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Alumni & Friends Tour

In 2024, we will be hosting two tours. One will be in the summer, as we have done the last six years, and one in the fall for those free to travel in the off-season. The first trip will be from northeastern Spain, starting in Barcelona, across the south of France to Milan in northern Italy (with an optional extension to Florence). The second will be to classical, medieval, and modern Greece (with an optional extension to the Islands of Santorini for some rest in one of the most picturesque places in the world). Our tour for 2025 will be to Scandinavia! Highlights are listed below.

With tour host, Stephen Varvis, Ph.D., professor of history emeritus, you will have the opportunity to share experiences, learn from others, be a part of the extended FPU community, renew friendships and gain new ones all while being inspired by the creativity, history and spiritual experience of the art, architecture, culture, and people you meet. We hope you can join us.

Scandinavia—The Capitals & the Fjords

We will visit many historic and cultural sites, including

  • Historic Bergen
  • Norway’s fjord country and Fram Museum
  • Copenhagen’s Nyhavn district 
  • Stories of Danish writers including Hans Christian Andersen and Soren Kierkegaard 
  • Stockholm’s Old Town
  • Finnish cooking class and visit to Temppeliaukio Church
  • Optional excursions to Elsinore (known from Shakespeare’s Hamlet), Uppsala, Drottingholm, and Tallinn in Estonia
  • Optional extension to Iceland

Plus, free time at each stop

Tour Dates

June 17-30, 2025, plus optional extension to Iceland, June 30-July 3

Included

  • Daily breakfast 
  • Handpicked Hotels 
  • Six Dinners 
  • One cooking class
  • Two nights aboard a cruise ship
  • Expert tour director and local guides
  • Guided sightseeing tours
  • Private deluxe motor coach
  • Free time to explore on your own

Optional Extension

We will travel to Iceland!

Costs*

  • Land tour: $5,689
  • Flight from Fresno: $2,010
    • Flight from other cities can be arranged (costs may differ) and travelers can book their own flights
  • Total: $7699
    • Check with Go Ahead for any available discounts and interest free payment arrangements
  • Optional Extension to Iceland: $1,779

*Cost subject to change. For current costs check at Go Ahead Tours

Full details, itineraries and registration

Go Ahead Tours

Barcelona, Southern France & the Italian Riviera

We will visit several cities and historic sites:

  • Gaudi’s famous cathedral
  • The Medieval fortress at Carcassone
  • Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct
  • The village of Uzes and papal palace at Avignon
  • Arles the hometown of Van Gogh and its Roman Amphitheater
  • The lavender fields of Provence
  • Cezanne’s birthplace and studio
  • The Principality of Monaco
  • Cinque Terre by boat
  • Milan with optional trip to Lake Como
  • Options two-day extension to Florence

Free time to explore on your own in each stop

Tour Dates

June 9 – June 24, 2024

Included

  • Daily breakfast 
  • Handpicked hotels 
  • Five dinners 
  • Optional excursions 
  • Expert tour director and local guides 
  • Guided sightseeing tours 
  • Private deluxe motor coach 
  • Free time to explore on your own 

Extra Extension

We will travel to Florence, Italy.

Costs*

  • Land tour: $4,809
  • Flights from Fresno: $2140
  • Extension to Florence: $909

*Cost subject to change. Check for current prices at Go Ahead Tours

Full details, itineraries and registration

Go Ahead Tours

Greece

We will visit several cities and historic sites:

  • Athens—the Parthenon, and other classical sites
  • Delphithe home of the Oracle
  • Meteora and the famous pinnacle monasteries
  • The Island of Corfu and the meeting of Venetian and Greek cultures
  • Olympia, Temple of Zeus, and ancient Gymnasium of the Olympic games
  • Napfoli, the first capital of modern, independent Greece
  • The sites where Paul the Apostle preached in Athens and was tried in Corinth
  • The ancient amphitheater and ruins at Epidaurus 
  • Optional three-day extensions to the Islands of Santorini

Free time to explore on your own in each stop

Tour dates 

September 21 - October 7, 2024

Included 

  • Daily breakfast 
  • Handpicked hotels 
  • Five dinners 
  • Optional excursions 
  • Expert tour director and local guides 
  • Guided sightseeing tours 
  • Private deluxe motor coach 
  • Free time to explore on your own 

Extra Extension 

We will travel to Santorini in the Greek Islands.

Costs* 

  • Land tour: $3969
  • Return flight from Fresno: $1695, includes transfer to and from hotels (travelers may book their own flights privately) 
  • Four-night extension: $1129

*Costs subject to change. Check for current prices at Go Ahead Tours

Full details, itineraries, and registration 

Go Ahead Tours

 

Request Information

Or contact Steve directly at steve.varvis@fresno.edu, 559-453-7155 (work) or 559-906-5545 (cell)