Authentic Hiking Meteora Tour

I did this tour together with my two children (11 and 14 years old) and my husband. We knew it was going to be a long day with spending 8... read more hours in total on the train, but we were really interested to visit this unique area of Greece. We brought our simit, coffees and water on the train, but there was a bar car as well selling drinks and snacks. The morning train ride is great as you get to see the beautiful landscape of rural Greece. We arrived and got picked up by our tour guide Fotini and our driver Thanos. We had booked a private tour so we got a whole van to ourselves. That way we also had the flexibility to choose which monasteries to visit and do it at our own pace. We loved the tour very much. Fotini was very knowledgable and we learnt heaps. At the end of the afternoon they dropped us off at a fabulous restaurant (Metheora) as we told them that we are foodies and love to eat! After our fantastic meal they picked us up again and dropped us off at the station. The journey back is long and it was dark, so we napped a bit. Although it's a very long day, it was totally worth it. I would thoroughly recommend it. If you have small children or you like to travel and visit the monasteries at a slower pace, I would stay overnight as there is a lot to see. Also, some of the monasteries you have to climb up a lot of steps. For ladies, don't forget to wear a long skirt or dress as otherwise you won't be able to go inside the monasteries.

Our tour of Meteora was amazing. Yiannis and Costas were both excellent hosts. We would definitely recommend visiting Meteora to anyone who is able to visit!

Despite the heat in Greece this summer, this was so worth it, yes, even climbing hundreds of stairs to get into the monasteries. I'm not a religious person, but the... read more history, the beauty of the landscape, and the people are all so amazing. I am truly fortunate to have such an experience.

On 28th of April when arriving to Kalambaka I had booked in advance a Sunset Tour. There were only three of us attending and I cannot praise enough our guide... read more Dimitry ❤️. He was like a walking historybook, he knew so many details about the area, the monasteries and the history. He also had such a great sense of humour. What an excellent guide he is! We visited Anapafsas monastery and after that an amazing church. Made many stops to take photos and ended our tour to the Sunset rock with a lovely sunset before heading back to Kalambaka. What a fun evening. Thank you so much for making the trip so special, Dimitry!

We were a group with 2 children and we were concerned the tour could be boring for them, but the guide went all out to attract their attention with with... read more curious facts about the monks' life in the past. The presentation was very informative and the mini-bus was comfortable and air-conditioned which helps a lot after going up and down the steps to the monasteries on a hot July day. We greatly appreciated the tips about the best photos spots.

My wife and I took the sunset tour, and it was very nice! The guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the monasteries of Meteora, those currently active and... read more the past ones. We visited inside one monastery, passed by the others and stopped for a few minutes, we also visited the ancient church of Kalambaka, and we finished the tour by watching the beautiful sunset from the mountains of Meteora. I would highly recommend taking a tour with Meteora Thrones!

The tour was very well organized and the guide Chris knows everything about Meteora and I had an amazing day knowing all history about Meteora!

The view was amazing and the tour guide (demetri) was very knowledgeable, approachable and kept things fun. I would highly recommend

We had Clement from the Meteora Thrones Travel Center. Clement was the epitome of professionalism as a tour guide. He was extremely knowledgeable of the sites, local area (being... read more a resident himself), Greek history and Greek Orthodox Religious History. Clement spoke perfectly clear English, having lived in England and Canada. Most of all he was extremely thoughtful, polite, and courteous. When it started to rain hard, he met us outside the monastery to give us umbrellas so we didn’t get soaked walking to the van in the parking lot.

MONASTERY SITE
Unfortunately, the day we went was rainy and foggy/misty so we weren’t able to see all the monasteries from the outside. We visited 3 Monasteries inside and stopped at viewpoints to see 2 others, but again it was somewhat foggy we were unable to clearly see some of them. What we did see inside the monasteries we visited was beautiful and the views from up top stunning. Mondays are good because all are opened, except the one convent/nunnery, otherwise the monasteries alternate openings during the week. The Grand Meteora is closed on 3 weekdays. Winter hours are shorter closing at 4pm or earlier. We liked Grand Meteron and the St Varlaam. Wear SKIRTS inside the Monasteries out of respect. If not you will have to pay for a scarf like skirt at the entrance. The entrance fee is 3 euros per person cash for each monastery. Bring small bills.

3 BONUS Sites: As a result of us not being able to see all the monasteries, Clement offered to take us to one of the first HERMIT CAVES (really something to see, origin of habituating the area and eventually constructing the monasteries on the rocks.) He also took us to see the old BYZANTINE CHURCH that was built on top of Apollo’s Temple and explained the religious aspect inside the church. We also drove to see St Anthony’s Monastery and another ‘more’ recent hermit cave.

Our Tour VAN vehicle was spacious, clean and seemed like a newer Peugeot. Our Driver (sorry didn’t catch his name) drove carefully and safely through the windy roads.

Clement also recommended a restaurant in town that he frequented, when we were waiting for our train back to Athens. After, dinner Clement and driver drove us to the train station. They waited for us in the van while we dined.

TRAIN - Meteora Thrones company was very responsive in answering all questions. Tour company also emailed /WhatsApp our train tickets promptly. Clear instructions, Clement met us at the train station in Kalabaka with a placard of our name. Very well organized. Meteora Thrones Travel Center is probably the largest tour company in this area. The train ride itself was comfortable (Buy the first class cabin, it’s not that much more). Seats inside can slide down so you can lean back. If you have the entire cabin yourself (6seats), you could probably make it into a sleeper bed and lay down. You yourself must board the 7:57am train from Larissa Athens main train station. It’s a 4hr train ride each way and upon return you’ll arrive around 10:30pm back in Athens. However, we were delayed for 40mins (train employees did not specify why) and that made getting back very late. It’s a long day but this way you won’t have the additional day and expense of having to stay overnight in the vicinity of Kalabaka.

Overall, Clement was an excellent tour guide, very good tour (it ended up being a private tour for us even though we booked a small group tour), tour company is well organized and responsive.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND METEORA THRONES TRAVEL CENTER.

Well planed trip and friendly staff, everything went well on the trip. If you travel from Athens to Meteora it is best to go on an organised trip to facilitate... read more logistics

Our guide, Krissa, was very friendly, accommodating and knowledgeable. We were easily guided from the train station, throughout the tour and back to the train station without any discomfort. Each... read more point of interest was thoroughly explained and all questions were answered thoroughly.
I highly recommend this tour company!

Amazing! This was a super long day of travel but we’ll worth it, and splurge on the private driver. After being on a train for 4 hours it was delightful... read more to have our own driver, made a quick stop at a little cafe (clean bathroom) then headed up to the monasteries. Learned a lot and got to go inside 4 of the 6 monasteries as we went through them quickly. (Apparently there’s always one closed each day). Enjoyed the private driver so we were able to go at our own pace and walk through between bus loads of people. Had a relaxed meal at a local restaurant before heading back to the train. Highly recommend, haven’t see anything like this elsewhere. Men were allowed in with shorts that covered their knees, women were offered wraps if they weren’t wearing modest skirts or shoulders were bare (sometimes just depends at who is selling tickets.) I wore a calf length dress with shoulders covered and was allowed entry. The sights are amazing, go see Meteora, it’s well worth it!
Figure out metro ahead of time when you get back to Athens, taxis charging 3X the amount they were earlier in the day.

The tour was fantastic and so was our tour guide, Dimitris! He was very knowledgeable about the history of Meteora and very enthusiastic! I highly recommend this company for your... read more tour!

Great tour - Recommend this tour. The guide was great. Went in 3 monasteries but was worth it as if you drove yourself you would never find a parking spot. That alone made... read more it worthwhile. Highly recommended

This was my third visit to Kalambaka and Meteora, a magical place where I admire the wonder of nature and the perseverance of human will. It was the second time... read more a booked a tour with Meteora Thrones, a very professional agency. The guide, named Sarah, was knowledgeable and accurate, kind and timely, and fluent in Spanish. Highly recommended!

Excellent tour! - Excellent organisation, very professional and efficient. Our guide Antoni was very competent and improved our experience in this magical place.

Spirit filled experience Meteora  - Unfortunately we were notified the train had issues so the back up plan was a big nice bus. It worked out fine! It was a very long day... read more but so worth it! such an amazing trip. Our tour guide, was so passionate about the monasteries and the history of Meteora. We learned so much. I apologize we can’t remember his name. Please tell him how much his information was so appreciated.

Maria our guide was fantastic - she has grown up in this area and was very informative about the history of tge rocks, nature and wildlife. Our morning hike was... read more magical and very therapeutic a truly memorable experience.