Fly from the U.S. to Athens, Greece.

Arrive in Athens and transfer to the Athens Plaza Hotel. Enjoy an evening cocktail reception at the hotel.

Arrive this morning at Amorgos, a seldom visited island in the Cyclades group whose whitewashed villages are set in a rugged landscape. A tour leads to the 11th-century Monastery of Khosoviotissa, built in a spectacular setting of precipitous cliffs facing the sea. For over 1,000 years the monastery has been a place of pilgrimage for worshippers, who come to venerate an icon of the Virgin.

Diafani is a small fishing village on the northern spur of herb-scented Karpathos island. Explore Olympos, one of the most unspoiled villages in the Aegean, built on a ridge below a mountain whose side is studded with windmills. In the afternoon, sail to Symi, once the stronghold of the Knights of St. John and the coveted object of a succession of invaders. With tiers of beautifully proportioned neoclassical mansions rising above its harbor, today Symi is one of Greece’s most attractive islands.

An island of great beauty, remote Samothraki remains outside most tourist itineraries and, for this reason, has retained its original character. Samothraki’s central massif rises to the great peak of Mount Fengari. According to Homer, it was from this peak that Poseidon watched the fighting during the Trojan War. Explore the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, an ancient place of worship where Mysteries were held. The Winged Victory, now in the Louvre, was discovered here in 1863, and subsequent excavations have revealed the Hieron, or Sanctuary; Anaktoron, which served as a hall of initiation into the mysteries; Temonos; and the Rotunda. Also visit the island’s main town, where whitewashed homes sit beneath the hills of Mount Fengari and the ruins of a Byzantine fort.

From bucolic Platamonas on the Greek mainland coast of Thessaly, take an excursion to Vergina, the site of Aigoci, the capital of the ancient Macedonian kingdom. Visit the excavations, including the tombs of Philip II (Alexander the Great’s father), and note the Macedonian burial mounds that dot the plain. Also tour the Archaeological Museum, displaying many of the treasures recovered from the tombs. After lunch at a local restaurant, explore Dion, an ancient site set in a superb location on the foothills of Mount Olympus, dedicated to Zeus.

Call at Volos, a port city at the head of spacious Pagasitic Gulf, and spend the day exploring the mountainous country of Pelion, one of the most alluring regions of Greece. The mythological home of Centaurs—wild half-man, half-horse creatures—Pelion is dotted with picturesque villages and set amidst lush vegetation. Visit several of the villages, including Portaria, with its running streams and glorious main square; Makrynitsa, whose imposing old stone mansions are built on the slopes of the mountain; and Zagora, with its church of St. George containing 18th-century art.

Disembark and transfer to the Istanbul airport for return flights to the U.S.