Alexander the Great Experience: Private Tour Vergina and Pella

We 4 were picked up by Antonis Pouliasis near our B&B at the White Tower. As we drove to Pella, our first destination, Antonis provided us with information about the city and countryside we passed on our journey. His lively descriptions were informative, capturing our attention and made our journey pleasant. Our first stop was the ancient city of Pella. He drove us to the closest possible place to enter the site and after our visit, drove us to the Museum at Pella, which was closer to the current city. After touring the museum, he took us to a local restaurant “The Lemon” where we had a pleasant lunch. After that, he drove (about an hour drive) to the tomb and Museum of Phillip II and then the Polycentric Museum of Aigai. At each stop along the day, he guided us to the entrances, helped us get tickets and directed us into the sites and museums. While driving through the countryside, he showed great interest and pride with the agriculture grown in the green valleys we traversed. There were fields of cotton, corn, and orchards of peach, nectarine, apricot. Driving to Aigai, we passed a large reservoir and river, surprising to us all who are accustomed to the drier climate of southern Greece. We cannot compliment Antonis enough for his wit, charm and caring nature to make the drive and our trip an enjoyable and memorable experience. We thoroughly enjoyed our full day adventure to these sites of great archeological importance which has been on my list of places to visit in this beautiful country.

Adonis ! ( aka George Clooney’s twin, as has been mentioned !! Adonis was our driver , and by the end of our trip our best friend , although when we invited all four of us to his house for dinner , he politely declined !! It’s very important to have a gentle courteous and patient driver on a trip like this . Although he wasn’t a guide he told us quite a few stories along the way . Adonis also took us to an extremely good restaurant in Pelles , ! And he is an excellent driver ! Enough of Adonis , the trip was pretty good too ! We know now a lot more about King Philip and his lovely son Alexander the Great , we went to one archeological site ( a lot of walking here , not for the faint hearted in the heat , but there was some shade .. ) and to a burial site , which was underground and extremely well presented . We also went to 2 museums . , excellently laid out All in all a very good trip which was worth the quite high price ., Thanks lovely Adonis !!

Make sure you get a licensed guide. Ours was Athena and she was fabulous - extremely knowledgeable and became a friend! She even made sure that we ate in between sites at a fantastic restaurant, The Lemon, despite our driver wanting us to wait to eat until later even though we explained that someone in our party was diabetic. She even spent time with us after the driver dropped us off, taking us to Agia Sophia in Thessaloniki. My favorite stop was the royal tombs, which have been kept in situ, with the museum built over them. FANTASTIC! The down side to this tour was that our driver was most unpleasant. He was rude to Athena and lied. He rushed us through every stop because he booked another commitment. He changed our start time (with our permission) but he told us it was to avoid the heat when really he was trying to return us in time to make his other commitment, made after ours. Then he said that his boss had booked the other commitment, but when his boss (John?) contacted us, he did not know anything about the driver’s other commitment. I considered giving this tour a lower rating because of him but I did not want it to reflect on Athena, who was a 10 out 5. The beauty of Athena was she made this an amazing day despite the yelling and rushing of the driver. She is like the goddess, herself, full of wisdom and knowledge, with a very kind heart.

Loved our driver. Very knowledgeable about the culture and life in Greece. Gave good recommendations for lunch. Was very patient, letting us take our time at each place. Only down side was the museums weren’t open when we arrived. Not the drivers fault, but be prepared for possible delays. Driver made adjustments and we had a good experience.

Antonis our driver, also known as George Clooney’s twin, and Athena our guide was beyond amazing!! They were so much fun and informative throughout the tour! We did Royal Tombs Aigai along with Pella and countless other stops. Best experience we have had in Greece over the years! Worth it times 100!!