The Eastern Discovery - With Athens, Cruise Premier, Classic Group

Welcome to Zagreb. Relax and settle in or perhaps head for the romantic chestnut-lined Strossmayer Promenade for your first views over the city. In the evening, join your Travel Director for dinner with the opportunity to get to know your fellow travellers over a pleasant evening with wine.

Join your Local Expert to explore the two-tiered capital of Croatia. Take a walk to see the Art Pavilion, the Academy of Sciences and Arts, and pass by Zrinjevac Park. Then board the city's funicular to St. Mark's Church and the Lotrščak Tower, before walking back down through the Stone Gate and returning to the Square. The afternoon is at leisure—relax and enjoy your hotel's amenities, or perhaps take an Optional Experience to Ljubljana?

Take this morning to relax and enjoy your hotel's facilities or perhaps take an Optional Experience to the Zagorje region to learn about the local traditions and visit the house of Marshall Tito. In the afternoon depart for your next hotel, located inside the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, this is Croatia’s first and largest national park. While the park is predominately forests and grasslands, the true highlight are the interconnected lakes that cascade from one to another.

Explore Plitvice with Insight Choice. Choose between two MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences: Join a Local Expert to explore Plitvice National Park and learn how the site actively researches and monitors the natural habitat of species. Alternatively meet the industrious woman of the Tara Community Centre, where handicrafts are produced, enabling employment and engagement in the community. Travel along the coast and stop in Trogir, a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded by the Greeks more than 2,300 years ago. This town is renowned for its beautiful cathedral and Renaissance Cipiko Palace. Continue to your hotel.

The Roman Emperor Diocletian built his palace here, and today it forms the heart of the Old Town of Split. With your Local Expert, explore the 1,700 year-old palace cellars, and learn the story of the infamous emperor. Continue through the labyrinthine streets and arcaded squares to see St. Duje's - originally Diocletian's Mausoleum, and the Temple of Jupiter, which today is a baptistery, as well as the Golden Gate. Travel alongside sparkling deep blue seas and the rocky islands of the Dalmatian coast to Dubrovnik. This evening, should weather permit, embark on a dazzling cruise around the fabled bay and gaze out at views of the glistening Adriatic. Start your dinner with a glass of sparkling wine, before savouring authentic flavours of local specialties.

The walled town of Dubrovnik, was once described as 'paradise on Earth', according to George Bernard Shaw.Join a walking exploration of the city, guided by a Local Expert. Get a glimpse into local life, as you explore the stone-paved streets inside the 16th century bastions of the Old Town. Walk past Onofrio's Fountain, see the Old Jewish Quarter and the synagogue, and marvel at the grandeur of the cathedral and the Franciscan and Dominican monasteries.

Stop to visit the old town of Kotor, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Admire the bay, with its azure waters lapping at the edges of the medieval towns which dot the coastline. Next, make your way along the Adriatic sea to Budva. Discover the medieval old town on your own, home to religious sites such as the 9th-century Church of Santa Maria in Punta.

Travel through the spectacular scenery of Montenegro and Albania and continue to the fascinating capital of Tirana. Led by your Local Expert, explore this warmhearted and colourful city, and see the diverse relics that remain from its Ottoman, Italian and communist past.

Take in Albania’s unique scenery, as you journey across the country to Greece, and set sail for the cobalt-blue waters of Corfu. Renowned since Odysseus for its untamed beauty and strategic position in the Mediterranean, Corfu today is one of Greece’s most charming islands.

Enjoy a full day at leisure to relax and enjoy the beautiful island of Corfu. Perhaps explore the Old Town and admire the interesting mix of architectural styles, from Roman and Venetian to French and British, each resembling an era of the island’s interesting past before it was united with Greece. Alternatively, you may want to lay back and unwind at the hotel pool.

Set off from your island paradise for Delphi, a spectacular cliff-side amphitheatre and worthy of its status as the centre of the ancient world. History and mythology run deep here, with finds of ritual artefacts that date back to 4,000 BC and remains of a Mycenaean settlement. It is said that Delphi is the location where two eagles crossed paths, after they were released by Zeus from opposite end of the universe to find ‘the navel of the world.’

Ascend the Sacred Way of Delphi with your Local Expert. Pass the Parian marble Treasury of the Athenians and Polygonal Wall with its interlocking stones, still perfectly intact after thousands of years. You'll approach the Temple of Apollo, where for 14 centuries the mysterious Oracle of Delphi breathed her enigmatic ‘words,' rumoured to have successfully predicted events related to the Argonauts expedition and the Trojan War. Your travels then continue to the ancient city of Athens, the modern capital of Greece.

Board your cruise ship and set sail for the lovely island of Mykonos with its dazzling sugar cube houses and whitewashed windmills. Tonight, the maze of walkways, welcoming tavernas and nightlife are yours to explore. Late in the evening, your cruise sails across the Aegean to Turkey. While cruising, enjoy an exquisite variety of Mediterranean dishes as well as flavours, aromas and spices from around the world. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served onboard daily. Your cruise includes a complimentary drinks package, featuring a selection of alcoholic, soft drinks and hot beverages.

Today explore the Turkish port of Kusadasi and visit the ancient ruins of Ephesus. With your Local Expert, explore this Greco-Roman treasure, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the afternoon, sail to the island of Patmos where St. John the Devine was exiled by the Emperor Domitian. Later, your cruise sets sail for the island of Crete.

In the morning, you dock at Heraklion in Crete, where you visit the site of the ruins of King Minos' Palace of Knossos with a Local Expert. Later, cruise beneath the sheer cliffs of Santorini. Explore the capital of Thira, with its clifftop restaurants and cafes, breathtaking views and amazing sunsets.In the evening you sail onto Athens.

Disembark from your cruise. Join a Local Expert for a morning of city sightseeing. Enjoy the glory of ancient Greece from the Acropolis with the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, also known as the Temple of the Wingless Victory, and the six stone-carved caryatids that make up the Porch of the Maidens on the Erechtheion. You will also see the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Arch of Hadrian. This afternoon is yours to explore at your own pace.

Bid farewell to Athens. Your journey ends with a transfer to the airport.