Help fit Delphi into my Peloponnese itinerary

I don’t understand how you planned Day 13 in the first place, before even considering adding Delphi to the mix.

Why are you heading south from Kardamyli toward Archontiko, while also wanting to visit Ancient Messene, which is located to the north?

Since your total number of days is fixed, adding Delphi will mean cutting a night somewhere else. There’s no way around it. Insisting on ticking items off a bucket list is counterproductive and only leads to the kind of logistical headaches you’re currently experiencing while struggling to put this itinerary together. Sorry, I don't have any better idea for fitting in Delphi

I also notice that you’ve packed quite a few activities into certain days. Once you're actually there, you'll likely find that you need to slow down and make some real-time adjustments.

Keep in mind that the Greek Easter holidays fall right during your trip (Easter Monday is May 3rd). This is the biggest holiday season in Greece, so be prepared for potential closures, modified hours, and crowds.

You really can’t just add Delphi to your itinerary so the real question is what can you give up.

You have three nights in Lemini. There is no beach there. It is tiny. The water was cold in mid May when we went and you are going earlier. That said my 20 something son and his wife spent the day happily there hanging out in the rocks so it is possible you would enjoy that. We would have been so bored. We were happy with the hour visit the day before. So in my mind, you could spend two nights there instead of three.

And then drive to Delphi and spend the night before going back to Athens.

You are correct, JoLui, on Day 13 we want to go north from Kardamyli to Messene and then somewhere else north towards Delphi. I saw a hotel near Megalopolis with the name Archontiko and copy/pasted that by mistake. I’ve corrected for that above.

We won’t pack in too much, the daily activities are just options for each stop. And the days are flexible, as we haven’t purchased plane tickets yet.

The trip will most likely be in May, right after Orthodox Easter. However the Easter activities in Leonidio look great and we could arrange to be there on that weekend, which will also add days.

BethFL - Thanks for the info on Limeni, this could be swapped for Aeropoli.

We spent two nights in Aeropoli and liked the town a lot. It is well located and very walkable. I preferred it to Lemini but it isn’t on the water like Lemeni.

If you haven’t bought airline tickets yet, you might just add a night if you do not want to steal a night from somewhere else. I still don’t think you can see Delphi “on the way” from Megalapolis to Athens.

So, you just need to add 2 days, and that will be enough to include Delphi.

I believe I’ve found the hotel you’re referring to: Archontiko Leontari. It looks like a good choice if you decide to stick with this itinerary. Keep in mind, though, that it will take at least a 4-hour drive to reach Delphi from there. It’s up to you whether you’d prefer to break up the journey by stopping somewhere further along the way.

Beyond Nafplio, Leonidio is a good option, it’s the last town before you start driving on mountain roads. Just before reaching Leonidio, there’s also a charming little town and fishing port called Tyros, in case you’d like to broaden your search for overnight accommodation as there are a few places to stay there.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/97FmH99TfuaUmDf88

In Leonidio, we spent some time at a spot that’s a bar-restaurant-grocery store-shop-exhibition space, all in one. It’s a popular hangout for rock climbers, as there are climbing routes in the area. The atmosphere is very laid-back, even if you aren’t a climber yourself. Just in case you’re interested:

https://www.panjika.org/

Personally, I think one more night would be enough to include Delphi.

We arrived in the late afternoon-later than planned because our flight from Crete was delayed by two hours. We had a tour scheduled at 5 pm which was about two hours. The next morning our tour picked up at the museum at 8 am. After it, we went back to our hotel, had breakfast, and were on our way by late morning.

I am not sure what we would have done with a second night.