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USD $172.00
Ancient Akrotiri and Santorini Wineries Tour
Santorini, Greece
Discover the ancient ruins of Akrotiri, sip Santorini wine at three wineries on this 6-hour Santorini tour! Traveling by air-conditioned minivan, learn about Santorini's history as you experience the Minoan Bronze Age ruins at Akrotiri, and then delve into its rich winemaking heritage at three vineyards. Sample 12 different wines on your visits. Numbers are limited to eight on this small-group tour, ensuring personalized attention from a guide.
Start your day with a hotel pickup and travel to the archaeological site at Akrotiri, an ancient city that was frozen in time after a volcanic eruption some 3,600 years ago.
Head inside with your guide — an expert in archaeology — and learn about the Minoan city before the catastrophic event occurred. Many speculate that the site is actually Atlantis, a mythical city described by the Greek philosopher Plato as being a prosperous land that disappeared without trace after the Gods were angered.
Gaze in awe at the ruins of multistoried buildings that date back to the 16th century, and admire the intricately designed drainage system that hints at a talented civilization more advanced than its time. Frescoes and fascinating ceramic artifacts are just a few of the finds that add even more intrigue to the site as you wander around.
Evidence of the island’s winemaking heritage has been uncovered at Akrotiri and, after learning about the processes used in bygone days, leave the attraction and set off to discover how Santorini wine is made today.
Producing some of the most distinctive wine in the Mediterranean, the island owes its success largely to aspa, a blend of volcanic soil that gives the wine its rich minerality and light flavor. Grapes are grown in baskets close to the ground rather than on trellises, allowing much-needed moisture from the island’s minimal rainfalls to be retained.
Visit three of the island’s traditional wineries, and enjoy cellar tours of each one to see how the winemaking process unfolds, from harvesting the grapes to bottling and maturing the wine. Take a walk around one of the volcanic vineyards to see the grapes growing in the unforgiving island conditions and, of course, try glasses of Santorini wine galore – up to 12 samples in total!
Try popular varietals such as assyrtiko, nykteri and the rich vinsanto, and enjoy a platter of local delicacies including cheese, salami, bread and olives to complement and balance out the flavors of the wine.
Your experience then finishes with a hotel drop-off.
wonderful experience, picked up the hotel, visited 3 wineries for a tasting with a small group of total of 8 people._br/_ Tasting included cheese and meat plates at every tasting. Great guide, overall a great value and worthwhile experience. Highly recommend.
Review by: crich725, September 2017
My boyfriend and I had a wonderful time on this tour. Both the Akrotiri tour guide and the wine tour guide were very knowledgeable. I would recommend this tour to anyone who likes wine and history.
Review by: Peggy R, September 2017
Katie, our guide at Akrotiri, was very knowledgeable and her English was very good. Stephano, our wine guide, has an impressive knowledge of Santorini wines and how different soils change the taste of the wines. His food pairings complemented the varietals perfectly.
Review by: aaaphoenix, August 2017
We absolutely loved this tour. We were picked up on time from our hotel and driven to the Ancient Akrotiri ruins. We were greeted by a very informed tour guide who has been doing this for 30 years. She was terrific. Although the tour said there could be up to 8 people, we were alone and received focused attention. it was outstanding. Then we were picked up by van by a wine expert and joined two other couples. We all got along very well and the three wineries we visited were outstanding. One was better than the next and the explanation of the various wines was great. To top it off we made new friends. Ive gone on several viator tours and this is among the best!
Review by: Marissa D, August 2017
Ancient Akrotiri tour was great and educational. We love history so we did enjoy a lot. The wine tour was also fantastic, our guide Ivan is very knowleageable about wines, we learned a lot from him. Santorini tour groups were professional and they really care about their customers.
Review by: James H, May 2017
Good tour!
Review by: Sharron N, November 2016
Amazing. Both Katie and Michael are experts in their field and enormously engaging people to spend time with.
Review by: Patti M, October 2016
This tour was amazing! Highlight was absolutely Akrotiri. Our guide was so knowledgeable and really brought the archaeological significance alive for us. Wine tour was also fantastic - extremely knowledgeable guide, delicious wines, and a really decent amount of food included. Highly recommended!
Review by: Jim S, October 2016
I would rate this as a must do activity on Thira. The ancient ruins were very interesting but the wine tasting part of the tour was great fun. The wine was good but our guide Michael was great! He was very knowledgeable about wine don't know why he's not in the business somewhere, and he made it a fun learning experience. And did I mention we drank some very good wine! The Galavas wines were the best. This is a Thira must-do!
Review by: Karen H, October 2016
Pick up prompt and convenient, the transport very comfortable. The guides for Akrotiri and wineries were extremely well informed could not have asked for better. We learnt so much about the Bronze age ruins and so much about the qualities of wine we were very happy.
Review by: Nicole G, September 2016
This tour was amazing!! We learned so much on the history of the ancient akrotiri ruins and in addition became wine connoisseurs. I definitely recommend doing this tour. Excellent for history and wine lovers!!
Review by: amberrish, September 2016
Fantastic, one of the best wine tours I have been on. The sommelier was very informative and charming
Review by: Vipunjit K, August 2016
Best tour ever! The trip to Ancient Akrotiri was amazing, thanks to wonderful Kate - our guide for the site. She is knowledgable and we never wanted the visit to end. An additional 30 minutes for this part would be fantastic. Our winery guide, Ilias, is hospitable and made every minute worthwhile.
Review by: michael s, August 2016
So good, couldnt recommend highly enough. we learnt so much!
Review by: Nik, June 2016
Good tour. Akrotiri was interesting, could have allotted another 1/2 hour. Kate, our guide at the ruins was extremely knowledgeable and humorous._br/_ Ilias, our wine guide is highly qualified - a sommelier - and we learned more about wines from him than any other wine tour before.
Review by: REBECCA D, June 2016
This was a great way to see much of the island without having to rent a car and deal with driving and traffic. Our guides were great and it was a nice mix of activities.
Review by: Betty A V, April 2016
This was amazing! 14 different wines in 3 wineries. 4 beers at the brewery. Lots of fun!
Review by: Deborah H, December 2015
Tour guide was exceptional in his knowledge of wines. Great tour! highly recommend. Akrotiri is NOT TO BE MISSED.
Review by: Alison R M, October 2015
This tour was fantastic! I have been on many wine tours and on many tastings over the years and this was by far the best in terms of what I learned in how to pair the wines with food that I am eating. I was also delighted with the olives, salami, cheeses and breads to eat with the wines that I tried.
Review by: alohagrimm, October 2015
We had a wonderful time! The tour guide at ancient Akrotiri and the wine tour were fabulous! I recommend eating a good breakfast before going because they do not provide very much food.
Review by: Elizabeth C W, October 2015
Dennis was a wonderful guide. His wine knowledge was terrific. We've lived in northern California for 40 years and still learned things from him about wine appreciation. He set us up with Katie, a very passionate, knowledgeable guide at Akrotiri. We went to 3 wineries and a brewery. The snacks served with the wine made a delicious lunch. Santorini can be so crowded when cruise ships come in. Of the people on our small cruise ship, all agreed that our day sounded like the best Santorini experience ever.
Review by: Evan S, August 2015
A fantastic tour! Our guide, Stamatis, was extremely knowledgeable and friendly during the wine tasting. We explored various varieties of wine from Santorini, including some sweet wine, and they are very unique and flavourful. We also visited the Santorini brewing company, which was a pleasant surprise. Highly recommended!
Review by: Denise L, June 2015
Tour was great! Picked us up on time in a clean van and offered us bottled water. Your had total of 4 pairs (8 total) and was perfect size. 3 wineries and 1 brewery. Lasted 9-5 approximately from door to door. Stopped at excavation site in beginning for maybe 45 minutes that was interesting.
Review by: Carol J, June 2015
Well informed guides both at Akrotiri and at the three wineries we visited. Very educational and a lot of fun.
Review by: Jonathan L, June 2015
Good trip, very knowledgeable guide._br/_
Maybe would of preferred different winerys though.
Review by: David F, May 2015
Needed to be a bit more food with the full day trip, however this was the only fault. Been to a few of these in different countries and the guide was knowledgeable and very friendly/helpful. Went to 3 wineries and a brewery all of different calibers to see the range offered on the island.
Review by: Jamie S, October 2014
The tour was amazing.
Review by: Jill H, October 2014
Excellent trip and well worth the money. After the trip to Akrotiri we had a tour of three wineries and one brewery. The guide for the wine tasting was extremely knowledgeable and the maximum people was 10 so a very personal and enjoyable afternoon with at least 12 different wines and 3 beers!
Review by: Mathieu G, September 2014
Great day! A mix of history and great wine tasting. The guide was very knowledgeable and funny. The sommelier was great! Had a blast.
Review by: Joy R, September 2014
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Anthony B, August 2014
Fantastic! We thought it was a half day tour, but it ended up being all day. Great wine! Excellent tour.
Review by: Ros, August 2014
Great tour, loved it!.First up were the ancient ruins of Akrotiri which were fascinating. The guide, Keti, was very knowledgable and interesting and we learned so much about the history of the island. Then we visited 3 different wineries and a brewery with our guide for this part of the tour, Stamatis. The wines were lovely, commentary excellent and above all we had a lot of fun.
Review by: Blaze H, July 2014
We went on the Ruins and Wine tour. We enjoyed it more than the tour we went on in Italy last year, which says much in few words. Great wine, great people, fun and educational!
Review by: Trever M, July 2014
Great tour, well organized and very informative. The wines are all wonderful, and it was interesting to find out how they are made. A nice perk to have stopped at the only brewery on the island as part of the trip as well.
Review by: Jason S, June 2014
Awesome tour and really enjoyed the passion Michael (tour guide) has for wine. Learned so much on this tour, highlight of our trip to Santorini. A Must Do!
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