Food & Art: Shaping the Cultures of Greece and Turkey

After you enroll, we’ll ask you to provide or update your personal information and preferences, which includes your health information, lodging and meal preferences for your program.

No visas are required for Greece or Turkey.

A passport is required for this program. It must be valid for at least 6 months after your return date.

This information about travel documents pertains to participants holding U.S. passports. Non-U.S. citizens should refer to their country's requirements to ensure they have the necessary documentation for travel.

United States citizens don’t need a visa for any of the countries you’ll be visiting. Non-U.S. citizens should refer to their country's requirements to ensure they have the necessary documentation for travel.

Both Greece and Turkey are safe countries to travel in. COVID restrictions have been lifted but participants may still want to wear a mask in crowded environments such as museums or bazaars. No inoculations are required.

If Road Scholar is arranging your air travel to and from the program, and you travel on the scheduled start and end dates, you’ll receive free round-trip transfers from the airport to the hotel.

Arrival day is on September 15, 2026

Meet the group at Athenian Callirhoe Hotel in Athens

Start of Trip:  2:00 p.m. hotel check-in. 6:00 p.m. Welcome Reception & Orientation in hotel meeting room followed by Welcome Dinner in hotel restaurant. Please contact info@aegean-aurora.gr to book extra nights.

Getting to the site: Participants arriving on the day the program starts on flights booked by Road Scholar will be met and transferred to the hotel. For those who are not entitled to a transfer: Taxis are readily available outside the Athens International Airport to help you reach the Acropolian Spirit Hotel. The journey should take approximately 30-45 minutes and cost you between 35-55 EUR (40-60 USD). – For a public transportation alternative to the Athenian Callirhoe Hotel, you may board Metro Line 3 (blue) at the Athens International Airport, ride for 15 stops to the "Syntagma" station and there change to Metro Line 2 (red / direction "Elliniko"), ride for 1 stop only to the "Akropoli" station. From here, the hotel is a short 10-minute walk away. This journey should take you approximately 75 minutes and cost you 10 EUR (12 USD) per person.

Getting to the site by train or bus: It is possible to take the Metro from Athens Airport to the hotel.

Your trip ends on: Friday, September 25, 2026 in Istanbul at Pera Palace Hotel

End of Trip: 10:00 a.m. after breakfast; 12:00 Noon hotel check-out. Please contact program provider at kazim@baltactours.com to book additional room nights at the program hotel.

Getting to the airport: Participants departing on the day the program ends, on flights booked by Road Scholar will be transferred to the Istanbul Airport. For participants who are not entitled to a transfer, taking a taxi is the best option and can be arranged on the spot from the hotel reception. It will cost about $50 - $60 USD.

Information if you are purchasing your own airfare: Participants who have not purchased airfare through Road Scholar are responsible for making their own transfer arrangements to the first site at the beginning of the program, as well as from the last site at the end of the program. The Information Packet Road Scholar sends in advance of the program includes details needed to make your transfer arrangements. If you wish to purchase airfare through Road Scholar, please call (800) 241-1404. Please note: In the unlikely event Road Scholar must make changes to the program's arrival or departure details, we will notify all participants as soon as possible. Participants who have purchased Road Scholar airfare are protected against airline change fees; however, anyone who has not purchased Road Scholar airfare will be required to make their own adjustments and may incur fees imposed by the airline.