Greece & Aegean Islands Cruise

Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to start exploring the Greek capital.

A day to relax and do just as you please. Our suggestion: join an optional day cruise to the islands of Aegina, Hydra, and Poros. In the evening, free time to enjoy the lively atmosphere of the tavernas and nightclubs in the old Plaka district with its narrow streets and sound of bouzouki music.

Join the included guided tour of Athens, featuring the highlights of this ancient capital and a visit to the Acropolis. Cross the Corinth canal, a project conceived in ancient Greece but only completed in 1893, then head for the coast to Nauplia.Today’s Distance: 90 mi/ 145 km

This morning, stop in Epidaurus. Visit the the open-air theater, which can still seat 14,000 spectators, then enjoy the included guided excursion to the archaeological site and museum of Mycenae, a city fortress cursed by the gods but rich in gold and warrior kings. Travel into the Peloponnese to Sparta.Today’s Distance: 134 mi/ 215 km

. Enjoy the included sightseeing of the medieval Byzantine citadel of Mystra, at one time known as the “Florence of the East.” Stop to visit an olive oil museum, then continue to Olympia.Today’s Distance: 130 mi/ 210 km

Explore Olympia, where the athletes of antiquity performed in honor of the king of deities. Spend free time in this pretty town, or learn more about the history of the Olympic Games on the optional sightseeing tour. Later, drive north toward Patras, the capital of the Peloponnese and the west coast’s largest port. Then, head through picturesque fishing villages along the south coast of the mainland to mystical Delphi, crossing the spectacular Rion-Antirion bridge.Today’s Distance: 155 mi/ 250 km

Enjoy free time in town or optional morning sightseeing of the archaeological site of Delphi. On to Kalambaka.Today’s Distance: 165 mi/ 265 km

Discover Meteora, a cluster of Christian-Orthodox monasteries perched in an unforgettable manner on a set of rising rock formations. Your included visit is certainly the day’s highlight. Continue south to Athens.Today’s Distance: 224 mi/ 360 km

Spend a full day at leisure to explore the unseen parts of the city. Tonight, enjoy an optional Greek dinner.

. Early morning embarkation and afternoon cruising in the Aegean. Arrive this evening in Mykonos, a granite island and the most typical of the Cyclades. Its white and blue houses, windmills, and chapels seem to make the island’s light even more translucent. Spend some time visiting a taverna or just wandering around the town, enjoying its timeless beauty.

Two ports of call await today. First, Kusadasi on the Turkish coast for an included morning excursion to the fascinating Greek, Roman, and Byzantine excavations of Ephesus. Next, discover the tiny Greek island of Patmos, where St. John the Divine wrote Revelation. The 11th-century monastery with its valuable manuscript collection is well worth a visit.

Dock in Rhodes, largest of the Dodecanese Islands and site of the Colossus of Rhodes, a 105-foot statue destroyed by an earthquake in 224 BC. Explore the sites in the historic Old City with its ramparts and palaces built by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades. Another possibility: join an included excursion to Lindos and the Citadel of the Knights. If sightseeing is not your preference, Rhodes’ sun-drenched beaches and colorful shopping districts are within easy walking distance of the port. Depart from Rhodes around dinner time.

Spend the morning in Heraklion on the island of Crete. A few miles away is Knossos, the center of the 3000-BC Minoan civilization; an optional excursion can be booked. Next port of call (weather permitting) is Santorini, the “Black Pearl of the Aegean.” The optional shore excursion here takes you up to the cliff-top village of Oia for one of the world’s most breathtaking panoramas.

Early morning arrival in Piraeus; disembark and drive to Athens. Time to relax, visit a museum, or to do some last-minute shopping.

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.