Private Sounion - Temple Of Poseidon
Private Sounion - Temple of Poseidon
The Greeks chose their temple sites with great care, taking into consideration the natural beauty of the location and its appropriateness to the god in question. Nowhere is this more apparent than the Temple of Poseidon at windswept Cape Sounion.
After meeting with your professionally trained, licensed tour guide, begin your journey to the Cape with a leisurely drive down the Saronic coast (the Attica Riviera), past the beaches of Glyfada, Vouliagmeni, and Varkiza. As you approach Cape Sounion, it rises like a sheer cliff out of the sea. The headland is shaped like an ax-head with cliffs on three sides. Homer knew it as the "sacred cape" when he described it in his epic poem "The Odyssey" in the 8th century B.C.; and when Nestor describes the journey home from Troy, he mentions "Sounion, the sacred promontory of Athens."
The current Temple of Poseidon, built upon an earlier temple, dates from around 440 B.C. and stands majestically on a jagged spur atop the Cape. Gleaming white when viewed from the sea, it gave great comfort to sailors in ancient times who knew they were nearly home. The view from the temple is equally spectacular. Landmasses to the west stand out in sharp profile. The bulk of Aegina is backed by the mountains of the Peloponnese. Your private guide will tell you more of this site's prominent place in Greek history and mythology, and how it played a part in the Aegean Sea getting its name.
Built in the time of Pericles, the architecture and dimensions of the building are identical to those of the Hephaisteion in the Agora of Athens. The beauty of the surviving Doric columns has inspired many poets, including Lord Byron, who carved his name on one of the columns (even great poets can't resist a bit of graffiti). After your visit to Sounion, you will return to the cruise pier along the same coastal road.
Please Note: Tours on Sunday require a supplement for guides and drivers. This tour offers customized departure times between 7:30 AM and 7:00 PM. If your preferred departure time is not listed, please contact us to place your request.
About Shore Excursions Group
About Us
Shore Excursions Group is the market leading and world's largest shore excursion company. Since 2008, we've provided cruise passengers with higher-quality, lower-priced, and smaller group shore excursions from a portfolio of nearly 4,000 tours in over 300 ports. Over the last 16 years, we've delivered more than 4.6M excursions with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating from more than 47k reviews.
Exceptional travel experiences are created by exceptional people. Our incredible team of cruise and travel experts has more than 100 years of combined industry experience, and we work in close collaboration with a network of exceptional tour operator partners dedicated to providing personalized and immersive excursions to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world.
Our excursions are higher quality, lower priced, and travel in smaller groups averaging just 12 guests per departure, allowing our guests to truly connect with the local culture and enjoy a more enriching travel experience. Our website provides a personalized shopping experience highlighting the top-rated and most popular excursions in each port of call with authentic photos, videos, and reviews from other guests.
Our proprietary itinerary search technology makes booking easy by displaying the excursions guaranteed to work for your ship's scheduled arrival and departure into each port of call. We also feature hand-curated multi-port packages with the top-rated excursion for each port bundled together at an additional discount.
Our Unique Approach
While the cruise lines and other companies also offer excursions, we are the experts and our experience and approach set us apart. Our exceptional excursions travel in smaller groups and visit more interesting and authentic locations, using more personalized tour guides.
Our team uses a comprehensive approach to select the leading guides and best tour providers around the world. Every excursion is carefully curated and closely monitored through quality control and customer feedback.
In today's fast paced world, vacations are an important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and discover new and interesting places - and our portfolio of the highest quality tours was created to provide authentic and rewarding travel experiences on your next trip.
High quality service is very important to travelers and leads to better experiences with higher satisfaction. We encourage you to call us, so our experts can answer your questions and help you select the best excursions for your cruise.
Our Exceptional Tours
Our priority is providing cruise guests with exciting and enriching tours with personalized service and smaller groups.
Our small group tours range from 2-12 people - far less than other tour companies with larger tours up to 50 people. We also offer outstanding private excursions - exclusive experiences for only you and your group with options to fully customize your tour.
Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean.
Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece.
Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France.
Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our Guarantee
We stand by our excursions, and we're committed to meeting your expectations. Our team and our guides are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences, which we've achieved consistently over many years and millions of tours. To the extent you are in any way dissatisfied with the experience we deliver, we will work to resolve your concerns - up to and including a full refund of your tour price. For more information visit the Shore Excursions Group website.
About Shore Excursions Group
About Us
Shore Excursions Group is the market leading and world's largest shore excursion company. Since 2008, we've provided cruise passengers with higher-quality, lower-priced, and smaller group shore excursions from a portfolio of nearly 4,000 tours in over 300 ports. Over the last 16 years, we've delivered more than 4.6M excursions with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating from more than 47k reviews.
Exceptional travel experiences are created by exceptional people. Our incredible team of cruise and travel experts has more than 100 years of combined industry experience, and we work in close collaboration with a network of exceptional tour operator partners dedicated to providing personalized and immersive excursions to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world.
Our excursions are higher quality, lower priced, and travel in smaller groups averaging just 12 guests per departure, allowing our guests to truly connect with the local culture and enjoy a more enriching travel experience. Our website provides a personalized shopping experience highlighting the top-rated and most popular excursions in each port of call with authentic photos, videos, and reviews from other guests.
Our proprietary itinerary search technology makes booking easy by displaying the excursions guaranteed to work for your ship's scheduled arrival and departure into each port of call. We also feature hand-curated multi-port packages with the top-rated excursion for each port bundled together at an additional discount.
Our Unique Approach
While the cruise lines and other companies also offer excursions, we are the experts and our experience and approach set us apart. Our exceptional excursions travel in smaller groups and visit more interesting and authentic locations, using more personalized tour guides.
Our team uses a comprehensive approach to select the leading guides and best tour providers around the world. Every excursion is carefully curated and closely monitored through quality control and customer feedback.
In today's fast paced world, vacations are an important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and discover new and interesting places - and our portfolio of the highest quality tours was created to provide authentic and rewarding travel experiences on your next trip.
High quality service is very important to travelers and leads to better experiences with higher satisfaction. We encourage you to call us, so our experts can answer your questions and help you select the best excursions for your cruise.
Our Exceptional Tours
Our priority is providing cruise guests with exciting and enriching tours with personalized service and smaller groups.
Our small group tours range from 2-12 people - far less than other tour companies with larger tours up to 50 people. We also offer outstanding private excursions - exclusive experiences for only you and your group with options to fully customize your tour.
Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean.
Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece.
Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France.
Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our Guarantee
We stand by our excursions, and we're committed to meeting your expectations. Our team and our guides are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences, which we've achieved consistently over many years and millions of tours. To the extent you are in any way dissatisfied with the experience we deliver, we will work to resolve your concerns - up to and including a full refund of your tour price. For more information visit the Shore Excursions Group website.
