Greece in September with my family

Shelly,

Im jumping in because I see no responses. I think your plan looks good. I would plot out how you might spend the days, as 3 in Athens is more than I would want, unless you plan to spend one of the days going to Delphiand Im also wondering how you will do day trips from Nafplio if you are getting there with a driver (not your own rental car?). The Peloponnese is so rich with places to see that you may prefer to explore further rather than hanging out in Nafplio (there's Olympia, Monemvasia, Kardymili). Have you looked at RS' book on Athens and the Peloponnese? Some time recently the Lonely Planet ranked the Peloponnese as one of the worlds best places:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/greece/the-peloponnese
As for Hydra, have you done a search in this forum (search Hydra above, then choose Travel Forum on the left, and then you can select how far back you want to extend the search - also on left. Usually I do it one or two years back. I know Ive seen good things about it, and more details about logisitics). I can't answer about the towns because Ive only researched and not visited yet (we are also going to Athens and Nafplio this summer).
You can get fairly cheap and quick flights to Santorini from Athens if you wanted to go that route (after Nafplio or before).
I hope Janet shows up to offer more,
Jessica

Well, you said you wanted to hear from me -- and here I am. I just hope you will take my comments and suggestions as based on experience and/or many discussion with friends in greece, and importantly what I've found through taking along newcomers like yourself and these relatives ... what works what doesnt.

TRANSPORT -- You say "we will have a driver take us to Nafplio." Huh?? You just listed a total of TEN people. Are you going to hire a large bus? Oh come on. Even if you could afford it, you would make everybody crazy trying to get them all on to the vehicle and to go do the same thing at the same time. Can you not possibly consider the option of hiring 2 large commodious cars that seat 5 with comfort (Mercedes are in every fleet). Or one Mercedes and one 7-passenger mini-van (scarce but available). The easiest road in the entire nation! to drive is from Athens (airport especially) to Nafplio ... modern divided highway. not a single red light, only ONE decision, ONE, to make on the way (at Elefsina, just stay right)... until way after the corinth Canal. When the sign says exit for Nafplio you get off highway, onto lovely 2-lane road, almost NO trafiic, for about 30 minutes then you're in Nafplio. Parking?? There is a huuggge paved seafront area about half a mile long... FREE parking.

HIGHLIGHTS & RECOMMENDED SEQUENCE - To follow, use this map Showing all the way from Athens to Nafplio & Back http://euro-map.com/karty-grecii/peloponnes/podrobnaya-turisticheskaya-karta-peloponnesa.jpg

CORINTH - If you have a learned ancient-ruins expert along, do it, otherwise not a priority (unless you want to see the rock St Paul preached from). if you mean Corinth Canal that's something else (see below).
NEMEA - Since u won't get to Olympia, why not the "runner-up" sacred games site?? Same place where Nafplio exit goes S from BIg Highway, an Exit to N takes u to NEMEA in 5 miles. Temple Collumns, ruins, AND glorious Stadium!! Where your 20-somethging can race from starting blocks 2500 years old; http://nemeangames.org/ you can enjoy in 45 minutes then head for Nafplio
MYCENAE vs TIRYNS - Both are giant Bronze-era Fortresses -- if u want former, go EARLY (before 9 am) to beat the bus crowds; if your day is too full, TIryns is just 10 minutes outside Nafpllio, NO tour crowds, no museum, but a feel of the huge scope.
BEACHES - In Nafplio, the "town beach" is great fun, pebbly (but u can use a platform into the water), AND the walk around the base of the peninsula is breathtaking http://www.visitnafplio.com/volta.html. For Sandy beach, nearby TOLO is a touristy but empty by mid-Sept. KASTRAKI/ASINE is my favorite secret cove with ONE taverna where u can change, and have a meal.
NAFPLIO itself - this site tells all http://www.visitnafplio.com/ click EVERY link. Do NOT miss museum! Superb short video makes sense of all the Argolid ancient history. Start every evening by sitting at the seafront cafes... better sunsets than any island, IMHO
PALAMIDI - Best strategy: drive up BACK way, take pix, the energetic kin can walk DOWN the 999 steps, the others drive back to cafe at foot of the stairway, to have coffee & wait.
EPIDAURUS - to Avoid backtrack, save this for end of stay - in AM drive Across "thumb" of Peloponnese (see map), to site -- mainly to see stunning theatre. Then drive up coastline (stop for a swim?), then stop at ISTHMIA to go out on Old Bridge to view the Canal (skinny! deep!), then get on biggie highway to return to Athens area.

I"m running out of room, so will save comments on island(s) for #2.

RESPONSE #2 on ITINERARY --

ISLANDS - RS books & Tours plug HYDRA but drawbacks - no real beaches, lovely harbor but essentially a day trip. Nothing to do. AND ferry is a closed-in hydrofoil, NO view, NOT good for iffy Sailors.

I recommend instead AEGINA (EGINA) -- its cLoser (many Greeks actually commute to Athens to work via ferry) , just a 1-hour trip & you can choose Large Conventional ferry, sit on the open decks, enjoy sea scape, huge liners, freighters, tiny sailboats, I once even saw a dolphin... Your "mini-cruise". Port town not picture-pretty but Real... go into back streets, check out shops that locals use .. Then get taxi or rental car(s) -- Mid Island is the best-preserved ancient Temple of ANY island, Temple of Aphaia, on high hill, 360° view of entire Saronic bay. You can stay 1-2 nights at a nice beach... NOTE: this Island is VERY popular w. Athenians on weekends even in Sept., but it you go M - F, plenty of space... this attractive cafe that has studio/apt a few yards from the sand -
http://www.aeginagreece.com/aegina-island/directory/aegina-listing/restaurants-cafes-bars/beach-bar/la-palma-marathonas/ If there are still 10 of you at this point in your trip & you choose Aegina, I DO urge you to reserve ahead (And boy! your family better treat you right, after requiring you to do all this stressful planning!!)

Thank you for that info. I will go to all of those places and yes I did mean the Corinth Canal.
I had thought a driver just to take us to Nafplia and was hoping we could either rent a car there or get a driver again. The hotel also provides transfers and I inquired with George the famous taxi driver from previous website I mentioned. He quoted me 350 euros for a large vehicle that can transport 10 people with luggage. I didn’t think that was to bad? But is it true we won’t find away around once in Nafplio?
Ok I will look into the other island but I am getting a lot of people saying we will be very sorry if we don’t go to one of the other islands such as Santorini, Mykonos or Naxos. Janet what do you think? We could probably fly to Santorini for 3 nights or should I stick with my plan?

I have booked hotels but can change them around. Everything is booking up so fast I am kind of freaking out.
I do hope they appreciate it too. What a lot of work. I’ve been ready to bail more than once. I’m having trouble deciding anything at this point.

I am taking a similar trip with my family in May. There are six of us for the whole trip plus my brother in law is joining us part way through for seven. A few comments.

I originally planned for us to go to Hydra but dropped it because of the beaches. I knew my children would not be happy with not seeing any beaches that looked like the calendars! That is one thing to think about with your plan. Will you and your family be happy having gone to Greece and not having seen any post card beaches?

Is the time in Amsterdam negotiable? If it is, I personally would use it and your Hydra allocated time to go to island or islands further away. We are going to both Santorini and Naxos. Santoini is gorgeous but still doesn't have the beaches.

This is what we are doing if it is helpful at all.
Fly into Athens from US and go directly to Santorini
Santorini 3 nights, take ferry to Naxos,
Naxos 4 nights, fly to Athens and rent van from airport,
Nafplio 4 nights, return van to airport,
Athens 3 nights

We too have people arriving at different times from different places. Three of our party are actually going to Santorini the night before the rest of us. They are flying Turkish Air which was much cheaper than alternatives from Atlanta but doesn't arrive until 8:45 pm. They are coming in the day before and decided to take 11 pm Ryan Air flight to Santorini. They are staying on the nonCaldera side of Santorini near the airport which was less money than staying near the Athens airport. They then are going to meet us at the Santorini airport for transport to Oia where we are staying.

The advantage of planning is you get to decide what to do. I tried to take into account the mixture of interest of my party but in the end I decided. I also am not holding anyone to the schedule I planned as they all are adults. My one son sent me the never worldly pictures of Metoerea and asked me if we could go there instead of Athens. I told him I would like to go there too but it was another trip-this trip we were going to Athens but he could do what he liked. I told him after we got back to the airport with the rental van from visiting Nafplio, he could either rent a car or make his way to the train to go there but that he needed to be back in Athens the night before his flight. He spent five weeks in Europe last summer so he is perfectly capable of planning his own diversion but I am sticking to the plans I have made.

Another thing to think about if you haven't already is location of hotels. I think with a large group it is critical to be central and to not expect that everyone will do everything together. We are staying together in a rental house or apartment in Santorini, Nafplio, and Athens and staying in separate rooms in the same hotel in Naxos. We are staying in Oia in Santorini, old town in Nafplio, St George beach in Naxos, Sourth of the Acropolis right near the Acropolis museum in Athens. I also sprung for a porch with views when possible so that we would have a place to gather together.

I also have detailed out what to do each day so that we don't spend half the time deciding (I have seen that previously with my group and it isn't pretty). Everyone is welcome to do something else. I also would involve your party in the detail planning ahead of time to simplify things later. For example, my daughter very much wanted a boat ride in Santorini. I had researched the boat excursions and did not really want to do any of them. I gave her some links and told her that she and her husband could do that if they wanted. She too looked at them and came to the same conclusion (no interest in going out to the volcano) so now she is game to go touring around the island as I have plannedthe second day we are in Santorini.

I am also the one who had researched wineries near Nafplio. I have a big folder of stuff and will go through it and find the names I found that I thought might work.

Beth

GOING to NAFPLIO -- Some facts: George the Famous Taxi Driver (thanks to relentless promotion from Matt Barrett) is not really a person; it's a company now with fleets of vehicles -- "He" was an employee. Let's compare time/costs. Van = about same amount of time on actual highway (2.5 hours) as reserved-seat a/c intercity bus. Van @ €350 for 10 people = €35 per person. Public transit: €13.10 fare+ €4 share of €12 taxi fare to Bus terminal = €17 per person, about half the price. But probably still worth it because you avoid the hassle of public-transit arrangements/coordination. The van may even "throw in" a brief stop at NEMEA en route.

TRANSPORT in/around NAFPLIO -- You'd never find a similar van/driver like that in Nafplio And in fact, there lies family discord; how to get all to do same thing, same time. No no no. Nafplio itself is worthy of exploring carless for at least 1 of your 4 days. some want to hike up to top of Palamidi (999 steps), others prefer to walk DOWN ( my choice!). It's easy to take a taxi up the back way, walk down. Those who wish to do neither can wait comfily at cafe at foot of steps, reading newpaper (another good choice). Then u can rent 2 roomy vehicles for a day or 2 for those ancient sites. (Did you read all the links in Visitnafplio, as I advised??). And at the end of the 4 days, your group will be Nafplio-savvy and can easily take that nice comfy a/c bus back to Athens; it goes hourly on the hour.

ISLANDS - I maintain my opposition to HYDRA ... If you wanted beaches, close to Athens, AEGINA still has my vote. And when you "hear from some people," you need to talk back with questions such as: Did you travel independently, having to coordinate 10 people, or did you go on a tour or a cruise where all logistice wer done for you? And importantly How many DAYS did you have? Shelly you are just planning 9 days in Greece, as far as I can count, although it's fuzzy. Goldorf has 14 days -- a BIG difference. If you had 14 days (AND a lot of money, for Flights!) I might go along with Goodorf's suggestion, as long as you were willing to go thru the hassle of changing all your reservations.

ITINERARY CHOICES -- Goodorf's advice is SPLENDID! on planning & decision-making. You are doing all the work, so you get to do the deciding! As Goodorf said to the son who waved pictures of Meteora -- yes, that's lovely, for another trip. And if some in your party really want to go to Santorini, tell them the group itinerary ends in Athens, so that they could tack on a 2-3 day visit to Santorini at the end, but tell them you are sticking to the itinerary for the group. If they were adamant, they could drop out of the visit to Aegina, and substitute a (much costlier) flight to/from Santorini.

ACTIVITY CHOICES -- It's also SO key, as Goodorf wisely advised, to lay out the plans for each day ... if some in the party wish to do something else, fine, they can plan it on their own, but not hijack the whole group.

STAY STRONG -- Don't get pushed around by people who have done NO research, or friends whose trip circumstances were nothing like the situation you face. If they keep niggling, print out this thread and wave it at them! Good luck, my dear!

This is such great advise from Goodorf and Janet. I will take it all in account. Janet you have basically helped me determine everything there is to do in and around Nafplio. As for the group doing their own thing I couldn't agree more. We have all traveled together before and we are very compatible. Also comfortable doing our own thing if the need arises. We have 10 days and nights to spend in Greece and yes we could take a day from Amsterdam. That is the route will can fly directly home from and everyone that has been there loves it and everyone that hasn't would love to go so I do want to allow at least a couple of days there.

Thank you so much for the info. I will continue to research and make the best plan. I agree with not letting others influence me. It's actually not my crew that is doing that it is others that of course have only ever been to the islands.

I can't tell you how much this forum helps to sort things out.

Hi Shelly. I have been following this thread but you were getting such good advice that I didn't feel I could add anything of value. But at this stage perhaps some images of Nafplio and the Peloponnese might whet your appetite.
Nafplio and Peloponnese http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094108982/

Ha! Just encountered one Nafplio feature ... instituted 2 years ago only, I think -- a hop-on, hop-off Bus that goes on an hourly basis Cost is €8. You don't really need it to explore the sights of old town itself, but it DOES go up to the (back) entrance of PALAMIDI. And then you can take it down from there. So if only a few of your party want to go up there, it's a handy transport option. This Trip Adv link https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g319780-Activities-c42-Nafplio_Argolis_Region_Peloponnese.html also listed some other nafplio-based activities, such as a Kayak tour out to the castle in the bay etc.

Stan those pictures are simply breathtaking. I am getting more excited by the minute.
Thank you for your latest wonderful tidbit Janet. I think a hop on hop off is great and I am sure almost all of my group will want to go down all 999 stairs.
It’s taken me a while to get to this point but it is finally coming together.
I’m in love with the Peloponnese already!