Mediterranean Interlude

Rome , Athens, the Greek Isles, and Istanbul
A Grand 15 Day Mediterranean Dream Vacation
Italy, Greece and Turkey

Private Honeymoon or Anniversary Tour -Arrive any day : Apr-Oct
Add Andalusia and Spain , or add Crete . Click for Istanbul Santorini Edition ( Without Mykonos) .

Mediterranean Interlude : Rome , Athens, the Greek Isles, Mykonos , Santorini and Istanbul
This is a trip tailored to make the most of that special company and unique occasion, be it an anniversary, a honeymoon, or a singular chance to be alone and away. We have selected superior and deluxe hotels notable for their charm, atmosphere, and, of course, fine service. You'll be free to linger late in bed with breakfast brought to your room, stroll the romantic old Plaka district of Athens or frequent a seaside café in Santorini, entirely at your leisure.

Your schedule is your own, without planned group activities or tours, though you're free to select these at your whim and fancy, with our assistance. Of course, Travel in Style will see to all the details, from arrival to conveyance to the Isles to settling you into your fine accommodations, leaving you to do nothing but relax and enjoy-in your own style.

Here is a sample itinerary, starting in Athens. Extend your stay in Athens ? Add a foray into Egypt
You may also start in Istanbul, and enjoy this escapade from east to west across the Aegean .

Whatever it is about Rome that intrigues you, fascinates you, tempts you, or entertains you, you'll find it exactly, because your visit will be tailored exactly to your desires. Fascinated by the tastes of Roman cuisine? Your private guide will suggest the best restaurants. Drawn to the masterpieces of Michelangelo? We'll whisk you to the Vatican at the best time. Have your heart set on Italian footwear or daring designs in clothing? Talk it over with your guide-in your own language-and find out where to shop , see Rome at its most intimate, on foot. Your private guide will be open to following up on what catches your fancy, and adding the options of your choosing. Let your dreams, whimsy, and desires rule. This is Rome Made to Measure . Compare with the 12 day version : Crete Athens Santorini and Istanbul

DAY 1 - ARRIVAL IN ATHENS (You may also start in Istanbul)
Our Athens-based personnel meets you at the international airport, assists you with the formalities, and sees you to your charming and comfortable hotel. Check in, relax, then take a stroll through the lively streets. Browse for treasures and curios, savour a coffee or aperitif at a terrace café, or enjoy a fine meal in the old Plaka district. Extend your stay in Athens ?

DAY 2 - ATHENS (B)
Enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavors of the Greek capital, including Syntagma Square, and the towering Acropolis. If you wish, we'll assist you with a tour to the city sights, or beyond, to Corinth, Olympia, and the heart of Classical Greece. Extend your stay in Athens ?

DAY 3 - ATHENS, MYKONOS (B)
Relax, and revisit a favorite café or shop today. Then we'll call for you and see you to the airport for your flight over the blue Aegean to Mykonos, Isle of Windmills. Extend your stay in Mykonos

DAYS 4 - MYKONOS (B)
You'll spend days on Mykonos-enough to when your appetite for your return! Day at leisure.

DAYS 5 - MYKONOS (B)
To stay in your lovely deluxe hotel and enjoy the beach, the service, and the amenities, or to venture out to explore some of the 350 whitewashed churches and chapels, dramatic cliffs, coves, and villages . . . that is the question! No doubt, you'll mix a bit of both; and with windmills to photograph and fishermen to watch along the sea, your days will be filled.

DAY 6 - MYKONOS, SANTORINI (B)
Spend another relaxing morning. Reserve some time to stroll the cobbled lanes of Mykonos, to sip an ouzo or retsina at a waterside café, to discover a beach or two, to pick up a loaf of fresh bread and cheese and olives, and picnic on a hillside as you look out to sailboats at sea. We'll rendezvous in time to take you to your fast ferry/hydrofoil for Santorini, where you'll find a room waiting in a four-star beach hotel.
Sample optional tours available based on Private arrangement or Local Group tour .

DAY 7 - SANTORINI (B)
Enjoy breakfast at your lovely hotel and linger for as long as you wish. When you venture out, explore the cliff top town of Thira with its winding paths leading from view to spectacular view. Day at leisure.

DAY 8 - SANTORINI (B)
Take a boat across to the dormant volcano, and ascend through a crater-pocked moonscape to the crater. Or savour a soak in hot sulphur springs. Arrange a winery visit, or an outing to Akrotiri, reputedly the site of fabled Atlantis. Click here for more info & Images: Villas on Santorini

DAY 9 - SANTORINI, ISTANBUL (B)
After a leisurely breakfast, we'll pick you up and escort you to board a flight for Athens, and onward travel to Istanbul. Our personnel will be on hand to greet you upon arrival and see you to your Ottoman mansion-style boutique hotel in the Turkish capital.

DAY 10 - ISTANBUL (BL)
Private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur , private guide : Today we tour the Blue Mosque , Aya Sophia, and Topkapi Palace, with its Ottoman treasures. Lunch is included at a charming local restaurant , in the afternoon we will enjoy a guided walking tour of the Grand Bazaar offers endless bargains in its 5000 stands, kiosks, and shops. Soak up the atmosphere of a traditional coffee house, complete with bubbling water pipes. And if we still have time, take a cruise on the Bosphorus. Extend to Kusadasi and Ephesus

DAY 11 - ISTANBUL (B)
You'll have the day to experience Istanbul on your own . You won't want to miss the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia, and Topkapi Palace, with its Ottoman treasures. The Grand Bazaar offers endless bargains in its 5000 stands, kiosks, and shops. Soak up the atmosphere of a traditional coffee house, complete with bubbling water pipes. And if you still have time, take a cruise on the Bosphorus.

DAY 12 - From Istanbul to Rome (B)
After breakfast , we'll call for you and see you to the airport to fly to Rome

Whatever it is about Rome that intrigues you, fascinates you, tempts you, or entertains you, you'll find it exactly, because your visit will be tailored exactly to your desires. Fascinated by the tastes of Roman cuisine? Your private guide will suggest the best restaurants. Drawn to the masterpieces of Michelangelo? We'll whisk you to the Vatican at the best time. Have your heart set on Italian footwear or daring designs in clothing? Talk it over with your guide-in your own language-and find out where to shop , see Rome at its most intimate, on foot. Your private guide will be open to following up on what catches your fancy, and adding the options of your choosing. Let your dreams, whimsy, and desires rule. This is Rome Made to Measure.

You'll arrive today at Rome's Fiumicino Airport, where your Roman host will be waiting to greet you in your preferred language, be it Spanish, Japanese, French, or English. After introductions, you'll be escorted in a private car to the hotel you've selected. You'll have a chance to discuss what you'll be doing over the next few days. Your host will make sure that you're settled in for the evening, after which you'll have a chance to make your own acquaintance with the Eternal City.

DAY 13 - IMPERIAL ROME WALKING TOUR (B)
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at your hotel, until your guide calls for you to begin your walking visit to glorious Rome of the empire. In just a few hours, you'll pass through centuries of history. You'll take in the Colosseum, completed in 72 A.D. by Emperor Vespasian, once the site of gladiatorial bouts and chariot races, and so solidly constructed that it still is largely intact. You'll continue to the Forum, the main public square of the ancient city, site of markets, public ceremonies, and religious rituals. You'll take in the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in the Piazza Venezia, and journey back across centuries again to the Piazza del Campidoglio, the masterpiece city hall square designed by Michelangelo. And you'll appreciate unforgettable hilltop views of all of Rome. Spend your afternoon as you choose. Your host will be pleased to call a taxi to take you to your hotel, or recommend a restaurant for lunch. Rome offers an endless array of temptations, and your only problem will be choosing among them: a stroll on the Via del Corso, shopping on the Via Condotti, browsing the Via delle Carrozze and the Via della Croce. Of course, there's nothing as Roman as stopping for a cappuccino at the Antico Caffè Greco in the heart of the Via Condotti. Indulge yourself! For dinner, we can recommend typically Roman restaurants near the Forum, the Colosseum, or in other parts of Rome. Your host will be happy to discuss your preferences and write down some suggestions, with full directions.

DAY 14- TREASURES OF THE VATICAN (B)
Your Roman host will once again call for you after breakfast at your lodgings, to take you on a walking visit (or, as an option, by private car) to Rome's universal masterpieces of religious art and architecture. You'll travel together to the Vatican, and on the way, discuss the background of this unique city-state as patron of the arts, temporal power, and beacon of faith for millions worldwide. Your morning-and more, for there's so much to see-will be devoted to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. Count on four hours for the visit. Of course, you'll see the absolute musts for anyone visiting the Holy See, including Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, his Last Judgment over the altar, and masterpieces by Raphael. You'll continue to St. Peter's Basilica, the greatest church in the world by any measure, to view its grandeur as a whole, and its individual treasures, from the Pietà by Michelangelo to the Papal altar and Throne of St. Peter by Bernini. Afterward, a horse-drawn carriage will convey you into the heart of Rome, to view monuments and treasures from all eras, including Castle Sant'Angelo and the Pantheon of the ancient empire, and the beloved Fontana de Trevi and the Piazza di Spagna of more recent times. Once again, the remainder of the day will be yours to spend as you choose, shopping or enjoying the cuisine and street life of one of the world's most lively cities, with recommendations by your guide.

DAY 15- DEPARTURE (B)
Your host will call for you after breakfast to arrange your onward travel from Rome. Are you continuing by rail? You'll be escorted to Rome's Termini station. Otherwise, you'll be accompanied to Fiumicino Airport to catch your flight.

Based on 5 stars such as :
Divani Palace in Athens ( suites) , Royal Mykonian in Mykonos , Chromata in Santorini ( superior room):
Rome: Four-star deluxe hotels include the InterContinental De La Ville or comparable hotels, and similar establishments.

Based on Heritage Hotel Category for Athens : Grand Bretagne Hotel (Deluxe Room ) , or King George Hotel Athens .
Mykonos Grand Hotel ( Sea View-Superior Room with Jacuzzi )
Katikies ( standard room) , or Chromata ( Superior Room ) in Santorini
Four Seasons ( standard room) or Ciragan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul :

Rate includes:

• Air transportation within Greece as per itinerary , all in economy class , tax included.
  
• Air fare Athens to Istanbul and on to Rome , as per itinerary , all in economy class , tax included.
  
• Transportation between airport and hotel in Athens, Istanbul, Mykonos, and Santorini Ferry / hydrofoil between Mykonos and Santorini. Transfers are always on a private basis, private air-conditioned vehicle, private chauffeur.
  
• Accommodations with breakfast (B):
  In 4 or 5 stars based on your choice , as indicated ,or at comparable properties, according to availability:
  
  For deluxe 5 stars Athens : Divani Palace ( Junior suite )
  
  Mykonos: Royal Myconian on Elia Beach (deluxe)
  
  Santorini: Chromata, Nikos Villas or Dana Villas .
  
  
  Sample hotel in Istanbul, based on your choice :
  Ottoman-style boutique hotels, such as Arena or Armada, providing intimacy and fine service.
  Or the Inter.Continental hotel, Conrad , Hilton or similar
  Four Seasons or the Ciragan Palace Kempinski

Not Included:

• International air transportation from / to your home country .
• Optional excursions, such as city tours, sailing, cruising
• Any meal not specifically mentioned, beverages, and personal expenses
• Gratuities for local personnel
• Travel insurance
• Airport taxes

More choices :

• Honeymoon Wishes Tour- From Istanbul to Crete ( 17 Days)
  With a private Villa Stay in Crete - A 17-Day Mediterranean Vacation
  From Istanbul to Athens and The Greek Isle of Crete . All tours and transfers are on a private basis with your private air-conditioned vehicle and private chauffeur .

Useful traveler's links for Rome

• Public transportation of Rome - official site
• Roma Termini - official site for the main train station
• TrenItalia - official site for the Italian railways.
  Timetables and ticket information for trains going to Fiumicino Airport and city trains
• Rome Airports - official site, useful information on Fiumicino and Ciampino
• Tickitaly.com - Online purchase of tickets and tourist passes for Rome museums, sights, attractions, Colosseum, Vatican etc.
• The Vatican - official site