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Best way to visit Delphi and Meteora

We are going to Greece in late April and would like to visit Delphi and Meteora on a 2 day/1 night trip. So far I've found several large bus tour companies that get mediocre reviews and spend a lot of time herding people. And I've found private drivers that are very expensive. The only small group tour I found is out of business (Getaways Greece).

Does anyone have any better suggestions?

And if we decide to drive, is it relatively easy? I read it might be better to get a rental car through a local agency like ACR Rental who will take us from our hotel to the airport to pick up a car.

thanks!

Posted by
22 posts

We are taking a Rick Steves tour in April, and plan to visit Meteora on our own after the trip. I found this, highly recommended, company that I plan to use. I don't know if it will be of any help to you, and I have not used it myself yet, but you may want to take a look at it. Here is the link, they have several tours. We plan to do the two day train trip from Athens to only Meteora, because Delphi is included in our RS tour. https://www.visitmeteora.travel/en/things-to-do/tours-to-meteora-and-delphi
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1070999-d523805-Reviews-Meteora-Kastraki_Kalambaka_Trikala_Region_Thessaly.html
Good luck, and have fun!

Posted by
186 posts

You can probably drive it more easily than patch together tours/buses. Depending on what time you arrive in Athens, you could drive to Delphi, tour around, then continue to Meteora by dinner time and sleep. This will give you a nice early start the next a.m. to tour Meteora as long as you want, and end the day with the return drive to Athens. The sites are amazing!

Posted by
16893 posts

I found it easy enough to drive. Or there are about 6 trains per day between Athens and Kalmabaka, one of those direct and the rest connecting at Palaeofarsalos; see https://tickets.trainose.gr/dromologia/. No trains to Delphi, only buses.

Posted by
85 posts

I would personally be way less stressed driving myself then trying to manage connections. I've done the Athens-Delphi leg lots of times and it's a pretty easy drive, and gorgeous at the end.

Posted by
1373 posts

Since you are considering leaving your hotel and going to the airport I assume that means you are not jet lagged and are ready to drive. Thats good. We have rented from ACR and found them to be very good. They don't have an office at the airport. They park your car in the parking lot, do the paperwork on the hood of the car give you a map and a walk through on the car and away you go. I know that sounds a bit strange but this is pretty normal for local companies to operate.

Get out as early as possible. There are tours and local public buses that make the trip to Delphi daily but they stop on the way. If you drive directly to Delphi you can beat the crush of people at the site. When it becomes too crowded nip over to the museum. It is fairly small but informative. You should confirm operating hours for the site. I am not sure if April is still winter hours but if it is the site will close at 3 or 3:30 its important to know that while planning.

It will be about a 3 to 3.5 hour drive to Meteora. Plan to arrive about 45 minutes before sunset. Drive up to the monasteries and get photos from the best vantage sites. You will have the area virtually all to yourselves. Go to your hotel after sunset. Next morning get going early to beat the tour buses. Its a 5 hour drive back to Athens so you are probably going to have to leave in the early afternoon.
Here is what you will see.
Olympia Delphi Meteora https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157645469717811/