Athens

Meteora All Day Tour From Athens

Badge of ExcellenceAthens, Greece

12 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

If you’re planning a day trip to Meteora from Athens, your time in Meteora will be limited. Other than fastidiously researching each monastery in advance, having planned transport is the most realistic way to guarantee you’ll actually get to see three of the famous monasteries. With this full-day excursion from Athens, rest assured that you’ll get to share in the wonder of Meteora—instead of risking whittling away all your time as you try to overcome poor planning and logistics.

Easier and safer than driving yourself to and from Meteora in a single day
See this UNESCO World Heritage Site without checking out of your Athens hotel
Travel comfortably in an air-conditioned vehicle with bottled water and Wi-Fi
Stop in at Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans fought 100,000 Persians

What's Included

Private transportation
WiFi on board
Air-conditioned vehicle
Bottled water
English speaking driver

Guide
Entrance fees to the monasteries (3€ per monastery)
Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

07:30 AM

Pickup details

Hotels,Vacation rentals,Main points of interest in Athens

What To Expect

Your personal chauffeur collects you from your Athens address or the port of Piraeus and heads out of the city to Meteora: There’s onboard Wi-Fi to help you pass the time on the long drive.

The six monasteries follow different opening schedules that change regularly, but your driver knows the timetable so will take you to three monasteries that are open on the day you visit.

Leave your driver to worry about parking, pay the small entrance fee in cash, then explore. There’s plenty of time for photography of the spectacular landscapes.

Once you’ve finished at the monasteries, your driver brings you to the beautiful flower-decked village of Kastraki for lunch (own expense) and shopping. From here, they drive you back to the port or your Athens hotel or vacation rental.

Meteora

4 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Infant seats available

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

67 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 67 reviews

Not much more than a glorified cab ride

Josh_G, Nov 2023

After reading many glowing reviews of excellent drivers who act as guides on the drive and discuss the history and significance of Meteora, my wife and I decided to book this excursion. The word "tour" is vastly misleading, as you're really only paying for a driver for the day, who won't enter the sites with you. We both tried to engage our driver in conversation about the site, life in Greece, even his favorite football team. His responses were short, and would immediately put his headphones back in to signal he didn't want to be interrupted. After seeing our driver was not interested in helping us learn more about the sites like so many other drivers for this excursion seemed to do, we decided to ask for the Wi-Fi information to do our own research. Our driver responded that there was no Wi-Fi for the trip but after pressing him further, he reluctantly called the operator, who instructed him to turn on his mobile hotspot for us to use. His hotspot only lasted 30 minutes, after which it was turned off for the duration of the trip. When we arrived at the site, one of the largest monasteries had switched to winter hours, and was closed for the day, which seemed to catch the driver by surprise. While we could've done more research ahead of time, clearly our trip wasn't planned well by the driver or operator. This information should be published on the booking page - that monastery hours vary, and depending on the season, some may be closed to the public. In hindsight, I should have been more skeptical of this "tour" - the page clearly states that guided tours are excluded, but I incorrectly assumed we'd have one of the same drivers mentioned in the other comments. Ultimately, the monasteries we did see were incredible and we very much enjoyed exploring the sites and taking in the scenery, but this ride was long and overpriced.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

We are sorry that our tour didn't meet your expectations. In the tour inclusions it is clearly stated that a guide is not included and only a private car with driver included. Unfortutely according to Greek law no one except lisenced guides is allowed to guide in sites.If the driver had acompanied you in the monasteries he might had faced legal charges. The drivers are always free to engage conversations during the trip but their main responsibility is to drive you safely and in a timely manner to/from the site.Our company has several drivers and each one has different aproach and that is makinng the tour unique. Indeed Wifi is included on this trip and the driver gave you access once requested. You have to know although that in the whole area of Meteora there is a very weak signal and hardly any webpage is loading if you try to browse. We should had informed you accordingly for that. From November until March indeed the monasteries switch to winter schedule but unfortunately the opening days might vary as these are active monasteries and not just archaelogical sites. That means that the opening times and days might change without notice due to maintenace works or after a request from the monks. Nevertheless as soon as the driver noticed that Grand Meteoro was closed he drove you to the nearby Varlaam monastery which of similar size and also the most impressive of the complex.We thank you for the recomandation to put a note that the opening scedules might vary and we will included on the tour page asap. This tour might seem overpriced but we can assure that is not.You need to take into considertion that the drivers work for 12 hours and the total distance is 800 km . As you probably noticed the fuel prices in Greece are extremly high and there are several tolls on the highway as you saw. We are happy that in the end of the day you admired the incredible site and the monasteries and hope you went back home full of great memories. Thank you once more your feedback

Meteora day trip

Tirthankar_B, Nov 2023

Being able to climb the steps to the monasteries at Varlaam, Rousanou, and St Stephens, and enjoy the view and the ambiance was gratifying. Our guide’s encouragement helped 😊. He is quite a history buff. We enjoyed the conversation with him. He is a foodie and even recommended local food we should try in our trips to other parts of Greece. Overall great experience. One suggestion would be to include a meal in the package.

Spectacular

Jancie_B, Nov 2023

Worth every penny! Our guide Theo was wonderful. He picked us up and n time from our hotel. The van was comfortable and he made the king day enjoyable. Meteora is a site I will never forget. It is spectacular and well worth the drive. We stopped at Thermopylae on the way back which my husband really wanted to see. Highly recommend.

Amazing Meteora trip

Gloria_D, Oct 2023

Dimitri was an excellent driver, very friendly & answer all our questions. He also adjusted schedule for us to see 3 monasteries which gave enough time for the fog to lift & us enjoying the wonderful views of monasteries. Long day but well worth the experience of seeing the amazing Meteora.

Great Side Trip

Kevin_M, Oct 2023

Our driver did a great job explaining the history of the area and monasteries. His driving was excellent and the trip was well worth it

Worth the drive!

Derek_H, Oct 2023

Great trip! Our group’s driver Theofilos got us from Athens to Meteora quickly and was clearly an expert at driving the route and guiding us to great spots for photos and experiences at the monasteries. The views were overwhelming. Theofilos then took us to the town square in Kalabaka and we enjoyed lunch and dessert before heading back. Great experience overall and the long drive was worth it!

Excellent Adventure with Entertaining Guide

Mary_D, Jul 2023

Petros was an excellent driver and guide. He was very polite, entertaining and took good care of us. He knew so much about the monasteries and the best spots for photos. We enjoyed talking with him about life in Greece compared to the U.S. He provided superb advice on a restaurant for lunch. We are grateful! It was an amazing day!

AMAZING!!! Meteora Tour Highlight of Greece <3 <3 <3 DO NOT MISS IT!!!

andreadorr, Jun 2023

Dimitri was an amazing host and guide. He accommodated my request to start early (5 AM) from Athens so that we arrived just before the monasteries opened (9 AM). This trip to Meteora should NOT be missed, and I definitely recommend getting there early before the crowds!! Loved the conversation on the ride to and from Athens as well. This was the highlight of my 9 days in Greece. Greatly exceeded my expectations! THANK YOU!!

Wonderful sights

Jodie_D, Jun 2023

This place is spectacular, both inside the monasteries and the views outside. Our driver peter was very professional and timely.

The views are worth the drive!!!

Evelyn_H, Jun 2023

Drinking in the views!! Meteora is home to 6 UNESO World Heritage Site monasteries and nunneries precariously perched atop massive rock pillars. It was as breathtaking as I had imagined. The journeys these men took and labor of love to build these temples to God is incredible. It was so serene and the breeze was scented with Jasmine at monasteries due to the Jasmine trees! Our driver Petros was awesome! Because we left so early he stopped at a little coffee shop to get a snack. He was kind and professional! I highly recommend this tour!!!

Exceptional

Ken_C, Jun 2023

Theo,our guide was exceptional, tour was unbelievable. Highly recommended breathtaking views. Hotel pick up and drop off was spot on perfect way to spend a day out of Athens.

Family Trip to Meteora

William_S, Jun 2023

We had great private driver for family trip to Meteora! He was very friendly and told us good background information on Meteora. He drove like an ace when rained and bad weather. Do yourself a favor and take private driver when go to Meteora - it saves lots of time!

Knowledgeable, friendly, and flexible driver

Stephalex2001, Jun 2023

Peter was a knowledgeable and friendly driver/guide. He was very flexible about which monasteries we wanted to visit and made the long drive more enjoyable by talking to us and playing music both that we requested and also introduced us to Greek pop music. This tour is well worth it!!

Fun with Petros in Meteora!

Stacy_F, Jun 2023

We had a great day with Petros! He was very professional, thoughtful, funny, and a great driver! And he went out of his way to pre-order our lunch in a lovely little outdoor restaurant because we were short on time. It’s a long day, but if you only have a day to visit Meteora, this is the way to do it. Otherwise, if you had more time, it might be more fun to stay the night in the lovely little town just below the monasteries.

It’s totally worth it!!

Karen_A, Jun 2023

One of the most impressive places I’ve seen !! The ride from Athens is a little long but it’s totally worth it. The monasteries are beautiful band the natural beauty of the area just takes your breath away !!

best way to see Meteora

Maury_A, Jun 2023

Peter was incredible and so informative. This tour was the only way it was possible to see Meteora in a day. so glad we did this!

This was absolutely an...

Bindu_S, Jun 2023

This was absolutely an amazing experience. Lazos, our driver, was fantastic - he picked us up from our hotel on time and was very passionate about the tour. He made excellent food recommendations and stops along the way when needed. The trip to and from Meteora is 4 hours one way - the van was very comfortable and clean. Meteora itself was a breathtaking experience - not to be missed!!! I highly recommend this tour. They were easy to get a hold of and to communicate with.

Private Tour to Meteora

Melody_D, May 2023

It’s a beyond ordinary experience while in Greece. One of the most beautiful sceneries to see from Athens. However, I recommend getting a private tour for this one and not to choose the “ Meteora by train.” Having a private tour will save you a lot of time.

Peter was great!

Robert_p, May 2023

Peter was a terrific driver. He visited with us and was very knowledgeable about Greek history. He was on time and very personable. I reccomend this tour to anyone - just ask for Peter for a positive experience!

Best trip ever

Lucio_M, May 2023

Great trip. Absolutely beautiful and our experience with our guid Petros was amazing. He is absolutely wonderful!

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