This is part two of our trip (we spent a lot of time in Greece).
Day 11 Meteora to Ioannina
Day 12 Ioannina to Zakynthos
Day 13 Zakynthos
Day 14 Zakynthos
Day 15 Zakynthos to Kalamata
Day 16 Kalamata to Argos
Day 17 Argos to Athens
Day 18 Athens
Day 19 Athens to Windsor
From Meteora we drove to Monodendri and Vikos Gorge. If you aim to take in some of the arched bridges along the way we recommend that you drive to Kipoi on the most direct route you can find. We took a scenic way that added a ton of driving time and although scenic made for a very long day. We did have the Gorge to ourselves when we arrived and to ourselves is exactly what I mean. There was no one there but us.
We stayed outside of Ioannina at Aar hotel (not recommended). If you stay in town there are many places to eat and visit, stay outside of town and you will have very limited options. We made a LONG drive to Killini (ferry port for Zakynthos) via Patras. The bridge at Patras is spectacular but the 13 euros to drive over it was a bit too spectacular.
We thought Zakynthos was worth the extra effort and drive. The beaches were nice and we found a small company to take us out to the caves and shipwreck beach (Look for Renata Boats, they are outside of town but worth the 40 minute drive to avoid the crowds). We also recommend dinner at the Keri Lighthouse, just go to see the sunset first and then come back to the restaurant before the sun is all the way down (amazing views and good food).
After leaving Zakynthos we drove to Olimpia for an early afternoon visit. Get there early because it does get hot (even in late September). From there we drove to Kalamata and perhaps our least favorite location. It was a stop over for us but still had little to offer. However, the next morning we woke up and drove to Mystra on one of the most amazing roads I have ever drove on. Mystra is worth a visit for sure but be advised, do the place in two halves and be prepared for some strenuous walking. We started at the top, went halfway down on foot, returned to our car, drove to the bottom and walked up to the halfway point. Just outside of the site we did find a great little restaurant/pizza place, I don't recall the name but it will be the first place you come to after the site.
We stayed in Argos for the night and went to Mycenae in the morning (again before any crowds showed up and while the temperatures were still somewhat low). Mycenae is a nice place to visit but is not incredible. I don't think I would make it a day trip from Athens, it was on our way back to Athens so it was worth a stop.
We drove in Athens and survived. It can be hectic but it is not horrible. Of course we took in all the sights in Athens. The Acropolis is a must see but is not cheap (I think we paid 20 euros each). We stayed at the Acropolis View Hotel and would recommend it strictly for the roof top view (although the room was adequate and the service was great).
What would we change? An extra day in Athens would have been nice but we did see everything we wanted. We could have spent many more days on Naxos, it was the highlight of our trip. Although the driving may be extreme for some we found it to be a great way to go. We had the luxury of going at our own pace and did our best to limit the driving to 2-3 hours at the most (Ioannina to Killini was our longest drive at just under 5 hours).
If there are ANY questions or comments we welcome them. Again, our trip was aggressive but worked out perfectly for us (we were a group of two females in their mid to late twenties and a couple in our mid to late forties).