West USA, 12 days

Meet at the airport and fly to San Francisco. Arrival, transfer and check-in at our hotel. The city is located right at the "tip" of a peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and San Francisco Bay to the east, a position that gives every part of it, as we will see, an excellent view. Progressive and bohemian, outgoing and unpredictable, like her weather. In America's West Coast megacity, anything is possible. From the beat culture of North Beach, the zen serenity of Japantown and the Latin extroversion of the Mission to the legendary views from Russian Hill and Pacific Heights, San Francisco has many different faces. . Its identity is shaped by its urban topography with its famous bay and hills, islands, marinas and beaches loved by surfers. But it is also defined by other things, such as the characteristic haze of the sea front and the blinding clarity of the windswept sky.

In 1776, the Spanish were the first Europeans to settle in San Francisco, which they named after Saint Francis. After the discovery of gold deposits in California in 1848 and the Comstock Lode silver deposits in 1859, the city grew rapidly. After being destroyed by the 1906 earthquake, it quickly rebuilt and today is one of the most recognizable cities in the United States. Today a modern metropolis with huge skyscrapers, but which offers an excellent quality of life to its residents. The city is located right at the "tip" of a peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and San Francisco Bay to the east, a position that gives every part of it, as we will see, an excellent view. We start our tour from the city center, where we will see the Civic Center complex with the City Hall, the Opera House, the Museum and the United Nations Road. We stop for photos at Alamo Square and pass through the Golden Gate Park, a gem of the city, which has many interesting attractions: Japanese gardens, Botanical Gardens, golf courses, lakes, aquariums, a buffalo and reindeer park, as well as the Science Museum and the characteristic Windmill. We proceed to the Cliff House and continue to the Golden Gate, the Golden Bridge, the symbol of the city, from where we will see Alcatraz and the famous Pier 39, with its shops and aquatic permanent residents, the elephant seals. For the evening we recommend a ride with the TRAM/CABLE CAR to Fisherman's Wharf. At Pier 39 with its quaint restaurants and shops, you can enjoy a seafood dinner, especially giant Pacific crabs.

Optional: Monterey-Carmel or Muir Woods-Sausalito Free day to explore the city further. Those who want, can take part in the optional excursion we recommend to two very charming cities: Monterey and Carmel. We pass out of Silicon Valley and San Jose. We arrive at historic Monterey, the old capital of Alta California. Monterey was the "sardine capital" of the Western Hemisphere when the first packing plant was established there in 1900. Today, the old sardine factories have been transformed into quaint restaurants, small souvenir shops, galleries, cafes and boutiques. This area is called "Cannery Row" and was made famous by the author John Steinbeck. The Monterey Fairgrounds hosted the "Monterey Pop Festival", the first major outdoor festival in the history of rock music (16-18/06/1967), which became the model for the famous Woodstock Festival two years later (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Animals, etc.). Then, by special permit, via the private 17-Mile Drive (between Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove), admiring the beautiful drive with its lush vegetation, ocean views, golf courses and ultra-luxurious mansions reminiscent of Hollywood productions, we will arrive at the picturesque Carmel, a small town of artists, teachers and retirees, who choose to maintain the provincial atmosphere and enjoy their involvement in the arts. Carmel is a cosmopolitan seaside resort full of expensive, luxurious restaurants, galleries, stone-built villas and cobblestone paths, all carefully and tastefully decorated down to the last detail. Alternatively, we also recommend visiting the popular Muir Woods National Park to walk through the impressive wooded landscape, its deeply shaded paths and among the giant Sequoia/Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) often shrouded in mist from the coast . continue to cosmopolitan seaside Sausalito, From the Sausalito waterfront, you can see Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, the San Francisco skyline, and the waterfront. At night San Francisco sparkles as we will see in the city across the bay. The view of San Francisco is amazing, Sausalito has its own magic, a small town of only 7,500 inhabitants, whose houses cling to a steep, wooded hillside above the tidal levels. It is filled with restaurants, art galleries, and picturesque pedestrian crossings. It is a quiet, beautiful town reminiscent of mountainous Mediterranean villages. This art filled city offers a break from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco and gives visitors a chance to escape the San Francisco haze and soak up the sun in a slightly warmer climate, just across the bridge

Free breakfast. You can visit shops and Museums. Market Street diagonally divides the center in two. In its southern part extends the SoMa (South of Market) area with the Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). To the north, Union Square is a destination for shopping lovers – in its boutiques you will find clothes and accessories from famous houses. You can also see the large natural history museum, aquarium, planetarium, and a whole colony of penguins, this place is full of interesting surprises. Around noon transfer to the airport and flight to Las Vegas. Arrival and check-in at our hotel, which also has a casino. In Las Vegas now all the top chefs of the world have at least one restaurant. A unique experience, the Picasso restaurant at the Bellagio Hotel - in addition to the dining experience it offers, you will see on its walls some of Picasso's works, worth more than 100 million dollars. While your gaze will wander over these precious works, executive chef Julian Serrano will prepare for you dishes inspired by French and Spanish cuisine. In fact, the dinner scene of Julia Roberts and George Clooney in the movie "Oceans 11" was filmed here.

Meet the city that never sleeps. We will walk with our guide along the famous Strip and visit the major attractions from the hotel-casinos, each of which organize impressive themed shows to attract and entertain their audiences. The Atlantis show is presented at Caesars's Palace. The flamingos steal the show in front of the homonymous hotel. At the Bellagio, the spectacle of the fountains "dancing" to music. At the Venetian, the gondolas are reminiscent of the Italian city of the same name. The atmosphere of Egypt is brought by the Sphinx and the pyramid outside Luxor. Likewise, you will be impressed by Paris Las Vegas with the Eiffel tower, New York with "lady Liberty", Excalibur, etc. Another option in this amazing city of gambling and entertainment is ...an Express wedding!!!

In your free time you can visit one of the two Outlets - discount villages, while in the evening you will want to watch some performance of famous artists who parade on the huge - as befits the whole extravaganza - music stages of the city.

Today we have a road trip to the Grand Canyon. Its duration is approximately 12 hours. Grand Canyon National Park is one of the first US national parks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is 446 kilometers long, between 6.5 and 29 kilometers wide and 1.83 kilometers deep. Since the end of the Cretaceous period, the Colorado River and its tributaries have carved away the layers of the Colorado Plateau, which are up to 2 billion years old, one by one, forming the Grand Canyon. Recent research has shown that the Colorado River took its current form 17 million years ago. The lack of moisture and therefore vegetation and periods of rapid erosion, followed by periods of widening of the canyon, as well as the existence of layers with different resistance to erosion, gave the Grand Canyon its current shape. Before the colonization of America by Europeans, tribes of Native Americans lived in this area, mainly the "Pueblos" who from 1,200 BC. they considered the gorge sacred and made their accommodations inside its caves. Descendants of these ancient tribes are the Navajo Indians. The first European to see the Grand Canyon was the Spaniard García López de Cárdenas (American Spanish) or García López de Cárdenas (Castilian Spanish) in 1540. How would it feel to walk in the void? Of being so close to heaven you think you can touch it? This is how we feel on the Grand Canyon Skywalk. A horseshoe-shaped bridge, located at an altitude of 1,450 meters on the west edge of the Grand Canyon in the state of Arizona, United States of America.

Alternatively, this excursion can be done by helicopter (ask for the difference in cost with your registration).

6-hour route with stops through landscapes reminiscent of the Wild West of the movies. We cross the Nevada desert, where Mojave Indians lived next to the warmest region of the USA, Death Valley, etc. We are greeted by the California desert and then the San Bernardino Valley. Coffee stop at Barstow, with the station and commercial train. A little further down is the historic Route 66, where scenes from the "road movies" were filmed, i.e. the road movies and motorcycle chases of the 60s. We are approaching Los Angeles and the landscape changes: there is greenery all around, the roads widen by 10-12 lanes and skyscrapers can be seen in the distance.

We continue for a visit-ride to Santa Monica (about 1:30 hours), known from countless movies, with a unique view of the beach on the Pacific coast. In its center, the bustling Third Street Promenade, where wonderful shops, cafes and ethnic restaurants await you, two antichrist bushes-dinosaurs, the music of street musicians, but also the impressive numbers of street performers, who dance break dance better and from professionals. Free time at the Santa Monica Pier, which is an amusement zone and amusement park, with the famous "Ferris wheel" and the end sign of "Route 66". Late in the afternoon we depart for our hotel.

Great day, full of pictures, information and activity. We start with the historic center of the "City of Angels"... We see the building of the mission of the Spanish priest Junipero Serra, from the 17th century, which today functions as a church and recalls the history of the founding of the cities and local communities of California. Next to it, another part of the historic center, Olvera street. Next is the Walt Disney Concert Hall with its dazzling stainless surfaces and quirky curves, designed by Frank Gehry, which hosts classical music concerts, operas and theater performances. Passing through the center, we see the Court House, City Hall, Police Station, Union Square. Via Sunset Boulevard we proceed to Rodeo Drive, the famous street with luxury shops, one next to the other, ready to welcome their - mostly - famous (and well-to-do) clientele. Beverly Hills in opulence, West Hollywood and a stop to admire the famous "Boulevard of Stars" (Hollywood Boulevard), with the famous stars taking their legendary place on the sidewalk. Dolby Theater and red carpet remind us of moments from the Oscars and give us the opportunity to photograph from some point the "Hollywood" sign on the opposite hill. We continue with the Man's Chinese Theater with its ornate Chinese gate and concrete enclosure, which houses the footprints of the stars. Malls (like Hollywood & Higland), restaurants, spectacularly lit movie theaters (like the art deco El Capitan Theater) and historic hotels (like the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel) complete the scene. In the evening, one must visit the Farmers Market. Two areas, one more Cyrillic and the other more simplistic, both of which have something to offer you, tastes, souvenirs and pictures to take with you. In the most simplistic one, you walk between shops from the 60s-70s with a more traditional and simple setup. As you pass a vertical street through the Farmers Market, you are transported to our time. Everything is more impressive and more expensive. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

One of the first things that comes to mind when we hear the word America is definitely Hollywood! All of us have more or less seen and loved Hollywood productions, series and shows! A huge movie production industry, countless stars, exorbitant amounts of money, glitz and glamour, abuses, scandals and awards, are just some of the elements that make up what we call the Hollywood industry! And where exactly are all these productions being filmed? In huge filming facilities, such as Universal Studios! A basic rule, unbreakable and now known to everyone! Start early!!! Today, therefore, our day is dedicated to the Universal Studios, which are located on the outskirts of Hollywood and occupy an entire "city" in area. Guided by our guide, we will visit the various sights of the park. With special trains we will tour the area of the studios, which have been operating since the 1930s and where many films have been shot. We will see sets of famous films ("Jurassic Park", "Transformers", "The Mummy", etc.), the studios of "Water World", the different effects and the way the movies are made. Free time to buy souvenirs and return to the hotel.(not included in Departure 14/4)

(Optional Excursion to San Diego, San Pedro, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Coronado Island) For today we recommend a full day optional "roundtrip" excursion. We start from an important international port, San Pedro. San Pedro Bay was used by Spanish ships as early as the 1540s. Cargo entering this port represents about 23% of all cargo arriving in the United States. A little further down is Long Beach, a seaside city of the United States of great importance in the country's economy. It is the second largest port in the US based on the number of containers, after the neighboring port of Los Angeles, and one of the largest in the world. Also, in this area there is a significant oil industry, as oil exists both offshore and underground. The manufacturing sector includes manufacturing of aircraft, automotive parts, electrical and audio-visual equipment. We continue our route with the Pacific Ocean on our right and some of the most beautiful beaches of Southern California, such as Huntington Beach, the "surf capital", the surf capital of the country. The International Surfing Museum is also located here. The beach is wide, flat and continues for nearly 10 unbroken miles on either side of the town's large pier. In Hollywood's golden age, this southern California coastal town was a magnet for big screen stars. They loved its grand ballrooms and smoky bars. Above all, however, they loved its waters and particularly its beautiful marina, where they moored their yachts and sailboats. "These people were protecting their privacy." Further down Laguna Beach with surfers, marinas, luxury mansions, oil wells and expensive cars. From Dana Point we take the highway to San Diego. Arrival and stop for lunch. Visit to the city center, where we will see the Gas Lamp District, where the streets are lit with gas. Through the impressive, 3,000-meter-long Coronado Bridge, we arrive at Del Coronado Island, where we will visit the 5-star hotel of the same name. A little further away is one of the bases of the 6th Fleet. After the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor, the Sixth Fleet was redesigned. The US Sixth Fleet has more than 40 ships, 175 aircraft and 21,000 personnel. It is the largest in the United States. Return to our hotel.(not included in Departure 14/4)

Sunny and glamorous, Los Angeles is a city of discovery for all, a bustling mix of cultures and nationalities, business and resort districts, beaches and museums, glittering alleyways and endless streams of luxury cars. The city simply impresses its visitors. It is worth noting that Los Angeles is a completely decentralized city without a clear geographical center and in fact consists of 88 small towns and districts, each of which has its own unique characteristic. Transfer to the airport and flight to Athens with a stopover. Arrival the next day.