Mount Olympus 4-day rock climbing trip

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Gear list is incomplete. Sleeping bag, head lamp, clothing type etc lacking. Food, snacks?? No gear check. Day 1: 2 hour drive to trail head. At 4 pm arrived at refuge. Guide wasn't very interactive or explanatory about surroundings. Waking hours was akward and guide on phone most of the time. Day 2: poor weather. Excellent guiding! Cut trip short due to poor visibility. Arrived back in Litochoro around 5 pm. Guide helped me get settled in my motel. Day 3: I chose to hike E4 myself. Meals: boiled tortellini with grated cheese x 1. Breakfast (after asking): dry bread with chocolate spread. No hot beverage offered. If I knew, I could have brought my own stove and prep my own meals and hot tea. I only brought power bars and snacks for during hikes. Suggestions: better gear list, gear check, explanation and orientation of route and area, clarification of what can be or cannot be expected of meals. Akis is the best guide in a challenging situation when you can't talk or see because of a blizzard.

We had a wonderful time with our guide Dimitris. He is a very experienced mountain climber. Although we were unexperienced, he led us through the breathtaking Olympus without any problems. During the climb he told us many stories. It was an unforgettable experience and we couldn't wish for a better guide!

Spectacular experience in just one day

My trip to Olympus turned out to be a huge disappointment. Not only because we couldn't go to the summit due to bad weather (too much wind), more because the guide Akis lacked communication and social skills. We went with a big group (9). Akis is really a professional when it comes to hiking and knows what he's doing. But his communication in general and towards me I didn't like. I also want a guide that explains stuff about the nature, the mountain and a guide that brings some positive vibes. I didn't feel included at all and I felt like he didn't like me or something. Mostly talked in Greek language and I had to ask for translation a lot. Luckily the group I was with were really friendly and translated some things for me. Besides this he could have been more open that it's a big possibility we wouldn't go to the top because of the wind. That would've saved some disappointment. At the mountain shop before the hike someone told me there's going to be a lot of wind. After asking Akis about it on the way up he said "no, not much wind. The weather will be good" Which I found very strange but maybe this was the language barrier. I've spend 180 euro's for a trip with a guide + 80euro's to rent good gear + 40 euro's to stay at the refuge with food/drinks included. This is a total of 300,- for something I could've easily done by myself (the trip to the refuge is easy). Of course I totally understand that because of too much wind we couldn't go to the top. You can't beat the mountain, it beats you. But as a backup plan we went down and then by car to a small waterfall and a monastery thats being renovated. This crushed my soul and spirit. I strongly recommend that you get part of your money back if you can't reach te summit in stead of this somewhat boring backup plan with zero adrenaline. What was even more f'd up is that after I came back to the mountain shop to bring back my rented clothes I met a couple that did go to the summit. :( So to summarise, my experience was disappointing to say the least and won't recommend Akis as a guide. Service of explore-share is good tho. Cas