How Can I Configure This Trip?

Assuming that you’re flying home from Athens, spend your last days there. But can you fly from Zakinthos to Athens, long enough to connect to Hydra by ferry? On our April 2018 trip, the seas were so rough that the first morning ferry to Hydra got cancelled, then the second an hour later. We split cab fare with another couple on the docks, and rode to Ermioni to catch the ferry from there to Hydra, a calmer water crossing.

After the Hydra stay, we ferried back to Ermioni, and rented a car there for reaching Napflio and touring the Peloponnese over the next week, eventually turning the car in at Athens for a several-night stay. Whether a convenient bus would take you from Ermioni to Napflio, then another on to Athens, we never researched, but might be an option.

Skyscanner shows four different airlines that fly from Zakinthos to Athens nonstop. Be sure to book on the airlines, website and not through an online travel agency i.e., Expedia etc. in case you encounter a problem since it’s better to work with the carrier.
From Athens airport you can take a taxi to bus terminal A (Kifissou) and catch the next bus to Nafplio.
From Nafplio you can take a direct 30-minute bus or a 15-minute taxi to Tolo and take a day trip to Hydra or ask about taking the trip one way if you plan on spending the night on Hydra but I’m not positive that you can do that.

The other option is to take a bus to Ermioni but I believe it involves a transfer from Nafplio. You can rent a car in Nafplio but I don’t see a car rental agency in Ermioni.

We rented from Pop’s Car Rental in Ermioni. They have several locations around Greece, and are recommended by Rick Steves, too.

If you want to get from Athens Airport in a convenient and quick but more expensive way then you can get a hired taxi to Nafplio.

You can get a bus from the airport to the bus station and hope you can get a bus without a long wait. You can also take a taxi from the airport to the bus station but again hope you don't have a long wait for the bus to Nafplio.

This is a very reliable taxi service to Nafplio. Contact them directly to see what they can do for you. They'll be at the airport holding a sign with you name on it so you won't have to wait around and you go directly to Nafplio which cuts down on trying to get to the bus station, waiting for a bus, then a 2 + hour bus ride.

https://www.greek-taxi.gr/

FYI, you can get to Hydra from Tolo (close to Nafplio) for a day cruise if you want to skip staying on Hydra.

Nafplio is a great base to explore the entire area and you'll run out of time before you see it all.

This is the best website for Nafplio and the area:

https://www.visitnafplio.com/

Athens deserves a minimum of 2 days with 3 better. Instead of splitting time between Nafplio & Hydra stay in Nafplio.

I have to agree with tommy. Each transfer eats up a large chunk of a day (ferries, flights,taxi hotels) Nafplio is lovely and because it is on the sea it feels as if you are on an island. There is so much to do in this area you will have a richer experience by staying in Nafplio.
Here is why
Nafplio https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632094108982

Regarding getting to the Kiffissou Street KTEL (intercity) bus station for intercity busses to Nafplio... the X93 express bus leaves the air terminal bout every 30 minutes, takes about 60-70 minutes, costs €6... a taxi takes about 45 mins but could cost you €45. From a central athens hotel, a taxi to that station is about €15, takes 20 minutes. The KTEL express bus to Nafplio costs about €15, in normal times leaves hourly on the half-hour and takes about 2.5 hours -- however, during pandemic I heard it was every 2 hours; you can have a Greek-speaking family member in Zakynthos telephone this station to confirm the current schedule. THe busses are modern, reserved seats, comfortable upholstered w headrest/footrests, a/c, they are prompt, keep to schedule, because Greece has little rail service, KTEL busses are a very respectable form of intercity transit, used by people from all walks of life. The ride is pleasant, if u sit on LH side, u have a sea view much of the way.

I'm with Stanbr on staying in Nafplio... its Old Town area is at the tip of a peninsula, surrounded by the sea, so you feel as fi u are in a beautiful town on an island... AND wonderful swims available In town (2 spots) or other a 15 minute local bus-ride away. I urge you to look at this superb NONcommercial website - http://www.visitnafplio.com/ - and click EVEY link, including "Local walks" and Beaches. Its editor is a notable photographer herself, takes breathtaking photos of every aspect of the area -- you can check out her latest on Facebooks "Visit Nafplio" to get inspired. Yes u can do a daytrip to Hydra, but there u are limited by how far u can walk in a day. In Nafplio u can do the whol e surroundings without a car, and then rent a car for a day only, if u wish, to do a "ruin-a-thon" (Mycenae - Tiryns - Epidaurus in a day) Or do as we do -- ruins in the AM, beach in afternoon!

Thank you for all the replies.
Those are good ideas to pursue.

It appears my best bet for getting to Hydra by ferry after Nafplio is from Ermioni. I'm not finding any from Tolo.

Also, being a photographer, I'm interested in being "there" (wherever "there" happens to be) to photograph sunrise or sunset or both, so a day trip to Hydra is less than what I want since the Ermioni ferry runs in between those daily celestial events.

Re: airfare, I always book direct with the airline. I try to do the same thing with hotels, where possible, even at the expense of a few extra euros added to the prices.

I'm enjoying planning this portion of the trip, as I do whenever I travel. I just hope I don't keep finding additional places that try to find a way onto my itinerary when they make to geographical sense.

OH! And Thank you, Janet for the link to explore.

Blockquote
I just hope I don't keep finding additional places that try to find a way onto my itinerary when they make to geographical sense.

Isn’t that always the problem? 🤣

I will add that if you do end up driving Athens to Nafplio, it is not at all difficult. Even the smaller roads in that area were not a real problem. (I did have an automatic.)

You will want a car in Napflio as it is surrounded by many of Greece’s most significant antiquities.

In October 2018, (before the pandemic), I spent 2 weeks in Greece without renting a car for any portion of my trip. Athens is a big enough city that a car there will be more difficulty than benefit. I was able to take the bus to the old town of Nafplio; Mycenae, and Epidavros. The buses, and the trains in the Athens area, were operating enough that I didn't need a car. Yeah I have a valid Michigan drivers license. I prefer to avoid renting cars in Europe if public transportation can get me to and from major sites listed in the guidebooks.