The classic day tours from Athens are all road trips: Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon at the tip of Attica, about 67 km (42 mi) from Syntagma; the Corinth Canal, Mycenae, Nafplio and the theatre of Epidaurus in the Argolid; Delphi on the slopes of Parnassos; and the vineyards of East Attica. Each is a different length of day, and that decides how to book it.
With Elly8.net, Cape Sounion is a fixed five-hour package from US$395 per vehicle in a business sedan, and the longer days are booked as a full-day chauffeur from US$630, all-in and charged in US dollars. This guide sets out each route, the honest drive times, and which booking fits. It covers days out beyond the city; for the Acropolis, Plaka and the city sights, see our separate guide to Athens private tours by car.
Which day tours from Athens work best with a driver?
Cape Sounion is the easiest: about 75 minutes each way and a fixed five-hour package from US$395. The Argolid loop through the Corinth Canal, Mycenae, Nafplio and Epidaurus, and Delphi are full days of five to six hours' driving, best booked as a full-day chauffeur from US$630 per vehicle.
The difference between a good day and a tiring one is matching the destination to the time you have. A half day suits Sounion or the wine country; a full day suits the Argolid or Delphi; Meteora needs two days or more.
The day tours at a glance
| Day tour | Distance from Syntagma, routed | Clear-road drive each way | How to book | Price from, per vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Sounion and the Riviera | 67 km (42 mi) | about 1 h 15 min | Cape Sounion package, 5 hours | US$395 |
| Corinth Canal, Mycenae, Nafplio, Epidaurus | 78 km to the canal; loop about 310 km (193 mi) | about 1 h 10 min to the canal | Full-day chauffeur | US$630 |
| Delphi, Osios Loukas, Arachova | 177 km (110 mi) | about 2 h 50 min | Full-day chauffeur | US$630 |
| East Attica wineries | About 25 to 31 km (16 to 19 mi) to Spata or Koropi | about 30 min | Hourly, 3-hour minimum | US$85 an hour |
| Meteora | 341 km (212 mi) | about 4 h | Multi-day, web booker | Quoted |
Distances and times are our routed estimates on clear roads; summer traffic leaving Athens and on the coast road adds time. All fares are per vehicle, include the chauffeur, taxes and standard gratuity, and bill tolls and parking at cost.
Cape Sounion and the Athens Riviera
This is the day tour almost everyone does, and the one that fits best around jet lag, because it is short and ends with the famous sunset. Visit Greece describes Sounio as the promontory at the southernmost tip of Attica, where the 5th-century BC Temple of Poseidon stands above a sheer cliff, and calls the place synonymous with sunsets.
The drive follows the coast south from the city through the Riviera suburbs. Vouliagmeni is about 20 km (12 mi) and 25 minutes from Syntagma by our routing, and the rest of the coast road to the cape is the scenic part, with coves and beach clubs below the road. On the Elly8.net package the chauffeur collects you from your hotel, stops on the Riviera if you want a swim or a coffee, waits at the temple, and brings you back. Most guests time it so they are at the temple for the last hour of light.
The Cape Sounion package is five hours and costs from US$395 in a business sedan, US$510 in a business SUV, US$600 in a First Class SUV, US$645 in a First Class Sedan and US$785 in an Executive Sprinter. Sunset is popular, so the site is busiest in the evening in summer; an afternoon visit is quieter and still gives you the light.
The Argolid: Corinth Canal, Mycenae, Nafplio and Epidaurus
This is the best full day out of Athens for anyone interested in ancient Greece, and it is better by car than any other way because the sites are spread out and the buses do not link them.
The Corinth Canal. About 77 km (48 mi) and 70 minutes from Syntagma by our routing, this is the first stop and a short one: a walk onto the bridge to look down into the cut. The official City of Athens guide recommends stopping here on the way to Epidaurus.
Mycenae. About 122 km (76 mi) from Syntagma, roughly an hour and three quarters, the citadel of Agamemnon is one half of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mycenae and Tiryns, the two greatest cities of the Mycenaean civilisation, which UNESCO links to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Allow about 90 minutes for the citadel and its museum.
Nafplio. About 26 km (16 mi) and 35 minutes from Mycenae, the old port town is the natural lunch stop between the two sites.
Epidaurus. About 27 km (17 mi) and 40 minutes from Nafplio, the Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus holds the theatre that UNESCO calls one of the purest masterpieces of Greek architecture. The City of Athens Epidaurus guide puts the site at less than two hours' drive from Athens, suggests arriving early or an hour or two before sundown when it is quieter, and notes that the open-air theatre hosts the Athens Epidaurus Festival in the summer months.
From Epidaurus back to Syntagma is about 137 km (85 mi), roughly two and a half hours on a clear road. The full loop is around 310 km of driving, which is why we suggest an early start. The same guide describes two ways to reach Epidaurus: through Mycenae and Nafplio, or along the coast from the Corinth Canal. With a driver you can go one way and return the other.
If you are going for a festival performance, the evening is the event: book the full day so the chauffeur waits through the performance, and expect a late return. Check the festival programme before you set the date.
Delphi
Delphi is the longest single-site day: about 177 km (110 mi) and close to three hours each way, with Osios Loukas and Arachova as the natural stops. It deserves its own guide; read Athens to Delphi by car for the route, a sample day and the costs by vehicle.
The wine country of East Attica
Not every day tour needs a temple. The official guide to the wineries of Attica describes the Mesogaia area of East Attica as the birthplace of retsina and home of the Savatiano grape, with wineries that now also make Malagouzia, Assyrtiko and red Agiorgitiko. The vineyards lie east of the city, around the airport; the Mesogaia towns of Spata and Koropi are about 25 to 31 km (16 to 19 mi) from Syntagma by our routing, roughly half an hour on a clear road, so a tasting afternoon fits neatly into a half day.
Book it by the hour: the hourly chauffeur costs from US$85 in a business sedan, US$110 in a business SUV and US$170 in an Executive Sprinter, with a 3-hour minimum, and the chauffeur drives so nobody in the party has to. See wine tours for how these days work across our cities. The chauffeur follows local rules on everything inside the vehicle, so tastings happen at the wineries, not in the car. Check visiting arrangements with each winery before the day, and give the desk the addresses so the route is planned.
Meteora and the islands
Meteora is too far for a comfortable day: about 341 km (212 mi) and four hours each way. Our guide to Athens to Meteora by private driver or train sets out the two- and three-day options and the current rail route.
The islands of the Saronic Gulf are day-trip destinations too, but by ferry from Piraeus rather than by car. The driver's job there is the port run at each end: see Athens to Piraeus for how the port drop-off and pickup work.
Package, full day or by the hour
The Cape Sounion package is a fixed price for a fixed five-hour plan. It suits most guests who want the cape, a Riviera stop and the sunset.
The full-day chauffeur keeps the car and chauffeur with you for the day at one fixed price, from US$630 in a business sedan, US$810 in a business SUV, US$960 in a First Class SUV, US$1,035 in a First Class Sedan and US$1,255 in an Executive Sprinter. Use it for the Argolid and Delphi.
The hourly chauffeur suits shorter or open-ended days, from US$85 an hour in a business sedan with a 3-hour minimum. Use it for the wine country, a long lunch on the Riviera, or a day that mixes the city and the coast.
Fares are per vehicle. As arithmetic for comparison only: a family of five in a business SUV on the full day at US$810 works out at US$162 each, and the Sounion package in the same vehicle at US$510 is US$102 each.
| Vehicle | Seats and bags | Sounion package | Full-day chauffeur | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Sedan | 3 passengers, 2 bags | US$395 | US$630 | US$85 |
| Business SUV | 6 passengers, 6 bags | US$510 | US$810 | US$110 |
| First Class SUV | 6 passengers, 6 bags | US$600 | US$960 | US$130 |
| First Class Sedan | 3 passengers, 2 bags | US$645 | US$1,035 | US$140 |
| Executive Sprinter | 12 passengers, 12 bags | US$785 | US$1,255 | US$170 |
Driver, coach tour or rental car
A coach tour is the cheapest way to see Sounion or the Argolid with a guide, and for a solo traveller it is good value. You move on the group's timetable and see the operator's stops. A rental car is the cheapest way to have freedom, if you are comfortable driving in Greece, with the parking at the sites and the drive home after a long day as the costs. Our chauffeur vs car rental comparison goes into that trade-off.
A private driver is the right choice when you are a family or group who want one vehicle, when you want stops a coach does not make, when you have children who need seats, or when nobody wants to drive on holiday. The chauffeur is your driver, not a licensed site guide; if you want a guide at Mycenae or Delphi, book one locally and tell the desk the meeting time so we plan the day around it.
Rides in Athens are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk. Partner vehicles are four model years old or newer; see the fleet.
Planning tips
Start early in summer. The ancient sites are exposed and hot by midday from June to September. Pickups at 7:30 or 8:00 put you at Mycenae or Delphi before the heat and the coaches.
Mind the first day. After an overnight flight from North America, keep day one light. Book the airport transfer to your hotel, and save the long days for later in the trip.
Check site hours. Archaeological sites set their own hours, which change with the season and on public holidays. Confirm before you choose the date.
Plan around big events. The Athens Marathon, The Authentic, runs on 8 November 2026, per the race organisers, and closes roads on race morning. The desk times pickups around closures like these.
How to book an Athens day tour
- Pickup. Enter your hotel, the date and the destination, with any stops you want.
- Vehicle. Choose a vehicle for your party from the table above.
- Reserve. Book the Sounion package or the full-day chauffeur from the Athens price list, or use the web booker for any other plan. Confirmation arrives by email.
Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup; 10% at 72 hours or less, 50% at 48 hours or less and 100% at 24 hours or less or for a no-show, refunded to the original card. See the cancellation policy.
For more, see our private city tours service and the Athens chauffeur page. Travelling on? We book Mykonos, Santorini and Rome the same way. Elly8.net is a member of LimousineWorldwide.Directory, LimousineAssociation.International, HotelsWorldwide.Directory and VacationsWorldwide.Directory.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best day tour from Athens?
For a first trip, Cape Sounion is the easiest and the most popular: short, scenic and timed for sunset. For ancient history, the Argolid loop through Mycenae, Nafplio and Epidaurus is the richest full day. Delphi is the classic long day for anyone with a particular interest in the oracle.
How much is a private driver for a day tour from Athens?
The Cape Sounion package is from US$395 per vehicle in a business sedan. A full-day chauffeur for the Argolid or Delphi is from US$630 in a business sedan and US$810 in a business SUV. The hourly rate is from US$85 with a 3-hour minimum. All fares are fixed and all-in.
Can we do Mycenae and Epidaurus in one day?
Yes. With an early start, the Corinth Canal, Mycenae, lunch in Nafplio and Epidaurus fit in one day, about 310 km of driving in total. Book the full-day chauffeur so the car waits at each site, and allow for a return to Athens in the early evening.
Does the driver act as a guide?
The chauffeur drives, waits and looks after your timing and bags, but is not a licensed archaeological guide. If you want a guide inside Mycenae, Epidaurus or Delphi, book one locally and tell the desk where and when you meet, so the drive is planned around it.
Are child seats available on day tours?
Yes. Request child or booster seats when you book and give the children's ages. The partner fits them before pickup. On long days a Business SUV leaves room for seats, a cool bag and spare clothes for everyone, and the desk confirms the seats in your booking email.
Can we be dropped at the airport at the end of a day tour?
Yes. Tell the desk when you book and we route the last leg to the airport instead of your hotel. Sounion is about 45 km (28 mi) from the airport by our routing, closer than it is to Syntagma, so a late-afternoon visit before an evening flight can work; allow a generous margin for check-in.
