Customer Reviews for Go Ahead Tours Athens & Ancient Greece
Go Ahead Tours Athens & Ancient Greece
From Athens to Olympia, visit the sights marking the dawn of western civilization.
Average Customer Rating:
(55 Reviews) 55
24 out of 25 96% of customers would recommend this tour.
Customer Reviews for Athens & Ancient Greece
Review 1 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by MBAUER33 |
Number of past tours:11
Traveled on:03/18/2012
Location:CO
Age:60+
Gender:Male
I traveled:with my spouse/significant other
by MBAUER33 |
April 10, 2012
Athens & Ancient Greece
The Tour Director and Bus Driver really made the trip.
Recommended for: Anniversary Trips, Art, History, & Culture, Food & Wine, Family Vacations, Trip Of A Lifetime
+1point
1out of 1found this review helpful.
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Review 2 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
4
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by POWDER |
Number of past tours:1
Traveled on:03/18/2012
Location:CA
Age:60+
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by POWDER |
April 10, 2012
GOOD TRIP BUT TOO HURRIED
Trip was good. Tour guide and bus driver were wonderful caring people who made our tour informative and creative. Greece is a truly magnificant country!
Recommended for: Solo Travelers, Art, History, & Culture, First Time Travelers, Experienced Travelers
0points
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Review 3 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
3
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by Anonymous |
Number of past tours:1
Traveled on:03/18/2012
Location:AR
Age:40-49
Gender:Female
I traveled:solo
by Anonymous |
April 3, 2012
greece trip
The trip and tour dircector and tour guides were great.
The food and places they took us to eat were not so great. I was very dissapointed with the food places selected for us to eat. Too touristy and food did not seem authentic. When we were on our own to eat the food was great.
The hotels were nice and clean, a little dissapointed in the beds and pillows but oh well. Our director Michael as soo good. He had some difficult people and he handled them with a smile and the best he could do.
The food and places they took us to eat were not so great. I was very dissapointed with the food places selected for us to eat. Too touristy and food did not seem authentic. When we were on our own to eat the food was great.
The hotels were nice and clean, a little dissapointed in the beds and pillows but oh well. Our director Michael as soo good. He had some difficult people and he handled them with a smile and the best he could do.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Art, History, & Culture
0points
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Review 4 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
4
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by EKARL2 |
Number of past tours:2
Traveled on:10/09/2011
Location:PA
Age:60+
Gender:Female
I traveled:with my spouse/significant other
by EKARL2 |
November 3, 2011
A View of the Past
Amazing how the past has been and is being preserved through the archeological sites. We especially loved the Meteora Region.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Art, History, & Culture, Experienced Travelers
0points
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Review 5 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by EHNI0001 |
Number of past tours:3
Traveled on:10/09/2011
Location:MD
Age:50-59
Gender:Female
I traveled:with my spouse/significant other
by EHNI0001 |
November 1, 2011
Great sites, great people
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Even with the demonstrations and closings, our tour director made sure we saw all the sites. We combined two days of sites in to one day. It was a very busy day, but we were all so thankfull for the opportunity to see the sites of Epidaurus and Mycenae! Every day was special.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Solo Travelers, Art, History, & Culture, Experienced Travelers
0points
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Review 6 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by JTAILWHIT |
Number of past tours:2
Traveled on:10/09/2011
Location:CA
Age:60+
Gender:Male
I traveled:with my spouse/significant other
by JTAILWHIT |
November 1, 2011
Loved Ancient Greece, Hated Modern Greece
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Our trip of a lifetime could have been a disastrou due to transportation and government strikes in Greece, but was saved by the experience and connections of our fantastic tour guide Gloria. She worked long days making sure transportation would happen and which archeological sites would be open or closed; changing plans several times to make sure we got into sites a day before or after a strike was scheduled. Her knowledge of Greek history and language was wonderful and was supplemented by great local guides. We enjoyed all the optional excursions and thought they were well worth the price.
The travel pace was fast, moving almost every day or two, but Gloria’s briefings made sure we knew what to expect to get the most our of each days new sights and tastes. We were disappointed that many of the great hotels were isolated and out of walking distance from town so we felt captive to having to eat expensive buffet’s at the hotel instead of enjoying great local cuisine. Doing this trip on your own would be crazy! Driving is dangerious and many roads were under construction or in need of repair and signage is lacking and "greek to me". Our bus driver was excellent and so was the bus.
We added on the three day post-tour cruise extension of the Greek Islands and enjoyed a fun cruise experience, great food and wonderful staff aboard the Louis cruise line. The highlight of the entire trip was a stop in Kusadasi Turkey and a morning visit to Ephesus, one of the best preserved Roman cities. Seeing the sun wash down the face of the great library at Ephesus was one of the most moving experiences on the trip.
The travel pace was fast, moving almost every day or two, but Gloria’s briefings made sure we knew what to expect to get the most our of each days new sights and tastes. We were disappointed that many of the great hotels were isolated and out of walking distance from town so we felt captive to having to eat expensive buffet’s at the hotel instead of enjoying great local cuisine. Doing this trip on your own would be crazy! Driving is dangerious and many roads were under construction or in need of repair and signage is lacking and "greek to me". Our bus driver was excellent and so was the bus.
We added on the three day post-tour cruise extension of the Greek Islands and enjoyed a fun cruise experience, great food and wonderful staff aboard the Louis cruise line. The highlight of the entire trip was a stop in Kusadasi Turkey and a morning visit to Ephesus, one of the best preserved Roman cities. Seeing the sun wash down the face of the great library at Ephesus was one of the most moving experiences on the trip.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Solo Travelers, Family Vacations, Art, History, & Culture, Trip Of A Lifetime, Experienced Travelers
+1point
1out of 1found this review helpful.
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Review 7 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by JEHNI |
Number of past tours:2
Traveled on:10/09/2011
Location:MD
Age:60+
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by JEHNI |
November 1, 2011
Trip of a Lifetime
I am 81. I always wanted to visit Greece. My daughter arranged the trip through GoAheadTours. The tour and sites were everything I had hoped for and more. We had such a wonderful time. Our tour director, Gloria, was fabulous! I had forgotten my cane and some of my belongings at one of the hotels and she went out of her way to make sure they were returned to me before I returned to the U.S. Gloria is a jewel. Full of energy and compassion. It was a privelege to have her as our tour director.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Solo Travelers, Art, History, & Culture, First Time Travelers
0points
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Review 8 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by GHALASKA1 |
Number of past tours:7
Traveled on:09/25/2011
Location:WI
Age:60+
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by GHALASKA1 |
October 18, 2011
One of the top 10
Our trip to Greece was remarkable. Rob made greek history enjoyable and understandable. It covered alot of Greece.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Solo Travelers, First Time Travelers, Experienced Travelers
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Review 9 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
4
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by GEEHEE |
Number of past tours:1
Traveled on:09/25/2011
Location:PA
Age:60+
Gender:Male
I traveled:with my spouse/significant other
by GEEHEE |
October 11, 2011
Best tour guide EVER!
I don't usually do testimonials for anyone for any reason. But not only did my wife & I enjoy our tour, but we were fortunate to have the best tour guide I've ever experienced. Rob was fabulous. He was calm, funny, supportive, helpful, intelligent & obviosly in love with Greece & it's people. Go Ahead is fortunate to have him. I heard he does Italy & even though we have been there twice we may have to go back a third time if I find out he's heading a tour there.
Recommended for: Art, History, & Culture
0points
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Review 10 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by Anonymous |
Number of past tours:1
Traveled on:09/25/2011
Location:OH
Age:50-59
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by Anonymous |
October 11, 2011
Wonderful experience
Our tour director was just great. He was so knowledgeable about Greece both the past and the present. We were guided through major sites with such perfect timing for example we arrrived at Olympia just when the crowds were leaving so we could really enjoy the site.
This is the best vacation value. I will travel with this company again and hopefully soon.
This is the best vacation value. I will travel with this company again and hopefully soon.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Solo Travelers, Art, History, & Culture, First Time Travelers
0points
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Review 11 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by ZMILLER6 |
Number of past tours:4
Traveled on:10/14/2007 12:00:00 AM
Location:IL
Age:40-49
Gender:Female
I traveled:solo
by ZMILLER6 |
July 31, 2011
wonderful travel back to ancient times.
the visit to the holy cave and monastery,were john had his vision of the apocalypse is unforgetable. to walk in what use to be the ancient city of corinth leaves a lot to imagine.i also enjoyed the visit to cape sounion, covent of prophet elias,acropolis,etc. the trip was wonderful, i enjoyed it so much!
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Family Vacations, Art, History, & Culture, Trip Of A Lifetime, First Time Travelers, Experienced Travelers
-1point
1out of 3found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
4
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by JKEEFER9 |
Number of past tours:1
Traveled on:06/26/2011
Location:CA
Age:50-59
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by JKEEFER9 |
July 17, 2011
Beautiful trip
Enjoy the slow pace of the trip. The hotels were great. Overall the trip was great. Only one draw back was an excursion was added to our group to Corthins. It was made that all participate and my guest and I didn't sign up. We went ahead and went at the cost of 25 Euros. Our Guide made it sound there was nothing for us to do while the group went through the tour, which after there was a litlle town and shopping area we could of stayed at while they went.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Solo Travelers, Art, History, & Culture, Experienced Travelers
-2points
0out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 13 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
4
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by DEBRALYNN3385 |
Number of past tours:1
Traveled on:06/26/2011
Location:AZ
Age:50-59
Gender:Female
I traveled:solo
by DEBRALYNN3385 |
July 15, 2011
Ancient Greece
Outstanding information to ancient Greece. Very educational. Would do it again in a heart beat. Could have been a little more walking involved but due to unforseen circumstances it is understood. Tour director could have been more personable not quite a quick to answer guests questions.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Solo Travelers, Family Vacations, Art, History, & Culture, Trip Of A Lifetime, Food & Wine, First Time Travelers, Relaxing Retreat
+1point
3out of 5found this review helpful.
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Review 14 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by DFRELING |
Number of past tours:1
Traveled on:06/26/2011
Location:KS
Age:60+
Gender:Male
I traveled:solo
by DFRELING |
July 15, 2011
Great Trip for Historians
This was an excellent tour for people interested in ancient Greek history. We visited most of the major archeological sites in Greece and one in Turkey. It is not for those interested in a relaxing, leisurely vacation. It requires quite a lot of walking on uneven ground and climbing. One of our tour members; howwever, was 87 years old, and had only minimal problems with the physical activity. The tour director was excellent, the hotels more than adequate, and the food satisfactory. I was a little disappointed in the food, as it was mostly touristy, with only a couple of meals being of gourmet quality. I hightly recommend this tour for anyone interested in the history and culture of Greece.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Art, History, & Culture
+2points
3out of 4found this review helpful.
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Review 15 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
4
/
5
Tour Director
4
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by Anonymous |
Number of past tours:1
Traveled on:06/26/2011
Location:CA
Age:40-49
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by Anonymous |
July 15, 2011
Beautiful and historical
This tour was educational and very scenic. Our bus driver was amazing and our tour guide knows the geography and facts of the areas we traveled. All of the hotels were exceptional. The Metropolitan was especially hospitable and elegant.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Family Vacations, Art, History, & Culture, Honeymoons, First Time Travelers, Experienced Travelers
0points
1out of 2found this review helpful.
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Review 16 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
4
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by DKIDD5 |
Number of past tours:2
Traveled on:3/20/2011 12:00:00 AM
Location:VA
Age:60+
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by DKIDD5 |
May 24, 2011
A Fun and Interesting Tour For Sure
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My experience on GoAhead's Greece tour was truly amazing. The hotels were first rate, Our tour director's knowledge of all things Greek was beyond compare and his dramatic story telling kept us entertained throughout the entire trip. While I enjoyed every site we visited, most especially Delphi and Olympia, my personal favorite was Meteora where centuries old monasteries were built atop 1,000 foot rocks defying even modern-day engineering. While the uphill treks were often a challenge the rewards at the top were always worth the effort. This tour was both educational and entertaining and I highly recommend it to history lovers and adventure seekers alike.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Solo Travelers, Art, History, & Culture, Trip Of A Lifetime, Food & Wine, Experienced Travelers
-1point
2out of 5found this review helpful.
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Review 17 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by PDEASON1 |
Number of past tours:2
Traveled on:03/20/2011
Location:LA
Age:50-59
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by PDEASON1 |
May 24, 2011
Great Tour - Great Tour Director
There is nothing I would change about this tour except maybe adding one free day in Athens. I loved every minute. The sites, the food, even the bus travel! Rob Sweedingham, our tour director, was amazing. His knowledge of Greek mythology was astounding and his stories so interesting. He went out of his way to make sure we all enjoyed our trip to the utmost. And we did.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Anniversary Trips, Nature & Wildlife, Solo Travelers, Family Vacations, Art, History, & Culture, Trip Of A Lifetime, Honeymoons, First Time Travelers, Experienced Travelers
-1point
2out of 5found this review helpful.
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Review 18 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
3
/
5
Tour Director
3
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by Anonymous |
Number of past tours:2
Traveled on:5/8/2011 12:00:00 AM
Location:TN
Age:40-49
Gender:Female
I traveled:with my spouse/significant other
by Anonymous |
May 22, 2011
Saw the sites
Saw all sites as promised. It was a very educational tour. Things to keep in mind on this tour are that you will spend about 85% of your waking time on a bus being transported from one location to another with a group of people who mostly 60+ years old. Every hotel and included meal will feature "greek specialties", so you will eat essentially the same meal for two weeks -- greek salad, cheese, bread, meat and greek yogurt with honey. Definitely avoid the last optional excursion in Athens which includes a meal. The meal is terrible and the entertainment is worse. Plus, you have already eaten the same meal 13 other times. In addition, the tour director will have already set up another optional tour (for a fee) of his own which will include the same entertainment by locals, which will be better than the overpriced excursion. Expect little actual free time because the tour director will use it up with his own optional exursions, several of which everyone must do or no-one in your tour group can do. Take lots of extra cash because the bus will pull up to a restaurants unexpectly where everyone will have to eat and lunch will cost you a minimum of $45 each, when it could have driven on for 15 minutes and left the group in a place where you could pick and choose and eat for much less. The local tour guides and the tour director will take you to shops they choose in advance or stop the bus unexpectedly where you will be forced to stand though a sales pitch on why it is best to buy your pottery and silver at their store instead of others. All of this will eat up your free time and money. The hotels will not be centrally located, so the tour director (for a fee) will arrange for the bus to take you into town. The hotel in Athens will cost you $18 by taxi to get to the center of town or the tour director will (for a fee) will arrange to transport the group by bus there. The shuttle does not run from the Athens hotel for most of the day on the day the Go Ahead Tour arrives and departs, so don't be fooled by the hotel provided shuttle, which on all other days runs once an hour. Of course, that is the day the tour director will allow you to sleep late from the departing hotel, insuring that you cannot catch the free shuttle from the Athens hotel. Although the hotels have air conditioning, it was not turned on in any of them. So, the good news is that we saw the sites as promised. You could never get to all of these on your own. The bus is clean and the driver was unbelievably good, especially considering the dangerousness of many of roads you will travel. You will spend much time in tight quarters with a group of people you hardly know, a few of which will talk incessantly. Also, as I have mentioned, the tour director will offer a lot, some of which will good, but all of which will cost you more money. We did not encounter this on our last Go Ahead Tour. If the group needed to get to a town that was four miles away, they just dropped you off there. Each person did not have to pay an extra $15 per person for drop off and pick up, to enjoy the town for 2.5 hours. The tour is rated challenging, but the only challenging part of the tour was there was some walking on uneven terrain at the ruin sites. You are mainly sitting all day on a bus, which is not challenging. Overall, we are glad we took the tour because of the many, many sites we were able to see in the 13 days. I will revisit whether to take another tour with Go Ahead, though.
+14points
16out of 18found this review helpful.
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Review 19 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
4
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by THEKUSH |
Number of past tours:2
Traveled on:03/20/2011
Location:NJ
Age:60+
Gender:Female
I traveled:solo
by THEKUSH |
May 21, 2011
Great tour director, too many stops
This is my second go-ahead tour, and I liked it less than the first one, which was the Venice, Florence Rome tour. This one jumped from place to place much too frequently, without allowing sufficient time at any one stop for personal exploration of the locale. As a result, I don't feel like I got to know Greece very well, despite spending 12 days in the country!
On the positive side, the tour director could not have been better. He was constantly friendly, consistently helpful, and amazingly knowledgeable. He made every transition as painless as possible. He is also a talented history-teller, able to entertain as well as bring a deep knowledge of history to the tour.
The local guides were generally excellent, and the sites that we visited were always completely engaging, both historically and visually.
I did enjoy the trip as a whole, but I would have loved it so much more with fewer stops and more free time.
Recommended for: Art, History, & Culture
+4points
5out of 6found this review helpful.
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Review 20 for Athens & Ancient Greece
Overall Rating
Tour Value
5
/
5
Tour Director
5
/
5
Leisurely
Challenging
by DSCOTT66 |
Number of past tours:2
Traveled on:03/20/2011
Location:FL
Age:50-59
Gender:Female
I traveled:with friend(s)
by DSCOTT66 |
May 21, 2011
Trip of a Lifetime
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2 years ago, we went to Italy on our 1st GoAhead Tour. We made so many friends and kept in touch on Facebook. Greece was next on my "bucket list", and all 14 of us were from the original Italy tour. :)
Greece was beautiful, the food was great and the people were friendly. There is alot of walking.... and some stair climbing... but I enjoyed the bus rides from site to site because it gave you a chance to rest in between. Our tour director, Rob Sweetingham, was the best... and told stories that brought the history to life. To see the historical sites of the Acropolis, Parthenon, Cape Sounion, Delphi, Corinth, Olympia... and Meteora (monastaries were amazing), I will forever carry those memories with me. 9 of us also did the 3-day cruise extension, and I recommend the excursions to Ephesus and Santorini/Oia.
Recommended for: Active Travelers, Nature & Wildlife, Trip Of A Lifetime, Food & Wine
+1point
2out of 3found this review helpful.
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