Tour Diary

Day 1: Sunday March 22nd
Depart by coach at 5:00 am. Travel to Rosslare to catch the early ferry to Fishguard and on by coach to Gatwick airport. Flight from Gatwick to Athens.

Day 2: Monday March 23rd
Morning visit to the Acropolis, with the beautiful temple of Athena Nike, the Parthenon and the Erechtheion. This was followed by a coach tour of Athens. Visited the Olympic stadium and the National Museum with it's collection of Minoan style frescoes from Thira and the treasures from Mycenae. These include the so called mask of Agamemnon, jewellery, daggers and baked tablets of the Linear B script.  Coach trip to Cape Sounion in the evening. Arrived in time to watch the spectacular sunset.

Day 3: Tuesday March 24th
Travel to Delphi, tour of the sacred precinct, the stadium and the museum. Free time to explore the town. Weather has become very cold this evening. 

Day 4: Wednesday March 25th
Independence day in Greece. Morning walk to the Tolos, temple of Athena and ancient gymnasium. Back to the town in time to watch the local Independence day parade. Started to snow during the parade. Depart Delphi for Olympia, forced to take the coastal route due to heavy snowfall and strong winds.

Day 5: Thursday March 26th
Morning tour of ancient Olympia, including the Altis, the ancient stadium and ruined temple of Zeus which once held the famous statue by Pheidias. In the site museum there are important sculptures, including the head of Hera, the Hermes of Praxiteles and a host of other items such as a bronze Persian helmet captured by the Athenians in the battle of Marathon.  Travel on to Tolo via Patras as other routes are closed by heavy snowfall. Stop at Mycenae to visit the citadel and grave circles excavated by Schliemann. Very strong winds. Evening stop at Nafplio.  No electricity on arrival at our hotel in Tolo due to the severe storm. Power restored later in the evening.

Day 6: Friday March 27th
Morning free in Tolo to walk on the beach or do some shopping. Visit to the ancient site of Epidarius in the afternoon. The theatre looks spectacular with it's snow covered tiers, Travel on to Athens for evening meal and shopping.

Day 7: Saturday March 28th
Depart for Athens airport at 1:00am. Flight to Gatwick and then by coach to Fishguard. Beautiful sunny, warm day. Ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare and coach to Cork. 

Greece is comprises of both the Greek mainland and over one hundred and sixty inhabited islands. This leads to a great diversity in the landscape, from the mountainous North West to the plume of cypress, the silver green of the olive groves and the shimmering clear blue sea of the coastal regions.

Climate: The temperature in Athens for March can range from 8 to 16 degrees Celsius with an average of ten days of rain in the month  

Language: Greek

Time: GMT +2 hours.

Telephone: The International dial code to Greece from Ireland is 00 30 followed by the  local number.

Currency: Drachma

Main sights: Acropolis and Olympic stadium in Athens. Ruins at Corinth,  Delphi, Olympia, Epidarius and Mycenae. Islands of Crete, Rhodes, Ios, Samos etc.