Private Tour of Isthmus Canal, Ancient Corinth & Mycenae From Athens
Overview
Explore the large citadel of Acrocorinth. Through its imposing entrance gates, you will enter the castle and you will discover its hidden gems. You will also experience the spectacular panoramic views which will amaze you.
Witness the ancient town of Corinth, one of the richest towns in Ancient Greece, where St. Paul lived and preached for two years. We will visit the ruins of the ancient city in which you can see the remains of the Agora and one of the most outstanding monuments of pre –Roman period, the temple of Apollo.
Relive the expedition to Troy at Mycenae, the kingdom of Agamemnon and a World Heritage UNESCO Site.
Inclusions
- Fully Private Tour
- Professional Tour Drivers with in-depth knowledge of Greek history
- Fluent English speaking and multi-lingual drivers
- Hotel/Port pick-up and drop-off service
- Transportation by private first class vehicle
- WiFi on board
- Bottled water & refreshing wipes
- Skip-the-line ticket service (on-request)
What to expect
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Athens, Athens, Attica
Pickup from your chosen Hotel, Airbnb or apartment in Athens
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Corinth Canal, Isthmia, Loutraki 201 00 Greece
Visit the Isthmus Canal, one of the most important projects and 19th century engineering masterpieces, playing a catalytic role for the Mediterranean trade.
Visit Ancient Diolkos, a paved trackway in Ancient Greece which enabled boats to be moved overland across the Isthmus of Corinth.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Akrokorinthos, Corinth 200 07 Greece
Visit Acrocorinth, the acropolis of ancient Corinth, a monolithic rock overseeing the ancient city of Corinth. It is one of the most impressive and dominant acropoleis of the Peloponnese.
Gates: A system of 3 circuit walls reinforced by towers.
Keep
Temple of Aphrodite: On the highest of the two picks of the mountain are traces of the temple of Aphrodite on the site.
Frankish Tower: At the SW edge of the precipitous rock fortified during Frankish times forming the inner keep of the fortress.
Remains of churches, mosques, houses, fountains and cisterns are preserved here.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Peirene Fountain, Archaia Korinthos 200 07, Greece
Peirene Spring: Located within the encircling walls, a gift of Asopus to Sisyphus.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Geraneia, Τέρμα Χατζοπούλου, Λουτράκι, 20300, Korai, Loutraki 203 00, Greece
Views of Geraneia Mountain: Enjoying breathtaking views of the Corinthian gulf and the SW coast of the Peloponnese.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Ancient Corinth (Archaia Korinthos), Argous 105 Ancient Korinthos village, Corinth 200 07 Greece
Hadgimoustafa spring: a fountain built during the Ottoman empire.
Ancient Corinth Archaeological Museum: Housing a large collection of artifacts from the local site and from smaller sites in the neighboring area.
Temple of Apollo: One of the earliest Doric temples in the Peloponnese and the Greek mainland with monolithic columns, rare in the ancient world, built around 560 BCE.
Agora: A rectangular construction 160 m long and 70 m wide, consisting of central shops, small temples and altar and the renowned podium or Bema from where Apostle Paul addressed the Corinthians in 52 AD.
Roman buildings.
Bema or Pedestal
Theatre and Odeon/Asklepieion
Lechaion road: Facing the Corinthian gulf leading to the port of Lechaion.
St. Paul's church: Admiring a magnificent mosaic mural depicting Saul's vision from Christ as he was travelling to Damascus to persecute the Christians.
Treat yourself to an authentic "village style" lunch on a magnificent terrace overlooking ancient Corinth's archaeological site and the temple of Apollo.
Duration: 3 hours
Stop At: Corinth, Corinth, Corinthia Region, Peloponnese
Stroll amongst the village shops where you can treat yourself and buy handmade souvenirs for your family and friends.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Mycenae, Mycenae, Argolis Region, Peloponnese
Drive to Mycenae.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Archaeological Site Mycenae, Mycenae 21200 Greece
Rich in gold! King Agamemnon's mythical kingdom sung in Homer's epics. It is the most important and richest center of the late Bronze Age.
Grave Circles A and B: Royal cemeteries situated to the south of the Lion Gate and outside the Bronze Age citadel.
The Cyclopean Walls: The main characteristic of the Mycenean walls is that they are made of huge limestone boulders. Only the mythical Cyclopes had the strength to move the enormous boulders that made up the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns.
The Royal Palace: Consisting of domestic apartments, the Throne Room Suite, the Grand Staircase, a collection of rooms for officers or palace officials and the Forecourt.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Lion Gate, Mycenae Greece
The Lions Gate: The main entrance of the Bronze age citadel of Mycenae erected during the 13th century BC.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Citadel and Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae Greece
The Treasury of Atreus: A large tholos or beehive tomb constructed during the Bronze Age around 1250 BC.
Tomb of Clytemnestra: A Mycenean tholos type tomb built in 1250 BC named after Clytemnestra the wife of king Agamemnon and leader of the Greeks in Trojan war.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Archaeological Museum of Ancient Mycenae, Mycenae Greece
The Mycenean Archaeological Museum: The most important Mycenean artifacts are exhibited here. You will be dazzled by the gold grave goods, burial masks, jewellery, weapons, worship idols and frescoes.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Athens, Athens, Attica
Return to your chosen Hotel, Airbnb or apartment in Athens
Duration: 10 minutes
Additional information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
- Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
Cancellation
Very impressive stop at the canal at the isthmus with interesting history that led up to the canal actually being constructed. Ancient Corinth with its Acropolis and ruins were also good stops. We ran out of time to do the Mycenae part of the trip. If the trip is done in reverse with a long drive...
Very impressive stop at the canal at the isthmus with interesting history that led up to the canal actually being constructed. Ancient Corinth with its Acropolis and ruins were also good stops. We ran out of time to do the Mycenae part of the trip. If the trip is done in reverse with a long drive to Mycenae, then work back to the canal would be better use of time. Had a wonderful stop at a local taverna for lunch over looking the ruins of the temple was a nice treat.Learned a ton about Greek history, including the central role of Corinth - more important than Athens though Athens gets all the attention simply because of the monuments that the Romans decided to not destroy. And then tying it with Mycenae in the later half of the day, from which we could also ...
Learned a ton about Greek history, including the central role of Corinth - more important than Athens though Athens gets all the attention simply because of the monuments that the Romans decided to not destroy. And then tying it with Mycenae in the later half of the day, from which we could also see Argos. So definitely a great way to fill in the time period from ~5000 BC to the newer history of Athens at its height in ~450 BC. We started out visiting the end of the Corinth canal where our guide Yannis gave us a lot of history about the development of the canal and what existed before then for thousands of years and how that geography made Corinth the crossroads of the world ~2500 years ago. Then drove closer to the middle and looked down from the bridge, beautiful sight. Drove over to Corinth acropolis which is a great site. Would need a half day there to see everything but the 1.5 hrs we spent there was a good taste. Very hilly and not an easy hike. Recommend seeing the small church and trying to get up to the Frankish tower if you have the time. We ate lunch in a restaurant next to the ruins of ancient Corinth. Good food and reasonable prices. Then the ruins of ancient Corinth at the bottom of the hill including the temple of Apollo. This has a well done museum and 1 hr would be sufficient to go through it. The ruins were extensive and you'd probably need a couple hours to go through all, we did it in about an hour and that was fine. We then drove to Mycenae. Ruins are older and we spent an hour wandering around and visiting the tombs. It was a bit of a let down after Corinth. The museum was pretty poor unless you like looking at pottery shards for an hour. Maybe I was just tired but if I did it again I'd read the exhibits in the lobby then do a quick walk through the rest, probably done in 20 minutes. The highlight for me was the stories behind it all rather than walking among part walls of buildings long gone. But again maybe I was just tired by then. Yannis is a great guide and answered all of our questions and offered interesting stories and took genuine care of us. He could not go into the sites but would give us tips for what to look for before we went in. He brought us a box of cookies and treats in the morning for snacks throughout the day and had a big supply of cold water bottles to keep us hydrated. If I was to do it again I would definitely visit the same sites in Corinth but probably skip Mycenae and go instead to Epivadros and Nafplio if such a tour existed. I wouldn't cut any shorter the time in Corinth though. That was definitely the best part of the trip. And Thank You Yannis! Hope to see you again some day.We had an amazing day. Nikos was an excellent driver (arriving a few minutes early), very knowledgeable and friendly, and knew exactly where to take us for the best photos, food, and souvenirs. He provided cold waters for us at our stops, was a great driver- made us feel safe during our day long ...
We had an amazing day. Nikos was an excellent driver (arriving a few minutes early), very knowledgeable and friendly, and knew exactly where to take us for the best photos, food, and souvenirs. He provided cold waters for us at our stops, was a great driver- made us feel safe during our day long tour with much driving. We never felt rushed as we visited our sites. Would highly recommend!Our guide, Peter was wonderful! He was so knowledgeable and kind! It was an absolutely delightful trip that I would recommend to anyone!!! We will remember this adventure for the rest of our lives!
Our guide, Peter was wonderful! He was so knowledgeable and kind! It was an absolutely delightful trip that I would recommend to anyone!!! We will remember this adventure for the rest of our lives!Coco was a great guide and had terrific suggestions in addition to what we knew. Waterside restaurant for lunch a wonderful break
Coco was a great guide and had terrific suggestions in addition to what we knew. Waterside restaurant for lunch a wonderful breakThis is a wonderful tour that will give you insight into Greek history and mythology. Our tour guide Yannis was both knowledgeable and pleasant and it was fun to spend the day with him. We especially enjoyed learning about and seeing the Corinth canal (and watching the Bungee jumpers). The ancien...
This is a wonderful tour that will give you insight into Greek history and mythology. Our tour guide Yannis was both knowledgeable and pleasant and it was fun to spend the day with him. We especially enjoyed learning about and seeing the Corinth canal (and watching the Bungee jumpers). The ancient city of Mycenae and the Theatre of Epidaurus were also amazing. Our transportation was very comfortable and we took a nice lunch break in the beautiful beach town of Nafplio.