Greece Photo Tour during Olive Harvest

This photo tour of Greece brings you to the Peloponnese area at the start of the olive harvest so you will capture the different stages, from “shaking” the trees, collecting, transporting olives and then pressing them at the mills. And the olive groves by themselves are an attraction.

And let’s not forget that Peloponesse is also home to Olympia, one of the best-preserved ancient theatres (in Epidavros) and many other charming places like Monemvasia or Nafplio. And the intriguing monasteries from Meteora are on the itinerary as well.

The rugged coastline is also fascinating and it is dotted with small fishing towns from where fisherman go out to sea and return by midday with the day’s catch; also interesting to see and capture on camera.

Combined with the Greek friendliness, hospitality and cuisine, this tour provides a great variety of subjects and opportunities making it a great travel photography experience.

2027 dates: November 7-16

Greece is from where the term photography comes from, “phos graphis” in Greek means “drawing with light”. So what better way to start this photo tour of Greece than with a blue hour shoot of the Acropolis in Athens. We will also have our first group dinner at one of the local tavernas.

• Overnight in Athens

In Athens we will go to Syntagma square to capture the changing of the guards in front of the Parliament building. Here, the Evzones soldiers dressed in special outfits guard the Monument of the Unknown Soldier and are changed every hour.

We travel from Athens north to where the Meteora monasteries are. There are many fascinating places in Greece and in Europe in general but these monasteries are truly spectacular. Here Greek Orthodox monasteries were built on giant rock boulders. We will photograph the monasteries and the area in the warm afternoon light all the way until the sun goes down. We will stay in Kastraki, a town with direct views towards the rocks and some of the monasteries.

• Accommodation in Kastraki (near Meteora)
• drive time – 4h30

• Accommodation – Kastraki
• Drive time – 2 hours

In the morning we will go out for another photo shoot in Meteora, especially if the weather conditions are significantly different or better than on the previous day.

Then we will drive back south towards Ancient Olympia. Along the long drive we will make several stops to capture the countryside, the coast and the impressive Rio-Antirrio bridge.

• Overnight in Ancient Olympia
• Drive time: 5h30

We will start the day by going back in time to when the first Olympic games were held in Ancient Olympia. We will visit the site and learn about the incredible events which took place for 1000 years and how the spread of Christianity made the games stop.

By this time we will be in the Peloponnese peninsula, one of the largest agricultural regions of Greece from where some of the best oranges, olives and olive oils come, including the famous Kalamata olives. The weather, proximity to the sea and hilly landscape are ideal for olive farming. As we will drive by endless olive groves we will stop and photograph the groves or as we see farmers harvesting.

In the evening we will arrive in Gytheio which was the port of Sparta. Now it is a charming coastal town with many small fishing boats.

• Overnight in Gytheio
• Drive time: 3h

After breakfast we will have a walk through the town, photograph the lighthouse and wait for the fisherman to return from the sea with their catch and photograph them as they take the fish from their nets. If the weather is good, we will even see octopus hanging to dry in the sun.

In the second half of the day, we will travel to the delightful town of Monemvasia. It is a located on a small mountain-like island and it has a very well-preserved architecture with brown stone buildings, many small church towers and beautiful narrow pedestrian streets.
 

• Overnight in Gytheio
• Drive time: 2:30h

Kalamata olives are considered by many Greeks as the best ones, also making the best olive oil (competing with Crete). They come from … Kalamata! We will pass by this town and we will go to the local market and see what is being traded there. And then we will go to an olive grove, to learn about olives, taste them and the olive oil and see how olives are harvested and turned into oil at the mill. The harvest starts in late October and it will be in full swing at that time. We will pass by many other olive groves at different times of the day throughout this photo tour of Greece, we will stop to have a look and photograph them.

• Accommodation – Kalamata
• Drive time – 3h

Our photographic journey through Greece continues with one of the largest and best-preserved ancient theatres, the one in Epidaurus. Millenia ago this part of a complex healing centre, a modern “hospital” for those times.

We are then invited to an organic orange farm to learn about oranges, Greek cuisine and enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal by our hosts Panagiota & Petros.

In the evening we will arrive in Nafplio, just in time for an afternoon and blue hour photo shoot. The town was the first capital of Greece after gaining independence two centuries ago. It is situated in a bay, has very pleasant architecture, there is a fortress out on a small nearby island and a huge fortress on the hill overlooking the town.

The Greek food should be labelled as “finger-licking good” and during the trip we will dine at tavernas where locals usually eat and we will taste real Greece, with mezze, salads, seafood, souvlaki, tzatziki and a lot of olive oil.

• Accommodation – Nafplio
• Drive time – 3h

In the morning we will photograph the town of Nafplio and the region from high ground where the Palamidi fortress is located.
We will then continue to a wine region which is great to photograph especially in November. The vine leaves turn colours at this time of the year, the area is hilly and there are also cypress trees and olive groves combined in the landscape. And we will of course, not leave the wine region without having a taste of the wines together with lunch.
We will return to Athens in the evening where we will round up our fascinating photo journey to continental Greece.

• Accommodation – Athens
• Drive time – 2:30h

We will organize the transfer to the airport for your departure.