day 6

Departure

Antío, Ellada.

A final Greek breakfast at your hotel, perhaps a last walk through the quiet morning streets of Plaka before the city wakes up. Your private driver will collect you from the hotel and transfer you to Athens International Airport in plenty of time for your flight. If your departure is later in the day, we can arrange a late checkout or a morning visit to the National Archaeological Museum. Your travel specialist remains on call until you're home.

Private transfer to Athens International Airport
Optional morning visit to the National Archaeological Museum

Meals: Breakfast

Where You'll Stay

Hand-picked hotels, every night.

We choose properties for character, location, and the kind of service that makes you feel looked after — not just checked in. Every hotel can be swapped for an alternative if you prefer.

Athens

5 nights

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Historic centre

Walking distance to the Acropolis, Plaka, Monastiraki, and the Acropolis Museum — one base for all five nights

Hotels shown are indicative of the standard we book. Upon request, we will provide a detailed itinerary with specific hotel options tailored to your preferences and budget.

What's in the Price

Included

5 nights in a 4–5★ centrally located hotel (double occupancy)
Daily breakfast at the hotel
Airport meet & greet on arrival
Private airport transfers
Private driver for all excursions (Corinth/Mycenae/Nafplion, Delphi)
Private expert guides in Athens, Peloponnese, and Delphi
Acropolis guided tour with skip-the-line access
Full-day Corinth, Epidaurus, Mycenae & Nafplion excursion
Full-day Delphi excursion with museum
Athens city walking tour
All entrance fees and museum tickets
24/7 travel specialist support throughout your trip
Hamilton & Chase digital travel booklet with restaurant & local recommendations

Not Included

International flights to/from Athens
Travel insurance (required — we can arrange coverage on request)
Lunches and dinners
Personal expenses (shopping, additional tastings)
Gratuities for guides and drivers (optional but appreciated)
City tax (collected directly by the hotel, typically €1–4 per person per night)

Good to Know

This itinerary is a starting point — days can be reordered and excursions swapped to suit your interests.
Athens is the ideal base for this tour — all excursions depart from and return to the city, avoiding the need to pack and unpack.
All guides and experiences are arranged exclusively for your group — never shared with other travellers.
Comfortable, closed-toe walking shoes are essential — the Acropolis, Mycenae, and Delphi all involve uneven ancient stone and gravel paths.
Flexible booking: adjust or postpone your dates up to 60 days before departure at no charge.

Make It Yours

Optional add-ons & upgrades.

Every trip is different. These extras can be woven into your itinerary — just let your travel specialist know what catches your eye.

Cape Sounion sunset excursion

Drive along the Athens Riviera to the Temple of Poseidon perched on the cliff edge — one of the most dramatic sunset locations in Greece

From €95 pp

Athens food and neighbourhood tour

A guided walk through the Central Market, Psiri, and Exarchia — the Athens that locals inhabit, with the best street food, cheese shops, and olive oil merchants

From €95 pp

Hydra island day trip

A short hydrofoil from Athens to the car-free artists' island of Hydra — harbour tavernas, stone mansions, and swimming from the rocks

From €140 pp

Santorini extension (2–3 nights)

Add the volcanic caldera to your trip — caldera-view hotel, guided tour, wine tasting, and Oia sunset

From €690 pp

Professional photo session

A portrait session at the Acropolis at dawn or in the Plaka lanes at golden hour with a local photographer

From €350

"We had six days and wanted to understand Greece, not just photograph it. The Corinth and Mycenae excursion was our favourite day of any trip we've ever taken. Delphi in the mountains was extraordinary. And Athens itself — the Acropolis guide made every stone come alive. Hamilton & Chase understood exactly what we were looking for."

Margaret & David H.

Boston, MA · Essence of Greece, October 2025

Common Questions

Questions about this trip.

Can we add Santorini or the Greek Islands?

Absolutely. The most natural extension is a flight to Santorini (2–3 nights) after Day 5, adding the caldera, Oia, and a wine tasting to the itinerary. We'll build the extension seamlessly into your trip.

When is the best time to visit Athens?

March–May and September–November are ideal — pleasant temperatures for walking the archaeological sites and fewer crowds. Summer (June–August) is hot but the sites are open late. Winter is mild by European standards and very uncrowded.

Private Package Journey