Visit Meteora

A local agency with an office on Patriarchou Dimitriou Street in Kalambaka. It organises walking tours along the monks' paths, sunset outings with a visit to the hermits' caves and a harness-and-helmet scramble, with pick-up at your hotel in Kalambaka or Kastraki.

Who they are

Visit Meteora is a travel agency in Kalambaka, the village at the foot of the Meteora rocks, which has worked since 2013 with a local team. Its company is Visit Meteora P.C., with an office at 2 Patriarchou Dimitriou Street, and it is registered with the Greek National Tourism Organisation with licence 07.27.E.60.00.00796.0.1. It has public liability insurance for its activities. Its way of working is small groups: the agency itself says it does not accept bookings from large groups.

What it organises

The bulk of its offer is outings of a few hours at Meteora. There is a sunset walking tour along the monks' paths with a visit to the caves where the hermits lived, of about three hours, from €25; a sunset trip with a visit to a monastery and a half-day of monasteries, of about four hours, for €30, and a five-hour walking route with a visit to a monastery, also for €30. For those looking for something more physical there is the Great Saint climb, of about three hours, with harness and helmet, from €65, and buggy outings along dirt tracks.

It also sells one- to four-day trips from Athens, combined with Delphi, private visits, an outing designed for those arriving by train at Kalambaka and private transfers to Athens, Thessaloniki, Delphi, Volos, Ioannina and Igoumenitsa. On outings from Kalambaka it picks up and drops off clients at hotels in Kalambaka and the neighbouring village of Kastraki.

Monasteries: what to know

The monasteries require suitable clothing: you may not enter in a vest top or, for men, in shorts above the knee. Women can borrow or buy skirts and shawls at the entrance. Each monastery charges €5 admission, and under-12s do not pay. Opening days and hours change through the year, and the agency publishes a page on its website to check them before you go. Animals are not admitted, except assistance dogs.

Booking, ages and languages

You book on its website, with online payment, or by email; afterwards a voucher arrives that you must show on the day of the tour. You must be at the pick-up point ten minutes early: arriving late counts as not showing up and the money is not refunded. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before on day trips and up to 48 hours on multi-day ones. In bad weather the agency may cancel or postpone and offers another activity or a credit.

To book you must be of legal age. On day trips children under 4 do not pay and from 4 the adult rate is charged. You must be fit for the walking routes and report any health problem beforehand. Travel insurance is each client's responsibility. The website is in English and does not mention Spanish-speaking guides.