Honeymoon Trip to the Peloponnese

DAY 1 INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT

Begin your journey by taking an international flight to Athens. On arrival, we have arranged for a private driver to pick you up and take you the relatively short distance into Athens and to your hotel. Athens' infamous traffic might have a part to play in this, but expect the journey to take around 45 minutes, enough time for you to take in the surroundings from the comfort of the car. Before you check into your hotel, which will be your base for the next two nights in Greece's thriving capital city. There is plenty to explore here of course, but more of that to come. The Athenian restaurant scene is big, bold and has everything from traditional and basic tavernas to multi-Michelin starred fine dining eateries. For your first night, we can book you dinner in one of the city's more modern interpretations of Grecian cuisine, and our detailed destination Dossier can recommend others.

DAY 2 EXPLORE ATHENS

Today, you will spend half a day on a private walking tour focusing on the Acropolis and its role in the city. Your English-speaking guide will pick you up at your hotel in the morning, and from here you will head high above the city to this fifth century BC citadel, that’s become a universal symbol of the artistic architecture of the ancient Greeks. You will visit the ancient ruins, weaving your way through its impressive age-old statues, bucolic columns and temples, and imagine all those who have trodden there before you. From construction to ruin, rediscovery to reconstruction, you’ll learn how this site grew and evolved along with the city of Athens. Plus, the Acropolis offers wonderful views over Athens, and you will look at how the rock of the Acropolis itself serves as a reference point for the modern development of Athens. At the end of your tour, your guide will return you to your hotel, with a recommendation for where to have lunch, Athenian style.

This afternoon we suggest that you take the time to explore the area around Syntagma Square. From here, it is a short walk past the Hellenic government building to the peace and tranquillity of the 38-acre National Gardens Park. Tonight, you can delve into the Dossier for another of our favourite culinary hotspots in the city.

DAY 3 MAKING FOR THE MANI

After breakfast you will pick up your rental car; we have pre-requested a GPS system to make sure that you aren't foxed by the Peloponnese's winding roads as you journey to your next port of call. We highly recommend breaking up the approximately four-hour driving time with a couple of stops along the way, first at the stunning bronze age citadel of Mycenae, purported in Greek mythology to be the capital of Agamemnon's kingdom. This is one of the most ancient citadels in mainland Europe and well worth a couple of hours' exploration before you head on to the pretty port town of Nafplio. The waterfront here has an excellent array of great restaurants and tavernas, specialising in fresh seafood. A simple lunch of some grilled catch of the day with Greek salad (of course), fresh lemon and a glass of excellent Greek white wine (for the designated co-driver) on a sun-drenched terrace is just the ticket. After lunch, take the short but steep hike up to the top of the citadel which overlooks the harbour for a great way to stretch legs and remind yourself of just how stunningly beautiful the coastline here can be.

Press on to make it to the Mani Peninsula - your next port of call, and a region beloved of travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor - in time for an evening drink and dinner at one of the excellent restaurants here, as you drink in the view of the bay, which will be your home for the next few nights.

Days 4 TO 6 KICKING BACK IN THE MANI

Spend the next few mornings grazing over the excellent breakfast on offer in your hotel, with lots of local fruit, honey, cheeses and pastries to choose from, while planning how to spend your days. We recommend that on one of the days you head to the Diros Caves. Once thought to be an entrance to the Underworld, these vast caves were one of the earliest inhabited areas of Greece. You can board a wooden boat for a thirty-minute guided journey through this rare environment and explore the museum where Stone Age artefacts, discovered here over the last century, are on display.

You might also like to visit Kardamyli which is about an hour's drive away. The village of Kardamyli is one of the most beautiful places imaginable, with the dense green hill reclining into a dazzling sea. This enchanting destination has been developed with style and legend has it that this was the spot given to Achilles by Agamemnon to convince him to re-join the Trojan War.

DAY 7 FROM K TO K

This morning after breakfast, it is time to head onwards, as you drive around the Mani Peninsula to the neighbouring Cape Maleas peninsula, which should take two hours or so, and again, you'll be passing through some beautiful areas of countryside, which run deep with ancient Grecian history, with evocative names like Metamorfosi. You might like to stop off at the Glyfada Beach Bar and Restaurant for a spot of lunch, which has views across the beach to the wreck of the smuggler ship Dimitros. The quiet hum of Mediterranean life is all around, with just the sounds of cicadas and the breeze through the olive and almond trees – bliss.

DAYS 8 & 9 CAPE MELEAS

You will have the next few days at your leisure to spend exploring the area and relaxing. We recommend you make time to visit the citadel of Monemvasia which is nicknamed the 'Gibraltar of Greece'. Separated from the mainland by an earthquake in 375 AD, this huge rock is reached by a causeway and is divided into a charming lower and upper Byzantine town. Park the car outside the city walls and explore the winding cobbled streets lined with pretty shops and cafes. You'll need stamina to make the steep climb up the paved stair-street to the upper town, now totally deserted, the last inhabitant having left in 1911. But you will be rewarded with absolutely breath-taking views. For a slight change of pace, drive to Elafonisos which is a small island about an hour away. The beaches are utterly stunning and it is also the site of the sunken city of Pavlopetri which dates back to the third millennium BC.

DAY 10 TIME TO HEAD HOME

Today will sadly be your last one before you head back to reality. The drive to Athens Airport takes approximately four hours, where you will then return your rental car (having clocked up some impressive miles) and check in for the flight back to London, which takes four hours. You’ll arrive back in the afternoon or evening, depending on which we've booked for you.