Greece Small Group Tours

Greece small group tours cover Athens, Cape Sounion, Delphi, the Peloponnese, Santorini, Mykonos and Delos, Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, the Ionian islands and northern Greece in compact parties on foot, by boat and by road. The page is part of the Greece Tours on Greece Ville.

This page covers what Greece small group tours are, the Acropolis and Athens museums, Sounion, Delphi, the Peloponnese, the Cyclades, Crete, the Dodecanese, the Ionian islands and the north. Common questions come last. Each section links to the Greece Ville posts on single tours.

What are Greece small group tours?

Greece small group tours are fixed departures on which a limited party of travellers shares one route, one vehicle and one tour leader. The format sits between a coach crowd and a private booking, with a set programme and a smaller party.

An encyclopedia describes a tour operator as a business that combines accommodation, meals, sightseeing and transport into a package tour. Greece small group tours follow that model with the route fixed in advance.

Package holidays by charter flight spread in Britain once Euravia began flying from Manchester Airport in 1961. Mass tourism opened up Crete in 1970. Greece small group tours later gave package travel a smaller scale.

Dynamic packaging marks the opposite model. It lets travellers assemble flights, lodging and a rental car into a trip that resembles a private tour. Greece small group tours leave assembly to the operator.

Tour operators hold contracts with suppliers and can arrange special group departures for destinations that are otherwise difficult and expensive to reach. That is the commercial logic behind Greece small group tours.

Flexibility and pace are compared in the post named private vs small group tours. The Greece private tours post covers the other format in full.

• Format: The itinerary and the meeting point are set before the day begins.
• Operator: The company books transport and entry ahead, so the party moves as one.
• Party: Travellers who did not know each other share the vehicle.
• Contrast: A private booking bends the route, while a shared departure keeps it.

The sections below sort Greece small group tours by place, starting in Athens and moving outward. Each section names the posts that cover its stops.

What do Greece small group tours see at the Acropolis?

Greece small group tours to the Acropolis climb the rock above Athens to reach the Erechtheion, the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike and the Propylaea. The summit holds monuments from different eras, and later rulers changed it again.

Hellenistic kings left their mark on the rock. Attalos II of Pergamon raised a monument in front of the north-west corner of the Parthenon, and the Romans later rededicated such monuments to Roman leaders.

The Acropolis was besieged three times during the Greek War of Independence. The Greeks besieged it twice, in 1821 and 1822, and the Ottomans once, in 1826 and 1827.

The Byzantine period turned the Parthenon into a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Under the Latin Duchy of Athens the Acropolis served as the administrative centre, with the Parthenon as its cathedral.

After independence, workers cleared the later additions. The Parthenon mosque was demolished in 1843, and the architect Leo von Klenze oversaw restoration in the nineteenth century, which Greece small group tours point out.

The Acropolis tour post covers the rock, its buildings and how a visit runs. The Acropolis tickets post covers entry to the rock and the sites around it.

• Kings: Attalos II of Pergamon set up a monument near the Parthenon.
• Sieges: The Greeks besieged the rock twice and the Ottomans once.
• Church: The Parthenon served as a church of the Virgin Mary.
• Mosque: Builders demolished the Parthenon mosque in 1843.

Greece small group tours treat the Acropolis as the opening stop of an Athens day, because its layers of rule explain the monuments seen elsewhere in the city.

Which Athens museums do Greece small group tours include?

Greece small group tours in Athens pair the Acropolis Museum with the National Archaeological Museum. The first holds finds from the rock and its slopes, from the Bronze Age to Roman times, and the second holds Greek antiquity from prehistory to late antiquity.

The Acropolis Museum replaced an older museum on the rock. Moving the finds to the new building began in October 2007 and needed three tower cranes to carry the sculptures across the gap.

Bernard Tschumi built the design around light, movement and a tectonic element. The top level sits askew on the lower ones, so the Parthenon hall keeps the orientation of the ancient temple.

The National Archaeological Museum shows Mycenaean treasure, including two golden cups from Vafeio that depict the capture of a bull. Greece small group tours use such objects to make the Bronze Age concrete.

In the Acropolis Museum the pediments, metopes and frieze face outwards, as they did on the Parthenon. The British Museum’s Duveen Gallery displays the Parthenon marbles facing inwards instead.

The Acropolis Museum tickets post covers entry and the galleries beside the rock. The National Archaeological Museum tickets post covers entry and the collections from prehistory to late antiquity.

• Cranes: Three tower cranes moved the sculptures in 2007.
• Design: Light and movement shaped the building by Tschumi.
• Cups: The Vafeio cups show a bull being captured.
• Display: The frieze and pediments face outwards.

Greece small group tours rarely visit both museums in one outing, since each rewards a slow pace and a fresh start.

How do Greece small group tours cover Athens on foot, by bike and by Segway?

Greece small group tours cover central Athens on foot, by bike and by Segway, moving a small party between the monuments faster than a coach allows. The old quarter of Plaka below the Acropolis forms the usual centre of those routes.

An encyclopedia defines a walking tour as a stroll through an urban historical or cultural site, or a long country walk spread over days. Greece small group tours use the first sense.

The Ancient Agora lies north-west of the Acropolis. Its Monument of the Eponymous Heroes honoured the ten heroes of the Athenian tribes and also served as a notice board for new laws and public events.

The Segway was unveiled on 3 December 2001 in Bryant Park in New York, with the first units delivered in early 2002. Police in Stockholm adopted the Segway i2 in 2018 to patrol the old town.

Walking tours were popular in the nineteenth century. Robert Louis Stevenson published the essay Walking Tours in 1876, and Travels with a Donkey followed in 1879. Greece small group tours carry that tradition into Athens.

The Athens walking tour post covers the streets and squares on foot. The Athens bike tour post covers the cycling routes, and the Athens segway tour post covers the machine.

• Agora: The Eponymous Heroes monument doubled as a notice board.
• Launch: The first Segway units reached customers in early 2002.
• Police: Stockholm patrollers adopted the Segway i2 in 2018.
• Recall: The Segway PT was recalled in September 2003.

Greece small group tours choose between the three formats by the ground to be covered, with the walk suiting lanes and wheels suiting longer stretches.

What do Greece small group tours taste in Athens, and how do cooking classes fit in?

Greece small group tours turn Athens food into a route of tastings and a hands-on cooking class. Food tourism treats eating as the purpose of travel, and the Greek capital supplies markets, skewers and small plates for it.

Food tourism covers cooking classes, food and drink tours, festivals, specialty dining and visits to markets, farms and producers. Greece small group tours in Athens draw on the classes, the tours and the market visits.

A 2019 study found that 93% of participants took part in food and beverage activities on trips over the previous two years. Also, 82% spent more on food and drink abroad than at home.

National Food Tour Day was first celebrated on 10 June 2017, and World Food Travel Day followed on 18 April 2018. Greece small group tours that follow a market route join that movement.

Cooking classes can include a market tour, and the format runs from a short lesson to a full-day course. Hosts in local homes run others, which shows daily life as well as the recipes.

The Athens food tour post covers the tasting routes through the city. The Athens cooking class post covers the kitchen side, where the party cooks the meal it then eats.

• Scope: Food tourism counts as a subset of cultural tourism, since cuisine expresses culture.
• Study: The 2019 survey put food and drink at the centre of trips.
• Days: National Food Tour Day began on 10 June 2017.
• Classes: A class can end with a market visit.

Greece small group tours suit food days because a small party fits one table, one counter or one kitchen without splitting.

Why do Greece small group tours visit Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon?

Greece small group tours visit Cape Sounion because the Temple of Poseidon stands on the southern tip of Attica, where ships rounding the coast saw it. The marble temple dates from 444 to 440 BCE, in the years when Pericles led Athens.

An earlier temple of tufa stood on the same ground. It is thought to have fallen in 480 BCE to Persian troops, and the later marble temple was built over its remains.

Valerios Stais excavated the temples of Poseidon and Athena at Sounion between 1897 and 1915. His inscriptions showed that the temple on the cliff honoured Poseidon, not Athena, and so corrected Pausanias.

Each side of the temple was built from twenty-three intermediate blocks, excluding the corners. Two blocks of the earlier temple remain visible beneath the south-east corner, which Greece small group tours point out.

The cape lies about 13 kilometres south of Thorikos. Its position let ships nearing Attica see it, and the temple served the Athenian navy as both a sanctuary and a lookout.

The Cape Sounion tour post covers the temple, the cape and the coast road that leads to them from Athens, together with the other ancient remains on the headland.

• Dates: Builders worked on the marble temple from 444 to 440 BCE.
• Digger: Stais led the excavations from 1897 to 1915.
• Blocks: Twenty-three intermediate blocks formed each side.
• Earlier temple: Two of its blocks lie beneath the south-east corner.

Greece small group tours place the cape late in the day or on its own, because the open headland and the sea beyond it deserve a quiet stop.

How do Greece small group tours combine Delphi and Arachova?

Greece small group tours combine Delphi and Arachova on one mountain route, pairing the sanctuary of Apollo with a town on the southern slope of Mount Parnassus. The two places lie close together on the same road and share one mountain backdrop.

The Pythian Games took place at Delphi every four years, two years after the Olympic Games. They ranked second in importance to the Olympics and began with contests in art and dance.

The Charioteer of Delphi, a bronze statue found in 1896, commemorates a victory at those games. It stands 1.8 metres high and survived because the earthquake of 373 BC buried it in debris.

A further 147 maxims, recorded by Stobaeus in the fifth century AD, stood in the vicinity of the temple of Apollo. Finds confirm that the sayings were current as early as the third century BCE.

Arachova saw the Battle of Arachova, fought from 18 to 24 November 1826. Georgios Karaiskakis blockaded a force of 2,000 Ottoman troops under Mustafa Bey, and the Greek side won.

The Delphi day trip from Athens post covers the sanctuary and its museum. The Arachova day trip post covers the mountain town, its crafts, its local customs and the nearby ski slopes.

• Games: The Pythian Games ran every four years.
• Statue: The Charioteer was found in 1896.
• Maxims: Stobaeus recorded 147 more near the temple.
• Battle: The fight at Arachova ended on 24 November 1826.

Greece small group tours run the pair in one day by visiting the ancient site first and the town after it.

Where do Greece small group tours go in the Peloponnese: Nafplio, Mystras and Kalamata?

Greece small group tours in the Peloponnese link Nafplio, Mystras and Kalamata, a coastal former capital, a Byzantine hill city and a southern port known for olives. The three towns carry layers of Frankish, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman history.

The Archaeological Museum of Nafplio stands on the central square of the town, in the old Venetian barracks. Its Early Helladic display includes a wine cooler from Tiryns that survives in good condition and dates from 2700 to 2200 BCE.

Middle Neolithic pottery in that museum is termed Urfirnis. Potters purified their clay and fired it at about 800 degrees Celsius, and the forms suggest cooking vessels. Greece small group tours note it.

Kalamata is first mentioned by its modern name in the tenth-century Life of Saint Nikon. A document of 1391 gives the town 300 hearths, on par with Glarentza, yet it declined in the following centuries.

The municipality of Kalamata was formed in the 2011 local government reform by merging four former municipalities, Arfara, Aris, Kalamata and Thouria. Each became a municipal unit within the new municipality.

The Nafplio day trip post covers the old town and its fortresses. The Mystras tour post covers the Byzantine site, and the Kalamata food tour post covers olives and oil.

• Museum: The Nafplio museum occupies the old Venetian barracks.
• Urfirnis: The Middle Neolithic pottery was fired at about 800 degrees Celsius.
• Record: A document of 1391 counts 300 hearths.
• Merger: Four municipalities joined to form Kalamata in 2011.

Greece small group tours need a base in the region, since the three towns lie far enough apart that each needs a separate day.

When do Greece small group tours run as multi-day circuits?

Greece small group tours run as multi-day circuits when a route links sites too far apart for one day, with transport and lodging bundled into a single itinerary. The classical circuit joins Athens with the great sanctuaries of the mainland.

The Grand Tour of the seventeenth to the nineteenth century gave a wealthy young man a lengthy journey through the cities and historic sites of Europe. It was part of his education.

When Greece became a Roman province, a large number of Roman tourists visited the centres of philosophy and science, among them Athens, Corinth and Thebes. Greece small group tours follow part of the same ground.

The combination trip is a newer form of package tour. It joins multiple destinations in one bundled itinerary, and providers design themed routes such as self-drive, city, beach and round-trip options.

Tourism in Greece began to flourish in the 1960s and 1970s, when mass tourism arrived. Bookings of package holidays recovered in 2009, as customers sought greater financial security.

The Greece multi-day tours post sorts the circuits by region and by route. The classical tour of Greece post covers the mainland route site by site, with the history behind each stop.

• Grand Tour: Europe’s elite travelled between historic cities.
• Romans: Visitors from Rome came to Athens, Corinth and Thebes.
• Bundle: One itinerary joins flights, lodging and transport.
• Boom: Mass tourism reached Greece in the 1960s and 1970s.

Greece small group tours suit circuits because the same party, the same leader and the same vehicle stay together from one stop to the next.

How do Greece small group tours handle entry to archaeological sites?

Greece small group tours handle entry to archaeological sites through the operator, which books the visit ahead for the whole party. The sites range from a potters’ quarter and cemetery to a temple that later served as a church.

The Kerameikos lies north-west of the Acropolis. It was the potters’ quarter of ancient Athens and also an important cemetery, and the English word ceramic derives from its name.

A decree of 317 BC banned lavish mausolea there. After it only small columns and inscribed marble blocks marked graves. Pericles delivered his funeral oration in 431 BC at the public graveyard just outside the walls.

Semni Karouzou was the first woman to join the Greek Archaeological Service. She excavated in Crete, Euboea and Thessaly, and she curated the National Archaeological Museum that the Archaeological Society had founded.

The Temple of Hephaestus in the Agora of Athens served as the church of Saint George Akamates from the seventh century until 1834. That later use helped it survive, which Greece small group tours point out.

The Greek archaeological site tickets post covers how entry to the sites works, which sites the tickets reach, and the museums that sit beside them, with the history of each.

• Quarter: The Kerameikos was the potters’ quarter of Athens.
• Decree: A decree of 317 BC banned lavish mausolea.
• Curator: Karouzou was the first woman in the Archaeological Service.
• Temple: The Hephaisteion served as a church until 1834.

Greece small group tours keep entry simple, because the operator holds the booking and the party passes the gate together.

How do Greece small group tours handle Santorini food and wine?

Greece small group tours handle Santorini food and wine as a day in a small party that visits tomato fields, family cellars and tables above the caldera. The grape at the centre is assyrtiko, a white variety native to the island.

Assyrtiko grows on Santorini in arid, ash-rich volcanic soil. The vine is also planted on other Aegean islands such as Paros, and in scattered parts of Greece such as Chalkidiki, but Santorini remains its home.

Growers train the vines low to the ground in basket shapes called kouloura. A comparative study reported that this method kept the vines less stressed for water and protected them better during heatwaves and strong winds.

Crusaders captured Santorini from the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople was sacked in 1203, and a Venetian nobleman among them founded a ruling family. Under Venice the wine of the island became known worldwide.

The Santorini food tour post covers the island’s produce and local dishes. The Santorini wine tour post covers its grapes, vineyards and cellars. Greece small group tours draw on both subjects.

• Grape: Assyrtiko is a white variety native to Santorini and widely planted in the island’s volcanic ash soil.
• Sweet wine: Vinsanto follows the passito method, with grapes left to dry in the sun after the harvest.
• Name: The island spells it Vinsanto to tell it apart from the Tuscan sweet wine called Vin Santo.
• Tomato: Production of the Santorini cherry tomato has declined since the 1900s because of environmental, political and tourism issues.

A small party keeps every tasting stop within reach of one table. Greece small group tours therefore suit travellers who want Santorini produce explained in plain words.

What do Greece small group tours see from the sea around Santorini?

Greece small group tours see Santorini from the sea as a ring of cliffs around a flooded volcanic crater. The boat passes the dark lava islands at the centre and turns toward the western rim for the evening light.

Therasia is the second inhabited island of the caldera ring and covers 9.3 square kilometres. Its cliffs face the main island across the water that Greece small group tours cross by boat.

British Special Boat Service forces struck at German and Italian troops on Santorini on 24 April 1944, alongside similar operations on Ios, Mykonos and Amorgos against Axis observation posts.

The Santorini sunset tour post covers the evening light on the caldera. The Santorini catamaran cruise post covers a sail on a twin-hulled boat. Greece small group tours use both.

The Santorini sailing tour post covers the day under sail. The catamaran vs sailing yacht post compares the two boat types for a small party. Greece small group tours meet modern versions of both.

Until the twentieth century, catamaran design focused on sail-driven boats. Between the hulls the link can be a basic frame strung with webbing or a bridging superstructure that holds cabins or cargo.

• Range: Catamarans run from small rowing vessels to naval ships and car ferries.
• Length: A cruising monohull can be as short as 30 feet, against 40 feet for a catamaran.
• Raid: The Santorini raid belonged to the Mediterranean campaign of the Second World War.
• Islands: The municipality includes Santorini, Therasia, Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, Anydros and Christiana.

Greece small group tours treat the sea days as a way to see the caldera from below, with the party on deck.

Why do Greece small group tours pair Mykonos with Delos?

Greece small group tours pair Mykonos with Delos because the two islands share a long history of trade and ritual. Delos holds the ruins of a sanctuary and a port, and Mykonos holds the harbour town that supplied that port.

Mykonos prospered as a trading centre until the end of the 18th century. Its economy then declined after the Corinth Canal opened in 1904, and Mykonians left for the mainland and abroad.

Pausanias wrote in the second century AD that nobody lived on Delos except the keepers of its sanctuaries. Greece small group tours therefore meet a sanctuary that had emptied by Roman times.

The Mykonos island tour post covers the town, the windmills and the churches. The Mykonos cooking class post covers the dishes taught in a class. Greece small group tours draw on both.

The Delos tour post covers the ruins and mosaics of the sacred island. The Mykonos boat tour and Mykonos catamaran cruise posts cover the coast and the islets by sea.

The Archaeological Museum of Mykonos is one of the oldest museums in Greece. Alexandros Lykakis designed it, and funding came from the Archaeological Society of Athens together with the Ministry of Education.

• Location: Mykonos has Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos as neighbours in the Cyclades.
• Name: One theory ties the name to the hero Mykonos, son of Anius; another to a rocky place.
• League: After the death of Alexander the Great, Mykonos belonged to the League of the Islanders.
• Delos: The island produced no food, fibre or timber, so all three were imported.

Greece small group tours keep the two stories together because one trading route shaped both the town and the sanctuary.

Where do Greece small group tours go on Milos, Naxos and Ios?

Greece small group tours on Milos, Naxos and Ios follow a line through the Cyclades, from the volcanic coast of Milos to the largest island of the group and on to the hill village of Ios. Ferry links join all three islands.

Coins were minted on Milos from the sixth century BC to the siege of 416 BC. The coins followed the Milesian weight standard, which no other Aegean island used.

The Milos kayak tour post covers paddling along the coast. The Milos sailing tour post covers the same shore from a sailing boat. Greece small group tours offer both.

The Sanudi dukes brought Western feudal law to Naxos, drawing on the Assizes of Romania. In Byzantine times the capital of the island stood on the southern fortress of Apalyres.

Ios runs along its longest axis for 17.5 kilometres, from Cape Karatza to the Achlades peninsula. Ottoman records called the island Anza or Aina, and the modern name Ios was fixed in the 19th century.

The Naxos tour post covers the rocks, history and villages of Naxos. The Ios boat trip post covers the Ios coast. The Greek island hopping tours post covers the ferry links.

• Kimolos: The island lies 1.6 kilometres north-east of Milos and was known for figs and fuller’s earth.
• Venetian name: Under Venetian rule Naxos was called by its Italian name, Nasso.
• Policy: Since the 1990s, under Mayor Pousseos, Ios has widened its appeal to different visitors.
• Ancient name: In antiquity Ios was also called Phiniki, after the Phoenicians.

Three islands in one line show different kinds of rule. Greece small group tours rely on short sea hops to join them.

What do Greece small group tours cover in Crete?

Greece small group tours in Crete cover the capital’s food, a cave cliff on the south coast, a monastery tied to the national story and a lagoon in the west. Each stop gives a small party one clear subject.

Under Venetian rule the harbour town of Chandax was renamed Candia and became the seat of the Duke of Candia. The Venetian district of Crete then became known as the Kingdom of Candia.

Under the Ottomans, Kandiye was the capital of Crete until 1849, when Chania became the capital. Greece small group tours in Heraklion meet the Venetian and Ottoman layers of one city.

The Heraklion food tour post covers the city’s dishes and cheeses. The Matala tour post covers the cave cliff on the south coast. Greece small group tours use both as separate days.

The Gramvousa islands lie off the Gramvousa peninsula in north-western Crete and belong to the municipality of Kissamos. In ancient times the larger island was known as Korykos, which means leather bag.

The Arkadi Monastery tour post covers the monastery and its place in Cretan history. The Balos Lagoon cruise post covers the lagoon and the Gramvousa coast. Greece small group tours treat them as two separate outings.

• Matala: The village lies 75 kilometres south-west of Heraklion, north of Cape Lithinon.
• Harbour: The name Heraklion comes from Heracleium, an ancient port that served Knossos.
• Name forms: Candia passed into Spanish as Candía and into French as Candie.
• Arkadi: The church of Arkadi dates from the 16th century and mixes Roman and Baroque elements.

Crete is large enough that Greece small group tours treat each region as its own day, with the capital kept apart.

How do Greece small group tours work across Rhodes and the Dodecanese?

Greece small group tours across Rhodes and the Dodecanese link a walled medieval town, a food trail and an off-road day on the big island with boat days to Patmos, Kastellorizo and Kos. Each island keeps its own story.

The Sasanian navy captured Rhodes in 622 during the Byzantine–Sasanian War. A Roman saying from antiquity, “Here is Rhodes, jump here”, told boasters to prove their words by deed.

The Rhodes Old Town tour post covers the walled town. The Rhodes food tour post covers its dishes, and the Rhodes jeep safari post covers the inland roads.

In Greek myth Artemis visited Caria, the mainland shore across from Patmos, where she had a shrine on Mount Latmus. On Kos, tradition names Coeus, the father of Leto, as the first inhabitant.

The Patmos day trip post covers the monastery and the Cave of the Apocalypse. The Kastellorizo day trip post covers the harbour island near the Turkish coast. Greece small group tours reach both by boat.

The Kos boat trip post covers the sea routes from Kos to nearby islands. The Ottoman fleet under Hamza Bey besieged and destroyed the Andimacheia castle on Kos.

• Kos name: The name Kos is first attested in the Iliad and has been in continuous use since.
• Patmos: Tradition holds that the island first bore the name Letois, after the goddess Artemis.
• Rhodes: Diodorus Siculus wrote that Actis, a son of Helios and Rhode, travelled to Egypt.
• Kastellorizo: The island lies off the south coast of Turkey, in the Rhodes regional unit.

Greece small group tours keep the party small so that boat seats and island stops stay simple on every sea link.

What do Greece small group tours see on Corfu?

Greece small group tours on Corfu look at an island with an ancient city, medieval castles and a Venetian old town. A small party moves through the town, the food streets and the hill roads in separate stages.

The medieval name of Corfu first appears, in Latinised form as Coryphus, in Liutprand of Cremona’s account of his 968 embassy to the Byzantine court. It derives from Koryphai, meaning crests or peaks.

The Tomb of Menecrates is an Archaic cenotaph built around 600 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra. Its inscription says the ambassador of Korkyra to Oeiantheia was lost at sea.

The Corfu tour post covers the mountain, villages and music of the island. The Corfu food tour post covers the town’s dishes and Venetian recipes. Greece small group tours combine both in the old town.

In early June 1944 the Gestapo rounded up the Jews of Corfu town and held them at the old fort. On 10 June they were sent to Auschwitz II, where the greater part were murdered.

The Corfu jeep safari post covers the north-west coast, Mount Pantokrator and Old Perithia by off-road vehicle. Greece small group tours keep the hill roads for a day of their own.

• Peace: Corfu enjoyed relative peace under the Macedonian dynasty, which allowed a monumental church to rise outside Palaiopolis.
• Saints: The church was dedicated to Saints Iason and Sosipatrus.
• Myth: In Greek myth Heracles slept on Corfu with the naiad Melite before his ten labours.
• Son: Their son was named Hyllus.

Greece small group tours keep each stop brief so that the party can follow the story of the old town.

Which islands do Greece small group tours link around Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Ithaca?

Greece small group tours around Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Ithaca link three Ionian islands across short channels. The party sees a shipwreck cove and turtle bay on Zakynthos, a lake cave and vineyards on Kefalonia, and a harbour on Ithaca.

Marcus Valerius Laevinus, a Roman praetor, captured the city of Zakynthos in 211 BC, though not the citadel. Antonios Komoutos, the second head of state of the Septinsular Republic, came from the island.

The Navagio shipwreck tour post covers the cove below the cliffs. The Zakynthos turtle boat tour post covers the loggerhead turtles of Laganas bay. Greece small group tours place both on Zakynthos.

Robola is an early-ripening white vine grown mainly on Kefalonia. Its vines grow in limestone soil and are frequently ungrafted, and the wines it yields are medium-bodied and dry, with a lemon note.

The Melissani cave tour post covers the lake cave near Sami. The Kefalonia wine tour post covers the Robola vineyards. Greece small group tours place both on Kefalonia, beside Ithaca.

John of Gravina took Ithaca and Kefalonia from the Orsini family in 1324. The Ithaca day trip post covers the ports, bays and hill villages. Greece small group tours cross to Ithaca by sea.

• Marine park: The Zakynthos marine park is the first national park in the Mediterranean set up to protect sea turtles.
• Ithaca fleet: The fleet of Ithaca flourished once it was allowed to carry cargo to Black Sea ports.
• Robola origin: DNA profiling classes Robola as a variety of its own, not Ribolla of Friuli.
• Fishing: Fishing is strictly prohibited inside each of the marine zones of the park.

Greece small group tours match one subject to one day so that the party never rushes, whether cove, cave or harbour.

What do Greece small group tours see in northern Greece?

Greece small group tours in northern Greece cover a port city, an old market town, a lakeside town of churches and two mountain bases. The party reads each place through its Byzantine and Ottoman past and its local food.

The Ottoman census of 1478 counted 6,094 Orthodox Christian households and 4,320 Muslim ones in Thessaloniki. By 1500 the city held 7,986 Christians, 8,575 Muslims and 3,770 Jews.

The Thessaloniki food tour post covers the markets, bougatsa and sweets of the city. The Veria tour post covers the old town and its churches. Greece small group tours open with the city day.

Veria lies 511 kilometres north-north-west of Athens. Four of its former mosques now serve as private residences, which Greece small group tours note while walking the old quarters.

In 1519 Kastoria had 4,815 people, of whom 4,480 were Christians and 335 were Muslims. The Kastoria tour post covers the lake and the Byzantine churches. Greece small group tours link it with the lake shore.

The Karpenisi tour post covers the Evrytania town and its villages. The Elati Pertouli post covers the mountain resort area near Trikala. Greece small group tours use both as mountain bases.

• Kastoria schools: The oldest Greek school in Kastoria opened in 1614, a second in 1705 and a third in 1715.
• Jews of Thessaloniki: In 1519 the city held 3,143 Jewish households, 54 percent of the population.
• Karpenisi river: The Karpenisiotis valley holds Karpenisi, and the river is a tributary of the Megdovas.
• Pertouli: Pertouli is a small mountain village in the province of Trikala, in the central Pindos range.

Greece small group tours pair a city day with a mountain or lake day, so each northern town gets time.

What do travellers ask about Greece small group tours?

Greece small group tours raise a short set of practical questions about islands, mainland towns, food stops and sea days. The answers below sort them by topic and point back to the sections above for names and places.

Which islands do Greece small group tours include?

Greece small group tours include Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, Naxos, Ios, Crete, Rhodes, Patmos, Kos, Corfu, Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Ithaca, among others. Each island has its own posts on this page that sort the boat days, food days and site visits, so a reader can pick a place first and a theme second.

Do Greece small group tours cover northern Greece?

Greece small group tours cover Thessaloniki, Veria, Kastoria, Karpenisi and the Elati Pertouli area. These towns offer markets, Byzantine churches, lake scenery and mountain villages, and the posts above set out what each one covers, from the city markets to the lake shore and the ski villages.

How do Greece small group tours handle food and wine stops?

Greece small group tours handle food and wine stops through local tables and cellars. Santorini offers assyrtiko and the cherry tomato, Kefalonia offers Robola, and Crete, Corfu, Rhodes and Thessaloniki each have a food post for the dishes of the place.

Are sea days part of Greece small group tours?

Greece small group tours include sea days on catamarans, sailing boats and small cruises around Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, Crete and the Ionian islands. The catamaran vs sailing yacht post compares the boat types for a small party, and the island posts cover each coast in turn.