Can anyone recommend a really good Greek Isles tour?
 

I'm seriously into archeology and history, and would like to find a high-quality tour of the Greek Isles this year. I've sifted through hundreds of Google leads and mostly found ones that go to two or three islands in five days aboard large cruise ships. That isn't what I'm lookings for.

The ideal cruise would visit at least half a dozen islands, may or may not include stops in Turkey, and be led by someone who understands the region's history and culture. It might last ten days; it might last two weeks. It ought to be on a ship that carries fewer than 50 passengers; a 'luxury' cruise would be nice but is not the first priority.

I thought it would be Arrangements Abroad's "Turkey and the Greek Islands" tour in June/July, but the itinerary turned out to be a huge disappointment when the brochure arrived yesterday.

Has anyone out there been on or heard of a tour that meets the above description?

Still hoping for a response...

I haven't tried them, but what about the tours offered through the Smithsonian Institute (Smithsonian Journeys). A quick search produced six listings - e.g. "Islands of the Ancients" in May - "Sail to the Greek islands of Delos, Mykonos, Santorini, Milos, and Hydra aboard your own private sailing yacht, the SV Pantheon.
Take an exclusive tour of the Athenian Agora in the company of archaeologist Steven Diamant. Tour the newly restored and reopened National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Hear a lecture on the geology of the Cyclades by a local authority.
Visit privately owned mansions on Milos and Hydra and enjoy refreshments with the owners. Enjoy an evening of traditional Greek dancing."

I have friends/clients who did just the sort of thing you're talking about, but it was through his alma mater -- Harvard. Many universities will sponsor really good educational type tours with experts on board -- far more than guides. Usually you don't have to be a graduate of that university to go. But as to how to find these, I can't really tell you.

Try this: <http://www.archaeological.org/webinf...rea=Europe> ((C))

Jed, the second part of the "Cradles of Greek Civilization" was exactly the tour I had in mind and I had lengthy discussions with the AIA several weeks ago. However, the timing was off by two days and the AIA could not come up with a way to get me back to the States. If all else fails, I'll go next year.

Patrick, the AIA tour referenced above is in fact jointly offered by the Harvard Alumni Assn., so your advice was spot-on.

Kate, I had overlooked the Smithsonian Journeys in my searching and ought not to have. They have a trip in September that sounds right, and I'm now investigating whether they still have space.

My thanks to each of you, and if anyone has additional suggestions, I'd be pleased to take them.

I researched this last year with the help of people on the Cruise Board. There is an outfit which runs cruises on small ships of about 50 people and they are heavily focused on lectures on board and trips ashore with lecturers. High-end and the average age is over 50, so its not a honeymoon cruise. The ships are supposed to be very nice but no pools or other similar amenities you would find on larger ships. The passengers mostly intersted in lectures and tours, not sunning.

I cannot recall the name, I may have it at home and will write back if I can find it.

Archetours has had Greek Island tours in the past. I checked their website, but found 2003 info.
Try to contact them for further info
http://www.archetours.com/

If you are over 55, Elderhostel has a few cruises of the Greek isles. We are considering one.

Cicerone, please do look & see what the name of the group you mentioned was.
We have done several Smithsonian trips & really like them.

Also look into National Geographic tours.

Neal, here is a sample from National Geographic. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ng...trip_1082.html

The Metropolitan Museum of Art also has tours of the Greek Islands. I have never taken one, but have loved the brochures.

Cicerone, I look forward to your search for the name of the organization. I sat on 'hold' with Smithsonian Journeys for half an hour and finally used the 'leave a message' option; I've also emailed them asking about space. The Aegean Odyssey sounds like a good candidate.

Jed, I don't qualify for Elderhostel, but thanks for the suggestion.

Dan, I looked at the National Geographic Tours itinerary, which uses the same ship as the Smithsonian and even the same tour guide. Unfortunately, it spends the first half of the trip in Athens, and would re-trace a trip I'm satisfied I don't need to repeat so soon. But thanks for the suggestion, and it's good to see you're still around these parts.

Travelswith, the Met's tours are handled by Arrangements Abroad, and that's the one I had planned to take until I got the itinerary (I had been bugging them relentlessly for several months, so I suspect I got one of the first copies of the itinerary). Unfortunately, it's "Greece and Turkey Lite", with just three islands. On the plus side, the accompanying letter said that Philippe deMontebello would be traveling with the group, so they'll be very well taken care of.

The cruise company is Travel Dynamics International and/or Classical Cruises. I think they have changed their name since I did my research, as I recalled the name Classical Cruises. Website ins www.classicalcruises.com

Interesting enough, two of the tours on the AIA site Jed mentioned above appear to be the SAME tours as offered by Classical Cruises. The dates of sailing are identical, and the itineraries seem similar. The name of both ships is the "Callisto" and both have 17 cabins. Most tellingly, Nancy Wilkie is the lecturer on both tours. It seems unlikely to me that these are two different tours. In any event, both look interesting.

Neal, for more ideas, try using MSN.com rather than Google, and use "educational cruises". That is how I found Classical Cruises last year.

Jed, the AIA tours generally look terrific. Have you been on any?

Cicerone: A few years ago we took a cruise around the British Isles under the aegis of American Museum of Natural History. It turned out Travel Dynamics (<http://www.traveldynamicsinternational.com/>, which seems to be Classical Cruises also) did the actual trip planning, and you could also book the same trip through them, but would not have anything to do with AMNH. On the same cruise were different groups, including AIA. That is why we get their brochures. On that cruise, there were several lectures, given by specialists from the various groups.

So on any cruise there may be several groups, who sell spaces through their organization. Of course, the more spaces they sell, the more money they make, and they share ships when they cannot fill it all by themselves. ((F))

I would highly recommend a Elderhostel tour to the Greek Isles. They take you to the best islands and provide excellent history and info on each place with expert guides. They also serve authentic Greek food on the ship they use to island hop. I was so impressed with the food alone because I have been on other tours that the food is horrible and not ethnic to the area