Greece for the first time—draft itinerary

You have 2 nights Athens, 1 night Meteora, 3 nights Nafplio, 4 nights Milos, 1 night Athens.

If you reverse your trip, you can have 4 nights Milos, 1 night Meteora, 3 nights Nafplio, and 3 nights Athens.

You could take a flight the same day you arrive in Athens later in the day. Then fly back to Athens and rent a car at the airport.

I do think it is a lot of driving to go to Meteora for one night. It is 5 hours there and it adds to your trip to Nafplio also. We went for 2 nights but my son went for one on a different trip. He told me it was too much driving and we should stay longer. Yet, he was glad he saw it. But with four kids especially I might reconsider. I would add a night to Nafplio. We spent 4 nights there with twenty something kids--there were seven of us--and enjoyed it a lot. But 3 is enough to see the main sights--we visited different beaches as well as it was 95 degrees in early June.

If your group is more interested in Meteora, you could spend 2 nights there and then only 2 in Athens. We had some of our group who had to leave after two nights. This is what they were able to see. We had a private tour at 4pm of Acropolis, Agora, and other sights on first day there (after coming from Nafplio). The next day we went to other ruins and to the Archeological museum for a couple hours in the afternoon where we followed the Rick Steves tour and saw the highlights. My son in law who was determined went to the Acropolis museum for an hour also. The other two did not. Those of staying three nights saw it the next day as well as the Plaka and several parks.

Or if you haven't bought airline tickets, maybe you could add a night to your trip and do it all.

First, you should provide your travel dates, planning a trip in May is completely different from planning one in August.

Yes, Days 2 and 3 are too packed, as bethFL mentioned, driving all the way to Meteora with children and staying only one night would be exhausting and isn't worth it.

Second point: Car rental agencies generaly do not allow you to take rental cars on the ferry. Even when it is possible, it is pointless and very expensive. It is better to simply rent another car on the island. On Milos you will only be able to drive in the accessible half of the island, the other half requires a 4WD vehicle, it's the NO SERVICE area on this map:

https://rent-a-car-milos.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/MILOS-MAP-1024x728.jpg

Taking a connecting flight to Milos on Day 1 would allow you to make better use of your time.

I’d nix Meteora to be sure, also do some initial research into the vehicle to fit you all.
It can be stressful on arrival day, but I think flying to the island on arrival and doing Athens at the end would be efficient and be easier in the end.

As an alternative to Meteora consider to day trip from Naphlio to Mystras. It’s an interesting and unique site and well labeled within about how was daily life there. I think very good for a family.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystras

http://www.civilization.org.uk/greece/greece-extra/mistra/

Thank you for your insights!

We had thought about being in Athens for a couple days first to adjust to the time zone, and because we really wanted to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony on Sunday. If we do Athens at the end of our trip, we would be there for three days, and we would rather spend that extra day somewhere else. Also, we thought ending the trip on the island would be more fun for the kids than doing the ruins at the end.

Is Meteora really a 5-hour drive from Athens? I keep seeing that it is 3.5 hours, which would be totally doable for an overnight trip...

We are traveling next July, at the peak of tourist season. There are vehicles available at the moment, and we had thought to take the rental car to the island as the cars on Milos are so much more expensive! But knowing that some rental cars cannot be taken on ferries may change our plans.

Makes sense about wanting to be in Athens in a Sunday. And a split stay can be nice, I’ve always liked how I could squeeze in something I missed at the start, or even just wander the city seeing no “sights.”
I would not do the drive at 3.5 hours either, that is just too much time in a car to me—there are so many places you could see instead, I really don’t think it will be a trade off. If it’s the monastery on a cliff aspect you were looking for, the ones at Stemnitsa are also a lovely excursion, and Mystras is fascinating.

There are vehicles available at the moment, and we had thought of
taking the rental car to the island since cars on Milos are so much
more expensive!

Where did you look? Rental cars on Milos aren't necessarily more expensive. Beware of very cheap car rental offers!! You'll be in for a lot of trouble.

Not all ferries take cars. For a round trip to Milos, the ticket will cost €170 for the car only , which is the price of about 3 days' rental (the ticket could be more expensive if you take a minivan since there will be 6 of you).

Since you are concerned about prices, a round trip to Milos with a standard car and 6 passengers costs between €700 and €1100 depending on the type of ferry (conventional or high-speed). Cheaper conventional ferries may be night ferries.

Welcome to RS Forum! I know that you're very excited about your first visit to Greece, and we want it to be all that you hope for. We also want to help you avoid pitfalls, so we may suggestt big changes. (NOTE: its Vital to give dates up front, since visiting in High Season means very different advice. Here are my Suggestion & why --

DO ISLAND FIRST --- then NAFPLIO -- ATHENS LAST
Getting over jetlag in a HOT, Bustling Big City is a Bad idea, just to see the sunday Guard Change... they have a nice guard change EVERY day around 11 Am, and you can see it at the end. Your gtroup will be cranky & tired... go to a great beach recover & re-energize. And with only 10 Days (U cannot count Day 1 or 12), you cn only do ONE island, plus Athens or you'll be gaga... you'll spend allyour time in transit ..

ISLAND -- SIFNOS!
Please, don't fall for Mios "eye-candy"... it's not real research. This used to be a fun visit, in May or Sept, but now it's been discovered by "Package armies" or the Idle Rich -- now crowded and costly. For your gang I recommend a fab island not yet overwhelmed by tourmobs, because it has no airport... wonderful SIFNOS.! This site - http://sifnos.e-sifnos.com/index.htm -- tells all: click every lilnk!!! Main cost is fast-Ferry, about €86 each (but less than plaine to Milos)... and you can choose a slower, cheaper ferry back PIraeus port. PLAN OPTION - Book car-service like Welcome Pickups to PIRAEUS, catch 3 pm ferry, by 6:30 you can be on a beach! I suggest staying at Platy Gialos beach - since u r planning far ahead, you might be able to get great family apt just 100 yards from the sea, like this -- http://www.giannakas-studios.com/home.htm If it's booked, this island-based website has tons of great recommends - http://www.roomsinsifnos.com/ Your gang can swim, hike, rent a boat for afternoon, have 4 wonderful days.

NAFPLIO & AREA
On early AM day 5, ferry back to PIRAEUS, and pick up car from agency that has both PORT andf AIRPORT offices, and head off for the NAFPLIO/Argolid area. On the way, Stop to see ANCIENT NEMEA (this is the runner-up to Olympia as Ancient Games site... you can enjoy in an hour, no crowds!). Stay just outside of NAFPLIO Old Town, on a beach, if you can snag an apt in this place --- https://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/porto-assini.html 3 nights (2 1/2 days) will fly by! Devote a full day to Nafplio Old Town -- high castle walls, sea-level walk around "point" ... instead ofs expensive crowded hot MYCENAE, I suggest a similar Huge fortress nearby, TIRYNS -- great boulders/view, NO crowd. on Morning of last day, Drive EAST across the Peloponnse "Thumb" to EPIDAURUS, then drive up seacoast to ISTHMUS, stop 30 mins to see/photo Corinth Canal, then get on BIG highway and turn LEFT at ELEFSINA, to take bypass road N of Athens to Airport to return car. Then Metro or Uber to Central ATHENs for final 3 days.
For Nafplio/Argolid Planning -- Study up on this FAB website - http://www.visitnafplio.com/ -- and for browsing, & sharing your Argolid planning iwth teens, i Like this online map - https://euro-map.com/karty-grecii/peloponnes/podrobnaya-turisticheskaya-karta-peloponnesa.jpg ... click & it gets huuge, you navigate using side-slides. Shows all sites mentioned

You don't have time for AcroCorinth or Meteora... save them for your next trip.

Milos has an airport and that is a significant advantage. It will be simpler. Greek is surpringly complicated to travel in. I personally would stick with it despite the appeal of Sifnos.

I understand now why you prefer going to Athens first. But I still would go to Milos first if for no other reason than to claim an extra vacation day. It is also hard to start jet lagged in a dense city. Your children will get more out of Athens when they have acclimated to Greece. Otherwise, I am afraid it will just be something to get through.

We were in meteora in June and it was 97. We went out in the morning and then again late afternoon. You won’t be able to work around the heat with one night. Personally, I would only go if you can spend two nights.

It took us five hours to where we were staying the night before flying home. I just looked and the internet says 4 hours. So I am sure it depends on where in Athens you are going to (or from) and whether you stop at all (we did). We also stayed in Kastraki which I would highly recommend but it is further from Athens (but right where the monasteries are). But it certainly isn’t 3.5 hours.

Did a quick look at one way car rental to Milos and there is a $300+ one way fee

The cost of a ferry both ways looks no better, $$ wise.

google shows 3.5 to 5.0 hours driving time for Athens-Meteora, depending in when you leave. How long does your family sit in a car without a break? It's a bit over 200 miles so a fuel stop is not needed.

I have found google is optimistic on its drive times, so I would plan for the trip to take closer to the 5 hr than 3.5 hr time frame.

I am wondering about the interests and preferences of the kids. Have not been to Nafplion, but found Meteora jaw-dropping and Sifnos is the island that draws us back to Greece. Milos has some interesting, Instagram worthy, geological formations but otherwise is more touristy, less friendly, less interesting and has less to do than other islands. Our first trip to Greece, on arrival, we drove directly to Delphi; visited the historic site the next morning, then drove on to Meteora; from there, drove back to Piraeus to catch the ferry to Sifnos; next, went to Milos via ferry; and then took a flight back to Athens to explore before returning home. It was an awesome trip and we fell in love with Greece (though if we were to do it over, we would skip Milos). Wishing you the same!

Your first draft sounds good in theory, but has a few practical flaws. You've likely noticed that anyone here who knows Greece well has pointed this out to you, and there's a good reason for that: Traveling in Greece requires factoring in a lot of basic logistics that you won't find in travel brochures, and you can't just snap your fingers and get from one place to another.

Based on the day count or your draft, if DAY 2 is a Sunday, then DAY 9 should be one too.

By starting with an island, whichever one you choose, then heading to Nafplio, and saving Athens for the end, I think you could move the changing of the guard to DAY 9:

Here is another draft:

Saturday DAY 1: Athens - flight to island, Night 1

Sunday DAY 2: Island, Night 2

Monday DAY 3: Island, Night 3

Tuesday DAY 4: Island, Night 4

Wednesday DAY 5: Island - ferry (or flight) to Athens - car rental - Nafplio, Night 1

Thursday DAY 6: Nafplio, Night 2

Friday DAY 7: Nafplio, Night 3

Saturday DAY 8: Nafplio - Athens, Night 1

Sunday DAY 9: Athens, Night 2

Monday DAY 10: Athens, Night 3

Tuesday DAY 11: Athens, Night 4

Wednesday DAY 12: Flight home

That being said, structuring a two-week trip around a 45-minute ceremony seems a bit excessive. Especially since while the Sunday 11 am changing of the guard is special, changes happen every day, every hour, and even outside of the main tourist areas (I can point out some alternative spots).

There's easily enough to do in Athens to keep you busy for 3 days even if you aren't huge fans of ancient history. If your teenagers are of legal age, they can even go out at night without any safety concerns.

Plus, you can dedicate a day to a day trip, for example, to Cape Sounion, which is about an hour away from Athens.

Thank you for all the pointers. Naturally, everyone has their own experience to base their advice on, and it seems the interests are different. The reason we want to end with the island is the kids would love to finish with something relaxing after seeing the sights (ruins, etc). Our kids have done lots of road tripping (Canada 10 hours one stop every summer, Turkey last year 5 hours, then 7 hours, etc.) We're not worried about the driving part of it.
You are all giving us lots to think about! We'll have to revisit the itinerary with everything you told us in mind.

It's good to be aware of the way Greece works -- weather-wise & tourist-wise. The later you wait in July, the hotter it may get, and the thicker the crowds on island beaches (because of European "holiday" schedules) ... and Athens, conversely, will start emptying out, later in July. You could strategize to just do 2 days of Athens at the end, and low-key it ... stay in a small apartment on he SOUTH side of Acropolis area, in the small lanes of low-rise buildings, and lots of trees, and parks.

Have a minimal sightseeing thing -- maybe go up on acropolis at 4 pm, when crowds are gone ,,, beforehand, go to Acropolis museum late morning (teens like to sleep late), and have a lovely lunch (at reasonable prices) in its glassed-in (air conditioned) terrace restaurant looking Up at the Parthenon. On the top floor of that museum, an excellent 25-minute film both animated and live-action -- gives complete history of Parthenon & all Acropolis famout buildings ... history that kids/adults alike enjoy. One day you could watch the guard exchange at 11, then wander through the National Garden by the Parliament/Palace ... it's full of huge trees, tropical plants, ponds etc... has a cute cafe right in a pathway, overhung with vines. You could walk downhill fdrom Acropoiis a few blcoks to the Original Olympic Statdium (For the revival of the Olympic Games in ?1906? it was restored ffom its orginal state from 2000+ years ago.

Maybe just 2 days in Athens, and on final day, check out of Central Athens hotel/apt, and go to a place by a BEACH, right near the Airport, HOtel AVRA, which has a FREE shuttle from & back to Airport 24/7. IT's at the edge of the small port village of Rafina, so for your final night you could again have a village-type greek dinner under the trees, in the small town square. Not Biggie Athens... a village finale.