We're on the waiting list for Rick's May 11-24 trip to Pelopponese, but doubt we'll be lucky enough to get to go. Does anyone know of any other tour agencies running a similar trip? The ones I've looked at are all 5-7 days to Athens, Delphi, Meteora, Olympia and Epidauros/Mycenae. While I plan to see all those places, I also want to see all or most of the places on Rick's tour, without spending a fortune on a private, customized trip. Efkharisto!
I suggest you contact both Dolphin-Hellas Travel and Fantasy Travel for some suggestions. Both are located in Athens and both have excellent reputations.
We spent a month in 2007 touring Greece and used Fantasy Travel to arrange accomodation, ferries, car rentals etc. We can certainly recommend Petra from Fantasy Travel. She was very accomodating to our suggestions for accomodations, changes to our itinerary.
We spent a week driving through the Pelopponese three days in Athens and two days and one night in Kalambaka visiting Meteora, visiting many of the sites in Rick's Tour.We rented a car and the agent picked us up at Athens airport and drove us to their location on the outskirts of the city.
We based ourselves in Napfilio and Gythio as well as overnights in Olympia and Delphi.
In the "Do it Yourself" mode, Rick's long awaited and much postponed Athens and Peloponnese book is coming to stores in May. I suspect that the destinations mentioned in the book are the same as what are visited on the tour, making updating easy. I assume you are aware that Rick's tour does not include Meteora, you would need to arrange that separately. So, by following the book for transportation connections, lodging, even dining, you may be able to go it yourself.
We are taking a trip in the Pelopponese May 9-22 and are doing it on our own, renting a car, booking our own hotels. I have had no trouble with bookings. We've done roadtrips in the past in Europe and they have been really fun. I'd encourage you to think about doing it on your own - I'm happy to share any of the info I've come across in planning, just email me. Happy Travels!
Be sure to go to your local AAA office to pick up an International Driving Permit, no test required.
Also, in case you didn't know, driving in Athens is a complete nightmare. Parking is very difficult. If you are going to rent a car I suggest you take the public transportation out to the Athens Airport and pick one up there. The National Highway skirts Central Athens so you won't have to deal with traffic jams as you head for the Peloponnese.
Yes, the office told me that the book would be available in the ETBD store around May 8th. Amazon, etc. won't have it until June 1.