Katakolon is your gateway to Olympia, where the ancient Greeks flocked every four years for more than a millennium to celebrate the sacred games dedicated to Zeus. Visit the ruins of the Sanctuary, with its athletic quadrangles, stadium-temples and treasuries; then browse in the modern Archaeological Museum, a treasure house of Archaic, Classical and Roman sculptures, including the famous Niki "Winged Victory."
Did an excursion that included site of the Olympics plus lunch with Greek dancing entertainment. We loved everything about the excursion. The dancers were terrific and the historical sites astounding. Wonderful experience.
This was lovely and a bit bigger than lead to believe. There is a "hop off hop on" road train for 6 euros which go's to the small beach area and stops at the local vineyard. We were not aware of this and didn't take any beach gear, but stayed an hour and got train back (every 30 mins).
Visited: May 14, 2017
Olympia is definitely worth seeing once in your life. Stepping on the same track the first olympians used is really exciting. The city of Katakolon is really nothing but a bunch of tourist shops. Take the train into Olympia. 10 euros per person round trip. Totally worth it. Do not pay for an excursion here unless you want a personalized tour when you get to Olympia. When we got to Olympia, we just walked around ourselves and read the information on the little kiosks. The train is easy and cheap but be aware that it only leaves once or twice to go to Olympia and comes back one or two times on the way back to Katalon. I think it depends on how many ships are in town. The station is just past the shopping street close to the beach. Buy the ticket at the stand and hop on in. You do not have to validate your ticket, either.
Visited: Oct 01, 2017
We took a bus to Olympia from the port and visited the ancient site on our own. We had purchased Rick Steve’s book on Mediterranean Cruise Ports (great buy, by the way!) and did a self-guided tour described in the book. Worked very well for us. Olympia is a unique place for those who love history. If you don’t do research and come out to Olympia ancient site on your own, it might be a disappointing experience, as all you will see is a bunch of rocks. This is one of those places that requires you to do a research or join a tour group with a knowledgeable guide.
Visited: Sep 10, 2017
One of our favorite excursions. Visiting the site of the original olympic games was almost unreal. And we ran on the site of the track. Learned so much from this excursion and our tour guide.
Visited: Sep 09, 2017
Exclusive Ancient Olympia
$89/adult
Kourouta Beach
$69/adult
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