Greece Itinerary assistance please

We did a very similar trip this past May except did not go to Mykonos. We started in Athens for 4 nights. It was nice to recover after the flights. 4 nights was good for us in Athens. We then flew to Santorini for three nights. 3 nights was the perfect amount of time for us. Having Santorini in the middle was really nice. It was like a vacation from vacation. Flew back to Athens. We then hired George’s taxi to take us to Olympia, Delphi and Meteora. We spent 1 night each in Delphi and Meteora and that felt like the right amount of time in each. To me 2 nights in Meteora seems like too much. We got to go in monestaries the night we arrived and the following day. After riding in the taxi for three days, I am glad we chose not to drive and use them. I personally like your first vs second itinerary...seems less stressful and having Santorini in the middle will be a nice break.

Part of our first trip to Greece was similar to this except we first flew to Mykonos and also visited Paros, and Crete. My major reaction is to Olympia. It is not an easy drive there from Nafplio, very mountainous. We drove to Olympia from Nafplio after four nights and after visiting the ancient sites and spending a night in Olympia we drove on to Delphi across the bridge. It adds time but would be the best plan..

Option 1 looks best. Consider driving to Olympia from Meteora staying 1 nights then on to Nafplio for 2 nights. One night stays aren’t great but you are spending a lot of time driving.

Personally, if I were doing your itinerary, I would stay 2 nights each in Delphi, Meteora, Olympia, Nafplio, Santorini, Mykenos, and Athens. But you will have a great trip leaving it just as it is.

Since you are picking up your car from the airport I would return it there and fly to Santorini. You will see all the islands from the ferry on the way back, no need to do it twice. There can be much more traffic congestion driving to Piraeus.

The advice I got when planning a trip last year which I followed was to fly to furthest island first and save Athens for last. We did that and it was perfect for us. We flew to santorini on a late morning flight the same day we arrived on an international flight from south Florida via Newark (so third flight). We spent 3 nights there which was perfect. Santorini is simply amazing visually and perfect place to get over jet lag. Everyone speaks English and everything is around the tourist so very easy place to start your Greek vacation.

We then ferried to Naxos (and you could do the same to Mykonos). We then flew to Athens and rented a car. I think flights are more reliable than the ferry and personally did not enjoy our ferry ride very much (the sea was rough). I would fly.

We went to nafplio for 4 nights and finished in Athens. I would go to nafplio and then to Delphi with your itinerary.

Enjoy!

I think your first plan makes sense if you really can handle the post-flight driving the first day. I'd agree with the advice to go from Meteora to Olympia, overnight nearby, then Nafplio the next day. I'd choose Crete over Santorini and Mykonos for the five nights you give them. I'd fly to Santorini (if going there) instead of the ferry to save time and avoid driving to Piraeus. Apart from that, it's a perfect plan! ;-)

Matt Barrett's Guide is a great source for travel in Greece.

Thank you all very much for the helpful suggestions!
I will tweak things a bit and hopefully everything will work out.

Thanks!
Lisa

Those transatlantic flights can be very tiring and jet lag is a real issue. If you are going to drive then I wouldn't suggest Delphi or Meteora as your first destination. Delphi requires mountian driving and Metora is a 5 hour drive. Add that to a transatlantic flight and you may not be as resilient as you think. Instead drive to Nafplio and rest for a couple of days. There is lots of ancient sites near Nafplio so there is no stress to visit this area.
Nafplio and Peloponnese http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632094108982/

If you do Nafplio, Delphi and Meteora you have created a circle route (plan B)
Delphi and Meteora https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157698930270992

Better yet would be to immediately fly to Santorini on landing in Athens. There is nothing better than getting over jet lag on an Island. Since Santoirni is on your list anyway its not a major tweak to your plan.