Day 1
Early morning flight at 6.45am from Manchester to Heathrow and bumped into Frank who I met last year on the Canada and New England in the Fall trip last September. I lost Frank on arrival as I picked up case at Terminal 5 and waited by the carousel until the cabin crew had come through. I made my way to Terminal 2 via the Heathrow Express and checked in for the flight to Athens with help from a JY airport representative (not tour manager). I bumped into Frank at Heathrow and realised he'd gone through Flight Connections as he did not have a boarding card and took him to Flight Transfers to get him checked in for the flight to Athens. I didn't see the tour manager until on the flight and was seated next to a couple of my fellow travellers. Departure from Athens airport was delayed by Frank's luggage not turning up and it was after 7.30 by the time we had checked into the hotel. Dinner in the hotel was laid on for us in the hotel lobby and was a self service buffet with plenty of choice.
Day 2
9am start for the tour of Athens. First stop was the Acropolis which was busy followed by a visit to the Acropolis Museum where it appeared that every other artefact was in the British Museum in London. Then we stopped at the 1896 Olympic Stadium and arrived at the Presidential Mansion and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in time to see the changing of the guard. We had time to have a spot of lunch before heading out again for a trip to Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon returning to the hotel about 8.30pm.
Day 3
7.15am start for a full day cruise to the three islands of Hydra, Poros and Aegina. The cruise company Evermore (www.evermorecruises.com ) offered four optional excursions - a walking tour of Hydra, St Nektarios Monastery and the Temple of Afaia on Aegina as well as a trip to another island Agistri for a chance to swim. We arrived back in Athens at 7.30pm and back at the hotel about 8.15pm.
Day 4
Cases out for 7.30am for a 8am departure from Athens. First stop was at the Corinth Canal for twenty minutes with the usual amenities for tourists - toilets, gift shops, coffee and beggars. Then on to Epidavros, Nafplio for lunch and then Mycenae. At Nafplio some of the group went to the Greek Restaurant, recommended by the tour manager, which had run out of pitta bread and served chips instead. Hotel for the night was at Olympia and after we had checked in we had plenty of time for a shower before dinner which like Athens was buffet style in the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel.
Day 5
9am departure from the hotel for the tour of the site of the original Olympic Games from 776 BC and the Archaelogical Museum. We had time for a spot of lunch after the tour before the drive to Nafpaktos. We stopped at the Rio-Antirrio Bridge and arrived at the family run Hotel Nafpaktos at 4pm. Dinner, unlike the previous hotel, was table service with wine included and the choice of eating in the restaurant or outside on the terrace.
To be continued.... (added 31/05/17)
Day 6
I skipped the optional trip to Trikorfo, Glyfada and the island of Trizonia in favour of a day exploring Nafpaktos. Three of us set out together stopping in a couple of beautifully decorated churches and the Botsaris Tower with it's interesting exhibition about the Naval Battle of Lepanto, entry to which was by pressing the doorbell which on first look seemed to have been disconnected but was answered by a man who came out the gate opposite the entrance. We had inteded to visit the Farmakis Museum but it had been closed since August. We also tried to find a way up to the clock tower but my companions weren't too keen by the steep climb but I returned alone later in the day to be rewarded with stunning views of the town and harbour. Lunch was at a beach side restaurant heading away from the harbour and past the hotel. We walked a little bit further but didn't find anything of interest in that direction.
Day 7
Left hotel around 9.30 and were driven up to the castle with offered great views of the bay and I found intricate mosaics in the stonework path outside one of the surviving buildings. Then we went into Nafpaktos where most of the group went to the Botsaris Tower which I had seen the previous day and so we went for a coffee in the square by the harbour. We headed to Ano Chora where we had lunch and a cookery demonstration preparing a Spanokopita which a few menbers of the group helped with rolling out the pastry but the guy who had just got and apron and gloves on before blowing his nose was relegated to just doing the filling. We had been offered a liquor on arrival and were given a small personalised decorated bottle of the liquor as we left. We also took the Spanokopita that we prepared back to the hotel in Nafpaktos where it was served as part of the evening dinner.
Day 8
9:30 am departure for the trip on the Diakofto-Kalavryta Railway. Enough time before the train arrived for a look round and a coffee. The train offered stunning views of the mountains, rivers and waterfalls as it passed through several natural tunnels on it's hour long journey. We had time at Kalavryta for lunch but it was a shame that the Holocaust Museum and cathedral were both closed. We stopped at the Holocaust Monument on the way to the beautiful monastery of Mega Spileo which again offered great mountain views. On the way back to Nafpaktos we took the ferry rather than the Rio-Antirrio bridge for a different view of this marvellous feat of engineering.
Day 9
9am departure from Nafpaktos for Delphi. Delphi was another fascinating archaelogical site and the tour took us round the museum, the highlight of which was the statue of the Charioteer of Delphi. The tour also included the site as far as the Temple of Apollo but there was time to see more if you so wished. Following a brief stop in Arachova, an out of season ski resort, for lunch we headed back to Athens for the final night. For dinner that night, we went to a restaurant in the Plaka district with most of the group travelling by the metro and others by taxi. When we returned back to the hotel some of the group went up to the Olive Garden on the top floor of the hotel for a drink where we had a great view of the illuminated Acropolis.
Day 10
I was up early as I had booked an hour long massage for 8am. Flight was due to depart at 1.30pm but most of the group were ready to go by 10am. However, there had been a four-hour strike announced by Air Traffic Controllers and the flight was delayed until after 3pm. Also, it turned out that it had turned into a national strike and roads would be closed as there would be a demonstration. Unfortunately, we lost one of the guys who had checked out of the hotel by handing his door card and the tour manager got into a bit of a frenzy trying to find him. Eventually, she found him in his room as he had been let back in by the chambermaids and didn't answer the phone as it 'kept ringing'. It took us a while to get out of the centre of Athens but thanks to our driver Dmitri, he got us to the Airport with plenty of time before the flight.
Overall, I had a great time. It was good to meet 'Cowboy' Frank again and the rest of the group weren't bad either.
I found Sue, the tour manager was friendly, approachable, had great language skills and knowledgable.
The tours of the archaelogical sites were all excellent as were the expert guides. It was a shame we didn't get time to explore the Acropolis Museum after the tour but I'll maybe do that if I ever return to Athens. I found the trip out to the Temple of Poseidon to be worth it, not only for the great sunset views but as a contrast to the crowds at the Acropolis there weren't many people around at the time. I felt that we could have had further information about the 3 island cruise before the day as there were optional excursions offered by the cruise.
Of the Hotels, the Hotel Nafpaktos was the best in terms of the most welcoming, friendly staff, guiet location, good traditional greek food and within site of the beach. The Hotel Titania in Athens, being in the centre of the city was busy and noisy at times and was in a great location for people who had chosen not to do the 3 island cruise (day 3) to explore, the views from the Olive Garden of the city at night were fantastic but the buffet style dinner was a bit of a let down. The Hotel Neda in Olympia was quiet as I think there weren't many other guests when we were there and the food was okay but we were only there for the one night.
The length of the holiday at 9 nights was great but the tour was quite hectic at times but an additional couple of nights in Athens at the end of the tour would have been perfect.
