Looking for a relaxing vacation in Greece? Want to see Greece the easy way? Join up with an escorted tour of Greece for your vacation, and leave all the driving, transfers, and planning to someone else.
1. Brendan Vacations
Brendan Vacations offers a number of tours of Greece. These are coach-based tours but they usually have a Greek island cruise component included as well. Prices per person start around 1800 US, depending on the trip and choices. One caveat - they offer customized vacations and list hotels and prices - but the prices are per person, not per room. On the plus side, they have a good selection of hotels and the prices, even when doubled, are usually discounted off of the normal rack rate.
2. Continental Odyssey Vacation
This 19-day vacation begins in London and ends in Greece, making add-ons to explore Greece more thoroughly possible. During the trip itself, you'll see Olympia, Delphi, and, of course, Athens. Prices start at US 3639.00 including air, depending on departure date; some taxes and fees are not included. Traveling as a trio? There's a small price reduction for a triple room.
3. Gate 1 Travel
Gate 1 Travel offers pre-packaged vacation trips to Greece, providing dozens of options from fully-escorted vacations to island-hopping trips more suited to the independent traveler. Their prices are low and they offer both land-only and air-land packages. They draw from the same "pool" of trips as many other providers of Greek vacations. Their airport transfer fees are excessive (see Virgin Vacations above) and they use the same interface as Virgin. However, in testing out the sites, which are identical except for branding, I found that there is sometimes availability on one when there isn't on the other.
4. Tours of Greece from Globus
The Globus vacations in Greece offer airfare options and the potential to stay extra days either before or after your trip. They've been in business for 80 years. While coach-based trips are not for everyone, it can be a great way to cover a lot of the key sites of Greece for a low cost. Some of their options combine a coach tour with a short Greek island cruise. Prices for 2008 start at less than US $1100, including airfare, but some fees and taxes are not included in that price.
5. Trafalgar Tours
Trafalgar Tours is a UK-based company offering a variety of vacations in Greece, combining coach tours and cruises. This link leads to their general information page on their Greek vacations, but if you scroll to the bottom of the text, there is a link which takes you to a listing of all their tours in Greece. You can also use the search box on the upper right of the page.
6. Trips from Athens, Greece
Want to assemble your own tour? You can use these short trips which start and end in Greece to construct your own dream vacation in Greece.
7. Virgin Vacations - Greece
Virgin Vacations offers several options in Greece. While they sometimes tout these as all-inclusive vacations, they really aren't. The Greek trips include airfare and hotel, but they do not cover all meals and/or vacation activities. While their prices on day tours are not bad at all, they are not included in the base price as the phrase "all-inclusive" might seem to indicate. Ditto the transfers to and from the airport to your hotel - but there, they are not so benign. You will do better taking a taxi or booking your own transportation. For example, the Athens-hotel transfer is available for $80 per person - when a taxi which seats two or three will cost about 65, and the airport bus or metro may do the job for a mere 4 - 8 Euro. As long as you understand this, the overall pricing from Virgin Vacations can be tempting and a good deal if you know what you are doing.
