7 nights. Greece, Turcaí

Day 1

athens (piraeus), greece

Departure: 17:00

Piraeus is a port city in the Attica region of Greece. It lies within the Athens urban area, about 8 kilometres southwest of the city centre (the municipality of Athens), along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf. According to the 2011 census, Piraeus had a population of 163,688 within its administrative boundaries, making it the fifth-largest municipality in Greece and the second-largest within the wider Athens urban area, after the municipality of Athens. The municipality of Piraeus and four neighbouring suburban municipalities make up the regional unit of Piraeus, sometimes referred to as Greater Piraeus, with a total population of 448,997. This regional unit forms part of the Athens urban area. Piraeus has a long recorded history, dating back to ancient Greece. The city was founded in the early 5th century BC, when the area was chosen to become the new port of classical Athens and was developed as a model harbour, concentrating all of Athens’ import and transit trade. During the Golden Age of Athens, the Long Walls were built to fortify both Athens and its port at Piraeus. As a result, Piraeus became the principal harbour of ancient Greece, but it gradually declined after the 3rd century BC, before expanding again in the 19th century, following the declaration of Athens as the capital of Greece. Today, Piraeus is a large, busy city and an integral part of Athens, home to the country’s biggest harbour and displaying all the hallmarks of a major maritime and commercial–industrial centre. The port of Piraeus is the main port in Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe, and the second-largest in the world, handling around 20 million passengers each year. With a throughput of about 1.4 million TEUs, Piraeus ranks among the top ten European ports for container traffic and is the leading container port in the Eastern Mediterranean. The municipality hosted events during both the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympic Games held in Athens. The University of Piraeus is one of the largest universities in Greece and includes the country’s second-oldest business school, as well as the oldest academic department specialising in finance.

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Day 2

mykonos, greece

Arrival: 07:00 - Departure: 18:00

Mykonos is a popular tourist destination in the Greek islands of the Cyclades group, situated in the middle of the Aegean Sea. In the 1960s, Mykonos became a bohemian mecca and is now one of the glitziest holiday resorts in the country that happily flaunts its sizzling style and reputation. This central Cyclade was for years the premier Mediterranean resort for gay travellers, though recently Mykonos has tried to reinvent itself for a more varied clientele, though nightlife is still very gay-friendly, it is a paradise for any reveller with loud and long nights. Chora or Mykonos town is the main town on the island. It is filled with narrow, winding streets, whitewashed buildings with blue trim, nice restaurants, clothing and jewellery shops, a fish market and a vegetable market. It is one of the most cosmopolitan and crowded towns of the Aegean. Besides Chora, there is only one other town on the island, Ano Mera. Ano Mera is quieter and less touristy. While you are here, visit the Monastery of Panagia Tourliani, a traditional Greek Orthodox Church which has a beautiful iconostas. The island is dry and barren, but there are some fine, sandy beaches, the two most well-known being Paradise and Super Paradise, but there are many other beaches you can seek out around the island. From the charming port, catch a boat out to the beaches or out to Delos, and you will be travelling from the present into the ancient past, from one set of myths to another.

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Day 3

ephesus (kusadasi), turkey

Arrival: 07:00 - Departure: 17:00

Kusadasi is a coastal resort town in the Aydin Province of Aegean Turkey. It's a popular tourist destination, known for its many beaches and for being Turkey's busiest cruise port, with many cruise ship passengers heading to the ancient city of Ephesus, one of the major and best preserved Greco-Roman sites in Turkey. There are some good beaches both south and north of Kusadasi. All beaches are commercialised with hotels surrounding them. South of Kusadasi is the ladies beach, lost paradise beach and the long beach. Kusadasi is the gateway to Ephesus, a fascinating ancient city with baths, gyms, acoustic theatre and temples, arches and much more. The Roman Ruins at Ephesus are spectacular. In town visit the City Walls, Kaleiçi Camii, the Öküz Mehmet Pasha Caravanserai and Guvercin Adası peninsula. Kusadasi is one of Turkey's more cosmopolitan and lively resorts.

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Day 4-5

istanbul, turkey

Arrival: 13:00 - Departure: 21:00

Istanbul owes its historical significance and its incredible cultural and architectural heritage to its perfect strategic location, straddling the Bosphorus straits which separate Europe and Asia Minor. Throughout most of its 2,500-year-long history, the city (first known as Byzantium, then as Constantinople and since 1930 as Istanbul) was a cultural melting pot. Today, its population of over 13 million is almost exclusively Turkish, and many of its people are recent migrants from provincial Turkey, drawn by the promise of jobs and careers in this vibrant, rapidly growing city. Istanbul is no longer the nation's capital, but is Turkey's economic and cultural powerhouse - a status emphasised by its role as a European City of Culture in 2010 and the award of UNESCO World Heritage listing to many of its most important landmarks, which range from stunning Ottoman mosques and Byzantine churches and catacombs to the columns of Hellenistic temples and the remains of massive medieval city walls. But there's more to Istanbul than Byzantine and Ottoman heritage. A rapidly growing economy has contributed to a thriving arts and music scene, with a wealth of new bars, clubs, private art galleries, restaurants and designer fashion outlets.

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Day 7

chania (souda) -crete - greece

Arrival: 08:00 - Departure: 17:00

Chania is an dara cathair is mó ar an gCreit agus is í príomhchathair aonad réigiúnach Chania. Tá sé suite ar chósta thuaidh an oileáin, thart ar 70 km (43 míle) siar ó Rethymno agus 145 km (90 míle) siar ó Heraklion.

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Day 8

athens (piraeus), greece

Arrival: 05:00

Piraeus is a port city in the Attica region of Greece. It lies within the Athens urban area, about 8 kilometres southwest of the city centre (the municipality of Athens), along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf. According to the 2011 census, Piraeus had a population of 163,688 within its administrative boundaries, making it the fifth-largest municipality in Greece and the second-largest within the wider Athens urban area, after the municipality of Athens. The municipality of Piraeus and four neighbouring suburban municipalities make up the regional unit of Piraeus, sometimes referred to as Greater Piraeus, with a total population of 448,997. This regional unit forms part of the Athens urban area. Piraeus has a long recorded history, dating back to ancient Greece. The city was founded in the early 5th century BC, when the area was chosen to become the new port of classical Athens and was developed as a model harbour, concentrating all of Athens’ import and transit trade. During the Golden Age of Athens, the Long Walls were built to fortify both Athens and its port at Piraeus. As a result, Piraeus became the principal harbour of ancient Greece, but it gradually declined after the 3rd century BC, before expanding again in the 19th century, following the declaration of Athens as the capital of Greece. Today, Piraeus is a large, busy city and an integral part of Athens, home to the country’s biggest harbour and displaying all the hallmarks of a major maritime and commercial–industrial centre. The port of Piraeus is the main port in Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe, and the second-largest in the world, handling around 20 million passengers each year. With a throughput of about 1.4 million TEUs, Piraeus ranks among the top ten European ports for container traffic and is the leading container port in the Eastern Mediterranean. The municipality hosted events during both the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympic Games held in Athens. The University of Piraeus is one of the largest universities in Greece and includes the country’s second-oldest business school, as well as the oldest academic department specialising in finance.

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7 nights. Greece, Turcaí

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