CARNIVAL AND TOUR OF THESSALONIKI

THE JOY OF THE CARNIVAL IN THESSALONIKI -KAVALA-EDESSA-KARAFERYE AND XANTHI

Dear guests, are you ready to see the ‘Xanthi Carnival’, which is called the Rio Carnival of Greece, where approximately 200 thousand people come to watch every year and feel this special ambience? Take your places for a pleasant carnival tour where we will see the important cultural values of Greece such as Thessaloniki and Kavala together with Xanthi, which has the title of ‘the best preserved old city in Greece’ awarded by the European Union.

TOUR PROGRAMME

DAY 1 (27 February-Thursday): MARMARIS - IPSALA CRUISE

We meet you, our esteemed guests, at 12:30 on Thursday, 27 February 2024 at Eşref Girginç Park (opposite LC Waikiki) and set off to exit the Ipsala Border Gate. Following the Izmir-Balıkesir-Çanakkale road route, we reach Ayvalık after the necessary breaks. After a rest break in Ayvalık, we take our places in our vehicle that will carry out our Xanthi carnival tour together with the guests of our partner agency. Afterwards, we continue on our way and reach Ipsala Border Gate to perform our customs procedures in the first hours of Friday.

DAY 2 (28 February-Friday): KAVALA VISITS-FREE LUNCH-SELANIK-CHURCH OF SAINT DIMITRI-ATATURK HOUSE-WHITE TOWER-HOTEL-(OPTIONAL GREEK NIGHT)

On our journey, which will take approximately 2.5 hours, we pass through Alexandroupoli (Alexandroupoli) - Komotini (Komotini) and Xanthi (Xanti) and reach Anastasia Rest Facilities in the morning. We have a free breakfast break at the facilities and then reach Kavala after a short journey. For more than 500 years under Ottoman rule, Kavala was once a small fishing town, but in the 1700s it became the world's largest tobacco trading port. Today, in Kavala, which is frequented by many tourists due to its historical and natural values, we visit Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha Mosque, imaret, Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Pasha's House, the aqueduct, which is the work of Mimar Sinan, and the Old City. Afterwards, we give you free time for lunch. Then we meet again and move towards Thessaloniki. In Thessaloniki, we first visit the Church of St Dimitri, which is considered a World Cultural Heritage by Unesco. After visiting this magnificent building, which has been home to many nations and beliefs, including the Romans, Normans and Ottomans for centuries, we visit the house of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Great Leader, where we will have emotional moments. After the valuable information we will get here, we see Kamara, Rotonda - Hortaci Süleyman Efendi Mosque, Bey Bath, Hamza Bey Mosque, Bedesten, Venizelos Statue and Square and give you free time in the square. After the free time, we reach the White Tower, one of the landmarks of Greece, with a pleasant walk from the coast. After getting information about the building, we take the most special photos of the trip. We end our day with this visit and go to our hotel where we will stay. (SELANIK ACCOMMODATION) 4* Philippion Hotel

NOTE: At the end of this day, an optional Greek Taverna Night (extra) will be organised. You can inform the guide about your participation in the excursion, which will be informed by the guide during the tour.

DAY 3 (01 March-Saturday): KARAFERYA - EDESSA-WATERFALLS-HOTEL

After our breakfast at our hotel in the morning, we set off towards the Caraferia Region. Karaferya is one of the most important centres of the Balkans as it is on the road connecting two important cities such as Thessaloniki and Bitola during the Ottoman Empire. Before the 1924 Population Exchange, the region hosted a dense Turkish population and a dense Jewish population before the Holocaust of World War II, and there are important artefacts from the Ottoman Empire . After seeing these artefacts and receiving information from our guide, we turn our route to Vodina, Greece. Vodina, now known as Edessa, is famous for its waterfalls that emerged after a severe earthquake in the region in the 14th century. We have a pleasant time in these natural wonders that offer a visual feast to its visitors and capture very special photo frames. After our visits to Karaferya and Edessa, we return to our hotel. (SELANIK ACCOMMODATION) 4* Philippion Hotel

DAY 4 (02 March-Sunday): JOURNEY TO ISKEÇE - FULL DAY FESTIVAL OF ISKEÇE

After having breakfast at our hotel, we carry out our exit procedures and set off towards the festival area to accumulate the most important memories of our trip and to see the famous Xanthi Festival and to experience its enthusiasm. After approaching the city, we leave our bus outside the city and go to the city square with the free municipal buses and join the carnival entertainment. The carnival culture here has a big place for the entertainment in daily life. Because you can see the traces of the destruction and looting in the city and houses as a result of the wars that lasted for centuries and you can feel the pain. In addition to these, you will also see that they have restored these houses with the help of the European Union funds and made them colourful by painting them in different colours. For this reason, it is also known as the ‘City of a thousand and one colours’ . We can say that this festival is the focal point of entertainment, where people of all classes, old and young, who devote themselves completely to entertainment, participate with different and interesting and of course colourful costumes. We dance and have fun with the groups participating in the parade and have fun by eating as much as we want from the local food and drinks prepared in the square. At the end of the carnival entertainment, we return to our car in line with the information of our guide and start our return journey. We arrive at the border crossing at night time and continue your journey by performing our passport procedures to enter Turkey.

DAY 5 (03 March-Monday):MARMARIS RETURN JOURNEY

In the first hours of Sunday, after leaving Balıkesir with our guests from Ayvalık, we continue our journey back to Marmaris. After the necessary breaks on the way, we reach Marmaris in the morning. We say goodbye at the points we have met, wishing to see each other on other trips.

NOTE: Our guests with green passports do not need a visa. For our guests who want to get a visa, our agency provides consultancy services on documents and making an appointment.

GENERAL CONDITIONS / INFORMATION

**Hotels may vary provided that they are of the same standards. Hotel names will be clearly announced in the programme to be sent two weeks before the tour.

**Our guide has the right to make changes in the programme and routes, taking into account situations that may affect the course of the trip such as weather and road conditions, provided that all visits are carried out.

**The seating arrangement on the bus is determined by seat numbers, the seat number is automatically assigned after the first payment. If you have a sensitivity about the seat number, please contact us.

**In the event that physical conditions make it impossible to realise a visit (road, weather, natural disasters, etc.), our agency cannot be held responsible for the non-realisation of this visit.

**There may be possible changes in the process for different reasons regarding the hotels written in the programme. In this case, similar or higher category hotels can be selected. The agency reserves the right to make hotel changes.

** Greek authorities do not allow entry to the country if there is a TRNC entry/exit stamp in the passports.

**Persons under the age of 18 who wish to travel abroad must have the consent of the father if travelling with only the mother, the consent of the mother if travelling with only the father, and the consent of both parents if travelling alone or with someone other than the parents. If the custody of the child is in the custody of a legal representative, the consent of the legal representative, certified by a notary or official authorities, is required.

**Passengers with less than 90 days remaining to the expiry date of their passport must make an enquiry before booking.

**Koral Tourism cannot be held responsible for any changes and delays that may occur in customs procedures.

**Koral Tourism is an intermediary company regarding visa procedures. Our company does not guarantee you a visa in any way. Visa approval and refusal is a decision made by the Greek Consulate authorities. In case of visa refusal, there is no visa fee refund. Tour fee refund is also evaluated according to the date of rejection. In accordance with the agreements made, it is not possible to refund the amounts that cannot be recovered from the suppliers. The consumer agrees to participate in the tour knowing these.

**Child discounts are valid for accommodation with two adults.

**The prices given are early booking period prices and will be valid for reservations to be made until 25 November 2024.

**You can pre-register and benefit from these prices with a deposit payment of 90,00 € per person during the first reservation.

SERVICES INCLUDED IN THE TOUR PRICE:

* 2 nights bed and breakfast accommodation in a 4 star hotel

* Transport services with comfortable vehicles and experienced captains

* Professional guidance services

* Tours specified in the programme

* Compulsory package tour liability insurance

* City taxes paid to hotels

* In-car refreshments

SERVICES NOT INCLUDED IN THE TOUR PRICE:

* Meal fees and beverages other than hotel accommodation concept

* Foreign exit fee

* Overseas Travel Health Insurance is not compulsory, but our guests can have their own private insurance if they wish.

* Personal expenses (hotel extras, shopping, etc.)

* Museum and ruins entrance fees

* Optional Greek Night (information will be shared by the guide during the journey)

* Visa fee

* Hotel - city tax (7 € per night total 14 €)

TOUR FEES:

Per person in double room : 325,00 €

Single person participation : 375,00 €

Children aged 4-11 years : 250,00 €

0-3 years old child : 125,00 €

Days : 4 | Nights : 4