Itinerary Struggle

You have six nights as I count it.

I would spend 1 night in Delphi and 2 nights in Meteora and 3 nights in Athens OR
I would spend 3 nights in Nafplio and 3 nights in Athens.

We have been to Greece twice. We went to Nafplio and Athens the first time and Delphi and Meteora the second time. We loved both.

Going to Delphi and Meteora involves more difficult driving than Nafplio. It is more mountainous. For that reason alone, I might chose Nafplio.

Are you flying in from overseas? I'd avoid the Delphi drive on arrival in that case. I admit we drove to Nafplio on arrival, a slightly shorter drive, but I can't recommend to others in case you get no sleep. Safest bet would be getting Cape Sounio out of the way (the shortest drive), then start fresh the next day.
I think the road damage should be cleared up by October, but if you were going this week, I would have said maybe hold off on Meteora because there was some damage from the flooding that could affect your route.
Delphi area sounds relaxing but I don't know if enough for three days (there very well could be, I am just unaware), whereas Nafplio could fill that and more.

Nafplio is lovely and its a fairly short drive from Athens. Rent the car at the airport and drive to Nafplio. Use it as a base. There are numerous ancient sites in the area. On the way consider a stop at Ancient Corinth and right next door the huge fortress at Acrocorinth with its 360 degree views over the countryside.
Close by is ancient Nemia which had sister games to Olympia. The stadium is still there.

You could do a day trip to Delphi from Nafplio. Probably a long day you would want to get an early start.

South of Nafplio a fairly long day trip to Mystras at Sparti. Mystras was the last Byzantine city and is impressive. For a real treat continue South from Mystras and visit Monemvassia. Its called the Gibralter of Greece and you can sleep inside the walls of a 14th century village in reconstructed period rooms.
Some images
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
Peloponnese, Mani and Monemvassia. https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157711323535897

With just 6 days you really don't have much time.

Athens deserves a minimum of 2 days with three better.

Are you planning on driving around Athens? If so I wouldn't recommend it. There are tours to Cape Sounio but there's so much to see in Athens that it may not be worth it.

FYI: Most people leave Athens for the end of the trip to ensure getting back in time for your flight home. Just in case there are any type of delays.

With the remaining 3 days I would go to Nafplio as it's one of Greece loveliest towns and a perfect base to explore nearby world class archeological/historic sites and so much more.

With a car you can cover a lot of ground and if you plan properly can see quite a bit.

This is the best site for Nafplio and you will see there's more than enough to do to keep you occupied.

https://www.visitnafplio.com/

Really it depends on what interests you. For me, with the amount of time you have, it would be to stay in Nafplio. Nice to break the drive by a stop at the bridge over the Canal and then further on the ruins of ancient Corinth. From Nafplio it’s easy to visit Mycenae, Epidaurus, Tiryns, Olympia etc. Return your car to the airport in Athens and spend your last three days there without a car. You can easily visit Cape Sounio by a tour from Athens…there are lots of companies offering tours.

You have all been so helpful! We are flying in from Boston so we will be exhausted. My husband seems up for driving, but not too far that first day and we definitely will return the car before Athens.

It sounds like the consensus is Nafplio and Athens and then plan another trip to Greece asap!

Thanks again for all of your time and insight!

Enjoy! We were discussing our return to Greece on the plane on the way home!

I fly out of Boston with Delta who now have non-stop flights from Boston.

Got my ticket months ago and all set for the trip.

It is a long day and if you have a connecting flight it will be even longer.

The highway from the airport to Nafplio is wonderful but you will have to get off the main high onto secondary roads the rest of the way to Nafplio. Roads are good so no worries there.

I would recommend some type of navigation system. I use Google Maps and for the most part worked fine for my 13 day stay in the Peloponnese last year.

We went to both Nafplio and Delphi. Delphi was very nice but a day there was enough. We loved Nafplio. It is a beautiful area and there is so much to do both in the town and within a short drive. When we were in Athens we took a half day sunset tour to Cape Sounion through Getaways Greece. It is beautiful to see at sunset and they made a stop on the way at a very nice beach where you could purchase dinner or swim - although we were there late October and the water was too cold for swimming! They picked us up at our hotel and the price was very reasonable. I hope you have a wonderful trip! We loved Greece!