Duration: 6.5 hours, lunch not included

This tour is the perfect opportunity to explore Glasgow at your own pace and visit only those places you really want to see. On leaving Greenock in a modern coach, a scenic 1-hour drive will take you to Glasgow through Scotland’s appealing countryside. After a brief unguided orientation tour of the city, passing the lovely district of Kelvingrove and Saint Mungo’s Cathedral on the way, you can enjoy plenty of free time to do as you please. Once considered to be the “Second City of the British Empire”, modern-day Glasgow is a vibrant multi-cultural locale with lots to see and discover. Places of interest while in Glasgow include the City Chambers, an impressive late 19^th-century building constructed in Italian Renaissance style, the lovingly restored Willow Tea Rooms, which were originally designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904, as well as the ultra-modern Tradeston Pedestrian Bridge, which is also called the “Squiggly Bridge” – no prizes for guessing why. But whatever you choose to do while in Glasgow, the friendly vibe of this Scottish city is sure to work its magic on you. Your tour ends with your return trip to Greenock by coach.

From the port an hour coach drive will take you across the Evrotas Valley and to the ancient city of Mystras. Mystras was formerly the fortified capital of the Byzantine Peloponnese and it is here that we will visit an important archaeological site, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage centre in 1989. View the impressive Mystras Palace, a rare example of Byzantine architecture, and the church, Agia Sophia, which has two small chapels containing beautiful frescoes. We will also visit the church of Agios Dimitrios before heading for the town of Sparta which was the greatest military power of Greece and is now a beautiful city with tree-lined boulevards. Brief stop in the main square before returning to Gythion.

Located between the towns of Pirgos Dirou and Areopolis, the Diros Caves are perhaps one of the most fascinating natural sites in Greece. The Paleolithic and Neolithic artefacts found here suggest that the caves were one of the earliest inhabited places in Greece. We will leave the port and drive inland to reach Pyrgos Dirou. A subterranean river flows inside the caves and we will board small boats for an amazing journey across the cave lake – the best way to admire the stunning, multi-coloured stalactites and stalagmites of all shapes and sizes that have formed here over millennia. Gliding across the water, we will enter many cave chambers and caverns, marveling at this silent underground world. Magical !