Ancient Corinth Half-Day Private Tour from Athens: Excursion to Famous Greek Ruins
5.0
27 Ratings
Athens
Embark on a half-day private tour from Athens to explore the famous Greek ruins of Ancient Corinth. Discover the historic Corinth Canal, visit the Temple of Apollo, Roman Odeon, and the Archaeological Museum.
Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Athens - Pick up from Athens and one hour drive to reach our first stop.
  • Corinth Canal - Corinth Canal, one of the most important projects and 19th century engineering masterpieces, playing a catalytic role for the Mediterranean trade. The Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, arguably making the peninsula an island. The canal was dug through the isthmus at sea level and has no locks. It is 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) in length and only 21.4 metres (70 ft) wide at its base, making it impassable for many modern ships. It is currently of little economic importance becoming mainly a tourist attraction.
  • Ancient Corinth (Archaia Korinthos) - Corinth was a city-state on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnese to the mainland of Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. The modern city of Corinth is located approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northeast of the ancient ruins.
    For Christians, Corinth is well known from the two letters of Saint Paul in the New Testament, First and Second Corinthians. Corinth is also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as part of Paul the Apostle’s missionary travels. In addition, the second book of Pausanias’ Description of Greece is devoted to Corinth.
    Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities of Greece, with a population of 90,000 in 400 BC. The Romans demolished Corinth in 146 BC, built a new city in its place in 44 BC, and later made it the provincial capital of Greece.
  • Archaeological Museum of Corinth - The Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth was constructed between 1931-1932, with intentions to display the numerous recent archaeological excavations. The museum is located within the archaeological site of Ancient Corinth and lies under the jurisdiction of the 37th Ephoreia of the Greek Archaeological Service.
  • Acrocorinth - Acrocorinth or “Upper Corinth”, the acropolis of ancient Corinth, is a monolithic rock overseeing the ancient city of Corinth. In the estimation of George Forrest, “It is the most impressive of the acropolis of mainland Greece”. With its secure water supply, Acrocorinth’s fortress was repeatedly used as a last line of defense in southern Greece because it commanded the Isthmus of Corinth, repelling foes from entry by land into the Peloponnese peninsula.
  • Athens - We start our way back to Athens. Travel time is one hour.
What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • Bottled water
  • On-board WiFi
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Licensed tour guide (optional with extra cost)
  • Entry/Admission - Archaeological Site and Museum (8€ per person)
Additional Information

We initiate our journey with a traversal of the Corinth Canal, built in 1893 and still operating today. Post our journey through the canal, we head towards Ancient Corinth, which presumably was home to around 100,000 inhabitants but only has 600 ruins in the present era. Corinth has the reputation of being one of the most well-known and frequented towns in Greece. It’s situated in the South West of Peloponnese, bordered by mountains named after the ye olde city. Notable monuments include The Temple of Apollo, Roman Odeon, and the Archaeological Museum.

  • Our drivers are not official tour guides, but they are knowledgeable and can provide fascinating commentary in fluent English. Although they will not enter the archaeological sites with you, they can answer all of your questions about the places you visit with this tour.
Location
Athens
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(27 Ratings)
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Gavin_c
Mar 25, 2024
Corinth 1/2 day tour - Nice personalised tour from an informative and friendly tour guide. Great day tour option from Athens, which gives good insight into the history of the area
Review provided by Viator
Ben_d
Feb 24, 2024
Highly recommended! - This was a stunning tour! Didn’t feel rushed, which u was concerned about, learned a ton, and was able to see things I’ve dreamed about seeing. Highly recommended! Nicos did a fantastic job!
Review provided by Viator
Kaylagt2950hr
Feb 19, 2024
Feb Corinth 1/2 day - Nikos was polite, informative, and let us make the experience our own. It was a beautiful day to head out to Corinth! We had fun.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sara_r
Nov 18, 2023
Special trip - This was a special trip for us following in Apostle Paul's footsteps. Our driver Vasilis was amazing and very helpful. We were able to spend exactly the amount of time we wanted at each site and see what we most wanted to see. I would recommend this to everyone!
Review provided by Viator
Michaelv_c
Nov 7, 2023
All in all, a beautiful day, gorgeous views, wonderful time and above and beyond service. - This tour made our day. We had a wonderful guide (Alex) who went above and beyond when we discovered that one of our main spots (The temple of Apollos) was closed, he offered additional sites he drove us to and suggested a wonderful and beautiful seaside lunch location. We’d do this all over again!
Review provided by Viator
Mike_s
Nov 5, 2023
Good Trip Outside of Athens - Our driver, Dimitri, was very knowledgeable and a great conversationalist. He was a very good tour guide and we’re already booking another tour with him.
Review provided by Viator
Mikeandjoannes
Nov 4, 2023
Trip Outside of the City - Very much enjoyed the tour. It was good to see the countryside away from Athens. The castle was a great stop. Steep steps not for the faint of heart. Dimitri was delightful. He is very knowledgeable about the area and Greek mythology.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Judy_c
Oct 20, 2023
We’ll worth the time to explore Corinth - Fabulous day out with Billy - excellent knowledge of the region, described well and to the level we wished. (ie No long lectures on Greek mythology).
Review provided by Viator
Fnhaines5
Oct 5, 2023
Amazing to see where Apostle Paul lived! - We took the excursion because we wanted to see where the Apostle Paul lived. It was amazing to see ancient Corinth. Our driver was very knowledgeable! It was an excellent experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mrludwig
Oct 5, 2023
Fantastic personal journey to Corinth! - My wife and I had a limited amount of time and we wanted to visit Corinth to get a better understanding of the geography that the Apostle Paul experienced when he visited there for 18 months. We couldn’t have chose a better tour. Our driver and guide, Nikos, arrived at our hotel on time to the minute. His vehicle was a beautiful, Peugeot van. Nikos is a young, professional, personable guide who speaks excellent english with a very gentle and charming Greek accent. We learned a lot about Greek and Biblical history all along our journey. Nikos was well versed in each. Our first stop was the Corinth Canal. Nikos allowed us plenty of time to explore that area. And then down to Ancient Corinth. Again, Nikos’ knowledge of the area was excellent and he allowed us enough time to explore the ruins. On our way up to the fortress on top of the Acrocorinth, Nikos stopped at the Church of Saint Paul and showed us the beautiful outdoor Mosaic which depicts the Apostle Paul’s experience in Corinth. If you have an interest in Paul’s ministry in Corinth, don’t miss this gem! We then went up to the top of the mountain. The fortress on the Acrocorinth is massive and impressive. It is a challenging beast, but if you can make your way up and over to the west side overlooking Ancient Corinth, the view is absolutely magnificent! It took about 45 minutes from the parking lot to get to that point and back. Again, Nikos allowed us enough time for that adventure. Our only regret was that Nikos wasn’t able to accompany us to the canal and ruins. It’s required that a guide be officially licensed. Judging from his knowledge, I think Nikos would have done an excellent job guiding us. Nikos is an extremely experienced and careful driver. He was textbook in his driving skill. Especially in navigating that van through Athens. This was well worth the money. It was just the two of us. We were picked up and dropped off at our hotel, we were taken right to the sites we wanted to go, we felt safe, and our driver was knowledgeable and charming.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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