Cruise Description

9 Night Cruise sailing from Athens to Safaga aboard Explora I.

Highlights of this cruise:

Athens
The port of Piraeus is one of the last old-style Mediterranean ports from where you can catch ferries to all of the Greek islands and travel a short distance to Greece's capital city Athens.

In the heart of the city lies the ancient Plaka district, with its honeycomb of streets, little shops - and tavernas that come alive at night. Situated on the north and east slopes of the Acropolis, it is rich with historic sites, such as ancient monuments and churches. Within Athens there are eight large hills, including the Acropolis, and on the outskirts, Mount Parnitha, Mount Pendeli and Mount Hymettos surround the city. A trip to Athens' most famous tourist attraction, the impressive Parthenon built on the Acropolis around 2,500 years ago, will be memorable to say the least.

There are an extraordinary number of historic tourist sights in Athens and many of these are known world-wide. Some of the top Athens attractions include the Agora - a grand, ruined Roman building, Hadrian's Arch - originally the city gate linking the Roman quarters with original town of Athens and the stunning Dionysos Theatre - the world's oldest theatre where many great plays have been performed over the years.

Safaga
Port Safaga is a town in Egypt, on the coast of the Red Sea, located 60 kilometres south of Hurghada.This small port is also a tourist area and a marine port connected by a regular cruise shuttle service line with Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The resort is known for its unpolluted atmosphere, black sand-dunes and mineral springs which have acquired specific therepuetic characteristics. It has a small but thriving tourism industry, specialising in diving, and was the venue for the 1993 World Windsurfing Championships.

Safaga is also a good starting point for a day trip into the Eastern Desert to check out the granite quarries of Mons Claudianus, or to the awesome sights of Luxor, one of the most impressive sights of Egypt, only 220km away.