Peloponnese Explorer

This small-group tour by Explore Worldwide takes in some of the Peloponnese’s most historically resonant landmarks. Starting in Athens, the itinerary balances the city’s layers of ancient ruins with its more recent urban contrasts, including a stroll through the aged lanes of Plaka and a guided visit to the Acropolis.

From there, the route heads south to Nafplion, the Peloponnese’s first capital, and Epidavros where the superb acoustics of the ancient theatre still draw appreciation. The tour continues onto Mycenae’s burial mounds and the rugged Mani Peninsula, famous for its marble-roofed tower houses built for family defence and clan rivalry. A visit to the abandoned medieval town of Mystras reveals frescoed churches and crumbling palaces perched on a mountainside.

Later days are dedicated to the castles and coasts of Pylos and Methoni, Olympia with its Olympic stadium and temples, and Delphi with its high-mountain sanctuary of Apollo. The pacing allows some afternoons free to wander or linger by the sea, a reminder that Greece’s landscape isn’t merely a backdrop but a continuing presence throughout the tour.

New to Greece? Our Greece guide has the practical essentials: money, plugs, visas and when to go.

These are the places the trip visits, in order. Explore Worldwide publishes the day-by-day itinerary on its own site.