Getting around - Flight/airplane question and Driving to Patras/Olympia

I just checked your flight with a dummy booking in September

The flight from Ioannina to Athens will be on the Q400 next generation turbo prop aircraft. It has capacity of somewhere around 80 to 100 passengers. You can check regular sized luggage. We have cabin sized carry on bags and they do fit in the overhead baggage compartment but it is a tight squeeze. We fly on the Q 400 several times a year its a great aircraft for short haul flights. We actually fly over the rocky mountains in that aircraft. You will have to fly to Athens and take a connecting flight. That will probably be on a regular jet aircraft. I found these fights on Aegean/Olympic

For a group of 8 you could rent two cars. That gives you flexibility because often in groups some people want to do one thing and others want to do something else so 2 cars can be very helpful. Many of the car rental companies have vans so you could just rent a van.

I do not have images of Olympia alone but here is an album including Olympia (Delphi and Meteora as well)
Olympia Delphi Meteora /http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632126687570/

What a great trip for your family! I've flown out of Ioannina to Athens, and you will typically have small and medium-sized planes. Like all Greek airports, you will walk on and off the plane from the tarmac and leave carry on luggage for them to load prior to climbing the stairs on the plane. Checked luggage will be dropped off in the airport as we do in the US.

You do not say exactly where in the 'north' your mother-in-law's village is, so I am hesitant to recommend driving a rental van or hiring one instead. Some of the northern areas are mountainous, twisty at times, and the drives are stunning, but if you are not used to driving a large vehicle, it may prove too much. If you are not quite in the mountains, then a van should be easy to handle. If you have two drivers, you might want to split into two groups and rent large cars, giving your group some flexibility (some might want more outings, others could just stay closer to your base). Buses and trains are not super comfortable or convenient in my experience traveling in northern Greece.

Thanks for the replies so far! To clarify, we have hired a driver up to Tsamandas due to the mountain roads. No one wanted to take those! Lol

I'm asking about getting to Patras. I think my husband would feel ok driving but not the in-laws so two cars are probably not an option.

Once again, I appreciate all replies!

We are going with family in June, it will be husband's second time driving in Greece. It helps that he can speak and read Greek. Get a good road map and look for major highways and major roads. I think Rick Steves sells them on this website. We still have ours from our last trip almost 20 years ago. Back then, the only time we had difficulty was driving out of Athens, once out of the city it was fine. When you are in small villages roads can be tiny and in the mountains steep. I remember my husband backing into something while trying to turn around in the village his parents are from. We found the major roads and highways to be excellent. Even the one going up to his parents' village was wide and beautifully paved. We drove in Ireland last April and that was really scary and challenging, although my husband said he got used to it. I think if you can drive in Ireland you should do fine in Greece. We are making the drive from either Loutraki or Nafplio to Olympia on our upcoming trip, different route than you are taking. Good luck, I'm sure if you rent a van or large SUV it should be fine to drive 8 people to Olympia.

Athens to Patras does not look like it would be difficult in the slightest--modern highway as far as I can tell. If only you had two drivers! For a cursory glance at google maps, it appears there are public transport options taking around three hours.

Athens to Patras and Olympia are easy drives on modern roads. You would not have any issues driving. The issue is the number of people, as even a van won't likely fit everyone with luggage. I think you may need to hire more drivers if more than one person is unwilling to drive.

I've flown small prop jets and been able to check a 24-25" bag. Check the baggage allowance for the flight. It will give the maximum weight and size for each piece, checked and cabin bags. I have seen crews take larger carry-ons and stow them in the baggage compartment if there's a lot of carry-ons.