Greece, the ancient kingdom that ruled the Mediterranean region before the Romans, is an attraction for travelers. It’s not just her islands. Greece is an interesting combination of a modern country that possesses an ancient culture and to this day it preserves its heritage and culture. All this with the amazing natural phenomena in the valleys and mountains, mountain villages with stone houses, hanging monasteries, abundant rivers, and Jewish history, are ingredients of a unique travel experience.
We will land in Athens, the capital of Greece, with a rich and long history from ancient times to the present day. After landing, we’ll get to know the city, we’ll get to Syntagma Square, the seat of parliament, the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, the Royal Palace, bustling Omnia Square, and the Olympic Marble Stadium, where the first Olympics took place.
READ MOREWe will visit Athens’ most famous site, the Acropolis, which means the upper city- the name including every rocky area inside the walled hill on which a temple was built in the city center. In this area are found the remains of three temples, two theaters, and a museum. The most important of these buildings is the Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess, Athena from whom the city of Athens is named. We will see the ancient agora which served as the political and commercial center in ancient Greece.
Close thisAfter breakfast, we’ll head from Athens towards Arachova, a small picturesque town nestled at the foot of Mount Parnassos. At the end of the tour, we will continue to the city of Delphi, which is not far from it, where we will find one of the most famous archaeological sites in Greece and around the world.
READ MOREThe Greeks believed that here, on a steep slope at the foot of Mount Parnassos, is the center of the world. There they have built a temple to the god Apollo. We will visit the museum and the archaeological site where the Oracle of Apollo, a religious priestess, was consulted before any major event or the beginning of a war campaign.
Close thisThis morning we headed towards Ioannina, the capital of the Epirus region, one of Greece’s largest cities, which sits on the shores of Lake Pamvotida (Pamvotis), one of the most beautiful lakes in Greece. After arriving in Ioannina, we will take a tour of the city. The city has a rich Jewish history.
READ MOREIn the past, Ioannina served as a seat for a Jewish community of members of the Romaniote community, whose roots are ancient and reach the Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel, during the Second Temple period. We will visit the synagogue, tell the story of the magnificent community that was there until World War II, visit the Byzantine-Turkish quarter and tell the colorful story of The Ruler Ali Pasha.
Close thisToday we will take a lovely nature walk in the Zagoria region. We will visit the villages of Zagoria consisting of 46 small villages. The villages are characterized by an ancient construction style. The village of Kifi is famous for its ancient stone bridges.
READ MOREWe will also visit the village of Monodandri, located at the beginning of the Vicus Canyon, one of the most impressive natural sites in the Zagoria region. This is the deepest canyon in Europe and one of the deepest in the world.
Close thisAfter a morning meal visiting the Perama Cave, which is more than a kilometer long, and its length of impressive stalagmites and stalactites, we will continue to visit the village of Alpine Metsovo which is one of the magical villages of northern Greece. At the end of the visit, we shall visit Meteora (the name means “hanging in the air” and is the origin of the term “meteor”).
READ MOREOn the top of tall pillars 650 meters high, orthodox monks built monasteries that look as if they are hanging in the air. Six monasteries remain and have been declared “World Heritage Sites” by UNESCO. We will experience breathtaking views among the cliffs and reach monasteries that served as a haven for monks. At the end of the visit, we will travel to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city and one of its most important port cities. At the end of the tour, we will return to the hotel and get ready for Shabbat.
Close thisAfter tfilot and our Sabbath meal, we will go on a walking tour of the city where for hundreds of years a large Jewish community flourished. After the expulsion from Spain tens of thousands of Jews came to Thessaloniki to become the largest and most luxurious Sephardic Jewish center.
READ MOREOn shabbat the city was almost completely idle, including the port, because of the large percentage of Jews living here. On Saturday night we’ll go out to a local taverna.
Close thisToday we will take a tour of the city, visiting the fascinating Jewish Museum and we will learn about the famous community where the Ladino language and Jewish culture flourished. The museum is considered one of the most interesting museums of European Jewish communities.
READ MOREWe will continue to visit the Jewish cemetery, see houses where Jews once lived and see the memorial in memory of the 50,000 Jews of Thessaloniki who perished in the Holocaust.
Close thisAn exciting day awaits us. Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain of Greece, rises to an altitude of 2,917 meters. The glory of the mountain is due to the belief in Greek mythology that the mountain is home to the twelve Olympic gods, who sat at the top drinking nectar that promised them eternal life.
READ MOREThe mountain stands in the center of a national park, with rich vegetation and many species of animals. We will take the road that winds through forests up to towering cliffs to the village of Pelion, which is at the end of the road before going up to the mountain. We’ll take a trip to the village where the typical Greek style is preserved. At the end of the visit, we will travel to our hotel in the Pelion Peninsula which is characterized by breathtaking mountain scenery.
Close thisToday we will be traveling on the Pelion Peninsula. We will visit Valos, a port city on the Aegean coast, which has an ancient history dating back to the Stone Age. There is evidence that there was a Jewish settlement dating back to the Hasmonean period.
READ MOREDuring World War II, residents of neighboring villages rescued many of the Jews who were in the city. We will tour the municipality and see its main buildings, including the University of Tsalia and the Memorial to those killed in the Holocaust. Then, we will go up to Mount Pelion, visiting the village of Makrinitsa, whose houses appear to be hanging on the slopes of the mountain and therefore the village is known as the “balcony” of Mount Pelion. We will visit the plant to create oil and olives, where we will see the production process of oil and organic honey.
Close thisToday we shall head towards Athens, which has a rich and long history from ancient times to the present day. On arrival, we will visit the Jewish Museum, where we will learn about the ancient history of the Jewish community in Athens.
READ MOREWe will visit two synagogues, the ancient Romanian synagogue “Tree of Life” and the new Sephardic synagogue, “Beit Shalom”, and we will see the Holocaust memorial, and be treated to a panoramic view of the city from Lycabettus Hill. In the evening we’ll go to a folklore show.
Close thisAfter breakfast, we will travel to see the Corinth Canal, which crosses Corinth’s Isthmus Inland Strait and connects the Saronic Gulf with The Bay of Corinth. If time permits (contingent on flight times), we will visit the eastern Peloponnese city. We will say farewell to Greece, we’ll go to the airport and fly back home.
* Price per person in USD double or twin room
** Supplement Price for single room
Accommodation in 4* or/and 5* hotels
Morning and evening meals + ingredients for preparations of lunch
Convenient air-conditioned tour bus
Tours in accordance with the itinerary and local English -speaking guide in accordance with the laws of the country-
Entrance fee to the various sites
Tips for overseas service providers
English speaking guide from the Shai Bar-Ilan team
International round-trip flight by route
Travel, health, and luggage insurance
Tip for the Israeli guide (it is customary to give €4 per day per passenger)
Expenses of any personal nature such as drinks at meals, phones, etc.
Any service not mentioned in the “price of the trip includes”
There may be changes to the order of places visited. We will make every effort to visit every place mentioned in the itinerary.
The tour organizers have no control over airline services such as seating, special meal requests, changes in departure times or delays. These remain the sole responsibility of the airline company.
Only strictly kosher food is provided to our travelers on all our tours. On some of our tours we are able to provide glatt meals. Kashrut is of utmost importance to us and we take special measures to ensure that everything served is kosher.
Breakfast is prepared using our utensils. We use local fresh fruits and vegetables, and we use milk products when they are permitted. We use kosher cereals, and bread. We usually serve hard boiled eggs and sometimes scrambled eggs or omelets. At breakfast, we prepare our lunches so that people have their choice as to what they eat for lunch. We bring food from Israel to supplement what is served in the hotel such as cheeses, peanut butter, tuna, etc.
For dinners, we serve either fish or meat (usually chicken) as our main course. In areas where meat is not available nor readily acquired, we will have fish. When possible, we acquire the meat locally from Chabad or other reliable kosher source, and in some cases we fly the meat in from Israel. We try to provide as many meat meals as possible. The main course at dinner is preceded by soup and salad and accompanied by freshly prepared vegetables. Dessert typically consists of fresh fruits.
We do not guarantee Pat Israel and Chalav Israel for all destinations.
In many destinations we have our own dishes and silverware. Where we don’t, we provide disposables at the meals. When we cook in hotel kitchens, we use our own knives, cutting boards, pots and pans, cooking implements and disposable metal trays. All food preparation is done on covered surfaces under the strict supervision of our trained staff/guides who function as our mashgichim.
We make great efforts to assure that our travelers will experience local foods first-hand, while maintaining stringent observance of Kashrut laws on all occasions.
On most of our tours, you will be accompanied by two of our staff members- one a guide for the tour who is knowledgeable about the places you are visiting and will accompany you throughout the day and the second, a person who will deal with the logistics of the tour and provide kashrut supervision in the kitchen.
It is our aim to provide the finest hotel possible in each area we visit. We require our hotels to allow us to work in the kitchen and to supervise the cooking and there are many hotels that are not willing to cooperate. They simply have no desire for us to be “meddling” in their cooking process nor are they happy about our bringing our equipment into their kitchens. We work very hard to find the best hotel in the area that will meet our requirements. Because we are not ready to compromise on kashrut, we may not always be able to use a five star hotel.
Note
• Fridays and Saturdays, and holidays in Israel, Sundays and holidays abroad are not considered as working days.
• The price of the trip is based on a minimum of 20 paying passengers.
• In the event of a change, cancellation, or malfunction related to flights, traffic, the responsibility will fall on the airline or the transport.
• There may be changes in the itinerary due to a change in flight times and other objective reasons.
• Terms and responsibilities as shown on the website.
• It is important to make sure that the passport is valid for at least 6 months.
• The program describes the sites of the visit but not necessarily the order of visits.
Payment terms
• When registering – $300 per person.
• Up to 35 days before departure – payment is finished.
Cancellation Conditions
• From the moment of registration and up to 45 working days before departure – the cancellation fee is only $47 per person.
• From 44 – 30 working days before departure – 30% of the price of the trip.
• From 29 – 15 working days before departure – 50% of the price of the trip.
• From 14 – 8 working days before departure – 75% of the price of the trip.
• From 7 working days until departure – 100% of the price of the trip.
