Tour of Meteora Monasteries and Hermit Caves from Athens
Train services will be disrupted until further notice due to recent floods.
Tour overview
Meteora Monasteries Tour, we have an important update regarding your excursion. Due to recent floods affecting rail services, we have arranged an alternative mode of transportation. Instead of a train, you will travel on a contemporary air-conditioned bus. The excursion will start from Athens Larissis station at 7:45 am and the journey will take approximately 5 hours, including a 20-minute refreshment stop. You will have 5 hours to spend at Meteora before returning to Athens. The expected arrival time in Athens is around 11:00 pm. This is a full-day diversion from Athens to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Meteora. Travel by train through the Grecian countryside with included rail tickets, and then take a luxury minivan with onboard Wi-Fi from the town of Kalambaka to the ancient clifftop monasteries. View and tour three of the six sky-high monastic retreats. You’ll come across hermit caves.
- The round-trip train cost from Athens to Meteora is included in the full-day excursion.
- Explore the UNESCO-listed clifftop monasteries.
- Travel by luxury 19-seater minibus with onboard Wi-Fi from Kalambaka to Meteora.
- Visit three monasteries and see the others from afar.
Tour itinerary
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Due to recent floods impacting rail services, this excursion will be performed by a contemporary air-conditioned bus as an alternative, starting from Athens Larissis station at 07:45 am. The travel takes about 5 hours (including a 20-minute refreshment stop). You will spend 5 hours at Meteora before returning to Athens (arrival at around 11:00 pm).
The voyage begins in the morning at the Athens Railway Station, where you will board the train on your own using the given tickets. Relax and enjoy the varied landscapes of the Grecian countryside as you make your way to Kalambaka, the town closest to Meteora. When you arrive, you will be met by an English-speaking driver in a Mercedes Sprinter minivan with air conditioning and onboard Wi-Fi.
To reach Meteora, a World Heritage site erected by Greek Orthodox monks who dwelt in incredible hard-to-access sanctuaries high above the earth, travel through a landscape of verdant valleys punctuated with spectacular gray cliffs. Visit three active monasteries, each lasting around 45 minutes (entry costs not included). On a van trip, see the others from the outside and explore the Badovas hermit caves, pausing for picture opportunities at each location.
Return to Kalambaka and say your goodbyes to your driver at the train station. You’ll have approximately an hour to explore the town center before boarding the train back to Athens, where you’ll arrive in the late evening.
Kastraki
When we arrive in Kalabaka, we’ll start the journey with a leisurely lunch and a handy toilet stop in the picturesque town of Kastraki. Take advantage of this time to refuel before embarking on an awe-inspiring journey of Meteora regi.
Meteora
Prepare to be intrigued by Badovas’ secret hermit caves, a tribute to the seclusion and dedication of the past, where you’ll learn interesting stories of the hermits and monks who previously resided in these distant locations. You’ll be able to see the remains of their homes and obtain a better idea of their way of life.
Agios Stefanos
This is the most accessible monastery, with the entrance reached by a tiny bridge rather than steps. It is great for people who are unable to utilize the steps but still want to see a Meteora monastery. The beginnings of monastic life on the rock of Agios Stephanos may be traced back to the early 12th century. Hosios Antonios, who founded the church in the first part of the 15th century, and Hosios Philotheos, who reconstructed the ancient tiny and exquisite Catholicon, the current church of Agios Stephanos, from its foundations in 1545, are named as its founders. The St. Stephen’s Monastery consists of two cathedrals: the ancient 16th-century chapel, which was severely damaged during WWII and the subsequent Greek Civil War, and the 18th-century main cathedral, which is dedicated to Saint Charalambos and houses his holy relics.
Varlaam Monastery
The second largest monastery is the Holy Monastery of Varlaam. It was built in the mid-14th century by the exercitant Hosios Varlaam and is located opposite the Great Meteoro Monastery. In 1541-42, two brothers from Ioannina, the priest-monks Hosioi Theophanes and Nectarios the Apsarades, founded the magnificent monastery Catholicon in honor of Agioi Pantes. In 1548, the main church was embellished. Based on stylistic criteria, this exquisite wall painting is attributed to Frago Catelano, a great hagiographer from Thebes.
Great Meteoron Monastery
The Great Meteoron Monastery is the largest and oldest. Because of the formation of the massive rock on top of which it was erected, it was known as the monastery “suspended in the air” (meteors). Saint Athanasios the Meteorite, the monastery’s original founder and organizer of the methodical koenovion, created the Great Meteoro Monastery.
Holy Trinity Monastery (Agia Triada)
The Holy Trinity Monastery (Agia Triada) is the most difficult to approach, yet the panoramic view of the environs is just breathtaking! This Monastery, which is quite near to Saint Stephen’s Nunnery, is placed on a steep and majestic rock. According to a record by Symeon Uressis Palaeologos, it has already been formed Monastery since 1362. Visitors must first follow a trail that leads them to the base of the rock before beginning the 140-step climb.
Roussanou Monastery
The Holy Monastery of Roussanou has the name of the first possible hermit who resided on the rock. The main cathedral was built at the end of the 16th century and adorned thirty years later. The Roussanou rock is lower in height than other monastic sites, making it more accessible. Monks founded the monastery, which was severely damaged during World War II. It became a convent in 1988.
Agios Nikolaos Anapaphsas
The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of Anapafsas, founded at the end of the 14th century, is the first monastery we visit on our trip to the Holy Meteora.
Kalambaka
You will appreciate the panoramic view of Kalampaka.
Includes:
- Water in a bottle.
- Transportation via air-conditioned car equipped with internet.
- Local tour guide who speaks English.
- Visit three monasteries as well as the hidden hermit caves.
- There are USB chargers on the bus.
- There is free WiFi on board.
Excludes:
- Fees for admission (3 euros per person at each monastery).
- Inside the monasteries with a state-licensed guide.
- Lunch.
Testimonials
Tour highlights
- You must cancel at least 24 hours before the start time of the activity to get a complete refund.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the start time of the experience, you will not be reimbursed
- Any modifications made less than 24 hours before the start time of the experience will not be allowed.
- The cut-off times are determined by the experience's local time.
- This experience is weather-dependent. If it is canceled due to inclement weather, you will be given an alternate date or a full refund.
- This experience needs a minimum number of participants. If the minimum is not fulfilled, you will be offered a new date/experience or a full refund.
Important details
Point of convergence:
Pickup details:
Before you go, be aware of the following:
- When you book, you will receive confirmation.
- Wheelchair access is not available.
- Service animals are permitted.
- Close to public transit.
- There are infant seats available.
- It is not suggested for tourists who have back difficulties.
- There are no heart issues or any major medical disorders.
- The majority of passengers are able to participate.