When thinking about Winter Holidays in Greece, we are referring to the period between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6). The Christmas Holidays in Greece begins on December 6th, which is Saint Nicolas day, and ends on January 6th, the day of Epiphany. The patron saint of the holiday is Saint Nicolas, who is also the protector of sailors, for this reason, you will often see boats decorated with many sparkling lights, among with the traditional Christmas trees.
The Greek Christmas traditions are now a mixture of modern Western customs and older Eastern traditions as Greece is the only Orthodox Country in Europe that celebrates Christmas officially on December 25th. The largest Christmas tree in Europe is lit in Syntagma Square, the location of the capital's Christmas village, while you have the opportunity to attend a wide variety of events and festivities in major cities, such as Athens, Thessaloniki, Patra and Heraklion as the municipal authorities organize music concerts, theatrical performance, and a number of other cultural events.
In Greek Christmas, the feast itself becomes the main attraction by both adults and children alike.
Arrive in Athens, meet and greet by our English speaking driver and transfer to your hotel. Overnight in Athens at a hotel of your choice. Depending on your time of arrival, you will have time to explore the city of Athens and the Acropolis by yourself or we can provide you our driver to drive you around the city and time permitting the coastal area of Sounion to visit the temple of Poseidon.
After leaving Athens, the tour drives through Levadia and Arachova and then proceed to Delphi where you can see all the archaeological treasures. Transfer back to Athens and later on our driver will pick you up for dinner to the first class Spondi restaurant. After your dinner is over you will be picked up and transferred back to the hotel.
After breakfast and check our, our driver will transfer you in air conditioned comfort to the airport for your one hour flight to Thessaloniki. Once you arrive in Thessaloniki you will be met by our representative and taken to your hotel where you will be staying for the next three nights.
Every December, Greece's second city, Thessaloniki, erects a huge, illuminated metal structure in the shape of a three mast ship next to the Christmas tree in its main square. Aristotelous Square is one of the main squares of Thessaloniki, named after the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and is located in the western part of the city crossing the three main avenues. The Christmas festivals are always held there and it commonly serves as the site of music concerts and political speeches.
Today is another travelling day.
After breakfast and check out, our representative will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Heraklion (Crete), a city with a great variety of things to see and do. Once you land in Heraklion, our representative will transfer you to your hotel, where you will be staying for the next two nights.
Crete is an island which is very much the epitome of Greek history, offering to its visitors nothing short of a continual succession of seasonal festivals and things to do. Many of the events on Crete are of a religious nature, while others are really just a very good excuse for a celebration and a spot of Greek dancing.
After breakfast our driver will pick you up to transfer you to the airport. Catch your flight to Athens and connect to your international flight back home.
Excludes
- International air fare
- Beverages
Vacation Packages