Itinerary Review - 12 full days

The drive from Delphi to Nafplio is about 3.5 hours crossing the Gulf at Patras. I would suggest that it is more efficient to drive to Nafplio and you can stop at Ancient Nemia on the way.

What do you plan to do with the car during that first visit to Athens? A car is useless in Athens.

Most experienced travellers leave Athens to the end of the trip so they don't have to do it twice.

We arrived Meteora just before sunset and did all our photos with almost no one else around. With a car you can easily see all the monasteries without a guide.

With your car you can get up to the Monasteries early in the morning and visit a few of them before the bus tours hoards arrive. When it gets too crowded go back to your hotel and rest and perhaps drive around for the sunset.

When you arrive Delphi find a hotel and visit the museum to orient yourselves. Perhaps visit the lower site. Enjoy the evening in the village. Next morning get to the gate at opening you will have the place with a few other people for a couple of hours and by then you will be half way up the site. When the crowds get to you you will be at the top. Thats a good time to get back to your car for the drive to Nafplio.

On the way to Athens stop at Ancient Nemia and or Corinth. Acrocorinth is amazing.

Here are some images of your trip.
Santorini https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632154800782
Nafplio https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632094108982
Delphi and Meteora https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157698930270992
Corinth Area. https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157711755443483

We drove to Delphi and then to Meteora and then back to Athens this summer. We have been to Nafplio on a previous trip.

I also would go from Delphi to Nafplio and save Athens for last. You then can maximize use of a car. Otherwise, you either have to return car to airport and rent one again when you want to go to Nafplio or figure out where to park it when you visit Athens. Cars also are expensive now so don’t want it sitting.

It also would save you a night at a near airport hotel. We did that this past visit and while it worked well enough, I much preferred our last night on a previous visit in Athens. We didn’t go to Athens on this trip.

Thanks for the guidance and tips. I appreciate it! I'm still trying to weigh my resistance to Athens last versus the practicality of it. As for the car, we were either planning to park it or return it and rent again which I'm debating since it's only 1 day that we don't need it. In terms of Athens last, I know folks recommend it last but I like to have a relaxing end to my vacations and it seems like many describe Athens as a busy, chaotic city which doesn't seem like a good bookend to a trip. Perhaps, that's not the right impression?

From previous posts, I was thinking that we'll need to stay close the the airport (likely the Sofitel) our last night regardless due to our early flight. It didn't seem like an early morning transfer (4am?) from Athens to the airport was realistic. Is that correct? How difficult would it be to arrange for an early morning transfer?

That does seem to be a long time on Santorini. Oia is recommended only as a morning trip, from about 8 am to 10 am, after that expect it to be completely overrun by cruisers. If you want to stay that long, consider renting a vehicle and spending time on the other side of the island for (what I'm told are) lovely beaches and many many fewer tourists.

I agree that Athens in the middle is awkward, to say the least. If you don't want Athens at the end, stay there after Santorini, then do a loop through the rest.

Along with spending too much time on Santorini, I think you are short-changing Athens. The Ancient Agora was my favorite ancient sight, more than Delphi or the Acropolis.

Thanks! I've been wondering whether I've allocated too much time to Santorini but if we miss our connection I think we'd be disappointed in cutting it short. In terms of Athens after Santorini, it was in my original plan with a stay in Delphi and then Olympia but I was told I was being unrealistic about drive times. In the meantime, I read about Meteora and decided it couldn't be missed, regardless of the drive time. For my benefit, what is the drive time between Olympia and Nafplio because it looked to be about 4-5 hours too. Thus, I thought maybe I'd skip Olympia and try to break up several long drives with a stop in Athens after Delphi. Logistically though, I think it makes sense to stop in Athens after Santorini then do as stnbr suggests and drive via the Gulf of Patras to Nafplio after Meteora and Delphi.

Since you have a car, keep it, and go directly from Delphi to Nafplio without stopping in Athens (for example via Patras as suggested by stanbr).

In Athens the car would be totally useless to you, the area in Athens that interests you (Plaka) can be visited by walking, a large part of the streets are pedestrianized and there is a very efficient metro and bus service
You will pay a parking lot for several days in addition to the price of the rental days of a car that you do not need
So return the car when you arrive in Athens.

On day 13, instead of going to the Sofitel where you will pay a high price for a night in a charmless hotel, enjoy your last evening in Athens. Pre-order a taxi online for the next morning. Use for example welcomepickups.

I agree with Chani about Santorini vs Athens. You have four nights for Santorini and only 2 for Athens. I would make it 3-3. We had three in Athens and it was adequate but could have used another day so two nights in my mind is pretty skimpy as that only gives you one full day.

And also agree that if you don't want to make Athens last, that you should do it after Santorini. Then go to Meteora, Delphi, and Nafplio.

But I would still be inclined to fly back to Athens and drive to Meteora, then Delphi, Nafplio, and Athens. Some of our party had 7 am flight and had a preordered taxis to airport. Athens airport is easy. We have found two hours ahead of time is adequate.

Regarding your question on day 7 whether museum or grounds first, I did the museum first. Reason being I also arrived in the afternoon and it was quite hot out. The museum has AC :) Also, check the schedule on the day you plan to be there. There is a day of the week where the museum closes early. This year when I went that was Tuesday. It closed at 5pm whereas the grounds were open later, until 8pm. So, I went to the museum for a couple of hours first and then went to the Apollo sanctuary afterwards for the remaining hours until it closed at 8pm. The sun is less intense and the crowds have thinned out as well. It was pretty empty when I was there (this June).

"I'm still trying to weigh my resistance to Athens last versus the practicality of it. In terms of Athens last, I know folks recommend it last but I like to have a relaxing end to my vacations and it seems like many describe Athens as a busy, chaotic city which doesn't seem like a good bookend to a trip. Perhaps, that's not the right impression?"

Athens is a busy Chaotic city. Having said that the central area where all the antiquities are is not so busy. Lots of pedestrian traffic but there are fewer cars. Much of the important sites are easy to walk to.
From experience doing Athens early in a trip can be overwhelming. Doing it at the end of the trip gives you time to adjust to Greece and how things work which makes the Athens experience much more enjoyable. Trust the posters here who are recommending Athens last. They are experienced and know what they are talking about.

As for your concern about getting a taxi at 4am that is not a problem. We have had our hotel book us with a reliable driver who they are familiar with. Or even better look up City Cab. It is a private pick up service in big Mercedes cars, English speaking drivers and the same price as a taxi. One of the best parts of using a private service is you pay electronically when you book. Some Athens taxi drivers have a reputation of being a bit tricky and argumentative when it comes time to pay the fare.