Included Highlights

• Air transportation NYC/ATH/NYC

• All transfers per itinerary

• 2-night hotel accommodations of your choice in Athens

• Buffet breakfast daily

• Comprehensive Athens sightseeing tour

• 7-day cruise to the Northern or the Southern Cyclades onboard the Star Flyer of Star Clippers

• All meals on cruise

• Hotel service charges and taxes

• Hospitality services in Athens

• Tourlite International document wallet, luggage tags and travel tips booklet

Day 1/Wed Depart USA

Overnight flight to Athens, Greece

.
Day 2/Thu Athens

Arrive at Athens airport, where you’ll be met by Tourlite representatives and escorted to your hotel. Balance of the day at leisure.

Day 3/Fri Athens

Half-day morning city tour includes highlights of Athens and the Acropolis.

Day 4/Sat Athens/Cruise

Morning at leisure. Noon check-out. This afternoon, transfer to the port of Piraeus for embarkation on your ship. Enjoy the onboard activities as your ship sails for the first port of call.  Northern Cycladic

Northern Cycladic

Day 5/Sun At Sea

All day at sea. “Fly across the Aegean Sea” on board your Star Flyer. Enjoy the on board activities or just watch the scenery go by.

Day 6/Mon Kamlimani Beach/Kusadasi (Ephessos)

After a stop at the Kamlimani Beach continue to Kusadasi, a bustling resort town full of shops, bars and restaurants and the main access point for the famous archeological site at Ephessos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Day 7/Tue Samos

The Island of Samos is only 2,500 meters from the coast of Turkey; in fact it was once part of Asia before the last ice age ripped it from the arms of the continent. Pythagoria was supposedly the birthplace of Hera, wife of Zeus. Other notable island progeny include the mathematician Pythagoras, Epicurus, Polykrates and the great taleteller Aesop.

Day 8/Wed Patmos

This serene island is known as the site of the apocalyptic revelations of St. John the Divine, written here during his exile from the Roman Empire. The cave where he is said to have lived is now the site of the Monastery of the Apocalypse.

Day 9/Thu Delos/Mykonos

Uninhabited today as always, Delos is the hub of the “wheel” for which the Cyclades are named. Mykonos, one of the most cosmopolitan of all the Greek islands, is a contrast of rocky hills and beautiful beaches. The harbor is overlooked by a variety of tavernas, and is a popular meeting place as the sun goes down turning the brilliant whites to beautiful shades of pinks and reds.

Day 10/Fri Sifnos

Gold gave birth to Sifnos. Every year, the islanders would offer a solid gold tribute to Apollo. When they tried to substitute a fake, Apollo decreed that their rich mines would sink into the ground. Now the abandoned mines are the only reminder of Sifnos golden age. Visit Panayia Chrysopyi, a 17th-century monastery precariously perched on a rocky islet jutting into the sea.

Day 11/Sat Cruise/Piraeus/Departure

Early morning arrival in Piraeus. Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the airport for your flight to the U.S.A. and home. (Extend your stay, see our “By Design” Section.)

Southern Cycladic:

Day 5/Sun At Sea

All day at sea. “Fly across the Aegean
Sea” on board your Star Flyer.

Day 6/Mon Rhodes

The beautiful island of Rhodes (Island of Roses) has a rich and varied history. Rhodes town is a bustling Mecca for both sightseers and shoppers alike. On the Eastern coast of Rhodes, poised high above two spectacular bays is the Acropolis of Lindos. Lindos was once the principal city of the island before
founding the Rhodes Town in 408 B.C.

Day 7/Tue Bodrum (Turkey)

Known in ancient times as Halicarnassus, this was the birthplace of Herodotus and the site of King Mausolu’s Tomb (4th-century B.C.), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Visit the Bodrum Castle, a fine example of 15th-century crusader architecture and the Museum of the Underwater Archeology, with remains dating as far back as the Bronze Age.

Day 8/Wed Dalyan River (Turkey)

At first glance, this is a picture one hardly expects to see in Turkey. A lovely,
unspoiled lake teeming with fish, a lush marshy delta, verdant farmlands and a
lonely deserted beach where sea turtles lay their eggs. On shore you can see ruins of the Lycian city of Caunos and the sea is an incredibly clear blue, and on the bottom are ruins of an ancient civilization.

Day 9/Thu Santorini

The island of Santorini is perhaps the most breathtaking of the Greek Islands. Around 1500 B.C., a volcanic eruption destroyed the center of the island, leaving a crescent shaped rim of cliffs around a harbor formed in the volcano’s caldera.

Day 10/Fri Hydra

It looks barren and rocky, but the narrow harbor of Hydra hides a surprise, a town of stately mansions all built around 1800 by blockade runners who had made fortunes outwitting the British during the Napoleonic Wars. An other surprise is that there are no cars, so if you want to see the spectacular view from the Monastery of Ilias you’ll have to ride a donkey to the top.

Day 11/Sat Cruise/Piraeus/USA

Early morning arrival in Piraeus. Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the airport for your flight to the U.S.A. and home. (Extend your stay, see our “By Design” Section.)

OPTIONAL CLASSICAL GREECE PRE CRUISE PACKAGE:

Enhance your vacation with a tour to Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi and Meteora from only $659 per person double occupancy.

Replace Day 1/Wed-Day 3/Fri with the following itinerary:

Day 1, Saturday: En route

Depart the U.S.A. via overnight flight to Athens, Greece.

Day 2, Sunday: Athens

Arrive at Athens airport, where you’ll be met by Tourlite representatives and escorted to your hotel. Balance of the day at leisure.

Day 3, Monday: Athens

Half-day morning quided city tour includes highlights of Athens the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum.

Day 4, Tuesday: Nauplion/Olympia

Begin your quided Classical Tour to Corinth via the Bay of Salamis and the Corinth canal. Next stop is Mycenae to visit the Lion Gate and Beehive Tombs of King Agamemnon. Proceed to Epidaurus, site of the world renowned amphitheater with its phenomenal acoustics. Drive through the Central Peloponnese to Olympia, site of the first Olympic Games. Overnight in Olympia.

Day 5, Wednesday: Olympia/Delphi

Morning visit the impressive Temple of Zeus, the Temple of Hera and the museum, site of Greece’s greatest classical sculpture, "Hermes" by Praxiteles. Drive through the plains of Eliad and Achaia, cross the Corinthian Bay and proceed to Delphi via Nafpactos and Itea. Overnight in Delphi.

Day 6/Thu Delphi/Kalambaka

Morning visit to the Sanctuary of Apollo Pythios, home of the “Oracle” and the Museum with the famous “Charioteer.” Afternoon depart for Kalambaka, passing through numerous picturesque villages and typical towns of Central Greece. Dinner and overnight at Kalambaka.

Day 7/Fri Meteora/Athens

Morning visit Meteora. Amid striking scenery, perched atop soaring stone pillars which seem to be suspended in mid-air, stand ageless monasteries, where you can see exquisite specimens of Byzantine art. Return to Athens via Trikala, Lamia, Thermopylae (Visit of Leonidas’ monument) and the spa of Kammena Vourla. Arrive Athens in the evening for overnight.

Day 8/Sat- Day 15/Sat

Northern or Southern Cycladic Cruise Same as DAY 4 to DAY 11 on basic itinerary above.