October 14 to 21, 2026 · 8 nights · Maximum 12 people
Epirus Unveiled
Eight nights. The Greece that Greece kept for itself.
While the crowds follow the coastline, Epirus waits, unhurried, deeply alive, and largely undiscovered by international travellers. Northwestern Greece at its most magnificent: a lakeside city layered with Ottoman and Byzantine history, stone villages connected by ancient arched bridges, and one of the deepest canyons on earth.
October in Epirus is golden and warm, the light on the mountains something photographers describe in reverent terms. The forests turning. The mountain food at its richest.
The tour begins and ends in Ioannina. Guests fly from Athens to Ioannina independently, a one hour flight.
Day 1
Arrival into Ioannina
A lakeside city unlike anywhere else in Greece. Ottoman layers, Byzantine bones, the old castle above the water, silversmiths who have been working the same craft for five hundred years. Welcome dinner near the castle walls, small plates, Epirus cheeses, the first taste of what this region does with food.
Half day option
An evening walk along the lake promenade, then up through the castle district as the light fades. The view of the lake from the fortifications at dusk.
Day 2
Nisaki Island
By wooden boat across Lake Pamvotis to Nisaki, the small island in the middle of the lake where Ali Pasha, the Ottoman Lion of Ioannina, met his end in 1822. Monasteries, cobbled lanes, the strange quiet of a place that history visited and then left alone. Back in Ioannina by midday.
The afternoon belongs to you. The old bazaar, the silversmiths, coffee on the waterfront. The lake at its own pace.
Half day option
Nisaki Island is the half day. The boat, the island, the monastery. An hour and a half, then the afternoon free.
Day 3
Ioannina, Freely
The town gives more on the third day. Nothing is scheduled.
Half day option
The Byzantine castle and the Silversmithing Museum inside its walls, a craft that has defined this city for centuries and produced some of the finest metalwork in the Ottoman world. Two hours, then the lake.
Day 4
Into the Zagori
Drive north into the Zagori, a protected wilderness of 46 stone villages where the architecture has been so perfectly preserved it feels like stepping sideways through time.
The rim of Vikos Gorge in the morning, the deepest gorge on earth relative to its width. The scale stops the breath. Then down into the valley. The Kokkoris stone bridge over the Voidomatis river, water so clear you can see the riverbed from the bridge above. Swim here if the October temperature allows. It will be cold. It will be worth it.
A long mountain lunch in a village. Pites made with greens picked that morning. Metsovone cheese. The barrel wine that goes with altitude.
Overnight in Papingo, a stone village at the foot of the Tymfi massif. Sleep with the mountain above you. The silence after dark in the Zagori is its own particular experience.
This is the one full day. Nothing else is scheduled.
Day 5
Village Morning, then Metsovo
Wake in the stone village at whatever hour feels right. Coffee in the square. A walk along the stone paths if the morning calls for it. No agenda.
Then Metsovo on the way back, the mountain town at the Katara Pass. Famous for its Metsovone cheese, its Katogi wine, and the Averoff Gallery, one of the finest collections of modern Greek painting in an entirely unexpected location. An hour and a half there, then back to Ioannina by late afternoon.
Half day option
Metsovo is the half day on the return, the town, the Averoff Gallery, the cheese, the mountain character.
Day 6
Ancient Dodoni
Thirty minutes south of Ioannina. The oldest oracle in the ancient world, a Hellenistic theatre in a mountain valley, where the sacred oak tree of Zeus once spoke through rustling leaves and the flight of doves. The site is vast, the theatre extraordinary, and on most mornings in October you will have it almost entirely to yourselves.
Back in Ioannina before midday. A long free afternoon, return to the bazaar, walk the lake, go back to the taverna from the first night.
Half day option
Dodoni is the half day. The oracle, the theatre, the silence. An hour and a half at the site, then the road back.
Day 7
Ioannina, the Last Full Day
No structure. Go back to the island if it called you. Find the tea house in the Jewish quarter you passed on Day 3. Walk the lake promenade at the hour that suits you.
Half day option
The Perama Cave, spectacular underground stalactite chambers twenty minutes from Ioannina. Completely different from everything else on the tour. One hour inside, then the afternoon free.
Day 8
Fully Free. Farewell dinner if you want it
The last day is entirely yours. The farewell dinner in the evening for those who want it, open table, no fixed time, as long as it needs to be.
Day 9
Departures
Breakfast together. The lake one more time. The road when people are ready.
This tour is for people who want the Greece that isn't in the brochures. The lakeside city with the Ottoman island at its heart. The mountain canyon nobody from their suburb has visited. The stone village where the silence after dark is complete. If you want wild, unhurried, deeply regional, Epirus is the answer.
What's included
- All accommodation (8 nights, including Zagori guesthouse night)
- All breakfasts
- Selected lunches and dinners as noted
- All entrance fees for scheduled visits
- Boat to Nisaki Island
- Private transport throughout
- Tania's time, knowledge, and network
- 5% charity contribution on your behalf
Not included
- International flights
- Travel insurance (required)
- Personal spending
- Meals not specified above
Maximum twelve people. The next step is a conversation.
Pricing available from August 2026