5 Day Christian Tour Following The Footsteps Of Apostle Paul All Over Greece

Itinerary

Day 1: ATHENS – THERMOPILES - VLATADES MONASTERY OF ST. PAUL - THESSALONIKI:

Stop At: Thermopylae, Thermopylae, Phthiotis Region, Central Greece
Our driver will pick you up from your hotel at 08.30 and we will have our first stop at about 11.00 at Thermopiles in order to admire the statue of Leonidas, as a memorial of the battle of the 300 Spartans against thousands of Persian soldiers of the Persian Empire.
Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki Region, Central Macedonia
We continue to have the second stop at Valley of Tempe at about 14.00. The Vale of Tempe is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly. The valley is 10 kilometers long and as narrow as 25 meters in places, with cliffs nearly 500 meters high, and through it flows the Pineios River. After that we will arrive at Thessaloniki at about 17.00. You will check in and after you rest, we will visit the Vlatades Monastery, where it is said that Apostle Paul stopped there to drink some water. That is why it is called “Apostle Paul’s Holy Water". Believers from all over the world worship the space of Holy Water and enjoy the magnificent panoramic view to Thermaikos Gulf & Thessaloniki. In the same area is also located the Orthodox Church of St. Paul. Afterwards, we suggest you to taste the delicious Greek cuisine or to walk at the coast line of the city, the second bigger city of Greece!
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Thessaloniki

Day 2: CITY TOUR THESSALONIKI - NEA FOKEA - FILIPPOI - KAVALA:

Stop At: Nea Fokea, Nea Fokea, Halkidiki Region, Central Macedonia
After your breakfast, we will explore Thessaloniki, where Paul preached and wrote two epistles to the Ancient Thessalonians, during the winters of 49-50 AD. See the ramparts of the city: the triumphal Arch of Galerius, built in 303 AD, at the Via Egnatia. Visit the Rotunda, one of the most imposing monuments of Thessaloniki. Visit St. Demetrius Basilica, in which is located the underground ancient “Crypt", the most important part of the temple. According to the Christian Tradition, the saint was imprisoned here and died in 303 A.D. Visit the Acheiropoietos Church - a gem of devotion: The Acheiropoietos Church owes its name to an icon of the Virgin Mary, (‘Acheiropoietos’ meaning "made not by human hands ") that was kept in the church. It is one of the first churches of Christianity, founded sometime between 450 and 475 AD. We leave Thessaloniki to reach at the small town of Nea Fokea, to visit the ''Agiasma of St. Paul'', an underground corridor, which ends to a chamber, where St. Paul was hidden when the people of Thessaloniki run after him.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Kavala, Kavala, Kavala Region, East Macedonia and Thrace
Our next visit is at Philippoi, where St. Paul preached his first evangelical sermon and baptized the first Christians in Europe! Visit the ''Baptismal'' site, where Lydia was baptized, as the first European woman, and the secret crypt where Paul was imprisoned. Finally, we will visit the Acropolis of Filippoi. There you can visit the theatre, Basilica and the prison were Apostle Paul and Silas where thrown. Continue into the modern city of Kavala, the "ancient Neapolis", where Paul accompanied by Silas, Luke and Timothy, first set foot in Europe. We will have lunch in the town of Kavala.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Kavala

Day 3: KAVALA – VEROIA – VERGINA- METEORA:

Stop At: Veroia, Veroia, Imathia Region, Central Macedonia
Our driver will pick you up from your hotel at 08.30 to visit the beautiful town of Veroia at Northwestern Greece. . We will visit the church of Apostle Paul and the marble ''Vima of Apostle Paul'', the place Paul preached to the people of one of his beloved towns for many days.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Vergina, Vergina, Imathia Region, Central Macedonia
We continue to the Ancient town of Vergina, to visit the King's tombs that one of them belongs at the father of Alexander the Great and ex-king
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Kalambaka, Kalambaka, Trikala Region, Thessaly
Afterwards, we will head to Meteora for overnight
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Meteora

Day 4: METEORA - ATHENS

Stop At: Meteora, Meteora, Trikala Region, Thessaly
Our driver pick you up from your hotel around 09.00 am and we will visit the BYZANTINE MONASTERIES of Meteora that are included on the UNESCO world heritage monument list. We are having our first stop at The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoro which is the biggest and oldest one of all. It was called the monastery that was "suspended in the air" (meteoro), because of the formation of the gigantic rock on top of which it was built. Our second visit is to the great monastery of St. Stephan. The Monastery of St. Stephan, which is a small church built in the 16th century and decorated in 1545, rests on the plain rather than on a cliff. This wonderful tour will be completed at the picturesque villages of Kalambaka, where you will have a traditional Greek lunch!
Duration: 4 hours

Stop At: Athens, Athens, Attica
Afterwards, we will return to Athens for overnight
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Athens

Day 5: CHRISTIAN TOUR IN ATHENS & ANCIENT CORINTH ON APOSTLE PAUL'S FOOTSTEP

Stop At: Acropolis, via Dionysiou Areopagitou str., Athens 105 58 Greece
We will pick you up from your hotel at 09.00 to start the private Christian tour in Athens. We will visit the ancient Agora which was the heart of Athens in antiquity and the meeting point of Saint Paul with the first followers of Christianity in Athens. Our next stop will be at the "Mars Hill", where Apostle Paul proclaimed the word of the Christian God to the Athenian philosophers. We will then reach the coastal district of Palaio Faliro. This is the area where St Paul arrived 51 AD after his departure from Veroia and Thessaloniki. Of course, in combination with our Christian tour, we will have a visit at the Acropolis and a panoramic city tour in Athens.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Corinth Canal, Isthmia, Corinth 201 00 Greece
Continue, driving along the mainland coast to Peloponnese, to reach an hour later at the Canal of Corinth, with the view of the 6 km length and 80m height, where we will have a short stop.
Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Ancient Corinth (Archaia Korinthos), Ancient Korinthos village, Corinth Greece
Continue to reach at Ancient Corinth which was one of Saint Paul's beloved cities. We will have the chance to visit the Ancient Market and the Bema of Apostle Paul or Galionas. Take the chance to walk at the same paths that Apostle of Nations walked and preached hundreds of years earlier. Then, we will visit the commercial town of Corinth and The Apostolos Pavlos (Apostle Paul) metropolitan church, on the street with the same name, which was founded by him around 51-52 AD .
Our next stop will be at 'Kechrias Port". Kekrines were the port of Corinth in antiquity, the Entry-Exit Gateway to the East. The port, from which Apostle Paul left Corinth to start his journey to Syria. After our visit, we will return back to Athens.
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.