3 Days Tour from Athens to Meteora and Delphi by Train

Once in a lifetime trip! We booked extra days because we wanted to do more. We ended up booking THREE tours while in Meteora. I was afraid there would be overlap - and I was wrong, three VERY DIFFERENT tours! - Sunset tour. This is a nice balance/mix of history, seeing one of the monasteries, and getting EXCELLENT historical perspective on the area, the religious growth of the monks and nuns in the area, and even visiting a very old Byzantine church. It was cloudy, so our view of the sunset was beatiful in terms of colors, but you couldn't actually see the sun. - Half-day monastery tour. You see three monasteries on this tour. (different from the Sunset tour). While this is also very informative and interesting, this tour is focused on seeing and being inside each monastery, not outside of them while learning about them. - Hiking tour. Very cool. You'll go where nobody else goes around the monasteries, and tons of great photos. It's relaxing, and a very low-effort hike. A few tips: - UPGRADE to FIRST CLASS on the train. It's worth it. Much more comfortable. Also, the train seats are facing each other. If you're traveling as a couple, I would recommend facing each other rather than trying to switch with someone so you can sit next to each other. There is very little leg room, especially when the seats are "extended". If you're across from each other, at least you can stretch your legs a little more than what you could with stranger. - I would probably NOT upgrade my hotel to 4-star the next time. It definitely appeared to be a nicer hotel than the 3-star hotels, but (a) we spent almost ZERO time at the hotel, so it wouldn't have mattered, and (b) it appeared that the 3-star hotels all had pools, and our 4-star hotel did NOT have a pool - and it got hot on at least one day and a pool would have been nice, but we didn't have one. Not a huge deal, but the upgrade to 4-star hotel was a little bit of a disappointment. Written September 26, 2019