Marathon & Thermopylae Battlefields Private Day Tour from Athens

Fun informative

Alexander was great. He explained the sites and was very friendly very nice vehicle and cold water was available

Great day with Socrates.

Spending the day with our driver was the highlight. We learned so much about Greece, not just the places we visited.

Convenient day tour from Athens

I did the Thermopylae and Marathon tour starting from Athens. If you're a fan of ancient Greek history I highly recommend it. Both locations are a bit far from Athens, and a tour like this is the most feasible way to get there and back without renting a car. If you're staying in Athens it's a very convenient day trip. Andreas did an amazing job as tour guide, explaining the history behind the sites and the context of the more recently built monuments. We also stopped by at a really great local restaurant, which I would never have found on my own. Andreas has a great sense of humor and is a stellar guide; if I’m in Athens again I'll definitely book other tours with Olive Sea travel.

Loved being at a place of great importance

Chris was excellent very knowledgeable and helpful. I had many questions about the history and he was very insightful. we had a great time

Informative and fun

It was awesome the battle of marathon was very interesting with the tombs of the soldiers, the mounds, and the museum. The Thermopylae was amazing as well especially since my 13 year old son was able to put on authentic spartan military gear and I took a picture. The 3D movie was really neat too. The driver was great and very informative

The best guide made the experience of a lifetime even better

Babis is an excellent guide. I had been looking forward to this trip for over 60 years and although I was familiar with the history of Marathon & Thermopylae, Babis was able to answer my questions and went out of his way to show us not only the battlefield sites, but also the surrounding areas as well. Thanks to his excellent English and native Greek he was able to translate information and explain things to us that I could have not known if I traveled here without a knowledgeable, professional, yet friendly and outgoing guide. I highly recommend him as a guide.

Not great

We were dissatisfied with the trip. The tour operator failed to tell us that most of the streets in Marathon were closed due to a civic event. This made us miss the Marathon museum and waste two hours trying to drive around the road closures. Finally skipped Marathon and went to Thermopylae. It became apparent that our guide was not the “expert” that was advertised but someone who knew less about Greek history than I did. He was very nice and very professional but not an expert. After Thermopylae we came back again to Marathon but by that time the museum was closed for the day. Two stars instead of one because the car was nice and the driver was very nice. Overall, I think we deserve a partial refund.

Wonderful tour

Nasos was our guide. He was on time and asked us what we wanted to do. Nasos told us much information about the history of Marathon and Thermopylae. Nasos told us information about the sights and events during our drive. We had sufficient time at each of our stops. We had a wonderful time and learned a lot. We highly recommend Nasos to be your guide. We plan to request Nasos for everything we need a guide for in Athens

Not enough to see for the high cost

The tour was led by our driver, Socrates, who did a great job of retelling these two battles. Unfortunately, our tour was rained on all day; the tour company should have asked if we could reschedule. This tour was by far the most expensive we took in Greece and with few things to see was very overpriced.

Great trip for history buffs and others with a guide like Nasos!

Our guide, Nasos, made this trip worth while. He has a tremendous knowledge of the Greek history and culture. With a guide like Nasos, this trip can be enjoyable for all, not just history buffs.

Wonderful tour, really enjoyed everything!

Our tour with Olive Sea tours was amazing! Our driver and guide, Evangelo, was very accommodating and a safe driver, there is no way we could have navigated traffic and routes on our own! The car was clean and comfortable and Evangelo was easy to talk to. He provided a lot of context and background to the both battlefields we visited. We were able to take the time we wanted to view each site and take all the pictures we wanted. Our tour was great and the ride was comfortable. I would definitely take another tour with them and would recommend them to anyone interested!

Amazing trip into the ancient past

Absolutely fantastic trip which more than lived up to my boyhood fascination with the ancient Greeks and the Spartans in particular Our guide was called Nasos and he was so incredibly knowledgeable about Greek history in general and our destinations Nasos was sympathetic to our every needs and his skilful driving was something to admire The most special moment had to be at the foot of the statue of Leonidas ( my boyhood hero) at Thermopylae when he pulled out a Spartan helmet and slashing sword for photos At the end of the tour he even showed us a restaurant with a rooftop garden overlooking the Acropolis for our last night’s meal Can’t recommend him and the tour too highly

Very cool experience!

My driver Nasos was really nice and unfailingly patient - as someone who's into history, it was incredibly refreshing to talk to someone who has in-depth knowledge of Greece and considers it his home and heritage.

Senior Couple on Holiday

This trip is one of those that is just not worth it. George was an excellent and very knowledgeable guide, but there was just too little to see at each battlefield to justify the time and cost. I think Greece could do a better job "beefing up" the offerings at each site, given their importance to western civilization. Thermopylae (which could be incorporated in other tours) was more impressive that Marathon (which could be skipped altogether).

Trip to Thermopylae and Marathin

Trip was amazing! Awesome history on the battle of marathon and thermopyles. Our guide Nasos was incredible! He was extremely knowledgeable answered a million of my questions. He had many great surprises for me! Would highly recommend him!

Tour guide was perfect

Driver, Nasos, did an excellent job. Very knowledgeable and great and keeping everyone's attention. He deserves a raise.

Superb tour of ancient battlefields

Excellent trip with Nasos. Highly recommend. Included some views/perspectives on the battles that were unique and intriguing.

Superb tour of ancient battlefields

Nasos was a wonderful driver. Very insightful! Went above and beyond to give us overviews of the battlefields, and clarify common misconceptions. Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience

if you like history, this is the trip with an excellent driver and tourguide. you can feel the passion for his country and gets you caught up in it.

An excellent day

We had an excellent day. Nasos was a very knowledgeably guide and had a great sense of humour. Exceeded our expectations and our 16 year old son is now enthused even more about Athenians, Sparta and the Persians. Highly recommended. Guy, Jeannette, Alasdair, Worcester, UK.

10/10 day

When your guide turns up with a Spartan tattoo you know you’re in for a good day. Nasos provided great knowledge to me and my son about Greek history contributing to a very enjoyable day out.

Fantastic experience

Nasos was a fantastic guide! Extremely personable and made the drive very entertaining. He was quite knowledgeable about our site visits and went out of his way to ensure we were comfortable and having a good time. It’s not every day a true Spartan guides you through the sites of Thermopylae. We highly recommend Nasos and this tour!

Wonderful experience with Olive Sea travel and our guide Lysandros!

Our family took a private tour to Marathon and Thermopylae and had a wonderful time! Our tour guide, Lysandros, was kind and knowledgeable. He was patient and allowed us to take as much time at each site as we would like. He truly brought history to life while recounting events at such remarkable battles. It was inspiring! The trip was comfortable and child friendly. He also went out of his way to show us interesting sites based on what he learned about us throughout the day. It truly felt like a tailored experience. We would highly recommend him to anyone using this service.

Marathon and Platea with Thanos Bairlis

Our first stop was at the site of the Battle of Marathon. There were only a few souls there that day, and the visit was amazing. Thanos led me to the large scaled map of the area that demonstrated all of the pertinent locations. We walked the entirety of the field, and discussed the first major victory of the Greeks in the Greco-Persian war. We marveled at the Athenian burial mound (Tumulus), which was about 40 feet high (a smaller Tumulus was present for the Plataean soldiers present that day). Thanos was able to reconstruct the battle in such fine detail, from the movement of the armies, the strategic planning of their approach, and the final clash of thousands, that I felt that I had been witness to one of the great moments in the fight for democracy. After Marathon, we took a winding road through some of the most gorgeous hill sides, until we reached site number two: the plain of Plataea. Thanos pulled the car over on the side of the road, we exited and stood at the edge of a cliff. He popped the trunk of his SUV, and made a makeshift desk, upon which he opened two books. For the next 30 minutes, Thanos replayed every singular moment of this defining land battle of the Greco-Persian war. He pointed out the location of an ancient riverbed, now covered in a line of trees, which marked the major contact location. He was able to spot ancient barriers and outlined walls of the older cities.

Our amazing guide made this the best tour of my honeymoon!

We were in Greece for our honeymoon and being a student of history, I had to book this tour! Our driver/guide, Lysandros, lived up to his namesake (a famous Spartan leader) and offered us great conversation. He educated us on the Greco-Persian wars and many other subjects. The sites we toured stand as testaments to liberty, democracy, and the strength of human spirit. If you like history and want to get away from the crowds in Athens for a day, I recommend this tour.

Our guide, Lyssandros,...

Our guide, Lyssandros, was very good and courteous. He was a very responsible driver. We saw everything we wanted to see and made it back with enough time left to do other things. I would definitely recommend Viator for booking a trip such as this.

10/10 would recommend

This was a great tour, mainly because of the how the driver made it enjoyable with his vast knowledge and obvious love of history. He was courteous, kind, and even got us Freddo cappuccinos. Something new for us that I am now addicted to. Be aware that there isn’t much to actually see since the terrain has changed so much since the actual battles took place. But just being there felt great and it was easy to imagine what it was like just by seeing the area. I’m grateful that I was able to experience this.

This trip was awesome!

Walking the battlefield of Thermopylae and Marathon was a dream come true for myself and my oldest daughter (7 yo). Christos was awesome and both my daughters really liked him. He is very knowledgeable in the history and made the learning fun, even for my 4 yo. Highly recommend this trip and even higher recommendations if it’s with Christos.

Incredible Tour, Unprecedented Professionalism

I have nothing but excellent things to say about this tour and my tour guide for the day, Alex Oikonomidis. The amount of knowledge and hospitality that Alex and the tour provided made for a remarkable experience. There wasn't a single question had that was not answered in colorful detail- Alex explained to me not only the nuances of the major sites we went to, but also the small details of Greek life that would have otherwise gone unseen had I not taken this tour. I received far more than what I felt I paid for. Towards the end of the tour, I became pretty ill with a genetic stomach issue I have had my whole life. Unfortunately, this illness surfaced on the day of the tour. Eventually, I was crippled with pain and was forced to trust the Alex and Olive Sea Travel to render care for me and return me safely back to my hotel. Not did they return me safely while I was writhing with pain, but Alex stayed calm and collected and offered professional solutions to the problem I was facing that I could not think of at the time. He kept me comfortable, patiently worked through the issue of an ill tourist, recommended and procured symptomatic relief medication (with the approval and help of a pharmacists, which I approved), and conducted himself with a level a capability I would not have ever have expected. Following the trials of that day, Alex continued to check up on me in the subsequent days and offer his help. He knew I was traveling alone and refused to leave me unassisted while I was sick. My respect and gratitude for Alex for his professionalism and Olive

Wonderful experience

Nasos was great and was very knowledgeable and taught us a lot. He was also was very cheerful and made a lot of jokes.

Perfect tour

I couldn’t have asked for any more with this tour. My guide, Petros, was very knowledgable and easy to get along with could not have asked for a better guide to have spent the day with

Trip of a lifetime

It was an excellent tour the driver was knowledgeable and very courteous. It is because of his fantastic service that when I return to Greece I will seek this driver to take us on many other tours

Truly Incredible Historical Day Trip to the Marathon & Thermopylae Battlefields.

This private day tour from Athens to the Marathon & Thermopylae battlefields was incredible. Our driver Nasos is extraordinarily charismatic & knowledgeable not just about Greek history, but also about a variety of topics. In addition to delivering us to the battlefields, he also made a surprise stop at an observation tower overlooking the entire Marathon Bay where the Persian fleet was anchored. This bonus stop was incredible because it made the battle (and its aftermath) very easy to understand. After stopping for lunch (where Nasos introduced us to Greek freedo cappuccino), we proceeded to Thermopylae, which was made even more poignant thanks to Nasos' own Spartan heritage. Nasos made the entire day extremely fun, light-hearted, and informative. My wife and I learned so much not just about Greek history, but also how prevalent the Greek language is embodied in the English language. If you have a desire to immerse yourself in Greek history AND Greek culture, this is a truly magnificent tour & I could not recommend and endorse Nasos highly enough.

Ten Star Tour Guide!

What a great trip. The historical aspect is amazing and worth every bit. I happened to go the Thermopylae over the anniversary weekend in SEP when the battle occurred. Get in touch with your inner Spartan and book it as you will not be disappointed. Ten star tour guide knew all the history and was passionate to tell it. His English was great and helped me with some Greek among other topics and historical video on the drive. Even modified my private trip based on my requested timeline. Don’t wait until it is booked!

Great tour, great driver, exceeded our expectations.

My Fiance and I had the greatest time on this tour. He loves history and was really interested in the information our driver was able to share, I am not so much of a history buff but still found the tour, our driver, the experience... everything to be really amazing! Great information shared, the car was nice and clean, communication was A++, the stops and restaurants were local and authentic just like we wanted. Thank you SOOOOO much Vangelis, you truly made our last day in Athens amazing.

Basically a "300" tour about the history

For booking the night before and going solo they were very accommodating and the driver/guide was very knowledgeable. He was able to answer historical questions, give advice on places to see and was very friendly.

Highly recommend !

Excellent customer service, nice and comfortable ride, the guide was very professional and knowledgeable of Ancient Greek history .we enjoyed the tour, thanks Dem !

Excellent day out

What an excellent trip! Our guide - "Dem" was so knowledgeable, he keep us engaged throughout! very interesting and highly recommend.

Extraordinary experience

The tour company was flexible when our schedule changed. Our guide Dem was very knowledgeable and great company. The experience being on these ancient battlefields is difficult to describe. I highly recommend this tour.

A Gold Medal tour without the feeling of having run a marathon

This tour fulfilled my desire to see the places that I studied about and became fascinated with in my university years studies of Ancient Greece. I am a person that wants to walk in the footsteps of historical people. This tour placed me in those steps. To see the beaches where the Persians landed to have my photo taken a the base of the statue that appears in both my university text and the text of the students that I now teach connects me forever to these places. Alex, our guide was incredible. He answered all of our questions and told the stories of the famous runner sent from Marathon and the reality of the Brave 300. Alex also had lengthy discussions with us on the culture, history, politics of modern Greece and atmosphere of Athens. We hope that you get Alex as your guide; he made a long day of riding in a van as if it was a holiday with a dear old friend.

Good tour

The tour was good but not much to see, just areas where battles took place. Guide was good but would recommend the group tour vice private tour.

A Long Day but...

Olive Sea provided George for our group of 6 retired military guys. George was superb!! He was well versed in the history of both the first and second Greco-Persian Wars and provided some cultural insights that gave us some context of the complex relationship between the Greeks and Turks that are in play even today. Now the down side: Marathon is one of the pivotal battles of Western civilization and arriving it looks like the parking lot for a county fair. There is little to provide background or context and there is no one there functioning as the equivalent of park rangers...I was disappointed in the site and its condition. Thermopylae offered somewhat improved conditions in the on-site museum and monuments but the battlefield itself was a jumble of trash and tire tracks...not what I expected. If I could give George a 10, I would - and give the Greek government a 2 for their obvious lack of focus and interest in these two amazing sites.

Best tour guides ever!

(Note: it was a Family with only adults.) Our tourist guide (Ionna) and driver (Panos) were a great duo; they’re both fun and kind. She knows a great deal of Greek history, geography, and culture; Panos would friendly chime in occasionally in conversation add some personal anecdote or ask me something. They were very patient with us and very flexible. We had a day tour which finished late (because of our fault), and we had a night tour. Panos did a great job getting us to our next tour on time!!! He also gave us water and chewing gum. Ioanna helped him with logistics on how to get us in time to our next tour. They’re a great time and did a great job working on a national Greek 🇬🇷holiday!

Marathon and Thermopylae Tour

What a wonderful day! Our driver Mike was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, patient, and professional. As a Michigan State University Spartan I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Thermopylae and experiencing the actual ground the Spartans died defending. Mike suggested s wonderful seaside restaurant for lunch which capped off a perfect day.

Magnificent day highlighting the valor and depth of the seminal battles of the first and second Persian Wars!

From the minute our guide Stavros picked us up to the end of the day, the tour was superb in every respect. He picked us up at our hotel spot on time and whisked us out of Athens in his immaculate Skoda sedan with each turn revealing a different fact or anecdote about our route Northeast to the plain of Marathon. We arrived at the site of the battle before any crowds, walked the ground and visited the tumulus of the 192 Athenians who gave their lives at the battle. We then proceeded to the archeological museum which detailed not only the battle and its protagonists, but other historical objects that placed the history of the region in temporal context! Magnificent views of the burial mounds of the Plateans taking part in the battle and others as well. Next we visited the exact spot where the "marathon" race finds it start to this day. The statue of the "Spirit or Hermes" graces the start line at marker "40" and one can almost feel the presence of Phidipides and his epic run to Sparta announcing the arrival of the Persians and his subsequent return to Marathon and his run to Athens to announce the great victory! Leaving there we headed North to Thermopylae and the "Hot Gates" where Leonidas made his final stand after three days of battle against Xerxes and his "Immortals!" The visit there started with a visit to the historical center where a 3D movie and subsequent touch screen displays laid out the context of the battle, the tactics, the complimentary naval engagements and the aftermath. This served as a perfect precursor to walking the ground. Stavros' knowledge of how the terrain has changed over the last two thousand five hundred years allows the mind to "see" the tactical and strategic advantage of the ground, the importance of the "last stand" of Leonidas and the "300" and historical weight of the battle. Seeing the severity of the terrain brings the facts of the battle to life! Next we departed Thermopylae for a refreshing lunch in Kamena Vourla where we dined on the beach within five feet of the crystal clear blue water and refreshing breezes of the Malian Gulf! We had superb wine, superb Dorado I picked myself and the hospitality the Greeks are famous for! Finally we worked our way back to Athens enjoying Stavros' skill behind the wheel and his ability to engage on almost any subject of Greek history and contemporary news! A magnificent day in every respect and a day I would highly recommend to anyone with a taste for history and tales of valor and sacrifice! Well done and Semper Fi from one "Spartan" to another!

Two For One

We wanted to see Thermopylae because our teenage grandson watched 300 Spartans and is interested in military battles. It was a long ride from Athens and not much there except the site and a short film. However, we were not expecting much from Marathon and surprisingly we really enjoyed this part of the tour. The museum is special and the grounds reveal burial mounds and great architectural digs. Friendly and informative docent. Our driver was excellent.

History tour

my husband a history buff has always wanted to visit these sites , from the moment Jannis picked us up from the hotel on time with a cool clean taxi , we had a great day of driving through the countryside , stopping when we wanted too for drinks and snacks then visiting these two famous battle sites , Jannis was friendly and informative , we would recommend this tour and company with no hesitation

Incredible private tour

This tour was perfect. We were picked up outside our hotel and dropped off in the afternoon/evening. Our tour guide, Dem, was so knowledgeable and passionate about Greek history. He was so polite and friendly throughout the day. If you are interested in history I would highly recommend this tour - absolutely worth it! A day I will never forget.

Really interesting tour

We are a family of 4, kids 11&10yrs who did the tour last week. Our driver George was very punctual in picking us up and was very insightful of events of both Marathon, Thermopylae and in addition, of the historical events of the time. We all felt safe & secure too with George as driver. George drove us around the many sites and was very patient with us. Our kids really enjoyed the tour - there is a lot of driving between the sites and also, to&from Athens but the 10hr tour is really worth the money we spent. Highly recommend Olive as a company, very easy to deal with

Really good service and very knowledgeable

I booked on this tour as I'm a history fan and visits to the main battle sites was a must. It's fascinating to see Marathon as you can envisage how the battle was fought and visit the burial mound of the 192 Athenians who fell. Thermopylae teaks a little more imagination due to the geographical changes, but you can still picture how formidable the pass would have been. The visitor centre here is a little disappointing, but I was forewarned of that. Overall there was a very good service from my tour guide who had a really good knowledge of the era so it wasn't like the more popular tours like Delphi whereby, as someone who has a good understanding of the period, you feel a little bit patronised by the basic explanations. On these tours they tailored the information to suit me, which was really good. Perhaps understandably Greek knowledge of their history is not as high when Ancient Greece fades into obscurity and thus the guides are not as certain about the sites of Roman battlefields, for example (though many of these are further north). My only criticism would be that, for whatever reason, these trips were displayed as a much lower "from" price online than they ended up being, ie. it said "from £50" when it was around £300. I assume this is to do with the lower price being with getting a maximum group in peak season. On the tours I did I was the lone guest, which was nice, and ultimately it was worth paying the £300, though it would have been nice to be aware of that from the initial page (I assume this is down to TripAdvisor's algorithm though rather than the company). In summary it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip, tailored to my level of knowledge with understanding guides, and I'd recommend them to others