Why Choose a 5 Day Classical Greece Food and Wine Tour
Combine five UNESCO World Heritage Sites with the food and wine of the country they sit in, on a private 5 day classical Greece tour from Athens. Mycenae, Epidaurus, Olympia, Delphi and Meteora, with the same driver throughout, and olive oil, wine and honey tastings built into the route rather than added as an afterthought.
- The classical route, in order. Start at Ancient Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus in the Peloponnese, work west to Ancient Olympia, then cross the Rio-Antirrio bridge north to Delphi and Meteora.
- Four tastings, all included. An olive oil tasting at a working mill in Corinthia - A wine tasting at a family winery in Nemea
- Meteora at sunset. Arrive in time for sunset, when the light turns the rock towers gold, then visit the monasteries the next morning with your driver planning the order around the tour buses.
We have run this route since 2010. It is private throughout, built around your dates, and every stop on it is one we make ourselves. Choose your dates and hotel category, add a licensed guide if you wish, and book your private 5 day food and wine tour of Greece online.
This private 5 day classical Greece food and wine tour from Athens covers five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Epidaurus, Mycenae, Ancient Olympia, Delphi and Meteora, and builds a tasting into almost every day: olive oil in Corinthia and Amfissa, wine at the producers' market in Olympia and honey at Klio's family farm. The same driver and vehicle stay with you throughout. We have run this route since 2010, and it reflects what works on the ground: enough driving to reach the great sites, and enough time to taste the country around them.
Day 1: Corinth Canal, Ancient Corinth and Nemea Wine Tasting on the Way to Nafplio
- 08:30 Pick-up: Your private driver meets you at your Athens hotel. Stop at the Corinth Canal (approx. 1 hour), then walk through Ancient Corinth, with its 6th century BC Temple of Apollo and the Roman forum where the Apostle Paul preached to the Corinthians around 51 AD.
On the way south, stop in Nemea, the largest red wine appellation in Greece and home of the Agiorgitiko grape, for a wine tasting at a family winery among the vineyards.
💡 Insider tip: Ask the winemaker about the difference between the valley and the hillside vineyards. In Nemea the vines climb from the valley floor to around 800 meters, and the altitude changes the wine in the glass.
Reach Nafplio, the first capital of modern Greece, in the late afternoon, with time to walk the old town below Palamidi Fortress before an optional dinner. Overnight in Nafplio.
Day 2: Mycenae and Epidaurus, Then West to Olympia
- 08:30 Mycenae: Start early at Mycenae (approx. 30 minutes), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk through the Lion Gate, see the royal shaft graves where Heinrich Schliemann believed in 1876 that he had found the tomb of Agamemnon, and step inside the beehive-shaped Treasury of Atreus.
Continue to Epidaurus, where the 4th century BC theater is built so precisely that a voice from the center of the orchestra still carries to the top row, 55 rows up.
💡 Our tip: Let one person stand on the round stone in the middle of the orchestra and speak softly while the others climb to the top. Most travelers do not believe it until they try it.
In the afternoon, drive west across the Peloponnese to Olympia (approx. 3 hours), through olive country and mountain villages. Optional dinner and overnight in Olympia.
Day 3: Ancient Olympia, Wine and Honey Tasting, and North to Delphi
- 08:00 Olympia: On your private Ancient Olympia tour, walk through the sanctuary where the Olympic Games began in 776 BC. See the Temple of Zeus, the workshop of Pheidias and the original stadium, then the museum with the Hermes of Praxiteles and the sculptures from the pediments of the Temple of Zeus.
Taste local olive oil and wine at the producers' market in Olympia, where cheese and preserves also come straight from the growers. Then continue to Klio's family honey farm in the hills for a honey tasting with coffee and homemade desserts.
Head north across the Rio-Antirrio bridge, with the Gulf of Corinth on either side, and follow the coast to Delphi (approx. 3.5 hours), arriving in the late afternoon. Optional dinner and overnight in Delphi.
Day 4: Delphi, an Olive Grove Lunch in Amfissa and Meteora Sunset
- 08:00 Delphi: Staying overnight means you reach the site at opening time, before the coaches from Athens. On your private Delphi tour, walk the Sacred Way past the treasuries to the Temple of Apollo, where the oracle spoke, and up to the theater and the stadium. In the museum, the bronze Charioteer, cast around 475 BC, still holds the reins in his hand.
Drive down to the olive grove of Amfissa, with more than a million trees running from the mountain to the sea, for an olive oil tasting and lunch at a working family farm.
In the afternoon, cross into Thessaly to Meteora (approx. 3 hours), timing your arrival for sunset, when the rock pillars turn gold and the monasteries stand out against them. Optional dinner and overnight in Kalambaka.
Day 5: Meteora Monasteries and Thermopylae on the Way to Athens
- 09:00 Meteora: Spend the morning on your Meteora monasteries tour, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the monasteries were built on the rock towers from the 14th century and reached for centuries only by rope ladders and nets. Of the 24 monasteries built here, six are still active. Each closes on a different day, so we visit the two that are open on your date. Shoulders and knees must be covered, and wraps are available at the entrances.
On the drive back, stop at Thermopylae (approx. 2 hours 15 minutes), where King Leonidas, his 300 Spartans and their Greek allies held the pass against the Persian army in 480 BC. See the Leonidas monument and the memorial to the Thespians who fought beside them. Arrive in Athens (approx. 2 hours) in the early evening, at your hotel or the airport.
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