Driving out of Athens

We drove to Delphi and spent one night and then to Meteora where we spent 3 nights. We rented a car from the airport. It was all very doable.

But are you arriving from North America? You do not want to do the drive after an overnight flight.

There are many ways to visit Delphi and Meteora from Athens. It's up to you to decide which way you prefer.

On your own you can rent a car or travel by bus or train and choose your accommodation.

As it is not recommended to drive right after a long flight you can spend a night in Athens and hit the road the next day with a rental car.

In the city, the vast majority of car rental companies are on Syggrou Fix Avenue (not far from the Plaka neighborhood and the Acropolis Museum). The only small "problem" is leaving Athens by car from the city center which could be stressful.
Otherwise you can return to the airport to pick up your car but it will take about an hour to get to the airport from the center of Athens

By bus/train:

Buses to Delphi depart from the KTEL Liosion bus station in Athens near the “Aghios Nikolaos” metro station. The ticket costs €15, the journey takes around 3 hours.

https://www.ktel-fokidas.gr/en/delphi/delphi-athina-delphi

There are also buses between Delphi and Trikala (near Meteora) with KTEL Trikala The journey takes around 6 hours the ticket costs around €20

https://ktel-trikala.gr/en/summer-itineraries/from-to-delphi-therina/

Between Athens and Meteora (Kalambaka station) there are usually direct trains but the journey is currently partially done by bus. Trip duration 6 hours / Ticket €36.
Kalambaka ↔ Athens trains depart/arrive at Larissas railway station in Athens

https://tickets.hellenictrain.gr/dromologia/?lang=en

There are also daytrips by coach to Delphi, and organized tours to Meteora with accommodation and guide, etc etc

Also guided “self drive trips” for example with "Alternative Athens" which provides you with the car and all the information for your trip.

https://www.alternativeathens.com/tours/self-drive/#how-does-it-work

Absolutely NOT crazy, and really driving is the only efficient way to get to Meteora.

Our company (Swift/Avanti) drove our car to our hotel in the Plaka and drove us to their office on Syngrou, where we did the paperwork. From Syngrou, it is a straight shot out of town and onto the motorway. The drive to Meteora is very interesting, past the ancient Thermopylae battlefield and over some scenic passes through the hills. Once in Meteora, you'll be happy to have a car as public transport is limited. We did not drive to the actual monasteries, though, preferring instead to take a tour with the excellent Visit Meteora (https://visitmeteora.travel/).

Greece is made for driving.

Thank you for putting our minds at rest, and I apologize for the delay in answering. Any advice for Delphi? Do we need a tour for sunset in Meteora or can we do it with our car? We will get the car at the airport and drive to Delphi and then on to Meteora the next day. We thought flying and driving all the way would not work well. Thank you again.

I rented a car in Athens and drove to Meteora, so it's not crazy.

I just think you should spend one night in Athens first to get over jet lag and not drive directly to Delphi from the airport.

Do we need a tour for sunset in Meteora

We used a really nice company called Visit Meteora (https://visitmeteora.travel/) which took us on a sunset tour of the monasteries and another Byzantine chapel cut into the hills above Kalambaka. I would highly recommend them. You could drive to most of the monasteries yourself (and we did during the day), but the sunset tour was really special.

We drove from Delphi to Meteora. Its a fairly long drive. We arrived Meteora just before sunset. Instead of finding a hotel we drove up to the Monasteries and spent an hour taking in the sunset behind the Monasteries. It was magical. There is no need to do a tour if you have a car. There were people around but not so many that we could not get beautiful views . Next day we drove back up to visit some of the Monasteries. There were tour buses and crowds everywhere and those magical views were blocked by parked buses and throngs of people. At one Monastery we counted 30 tour buses.

All that to say, rent the car and get to the sites as early as you can.do the sunset drive and next morning get to the Monasteries as early as possible and try to beat the crowds.

This is what you can look forward to.
Delphi and Meteora https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157698930270992

We flew from Boston to Athens and landed around 1:00 pm. Rented a car at the airport and drove immediately to Delphi with no issues. Had a lovely dinner in Delphi at To Patriko Mas. Beautiful outdoor seating and views! Stayed across the street at Nidimos, which was average. Enjoyed touring the archaeological site and museum the next day before driving to Olympia, which we loved. Happy planning!

Thank you for all this great advice. We arrive at 10 AM and feel more comfortable driving from the airport than from the city center. My husband is a good sleeper in the car so if he gets tired on the way to Delphi he will take a nap in the car. Thank you for the restaurant in Delphi and the advice about the sunset tour. I am definitely going to sign us up for this one! It's also great to know we can do the monasteries on our own the next morning and then head back to Athens.
Thank you again!