Depart from New York’s JFK Airport for your overnight trip to Athens. Dinner and breakfast are served onboard.
Day 2
Athens
Welcome to Greece. You will be greeted
by your guide and transferred to a deluxe hotel. Dinner and
overnight in Athens.
Day 3
Athens - Delphi
After breakfast we leave for Delphi by
way of Thebes, Levadia, and the picturesque village of Arahkova. In
Delphi, we will visit the Athenian Treasury, Castilia Spring, and
the Archaeological Museum to see an exquisite fifth-century BC
bronze charioteer. The afternoon is free to wander the sun-drenched,
narrow streets, white-washed buildings and lush olive trees, all
against a backdrop of the crystal waters of the Aegean Sea. Dinner
and overnight in Delphi.
Day 4
Delphi - Meteores
After breakfast we journey to the
ancient monasteries of Meteora built on huge granite formations,
seemingly suspended between the earth and the brilliant blue sky.
Dinner and overnight in Meteores.
Day 5
Meteores - Veria - Pella - Thessaloniki
We leave for Thessaloniki, driving
through the lovely countryside of northern Greece. We pass Veria
where St Paul remained for several days on his missionary journey to
Athens. It was here that St Paul founded the first Christian church
in Europe and preached in the synagogue for three weeks. Dinner and
overnight in Thessaloniki.
Day 6
Thessaloniki - Philippi - Kavala
After breakfast we leave for Philippi
where St Paul preached to and baptized the first European Christians
and where St Paul himself and Silas were beaten and jailed until set
free by angels. In the afternoon, we visit Kavala, the scenic port
where St Paul, Timothy, and Silas first landed. Dinner and overnight
in Kavala.
Day 7
Kavala - Istanbul
After breakfast we set off for
Istanbul. A relaxing meal and overnight in Istanbul.
Day 8
Istanbul
Formerly known as Constantinople, this
once-walled city is built on seven hills astride two continents,
Europe and Asia. More than 450 mosques adorn Istanbul and on today's
tour we will investigate the most eminent of them, the Blue Mosque.
Then to Topkapi Palace, the residence of the Ottoman Sultans, where
we will see such treasures as the world’s biggest emerald. We'll
visit St Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Church, the largest in Christendom for
over 1500 years. Built by Emperor Justinian in 532 AD, St Sophia has
107 columns and exquisite mosaics. We'll end the day at the Grand
Bazaar, the oldest and largest covered marketplace. Over 4000 shops
await you, selling rugs, gold, and rare spices. Dinner and overnight
in Istanbul.
Day 9
Istanbul - Dardanelles - Canakkale Day 10 Canakkale - Troy - Pergamon
- Izmir Day 11
Izmir - Hierapolis - Pamukkale Day 12
Pamukkale - Ephesus - Kusadasi Day 13
Kusadasi - Patmos (Cruise) Day 14
Rhodes Day 15
Heraklion, Crete - Santorini Day 16
Piraeus - Athens - Corinth Day 17
Athens - USA
After breakfast we leave Istanbul by
car ferry for Bandirma. From there we drive to Canakkale along the
Dardanelle Straits. Canakkale is a resort town on the tip where the
Sea of Marmara ends and the Aegean begins. In the 14th century, a
sultan built two fortresses here, one on the European side of the
Straits and another on the opposite shore at Cimenlik. Dinner and
overnight in Canakkale.
Today we travel to Troy, the
immortal city sung by Homer and the site of St Paul’s vision
summoning him back to Macedonia. We then travel to Bergama,
anciently known as Pergamon. Christianity came early to this region
and the first Christians were martyred here by Rome. We'll visit the
Acropolis, the Temple of Athena, the Library, survey the ruins of
Asklepeion, Asia Minor's ancient medical center, and tour the Red
Basilica, dedicated to St John the Apostle, the region's largest
building. Dinner and overnight in Izmir.
After breakfast a tour of Izmir and
a visit to the Church of Smyrna. Travelling to Hierapolis, we'll see
well-preserved Roman ruins, including the city gates and an
amphitheatre. Our day ends in Pamukkale - Cotton Castle - so called
because of the local phenomenon of nature, white limestone cliffs
figured into the most extraordinary shapes by time, water, and the
winds. Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale.
After breakfast we travel to
Ephesus, long an important destination of pilgrimage. We will see
the amphitheatre where rioters spoke against St Paul and miracles
were wrought through his hands. We then visit St John’s burial
site at the Basilica of St John, the House of the Virgin where Our
Lord’s Mother spent her final days on earth, the Library, the
Agora, and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Temple of
Diana. We continue to Laodicea, another of the Seven Churches, to
see its ruins of a stadium and colonnaded streets. The Apostles
chastised the Laodiceans for combining pagan and Christian beliefs.
Dinner and overnight in the bustling Turkish port city of Kusadasi.
After transferring to the port, we
embark at noon, sailing to the island of Patmos, famous for the
Monastery of St John, dedicated to the memory of St John who wrote
the Book of Revelation here. You may take an optional excursion to
the Grotto of Revelation where the original manuscript is kept.
Dinner and overnight aboard ship.
After a restful night at sea, we
sail into St Paul’s harbor in Rhodes, the island of butterflies
and roses. St Paul visited this lively city while journeying to
Jerusalem and it was here that Greek myth places the birth of the
sun god, Apollo. You may take an optional tour to the majestic
Acropolis of Lindos and to the castles built by the Knights of St
John in the 14th century. Overnight aboard ship.
Morning arrival in Heraklion, the
capital of Greece's largest island, Crete. The birthplace of Zeus,
Crete attracts visitors for its archaeological sites, Roman ruins,
Byzantine chapels, secluded monasteries, high mountains, deep
gorges, clear blue seas, and golden sandy beaches. In the afternoon
we arrive at the volcanic island of Santorini. Take a chair lift or
optional donkey ride to the top of this shimmering village built
into the rugged hillside. The views from the mountain top are
breathtaking. Overnight aboard ship.
After disembarking in Piraeus, we
return to Athens. Once settled in, we go on an afternoon tour of
Athens, visiing such sites as Mars Hill, the Agora, the House of
Parliament, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Presidential
Palace, the Pnyx, the Acropolis, and the ruins of the Parthenon, the
Erechtheum, and the Theatre of Dionysus. In the afternoon we travel
to Corinth where St Paul lived and preached. Dinner and overnight.
Having walked or sailed in St Paul’s
footsteps, we leave Greece today for our return flight to the USA
Your
Trip Includes:
Round-trip flight from New York/Athens/Istanbul/New York
15 nights in first class hotels:
2 nights: Athens, Greece
1 night: Delphi, Greece
1 night: Meteores, Greece
1 night: Thessaloniki, Greece
1 night: Kavala, Greece
2 nights: Istanbul, Turkey
1 night: Canakkale, Turkey
1 night: Izmir, Turkey
1 night: Pamukkale, Turkey
1 night: Kusadasi, Turkey
3 nights: Abord cruise ship, Greek Islands
Breakfast and dinner daily
3-day Greek Island cruise on luxury-liner in in
inside cabins (outside cabins / $149)
Port Taxes
Transportation by private air conditioned motor coach
Guided tours and entrance fees
Mass daily
Luggage handling
Local hotel taxes
Flight bag and portfolio of travel documents
Not Included: Airport tax of $85. Travel insurance at $99. Tips to guides & drivers ($5 per day). Outside cabins $149 additional. Shore excursions during cruise. Items of a personal nature.