Trying to plan my next European trip and based on my early research it seems that Greece is best explored by renting a car.
I do not want to rent a car on a vacation though, so my question is what destinations are near Athens.
Hydra is about 90 minutes by boat which is fine for me, but anything longer than that (especially by bus) is a no go.
Posted by
France Southwest
1818 posts
The train network in Greece is very limited and without a car you will have to take buses.
Within a limit of 90 minutes or less by bus from Athens I can't think of any place to recommend that would be worth spending a few thousand dollars and crossing the Atlantic.
Set the limit at 150 minutes and you'll have options like Cape Sounion and Nafplio. Or stay in Athens but as it seems from other posts that you are not really into museums or art, I don't know what you are going to do there.
Hydra is 90 minutes or 2 hours from the port depending on the ferry type. A closer island is Aegina (less than an hour by ferry).
Just getting to the port of Piraeus from central Athens to catch a ferry takes at least 30 minutes.
Posted by
NH (USA)
1157 posts
In most cases renting a car is your best option for exploring Greece.
However, since you don't want or can't rent a car you'll need to find a location that has the best public transportation service.
Naxos has very good bus service which is an option. Lots to do on the island but it takes about 4 hours by ferry to get there. A lot quicker but more expensive if you want to fly.
Hydra is very nice but there is far less to do on the island but if you only have a few days may be OK.
Aegina which is the closest Greek Island has good bus service to most of what people go to the island for. Ferry ride is anywhere from 40 minutes to 90 minutes depending on what ferry you take. You could do a day trip from Aegina to Agistri which is less than 15 minutes away by ferry. It's known for it's nice beaches and family atmosphere.
I would avoid weekends as it tends to get very crowded especially Aegina Town.