Exploring the Peloponnese: Historic Sites and Culinary Discoveries

Exploring the Peloponnese: Historic Sites and Culinary Discoveries

I’m thrilled to offer our new Exploring the Peloponnese: Historic Sites and Culinary Discoveries small group fully escorted tour in May and September each year.

Find out all about the tour at Take Me To Europe Tours, and below.

  • 9 Days
  • Max Guests: 10 (Fully Escorted)
  • Exclusive Experiences
  • Immersive Cultural Encounters
  • Luxury Accommodations
Ancient amphitheater with tiered stone seating and a central stage, surrounded by forested hills and mountains. Sparse visitors are scattered around the seating area and stage.

📅 23 – 31 May 2025

🎫 From $5,995

Detail | Highlights | Itinerary

Take the first step on an incredible journey full of companionship and unforgettable experiences!

Explore the authentic Europe you didn’t think could exist anymore on our small group multi-day tours. Join us on tour around the beautiful Peloponnese region of Greece. Meet the locals, learn how to make traditional Greek meals, watch artisans at work, visit vintners, and try their wines. Discover and explore ancient Greek history, the strongholds of the Myceneans, and the great battles fought in the Peloponnese.

Price Includes

  • 8 nights in luxury boutique accommodation: 1 night in a stylish 4-star Athens hotel with stunning views of the Acropolis, 2 nights in a historic 4-star boutique hotel in Nafplio Old Town close to the sea, 2 nights in a soothing 5-star resort at the island fortress town of Monemvasia, 1 night in a charming 3-star boutique hotel in Dimitsana, and 1 night in a 4-star luxury mountain boutique hotel in the mountains of Delphi.
  • Unique experiences: Wine and Olive Oil tastings, walking tours, private tours by archaeologists of UNESCO World Heritage sites: Epidaurus, Mycenae, Tiryns, Ancient Sparta, Mystras, the Palace of Nestor, Ancient Olympia, and Ancient Delphi, private sailing tour of the Monemvasia Peninsula, shrimp farming, farm visits, cooking classes, and more
  • Meals: 8 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 2 evening aperitifs, and 8 dinners as detailed in the itinerary. And of course, wine and bottled water is included with meals other than breakfast.
  • Luxury air-conditioned mini-bus
  • Group departure transfers to Athens
  • Tips and gratuities for drivers and guides

Price Excludes

  • International airfares
  • Your personal travel insurance

What to Expect

The Peloponnese has a very long period of the year when it is warm and sunny but it has a diverse climate with cooler mountain hideaways. We take advantage of the long warm shoulder seasons to spend time on the water and relax by the pool, as well as walking and mountain experiences. We design our experiences to avoid the crowds and give you time to get lost in the moment.

A treasure trove of ancient sites, secluded coves, and traditional farms, vineyards, and villages, we go deep into the Peloponnese, mixing up our journey through its historical sites with water activities, food, wine, farm and cooking experiences.

With a maximum of only 10 guests, we’re a happy little company of explorers who have fun each day on tour socializing over unforgettable wine and food. We come home at night to luxury 4-star boutique accommodation that shows off the very best of Athens and the Peloponnese. The experiences you have on tour with us create memories of a lifetime because you are not just sightseeing – you are understanding, learning, and making: making food, new friends, and memories. On tour, you come to know the Peloponnese through all of your senses.

Tour Highlights

  • Wine, Olive Oil, and Ouzo tastings
  • Walking tours of coastal towns and mountain villages by locals and your Greek tour leader
  • Sailing the coast around Monemvasia
  • Shrimp fishing
  • Meeting locals in their farmyards, orchards, vineyards, villages, and kitchens
  • Exploring the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Epidaurus, Mycenae, Tiryns, Mystras (and Ancient Sparta), Olympia, and Delphi with your archaeologist guide
  • Cooking classes and demonstrations
  • Hiking and picnicking
  • Seafood lunches and dinners, mountain vineyard and restaurant lunches and dinners
  • 4-star Luxury boutique accommodation

Itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to Athens

We meet this evening at our boutique hotel in central Athens for a drink and dinner at the rooftop bar when we watch the monuments of the Acropolis light up as evening falls.

Overnight: Athens

Day 2: Ancient Epidaurus (Epidavros), and Ouzo Distillery

After breakfast at our hotel, we set off for the Peloponnese and visit our first UNESCO World Heritage site – the Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus. Here we meet our archeologist guide for a private tour of the Sanctuary of Asclepius, the god of medicine, and the marvelous Theater of Epidaurus.

After a traditional meal with wine, we travel to our boutique hotel in the coastal town of Nafplio.

After settling in we take a private tour of a Nafplio Ouzo distillery and end our day with a seafood dinner as the sun sets on our first full day of adventuring in the Peloponnese!

Overnight: Nafplio

Day 3: Ancient Mycenae, Tiryns, Wine Tasting

We begin our day from the port of Nafplio. After breakfast at our hotel, we travel to Ancient Mycenae where our archaeologist guide takes us on a private tour of this outstanding UNESCO World-Heritage Mycenean fortress of Agamemnon.

We then head to Peloponnese wine country – the Nemean region where we tour a vineyard, and experience wine tasting and have lunch at the winery.

We travel back to Nafplio via another UNESCO World Heritage site, the citadel of Tiryns, where our archaeologist guide gives us a private tour of this small but impressive site with its mighty Cyclopean Walls.

Dinner with wine is in lovely Nafplio.

Overnight: Nafplio

Day 4: Nafplio and Monemvasia

After breakfast at our hotel, our tour leader takes us on a tour of Nafplio town, including the Palamidi fortress, and the Archaeological Museum.

We set off for Monemvasia, stopping for wine tasting at lunch at the award-winning Kapsia Winery. After lunch we resume our journey south to arrive in stunning Monemvasia on the southern tip of the Peloponnese.

We take a sunset boat tour around the Rock of Monemvasia before a wonderful dinner with wine in the stone town of Monemvasia.

Overnight: Monemvasia

Day 5: Monemvasia, Shrimp Fishing, and Castle

After breakfast at our hotel, we head out for a private Monemvasia walking tour. We’ll visit the old medieval town, castle, Christos Elkomenos Church, and the Church of Agia Sofia

We then travel to the nearby fishing village of Limin Geraka for a shrimp fishing experience where we learn to cast our nets and catch shrimp.

This is followed by a shrimp pie cooking demonstration, and then a homecooked meal with wine.

After lunch, we bid farewell to the fisherfolk of Limin Geraka and head back to Monemvasia.

We visit Monemvasia Castle and to feast on regional specialties with wine for our evening meal.

Overnight: Monemvasia

Day 6: Into the Mountains: Ancient Sparta, Byzantine Mystras, and Dimitsana

After breakfast, we head to Ancient Sparta where we have an archaeologist guide lead us on a private tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We then travel the short distance to the fortified town of Mystras. Our archaeologist guide leads us on a private walking tour of this unique example of a Byzantine town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We sample the local fare at a traditional Greek taverna for lunch, then visit one of only 6 olive oil museums in the world for a private tour.

We then travel into the mountains to the village of Dimitsana to check in to our boutique hotel and a hearty meal of regional foods and wines.

Overnight: Dimitsana

Day 7 Rural Life: Picnics, Cooking, Monasteries, and Walking

After breakfast, we head out with our local guides for a guided walk to a monastery in Lousios Gorge before picnicking by the river. Hardy guests can take a dip in the cool mountain river!

Then we visit a prosperous traditional mountain farm where we learn to bake bread, tour the farm’s different production and harvesting areas, and eat a wondrous meal with wine.

After lunch we we visit the open-air hydro museum to learn about the Greek struggle for Independence and spend a little free time in the village before heading to a lovely traditional taverna for dinner with wine.

Overnight: Dimitsana

Day 8: Ancient Olympia

We head this morning to Ancient Olympia where our archaeologist guide takes on a private tour of the birthplace of the Olympic Games.

After lunch with wine at a local taverna, we head north, across the Peloponnese and the Gulf of Corinth to a panoramic mountain lodge near Ancient Delphi.

We come together for our last evening together and toast our new friends and new memories at a special restaurant.

Overnight: Delphi

Day 9: Ancient Delphi, Return to Athens, and Farewell for Now

After our last (early!) breakfast together, we take a private tour with our archaeologist guide of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ancient Delphi.

We feast on local cuisine and wine at a restaurant with a spectacular view over the mountains of Delphi, before returning to central Athens.

It’s farewell for now, until we see you back on tour with us in Greece, the Greek Islands, or ancient Cyprus.

📅 23 – 31 May 2025

🎫 From $5,995

Need Help?

 (202) 937-3754 (text only)
 info@takemetoeuropetours.com

Aerial view of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, featuring the Parthenon and other ancient structures, set against a backdrop of the city and distant mountains at sunset.