Your Motorcycle tour of Greece is 12 days long, but frankly less would be diminishing the Greece experience. An Amazing dip into ancient pre-Roman history. We visit the sites one must-see in Greece, but we connect these by superb twisty roads. We’ll eat in Tavernas and stay in small, friendly, family run hotels. We run the tour in collaboration with GS Traveller, our local supplier of bikes and advice. It will be the last tour of the season and we’ll catch the beginning of fall with crystal clear days. Foliage will be just starting, especially in the mountains of the north. An incredible autumn ride, away from crowds and heat as much as possible.
included:
13 nights accommodation with breakfast in 3/4 star hotels
12 day motorcycle rental of your choice
welcome and farewell dinners in Athens
guide on bike always present
second guide driving support van for luggage and assistance if group reaches 10 people
map of Greece
handbook of the ride
t-shirt
not included
meals which are not included
toll roads
fuel for bikes
coffees and snacks
entrance to sites
gratuities
alcohol beverages with included meals
Day 1 Athens – Our first stop will be Marathon. In the first Persian war Filippide a Greek soldier/messenger was ordered to run the 42km to Athens as fast as he could to announce the unhoped victory. The aim of this was to avoid the self-destruction of Athens had the Persians won. In case of defeat the Athenians were supposed to leave nothing behind and burn the city. We view this significant location as from here originate the modern marathons. Our route takes us to the Evia island after a short ferry crossing. We ride the minor roads up in the mountains with exceptional views and reach Chalkida for the night.
Day 2 Our aim is Delphi today. Our ride will take us along the coast on some pretty empty roads. We visit a secluded monastery and finally reach Delphi in the early afternoon. Delphi was known for its oracle, Pythia. Many important political decisions were left to the wisdom of the oracle. We have the time to change and walk down to the very interesting archeo site.
Day 3 From Delphi we ride north leaving Mount Parnassus to our right. Mount Parnassus was the home of the 9 muses, daughters of Zeus, protectors of the arts. As we approach the valley, we shall reach another historical battle field. That of the Thermopylae. In the second Persian war Leonidas, the Spartan King, resisted 3 days against the vast Persian army with only 300 men at the gorge of the Thermopylae. Before you come you should watch the 2006 movie 300!! We stop at the memorial and then proceed in making way to the area of Meteora, a fascinating microzone with boulders made of sandstone and conglomerates. These boulders offered the perfect location for asceticism and meditation, so over the centuries 24 monasteries were built here, inaccessible and remote. 4 monasteries are now accessible to the public.
Day 4 We stay two nights in a wonderful small family run hotel right below one these rock formations. You can take a short loop and visit all the 4 monasteries, or follow Francesco to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods. It will be a superb mountain ride!
Day 5 From Meteora to Ioannina we ride across the incredible mountain area of Zagori. We view the gorges of Vikos and visit Papingo before reaching the lake town of Ioannina. A beautiful motorcycle ride with no traffic and exceptional views. A ride you should not miss on a Greece Motorcycle Tour!
Day 6 From Ioannina we head south! We ride around the beautiful island of Lefkada, and then along the coast to a small village called Mythikos, away from the touring hoards. A quiet evening in a local taverna makes for a true local experience.
Day 7 We cross the Gulf of Corinth reaching the Peloponnese over the Poseidon bridge, an impressive engineering masterpiece. We reach Olympia on the back roads immediately after by passing Patras. Ancient Olympia is where the Greeks population gathered for the ancient Olympic games. The site is well worth a visit and we shall have time in the morning of Day 8.
Day 8 After a two hour visit to the arche site, from Olympia we explore the minor roads of the Peloponnese for a few hours and then join the main coastal road to the southern tip of the peninsula. Our overnight stay will be in Methoni. Our hotel is on the beach and near the ancient castle. A great place to relax and go for a swim in the sea.
Day 9 We cross the southern part of the Peloponnese alternating mountain and coastal roads, reaching the town of Monemvasia. During the ride we pass by Kalamata, famous for the Kalamata olives. We stay in Monemvasia two nights.
Day 10 You relax and spend the day visiting this fascinating town (Monemvasia) and/or take a ride to Sparta and byzantine Mystras. Sparta was pillaged by the Visigoths in not a tremendously amazing archeo site, but just the name echoes formidable military power. Imagine every child was separated from their family at the age of 7 and educated in the name of Sparta. The process was called Agoge
Day 11 Our route takes us across an amazing pass with a lunch stop in Kosmas and then along the roads of the Argolic Gulf to Nafplio. Nafplio is a wonderful sea town with lots going for it.
Day 12 It’s our last day and we return to Athens. Before we do so we visit Epidaurus and its amazing theatre with incredible acoustics. We also have lunch by the Corinth Canal and admire this other incredible engineering masterpiece.
if you have any questions or doubts about signing up on this motorcycle tour of Greece, please do not hesitate to contact us on tours@cimt.it
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