Meteora

great start to finish 9am on time and reached Athens station 11pm~. Shoutout to Yanis our driver, safe driver and Vassou our tour guide, she was friendly and knowledgeable!! saw 3 monasteries inside and they even brought us to view the 4th one although from outside as that closes early but it’s fine .. it’s the first monastery built and the most gorgeous one! worth the steps to visit all 3 monasteries. lunch was great too. only downside was the dinner which was very expensive , guess typical tourist trap euro20 for 2 souvlaki skewers w fries, salad and a water bottle. there’s other food options which I overheard other passengers complaining about the prices they had to pay as well. but other than that, beautiful trip! enough toilet breaks w toilets in the monasteries we visited

The pick-up location was very easy to find. We saw many monasteries along the way. I didn't bring cash, but I was able to get in using a card. The tour guide was very humorous and kept saying he was his parents' favorite child. The driver drove very smoothly, and I slept soundly along the way. As for the food being expensive, I didn't think so—it seemed like the normal price around here.

I participated in a 2-day, 1-night tour. For the hotel in Kalambaka, I chose the 4-star option, but I ended up being the only person placed in a large hotel on the outskirts of town. It took about a 20-minute walk to get to the town center. Given this, I would have rather stayed at a 3-star hotel in the center of town. I was satisfied with the tour content, though. The tour to see the sunset in Meteora was amazing. The next day, due to a misunderstanding on my part, I ended up booking a hiking tour. While this turned out to be nice in its own way, I wish I had chosen the option to visit more monasteries instead. Since it is far from Athens, I am glad I didn't do a day trip. If I am being picky, the pickup time on the second day could have been a little earlier.

আইরিন কে এবং আমাদের ড্রাইভার জর্জের সাথে সময়টা দারুণ কেটেছে! জর্জ একজন চমৎকার ফটোগ্রাফার এবং তার রসবোধও অসাধারণ, আর আইরিন কে সত্যিই অসাধারণ ছিলেন। তিনি অত্যন্ত জ্ঞানী, নমনীয় এবং মানুষের আগ্রহের সাথে নিজেকে মানিয়ে নিতে পারেন। তিনি এত ইতিহাস ও প্রেক্ষাপট শেয়ার করেছেন যা সত্যিই মূল্যবান ছিল। এত প্রাচীন ও গুরুত্বপূর্ণ স্থানগুলোতে এমন একজন যোগ্য ও অভিজ্ঞ প্রত্নতাত্ত্বিককে গাইড হিসেবে পাওয়াটা সত্যিই আশীর্বাদ ছিল! আর ভ্রমণের কথা বলতে গেলে, এটি নিখুঁতভাবে সাজানো ছিল, সত্যিই একটি বিশেষ অভিজ্ঞতা! আমি এই সফরে যোগ দিতে পেরে খুব আনন্দিত এবং এটি অত্যন্ত সুপারিশ করি। একমাত্র নেতিবাচক দিক যা আমি মনে করতে পারি তা হল, প্রথম দিনের দুপুরের খাবারের জন্য রেস্তোরাঁর খাবারটি মোটামুটি ছিল এবং দাম কিছুটা বেশি ছিল। সম্ভবত ট্যুর কোম্পানি দুপুরের খাবারের জন্য অন্য কিছু স্থান বিবেচনা করতে পারে। এমনকি দলটি ছোট হওয়ায় একটি ছোট স্থানীয় জায়গাও বিবেচনা করা যেতে পারে।

What an amazing experience! My son and I wanted to see Meteora and the monasteries from a different perspective other than from a tour bus. I am so glad that we went on this hike. Our guide, Kris, was so funny and very knowledgeable. I thought we were just getting a hike. What I didn’t expect was how knowledgeable Kris was on how the rock formations were formed, the ecology of the area, and how the monasteries developed over the centuries. The hike was not too challenging, but definitely bring an extra water bottle… They give you one at the start of the hike, but having an extra one would be helpful. Also, there were parts where we were out in the open so bringing sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses definitely helped. I would definitely recommend this hike to anyone on the adventurous side and looking to experience the beauty of nature and Meteora.