Christmas in the Arcadian Mountain Villages: 3 Days in Vytina

Spend Christmas or New Year the way Greeks remember it from their grandparents’ villages: stone houses, fireplaces, church bells and slow mountain cooking among the fir forests of Mount Mainalo. This private 3-day trip takes you from Athens to Vytina, with a day in Dimitsana and Stemnitsa and, when there is snow, a few hours at the Mainalo ski centre. We are based in Lagkadia – this is our home and our favourite time of the year.

Day 1: Athens – Vytina
Pick-up from your hotel, home or the airport and a private transfer of about 2½ hours to Vytina, with a coffee stop on the way. Check in at a partner hotel with a fireplace, walk the festive square and taste local products such as honey, handmade pasta and sweets.

Day 2: Dimitsana, Stemnitsa and the Lousios gorge
A day with your driver in the stone villages of Gortynia: Dimitsana above the Lousios gorge, with the Open-Air Water Power Museum, and Stemnitsa, the village of silversmiths. When there is snow, swap part of the day for the Mainalo ski centre, about 15 km from Vytina. Dinner by the fire in Vytina.

Day 3: Vytina – Athens
A slow morning in the village and the transfer back to Athens or the airport.

Choose your dates between mid-December and Epiphany (6 January): Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve or a weekend in between. Hotels in the mountain villages fill up early for the holidays, so ask us soon. More nights, another base village (Dimitsana, Levidi, Lagkadia) or a local walking guide are possible on request. We reply within 24 hours.