Sailing the Aegean - Athens return

Immersive Tours

Deal number 26478264

Martin Randall Travel

13/10/2027

Greece

10-day tour

Departing from Athens

Earn points on every booking with Travel Associates*

from

$18,320*

per person

Call 13 70 71

Offer expires 10th July 2026

Exclusive Inclusions

2 night hotel accommodation in Athens

7 night Martin Randall exclusive charter cruise Athens return onboard Variety Voyager in a Category P (upper deck) stateroom.

Most meals, from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last with wine, beer and soft drinks. Three meals are in restaurants ashore. There are just two independent lunches in Athens.

Lectures by Dr Christina Hatzimichael-Whitley and James Whitley on board the ship and some guiding on site.

An exclusive private evening at the Acropolis Museum – with two days to explore the city before embarking.

Excursions, visits and admission costs.

Coach travel between airport and ship, and to sites when not reached on foot. If you are booking your flights independently, you may join one of our transfers, so long as they coincide with our group flight arrivals.

The assistance of experienced Martin Randall Travel staff .

A printed booklet including practical details, maps and background information.

All gratuities for waiters, ship crew, local guides, drivers; all city and port taxes.

The service of a dedicated Travel Advisor managing your booking.

Earn & Redeem Points on all travel with our new loyalty program, World360 Rewards*

The Aegean Sea both divides and unites. It separates the peoples of the Greek mainland, the Cyclades the circle of islands around Delos and Crete. Yet Homers paths of the sea have linked them for millennia, carrying traders, warriors and pilgrims across waters that have witnessed the rise and fall of extraordinary civilisations: the haunting figurines of the prehistoric Cyclades, the palace-kingdoms of the Bronze Age, the temples of Classical Greece, the maritime empire of Venice.

On this ten-day voyage we encounter all of it. We walk the monuments of Classical Athens above all the Acropolis, whose legacy endures to this day. We explore the Bronze Age citadels of Mycenae and Tiryns, so formidable they furnished Homer and the great tragedians with the raw material of legend. In Crete always an island apart the Minoan palaces of Knossos and Phaistos reveal a civilisation unlike any other. And in the Cyclades we discover extraordinary contrasts: Akrotiri on Santorini, buried by a volcanic eruption of greater force than Krakatoa; sacred Delos, the cultural heart of the Archaic Aegean; and Syros, offering a flavour of island life in more recent times.

As the Byzantine scholar Steven Runciman observed, the beauty of Greece lies in its contrasts and we will find them in abundance, from the mountains of Crete to the plains of the Argolid and the islands of the Cyclades.

Itinerary

Day 1 Athens

The tour begins at 7.00pm with drinks, an introductory talk and dinner. First of two hotel nights in Athens.

Day 2 Athens

Morning visit to the Acropolis, the foremost site of Classical Greece. Built during the apogee of Athenian power 447438 BC and dedicated to Athena, the Parthenon temple is unequalled for sophistication of design, quality of craftsmanship and beauty of sculpture. Other architectural masterpieces here are the Propylaia (monumental gateways) and the exquisitely wrought Erechtheion with the Karyatid (maidens) porch. A free afternoon is followed by a dinner and a private evening visit to the Acropolis museum with superb Archaic and Classical sculpture.

Day 3 Athens

This morning take a guided tour of either the National Archaeological Museum (subject to renovation works) or the Cycladic museum. Both hold fine collections of Greek art and artefacts. Alternatively opt for free time Plaka and Anafiotika are charming old quarters on the slopes of the Acropolis with a scattering of ancient remains, including the Library of Hadrian and the Tower of the Winds. In the afternoon take the coach to Lavrion and board Variety Voyager for the first of 7 nights. Sail in the early evening to Nauplion.

Day 4 Nauplion, Tiryns, Mycena

Todays theme is the Mycenaean civilisation of the Argolid Plain, the Greece of Homers heroes (16th to 13th centuries BC). Visit Tiryns, a citadel with massive Cyclopean walls of enormous blocks of masonry. Back in Nauplion either visit the archaeological museum with an eclectic collection of artefacts from all over southern Argolis, or enjoy some free time in one of the most attractive towns of mainland Greece. In the afternoon visit Mycenae, reputedly Agamemnons capital, with the Treasury of Atreus (finest of beehive tombs) and Acropolis (Lion Gate). Sail overnight to Crete.

Day 5 Chania, Aptera

Morning visit to Aptera, one of the most powerful Graeco-Roman city states. This is a huge site with Roman ruins, a theatre and a Turkish fort. In the afternoon, visit the excellent Archaeological Museum of Chania, housing around 3,500 archeological objects, including findings from excavations in several areas of the city that have taken place over the last 50 years. Time also to explore Chanias beautiful harbour and the narrow alleys of its old town, displaying a fascinating mix of architectural styles: Venetian, Ottoman, Neoclassical. Sail overnight to Heraklion.

Day 6 Heraklion

Moor in Heraklion, centre of the Bronze Age Aegean. Blessed with a rich variety of landscapes, natural resources were abundant and farming flourished in Protohistoric Crete. Spend the morning in the Mesara, a rich agricultural plain along the south coast. Gortyn was the Roman capital of Crete where a famous, 5th-century bc inscription has details of Greek law. Spectacularly situated on a ridge, Phaestos is the second largest Minoan palace. Some free time in Heraklion this afternoon.

Day 7 Heraklion, Knossos

Morning visit to the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, which houses the islands largest collection of Minoan art. Spend the afternoon at Knossos, the capital of Minoan Crete and centre of the Bronze Age Aegean. Shrouded in myth both ancient and modern, it comprised at its peak a magnificent palace with courts, religious buildings and mansions. Excavated by Sir Arthur Evans early in the 20th century, his reconstructions not only protect the excavated remains but illustrate the splendour of palatial civilisation. Visit the Villa Ariadne by special arrangement, a research centre belonging to the British School of Athens (subject to the completion of renovation works).

Day 8 Santorini

Spend the morning in the islands capital, Fira, with its iconic white-washed town dotted with blue-domed churches. The new Prehistoric museum here features some fine frescoes. Lunch is included in the town before an afternoon visit to Akrotiri, a Bronze Age site buried by volcanic eruption in 1600 bc, preserving beautifully streets, buildings, household items and fresco fragments. Sail overnight to Delos.

Day 9 Delos, Syros

Revered as the birthplace of Artemis and Apollo, the small island of Delos was the most important religious sanctuary of ancient 8 Greece. It accumulated great riches, dispersed when Greek power was superseded by Roman. Today uninhabited and visited entirely on foot, it is one of the most atmospheric and alluring of ancient sites with remains of several temples and assorted structures and the famous lions sculpted in the 7th century bc. The energetic can climb Mt Kynthos for fi ne views. Sail over lunch to Syros, one of the smallest, the least visited and the prettiest of the Cyclades islands. We moor for the afternoon in Ermoupoli, an elegant port town with evidence of its former Venetian and Ottoman occupation above the bustling seafront. Free time here to stroll, shop, swim. Sail overnight to Lavrion.

Day 10 Lavrion, Athens

Disembark by 9.00am.

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The following product terms and conditions apply in addition to our Booking Terms and Conditions (available on our website) and terms and conditions of the relevant travel service provider.
Pricing includes Travel Associates non-refundable Purple Ribbon Service Booking and Management fees of $50 per person.
Prices quoted valid for sale from 22 June until 10 July 2026 for travel during the period specified (if applicable) unless otherwise stated or sold out prior.
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