Antiquity to Byzantium Cruise

Embarkation 2 to 3 pm. Enjoy a welcome drink and meet your crew and fellow passengers. Sail for Palaia (old) Epidaurus. Evening arrival and dinner on board.

Highlight here is the ancient amphitheatre – one of the best preserved sites of Ancient Greece. You’ll hear its story this morning before returning to Galileo for lunch and cruising off to Nafplion.

Oraia (beautiful) is the word Greeks use to describe Nafplion. The town's old section, on a peninsula jutting into the gulf of Argos, mixes Greek, Venetian, and Turkish architecture; narrow streets, often just broad flights of stone stairs, climb the slopes beneath the walls of Acronafplia. Tree-shaded plazas surround neoclassic buildings. The Palamidi fortress—an elegant display of Venetian might from the early 1700s—guards the town. Nafplion deserves at least a leisurely day of your undivided attention, and you may want to spend several days or a week here and use the city as the base from which to explore the many surrounding ancient sights.

Old Nafplion is worth a stroll around early this morning but the day’s real treasure is the city of Mycenae – the history of which Homer called rich in gold represents everything great about Greece’s ‘Golden Age’. Starting in 1650 BC, it endured nearly 700 years until the fall of the Mycenaean dynasty around 1100 BC. Loads to see and great stories to tell. Overnight we sail to Gythion

Ancient Gythion was a Spartan naval base during the Peloponnesian wars. For us it’s a jumping off point to explore the Mani Peninsular, Cape Tenaro and the spectacular Dirou Caves. After dinner on board, we cast anchor and sail for Pylos

Today Pylos is a lovely little seaside resort. Back in 1827, however , it witnessed one of the most important naval battles of the time, the Battle of Navarino, where a combined British, French and Russian fleet liberated Greece from the clutches of the Ottoman Empire. You’ll hear all about this as we make an excursion to the Palace of Nestor on a scenic hilltop overlooking the bay.

Having sailed overnight we arrive in Katakolon early morning and quickly set off for our excursion to the legendary site of Olympia. The home of the original Olympic Games, Olympia is one of the most famous and important sites in the Ancient World. After lunch in town we visit the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games of Antiquity and, at the main site, you can even run on the original track. It’s a fantastic and hugely impressive place and you’ll want to make the most of your afternoon wandering round. Later we re-board Gallileo in Patras and sail to Itea in the Gulf of Corinth, where we overnight.

Katakolon could not seem less of a cruise port if it tried. A tiny enclave clinging to the western Peloponnese coast, it's a sleepy place except when ships dock. But it's a popular cruise destination because of its proximity to Olympia. Ancient Olympia was one of the most important cities in classical Greece. The Sanctuary of Zeus was the city's raison d'être, and attracted pilgrims from around the eastern Mediterranean, and later the city played host to Olympic Games, the original athletic games that were the inspiration for today's modern sporting pan-planetary meet. At the foot of the tree-covered Kronion hill, in a valley near two rivers, Katakolon is today one of the most popular ancient sites in Greece. If you don't want to make the trip to Olympia, then Katakolon is an ideal place for a leisurely Greek lunch while you watch the fishermen mend their nets, but there's just not much else to do there.

Delphi, with its legendary Oracle, is one of the most revered sites in Antiquity. It’s also a site of stunning natural beauty, built into a mountainside. After examination and exploration of the ruins, we re-join Galileo to transit the amazing engineering feat that is the Corinth Canal, cut though solid rock in the 1880’s to join the Gulf of Corinth with the Aegean Sea.

Disembarkation after breakfast and transfer to Athens airport.If your flight departs late we can organize an Athens sightseeing tour for you. Please ask for details.