Why Choose a 5 Day Peloponnese Tour with Dimitsana
Most 5 day tours from Athens rush between the famous ruins and never leave the main highway. This private tour adds the part of Greece most visitors miss: the mountain villages of Arcadia, where Dimitsana sits on the edge of the Lousios Gorge and monasteries cling to the cliffs below. You travel door to door from your Athens hotel in a private air-conditioned Mercedes with your own English-speaking driver, at your own pace.
- Four UNESCO sites and more. Epidaurus, Mycenae, Ancient Olympia and Delphi, plus Ancient Corinth and Nafplio, the first capital of modern Greece. A licensed guide is available as an add-on at checkout.
- A night in Dimitsana. A stone village whose watermills made gunpowder for the War of Independence in 1821, with a boutique guesthouse already included in the price.
- The Lousios Gorge, your way. Visit the Philosophou and Prodromou monasteries by car at a relaxed pace, or add a 4 hour guided hike through the gorge.
- Local flavors. Olive oil and wine at the producers' market in Olympia, a honey tasting at Klio's family farm, and grilled formaela cheese in Arachova on the last day.
Ideal for couples, families and small groups who want the classical sites and a real taste of mountain Greece in one trip. Choose your dates and hotel category, add a guide or the gorge hike if you wish, and book your private 5 day Peloponnese tour online in a few minutes.
Most classical tours of Greece drive straight past the mountains of Arcadia. This private 5 day tour from Athens stops there, with a night in the stone village of Dimitsana and a day in the Lousios Gorge, where monasteries are built into the cliffs. Visit them at your own pace with your driver, or add a guided hike through the gorge. Around it are the great sites of the Peloponnese and central Greece, from Ancient Corinth, Epidaurus and Mycenae to Ancient Olympia and Delphi. Your own driver, an optional licensed guide, and no group to wait for.
Day 1: Athens - Corinth Canal - Ancient Corinth - Epidaurus - Nafplio
- 08:30 Pick-up: Your private driver meets you at your Athens hotel. First stop is the Corinth Canal (approx. 1 hour). The ancient Greeks dreamed of cutting it for centuries, and Emperor Nero even started digging in 67 AD, but it was only finished in 1893.
Continue to Ancient Corinth, one of the richest cities of the ancient world. Walk the Roman forum to the Bema, the stone platform where the Apostle Paul was brought before the governor Gallio, below the Doric columns of the 6th century BC Temple of Apollo.
In the afternoon, visit Epidaurus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stand in the center of the orchestra and speak in a normal voice: visitors in the top row, 55 rows up, can hear you clearly. Beside the theater lies the Sanctuary of Asklepios, where the sick came from all over Greece to be cured by the god of medicine.
Drive on to Nafplio (approx. 30 minutes), the first capital of modern Greece until 1834. Walk the old town and the seafront promenade before an optional dinner. Overnight in Nafplio.
💡 Insider tip: For sunset, walk the path around the Akronafplia rock towards Arvanitia. It is quieter than the harbor and faces west over the Argolic Gulf.
Day 2: Nafplio - Mycenae - Dimitsana
- 09:00 Nafplio: Start the morning with the view from Palamidi Fortress, built by the Venetians in the early 18th century, or take the short boat ride from the harbor to Bourtzi, the 15th century Venetian castle in the middle of the bay.
Continue to Mycenae (approx. 30 minutes), the city Homer called rich in gold and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk through the Lion Gate, built around 1250 BC, see Grave Circle A, where the gold Mask of Agamemnon was found in 1876, and step inside the beehive-shaped Treasury of Atreus.
In the afternoon, drive into the mountains of Arcadia to Dimitsana (approx. 2 hours), a stone village built on the edge of the Lousios Gorge. Its watermills made gunpowder for the Greek War of Independence in 1821. Visit the Open-Air Water Power Museum and the historic library of Dimitsana, then walk the cobbled lanes before an optional dinner of local mountain cooking. Overnight in Dimitsana.
💡 Insider tip: You do not have to climb the famous steps to Palamidi. Your driver can take you up the road to the upper gate, so you save your energy for the walls and the view.
Day 3: Lousios Gorge Monasteries or Guided Hike - Ancient Olympia
- 09:30 Lousios Gorge: The 15 km Lousios Gorge is protected both as a nature reserve and as an archaeological site. According to myth, the nymphs Neda, Agno and Theisoa bathed the newborn Zeus in its icy springs, which gave the river its name.
At your own pace: Your driver takes you by road to the New Monastery of Philosophou, with views over the Old Monastery, founded in 963 and the oldest in Arcadia, and to Prodromou Monastery, built into the cliff in the 16th century and a short walk from the parking area. Finish at Ancient Gortys and its Sanctuary of Asklepios.
Guided hike (optional, add at checkout): Walk the gorge with a local guide for about 4 hours. Start at the New Monastery of Philosophou, pass the Old Monastery and descend to the river, then climb to Prodromou Monastery, where the monks often offer walkers a Greek coffee. The trail ends at Ancient Gortys, where your driver meets you. The path is steep and uneven in places, so wear proper walking shoes.
In the afternoon, drive west to Ancient Olympia (approx. 2 hours) for an optional dinner in the village. Overnight in Olympia.
Day 4: Private Ancient Olympia Tour - Honey Tasting at Klio's Farm - Nafpaktos - Delphi
- 08:00 Olympia: On your private Ancient Olympia tour, walk through the UNESCO-listed sanctuary where the Games were held for almost twelve centuries, from 776 BC. See the Temple of Hera, where the Olympic flame is still lit today, the workshop of Pheidias and the Temple of Zeus, home of his gold and ivory statue, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Pass the Philippeion, the round memorial begun by Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, then walk through the vaulted tunnel into the original stadium to the stone starting line. In the museum, see the Hermes of Praxiteles and the Nike of Paionios. Allow about 2 hours for the site and museum.
Taste local olive oil and wine at the open-air producers' market in Olympia. Then continue to Klio's family honey farm in the hills, where she welcomes you with a honey tasting, coffee or juice and homemade desserts in the shade of the trees.
Cross the Rio-Antirrio bridge to Nafpaktos (approx. 1.5 hours) for an optional lunch by the Venetian harbor. Continue along the coast and up Mount Parnassus to Delphi (approx. 2 hours). Overnight in Delphi.
Day 5: Private Delphi Tour - Arachova - Athens
- 08:30 Delphi: Arrive as the site opens, while the valley below is still in shade. On your private Delphi tour, walk the Sacred Way past the Treasury of the Athenians to the Temple of Apollo, where the Oracle advised kings and city states for over a thousand years, and stop at the Castalian Spring. In the Delphi Museum, see the Charioteer, one of the few large Greek bronzes to survive, with his inlaid eyes still in place, and the Sphinx of the Naxians. Allow about 2 hours for the site and museum.
💡 Our tip: Visit the site first while it is cool and keep the air-conditioned museum for later in the morning.
Drive 10 minutes to Arachova, Greece's most popular winter village, just below the ski slopes of Mount Parnassus. Behind the busy main street with its cafés and boutiques, the village still lives on its own traditions. Walk up the stone lanes to the clock tower on the rock, and browse the shops for handwoven rugs, local honey and wine.
Stop for an optional lunch and try formaela, the local cheese with protected PDO status, served grilled. Then drive back to Athens (approx. 2.5 hours), arriving at your hotel in the late afternoon.
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