P.G.T. Tour Group (Private Greece Tours)

What it is and where it operates

P.G.T. Tour Group, which trades as Private Greece Tours, is an Athens-based operator of private tours and private transportation. Its founder and owner, Nikos Loukas, writes on the homepage that he was born and raised in Athens, worked in various posts at the Hotel Grande Bretagne, and then started his own business with the help of Anna-Marina, his then fiancée and later wife, who also worked in tourism. He says the company "has been uninterruptedly operating with great success" since its "birth," though the site gives no founding year. The footer shows a Greek National Tourism Organization operating license, number 0261Ε60000134400.

Tours start from Athens. The tour menu splits the classical tours into the Athens Region, the Peloponnese, and Central and Northern Greece, and the places named on the tour pages include the Acropolis, Cape Sounion, Marathon, Corinth, Argolis and Nafplion, Olympia, Bassae, Delphi, Hosios Loukas, Meteora and Thermopylae, the Lousios Gorge in Arcadia, and the island of Aegina. The company also sells private shore excursions for cruise passengers and private transfers.

Day tours from Athens

The classical tours page lists each tour with a length. Full-day tours include the Essential Athens Full Day Tour, suggested for visitors "who have only one day to visit and explore Athens"; Athens Best and Cape Sounio, which pairs the Acropolis and Parthenon with the Temple of Poseidon and "lunch overlooking the Aegean Sea"; and Athens Best and Corinth, which adds the Corinth Canal and ancient Corinth. Longer day trips go to Delphi, which the page calls "by far the most popular archaeological site in Greece" after the Acropolis; to Argolis in the Peloponnese; to the Corinth Canal and Olympia on a long day; and to Meteora and Thermopylae, with the Meteora rock monasteries described as "a unique geological phenomenon." The Full Day Attica Tour covers Marathon, Vravrona and Cape Sounion.

Half-day tours cover Athens sightseeing, which starts at the Acropolis; Cape Sounion, where the page retells the legend of King Aegeas leaping from the cliff and giving his name to the Aegean Sea; Corinth, which the page presents as a landmark in the history of Christianity where St. Paul lived and preached; and Athens by Night. For cruise passengers, the homepage's shore excursion section promises to help them see as much as possible in a limited time, in privacy and comfort, though the site does not list which ports it serves.

Multi-day tours

The multi-day tours range from 2 to 5 days. The Two Day Delphi Tour includes an overnight in the town of Delphi, and the Two Day Argolis Tour an overnight in Nafplion. Delphi and Olympia is a two-day tour with one night in Olympia. Delphi and Meteora, with one night in Kalambaka, and Argolis and Olympia are each billed as two or three days. Delphi, Olympia and Bassae is a three-day tour with two nights in Olympia and a visit to the Temple of Epicourios Apollo at Bassae, and Delphi, Hosios Loukas and Meteora is also three days. At the longer end are Argolis, Bassae and Olympia (titled a three-day tour but tagged 4 days), Argolis, Olympia and Delphi (three or four days), Argolis, Bassae, Olympia and Delphi (four days) and Argolis, Olympia, Delphi and Meteora (four or five days).

Specialized tours

The specialized tours page is aimed at visitors with particular interests. In The Footsteps Of St. Paul visits "the places where St. Paul preached to the ancient Greeks in Athens and Corinth, in a day." Wine Tasting And History combines archaeological sites with the Greek countryside. Greek Island (Aegina) is a day trip to the island. Mountain Lovers Hiking in the Lousios Gorge goes to the mountains of Arcadia, either as a day trip or with a night in a traditional hotel in Dimitsana. Monasteries And Mysteries, pitched as an introduction to Christianity and the old Greek religion of the Gods of Olympus, visits the ancient religious center of Eleusis and the Byzantine monastery of Daphni. There are also Museums Of Athens, Kid's Fun for families, and even a Casinos option, which notes there are two casinos near Athens.

How the tours run

Nikos writes that, as a professional driver himself, he chose "the best professional drivers and professional licensed guides" for his team. The homepage says all drivers are certified by the Greek State Authorities and trained in safe driving, and that the fleet is made up of Mercedes Benz vehicles that are fully insured, certified and authorized by the same authorities. The pitch for going private is to "Set your own pace and avoid tiring big groups and stressful crowds."

The site does not state group sizes, the languages guides speak, which hotels are used on overnight tours, or whether entrance fees, meals and hotels are included in the price. It gives no guidance on fitness levels for the hiking tour or on accessibility.

Booking and contact

No prices are published. The tour pages invite travelers to "Reach out to us for a consultation," promising a reply with "availability, cost and more details regarding your requested service, within 24 hours max!" Contact is by email or by phone on +30 693 220 3196 or +30 694 436 6811, and the site lists the dialing prefixes for calling from the USA and Canada, Australia and Europe. The menu links to separate Terms and Conditions, FAQ and fleet pages; the tour pages themselves do not state deposits, payment methods or cancellation terms.

Reputation, gaps and who it suits

The homepage shows a TripAdvisor panel saying Private Greece Tours is rated "excellent" by 3,186 travelers. Testimonials, the company's selection, praise a driver named Billy ("We could not have had a better tour, driver and the van was spotless"), clean vans, and "5 wonderful days of sightseeing in the Peloponnese."

The main gaps are prices, inclusions and cancellation terms, all of which need a direct request or a read of the terms page. P.G.T. Tour Group suits travelers staying in Athens who want a private driver and guide for classical sites such as Delphi, Meteora or Olympia, those who want a multi-day loop through the Peloponnese without driving themselves, cruise passengers with a day in port, and visitors with a particular interest such as St. Paul's journeys or hiking in Arcadia.