Site and Museum Experience 6h

6 h. tour (Semiprivate tour, up to 25 people max. per guide)

Cost per person: 88 euro (76 euro for children up to 5 years)

(skip-the-line entrance tickets included)

(children up to 3 y.o. free)

(Transportation + guidance all the way + guided tour of ancient Site + guided tour of the archeological museum + free time in Olympia)

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Departing from the port with your private vehicle and driver, you will travel through the rich countryside between the Alfios and Kladeos rivers, on your way to Olympia, where you will embark a 2 and a half hour guided tour, that visits the temple of Zeus, the temple of Hera, the spot of the lighting of the Olympic torch and the stadium, among other sites.

Ancient Olympia, the archeological site of the first Olympic Games, in 776 B.C., lies in the lush valley formed by the Alfios river. There is a temple of Zeus which in antiquity was housing one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient world, the gold and ivory statue of Zeus, which Phedias had created. Then see the temple of Hera, as well as the shrine of Hera which is where since 1936 the Olympic Torch is always being lit from the sun, the shrine of Pelops(one of the oldest in the sanctuary), the Council house where the athletes took the Olympic oath, the Treasury houses, the Gymnasium and the Palaestra where they used to exercise for a month prior to the Games. Finally you will reach the stadium, where the marble starting blocks are still in position.

You will also visit the Archeological Museum, only a short walk from the Olympia site itself. Here you will find a wonderful collection of Greek sculpture, as well as treasures that have been unearthed over a century of excavations.

See the breathtaking original pediments from the Temple of Zeus, all in white marble from Paros, illustrating the mythical war between the Centaurs and the Lapiths on the one side, the beginning of the chariot race between Prince Pelops and King Oinomaos on the other side. The museum is also home to the famous Hermes of Praxiteles statue, as well as the marble statue of Nike and the bronze helmet of general Miltiades who defeated the Persian army in 490 BC in the battle of Marathon.

This tour is usually being combined with the guests who choose to join the Olympia Project tour that also includes a Greek dining experience in a local restaurant. Therefore, after the guided tour is over, you will have plenty of time to spend on your own at the Olympic Games site or museum and then at the modern town of Olympia. Olympia is a rather small town, therefore it is easy to walk around and navigate yourselves to the different places you would like to explore on your own.

You can stroll around Olympia town and have Greek coffee at one of the town's coffee shops, mingle with the locals and explore the main street with its many shops where you can find everything from jewellery and clothes to arts and crafts. Also you can taste the traditional souvlaki with pita and gyros by making a stop at one of the small souvlaki posts where you can either sit down or have it to go and continue your exploration. Alternatively, you can visit on your own the museum of the History of the Olympic Games(Old Museum), as well as the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology which has a lot of interesting innovations of Archimedes, beautifully presented and most of them recreated for the visitor to see.

Your tour guide will inform you before your free time is given to you, of the exact time and designated meeting point in order to gather the whole group, board your bus and return on time back to Katakolon port. On the way back you can discuss your experience in Olympia, ask questions and your guide will be happy to answer.

Food, beverages and gratuities are not included.

Audio devices (microphone for the tour guide and earpieces for the guests) are included in this tour.

Overall Rating (3)

5 out of 5 stars

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Reviews (3)

  • Lea

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Niki's local staff (both guides and drivers) are professional, friendly and very fun to learn from. Highly knowledgeable and filled with TONS of history and facts, they were incredible. The smaller groups (especially during busy tourist season) made it wonderful to get through sites efficiently without feeling like you didn't lose anything in the experience. Others that were with us took std tours from cruise ships and only experienced a fraction of what we got to see. They were wonderful! Highly recommended!

    from Greensboro, NC, USA
  • Shawn

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Niki and her team is absolutely fabulous. Prior to us leaving on the trip, Niki and I communicated via email regarding this tour. She is very responsive and clear in her communications, and answered all of the questions that we had in a very professional, clear, and succinct manner! As we got off our cruise ship, the signs were very clear on where to meet Niki and team. We rode in a newer, late model bus so the entire duration was extremely comfortable. Not only was this tour price competitive, it was affordable, and the entire tour went extremely timely and smoothly. Niki was very knowledgeable in history of Olympia, and is also very knowledgeable of landscape, current events, everything about the city and country. A true local guide! My wife and i truly enjoyed this tour and would highly recommend Niki to anyone visiting Olympia!

    from Portland, OR, USA
  • dmbfan7716

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    We booked 4 cruise excursions through Niki's company on our recent cruise to Greece. We prefer to do private tours so we can customize them according to our needs. All of the guides were very accommodating to our children and bought them small gifts. All of them were extremely knowledgeable. During my planning process, I completely forgot to book an excursion in Olympia. I emailed Niki 3 days before our departure and asked if there was anything she could do. She offered me another private tour if I wanted (and she would have to send a guide from Athens) or a group tour which had a few people booked. We did not want to have to send a guide from Athens, so we opted to go on a group tour. This choice also saved us money, and it turned out excellent, as there was only 1 other couple on the tour. Olympia was one of our favorite tours! We were so happy with our decision to book with Niki. From the initial email and confirmation to all of our tours, we couldn't be happier!!!

    from Kaiserslautern, Germany

About Us

It would be a pleasure to send you my proposals, through our travel agency, and organize your touring experience in Greece, just for you!

 15561, Agiou Ioannou Theologou 43, Athens

 27065, Praxitelous Kondyli, Ancient Olympia

+30 6972426085

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Whatsapp: +30 6972426085

MH.T.E. 0415Ε60000165901

Our Awards

tripadvisor

 

ASTA

ricksteves

Recommended by Rick Steves

bbc

Niki was the official Olympia Expert in BBC live broadcasting to explain the significance of the lightning of the Olympic flame for the 2012 London Olympics

Client Testimonials

Niki's knowledge of the history there as well as how she related it to all of us was a perfect balance!
Julie
Niki knows her stuff, and she comes across as an intelligent and credible source of verified information. My wife and I used her as our group tour guide in Olympia and then again in Athens, and we were very pleased.
Tony
I definitely recommend other cruisers to book independently through Niki Vlachou.
Madge