Day One

Welcome to the birthplace of democracy, Athens. We’ll meet this afternoon on the roof-top garden of our centrally located hotel. As we gaze upon the Acropolis we will introduce ourselves over drinks and sample some olives. Then we’ll take a short walk to the Plaka area of Athens, where we have a special taverna picked out for our first meal together.

Day Two

We are up early this morning as we take a walk in the hills surrounding the Acropolis. We’ll make our way up to the “historic rock” to take in the Parthenon and learn about the role the olive played in ancient Greece.

We will give you some time to explore this monument dating from 447 B.C. We’ll walk together through the Agora and end up in the winding streets of Monisteraki.  Lunch is on your own, but we can recommend some of the best souvlaki that Athens has to offer.

In the afternoon we will shuttle down to the marina and board our boat. After meeting the crew we’ll motor to the Island of Aegina were we will enjoy our first dinner together on board.

Day Three

After breakfast on board we will visit the Temple to Aphaia one of the best preserved Greek temples (and one of the most handsome!) built in the late 6th century B.C. We’ll have a walk around the temple before heading back into Aegina town where you can have lunch on your own. You’ll have more time to explore on before being back on board in the afternoon for our sail to the Island of Poros. We’ll have dinner on board and offer a walk around Poros town.

Day Four

While our boat stays docked on Poros we will shuttle inland to the famous theatre of Epidaurus, one of the best preserved ancient theatres in Greece. Many of the great singers have sung here including Maria Callas and there is still a festival here every August. We will have some time to explore this theatre and ancient healing centre. We will have a stop at a marble cutting factory to see marble flooring and marble countertops being made. Then it is on to a small seaside cafe for lunch and if the weather permits a swim in the gulf. We are back on board in the afternoon for our trip to the jet-set island of Hydra. Dinner together on board in the harbour of Hydra.

Day Five

We will offer two walks around Hydra today. A shorter highlight walks of Hydra town and a longer walk that gets us out of town and to a nearby monastery. We’ll enjoy this picturesque island and all its colours in the houses and in the gardens. Either way, enjoy a lunch on your own and get ready in the afternoon to board our boat as we set off to the port of Ermione and small quaint town on the Peloponnese mainland. We’ll take our time to get there and have a swim off the boat. Dinner together on board.

Day Six

We will head inland to visit an organic olive oil farm. One of the finest olive oils in Greece is produced here and we will meet the grower, Mr. Dimarakis and tour his orchard. We can also pay a visit to an olive tree over 1000 years old! We will get some of his olive oil to taste test at lunch today and we will invite him to join us for lunch on board. You can enjoy a coffee in a seaside cafe in this delightful town this afternoon before we are off to the Island of Spetses, on of the greenest of the Saronic Gulf islands. Dinner will be on your own with recommendations from us.

Day Seven

We will offer two walks today on Spetses. A shorter walk to neo-classical neighborhoods on the island and a longer in-land walk amongst the pines forests that dot this island. In the afternoon we have our longest sail up the gulf of Argolikos Gulf to the first capital of Greece, the lovely city of Nafplio. Enjoy lunch on board as we cruise by the Peloponnesian coast on our way to Nafplio. This well preserved neo-classical town hosts a plethora of small tavernas and great shopping. Dinner on your own with plenty of recommendations from us.

Day Eight

Today is a day for you to explore on your own. There is so much to see right off of our boat. You can climb the 990 steps to Acronafplio, the citadel that stands above the city, you can sit in a seaside cafe and people watch, or you can go to a lovely beach nearby for a swim. Either way we will be on hand to advise you on the best way to spend your day. Be back on board for our special Captain’s Dinner together.

Day Nine

We will say goodbye early to our captain and crew as we head out to the magnificent site of Mycenae. Here is where Schliemann excavated and found the solid gold mask of Agamemnon (or so he thought!) now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. We will have some time to explore this citadel before going on to the ruins at Nemea, where we can visit the museum and the grounds before enjoying a picnic lunch together at a nearby winery. On our way back to Athens we will stop at the Corinth Canal to see this wonder. Enjoy a coffee there before we board our bus and head back to Athens.

Tour Cost: $3,290

Deposit to hold this trip $1,000 payable to Hiram College by December 15th 2010.

Remainder of $2,290 due by March 15th 2011.

Who are your leaders?

Manolis is our true Greek on this trip. A native of Greece, he lived 12 years in Ohio before returning to his homeland and living on the Island of Evia.

Besides playing and writing music, he also works as a tour leader for ExperiencePlus! Bicycling Tours out of Fort Collins.

He looks forward to showing you Greece from an insider's perspective.

Patricia is one of the founders of The Olive Orchard. A resident of Greece, she lives on the Island of Evia with her husband and has had 12 years experience working as a tour leader.

She looks forward to showing you her favorite places and turning you on to the unique country that is Greece! (Hiram Alumni 1984)

Our philosophy about tours

We are here to show you unique aspects of Greece and its culture. We like to run our tours as if you were are our friends and we are hosting you. That means that we are here to help you. If your luggage is lost (let's hope not!) we can get on the phone and help track it. If you need a special item from the pharmacy we can assist you. If you want more of a special dish that we are having for dinner, just ask us, we will get you more.

We want you to have a pleasant experience. We will help you with your luggage, but you will be responsible for getting it to your room and back to specific loading points (therefore be forewarned about over-packing! We have checklists to help you).

We take care of all the details, so that all you have to worry about are what goodies you might like to take home with you, or what time breakfast is!

We will be there to facilitate your enjoyment of the trip. However, please be warned: This is not a packaged bus tour! We will be traveling on a bus to get us from one point to another, but you will not hear us on the microphone pointing out obscure landmarks so that we can hear our own voices. You will be well informed, we will brief you either the night before or in the morning as to what to expect.

Greece is a country with a history so rich that no one can get it all in one trip. It has been our experience that people can only absorb so much. So we will give you brief highlights and insider recommendations on what to see at each site, but we will set you free to explore it on your own.

If you want to absorb every fact in each museum it is up to you. If you want to photograph the unique way the sunlight catches the Corinthian columns, you can. We feel it is too overbearing to drag everyone through a long-winded two-hour lecture at each site. You will get far more out of it in your own way! Therefore we do not go around each archaeological site as a group.

Additionally, singles are welcome.  If you find yourself without a traveling companion this is a great way to travel within a group. You will be teamed up with another single (of the same sex) for room accommodations.  On nights when dinner might be on your own, we won't let you be!

Copyright 2009-10 The Olive Odyssey. All rights reserved.
Photos by P. Igyarto. B Igyarto, P. Hajifotiou, S. Kluchar, D. Haskett, P. Haskett, R. Cushman, J. Cushman