our story

Back in the early 50's a young boy from Ancient Olympia, Stavros (Achtypis) used to play "run and hide" in the archaeological site, around the ancient monuments or under the thick shadow of the columns of Zeus’ temple.  He even had his first race in the original Olympic Stadium. The site was open back then..

This special "playground" was the reason to get interested in ancient Greek art and civilization. When he turned 23 he decided to share his passion with other people and make it a job. But without any funds or a bank lawn it was impossible to start a business.

So, he decided to follow an original path: he took pictures of the greatest monuments and masterpieces of Greece printed them in large format in black and white and with his car drove all over Europe. This decision was not an easy one. He still remembers the hard times like when he was trapped in his car for almost one day, on Alps, due to a snow storm, at -10 C, or when he was left with only 5 dollars in his pocket.

But the cause was stronger than obstacles. He finally managed to exhibit his work in more than 600 universities and schools in central Europe and share his love for the ancient Greek world. By selling the pictures he achieved to fund,in 1965, his company "achtypis tours" one of the oldest Greek tour operators, still in business. He also attracted the interest of European and Greek press gaining a first publicity.

Nowadays Panagiotis Achtypis, with a phd in business law, communicating in 6 languages, runs the business as third generation in the travel industry. Panagiotis moves further this family-run enterprise with services in several countries of eastern med, a worldwide clientele and a selected staff of more than 30 people, directly & indirectly, employed.  All though many years have passed since 1965 the core of the business remains the same:  share the love and passion for quality, travel & tourism services.