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Need advice on Greece Itinerary

My husband, daughter and I will be traveling to Athens in August and will have 9 days. Aug 21-30
I have sketched this itinerary:

Day 1 and 2 Athens;
Day 3 and 4 Hydra;
Day 5 pick up rental car, Delphi;
Day 6 (see Olympia? or back track to Nafplio?);
Day 7, 8 Nafplio;
Day 9 Athens;
Day 10 Fly home.

I am having trouble transitioning from Delphi to Nafplio. Do we have time to see Olympia or should we just stay in the Nafplio area? How long does it take to drive from Delphi to Olympia? Or Olympia to Nafplio? Thanks so much for your help. This is our first trip to Greece. My daughter is studying for a month in Greece. We will be joining her in Athens and starting our adventure from there. Thanks, Cindy

Posted by
1499 posts

Just one suggestion - Since you have to return to Athens to fly hope, it might be better to leave Athens for the end. When we went to Greece we just went from the Athens airport directly to our first destination and left Athens for the end. We spent 3 nights in Athens but they were not broken up. Your daughter could meet you at the airport or at the ferry dock in Pireaus. Also, if you're picking up the car in Piraeus, Nafplio, Olympia, Delphi, Athens might be a good route. We use google maps to plot our trips. We just put in the name of each city and get the driving times between them. We know they're approximate but it gives us a good idea of which is the best route.

Posted by
4535 posts

If you get an early start, you could see all of the Delphi sights that same day. It's about a 5 hour drive from Delphi to Olympia (going north along the Gulf of Corinth). So again, an early start could get you there in time to see the Olympia sights. From there, it's about 4 hours to Nafplio depending on how you go.

Dick has a more ideal take on the drive and timing things. I'd also highly recommend staying in Galixidi rather than Delphi. The Baucus Tavern outside of Olympia (mentioned in the RS Guide) is awesome for dinner (I think they rent rooms too). Nafplio makes for a good base for seeing the eastern Peloponnese (but not Olympia). It's also a great small city to stay a few nights.

Posted by
57 posts

Hi, it depends how you like to travel. If it is your first time to Greece and you like to pack in as many sights as possible and don't mind long days you can fit Olympia in. Otherwise, skip Olympia and its drive time and see the stadiums at Athens, Delphi, and Epidavros which I think will give you a feel for what Olympia is like. Our family did the trip last year and since you have a car I might do it as follows:
Day 5: pick up car. Visit Hosios Loukas manastery on way to Delphi. See Delphi in afternoon.
Day 6: on the way from Delphi to Nafplio stop by Corinth for an hour or so (nice ruins and colums there). Visit Mycenaie and Epidavros on the way to Nafplio and arrive Nafplio in the afternoon.

You'll love what you see!

Posted by
2788 posts

I hope you are aware of the average temperatures in Greece in late August. It can get up to 90*F. You might also want to go to RS Greece Tour page to see where that tour goes. I just came back from taking that tour and did enjoy Greece for my first visit there.

Posted by
255 posts

The two times I have been to Greece I used the same itinerary:
Day 1 drive to Delphi from airport and stay the night.
Day 2 see ruins at Delphi and drive to Olympia
Day 3 see ruins in Olympia and drive to Napflio via the Temple of Apollo at Bassae
Day 4 & 5 Napflio
Day 5 leave Napflio and see Mycanae and Epidaurus in one day.
Day 6-8 Athens

The drive from Delphi to Olympia is a long one and from Olympia to Napflio is also a long drive but I wanted to see a lot and the second trip to Greece was with a group of teachers and students.

I rented from Swifty Car Rental in Athens. They brought the car to the airport and met us there.
In Athens we stayed at the Hotel Attalos.