Peloponesse add islands?

It helps us give better advice if you state length of trip: 12 days? 14? NOT counting travel to/from Here are my thoughts. First of all, we "Vets" (me = 13 trips) always suggest ATHENS last? You'll be much more refreshed to tackle busy Athens -- AND more savvy about sight-seeing, Plus world-famouslandmarks will mean much more. Of course u may arrive exhausted & jetlagged not ready to drive. There's a great Answer, HOTEL AVRA, 25 mins away, overlooking a beach. FREE shuttle from/back to airport if you book at same time as rooms. Get thyself to Avra, swim, early dinner in tree-shaded town square, sleep. Next AM, shuttle to Airport, get rental Car, start your pelops Adventure!

This Fab Map -- https://euro-map.com/karty-grecii/peloponnes/podrobnaya-turisticheskaya-karta-peloponnesa.jpg -- is super-useful for peloponnese planning. Click & it gets huge -- naivigate w side-slides. Great stuff right on Way. BIG GREEN ROAD bypasses Athens, nonstop until Corinth Canal. Jump off at Isthmus, go out on Old Bridge for awesome pix (its SO deep SO skinny). After Canal; on RH side is ANCIENT NEMEA just 5 mi off road.; "runner-up" to Olympia, well excavated -- stunnng stadium where u can race from starting blocks 2500 years old. http://nemeangames.org/ The "Revived Nemean Games" every 4 years draw thousands fo kids/adults world-wide to compete. NO Crowds; enjoy in 45 mins.

I HOPE that you have thoroughly read the superb noncomercial website -- http://www.visitnafplio.com/ -- everything to do sea eat IN Nafplio plus walks, ancient sites etc all around. Kids enjoy The "Castle" aspect... take a bronze-door elevator IN a rock cliff (yes! just like a cheesy sci-fi movie) to a parapet Wall -- Acronafplio... and a PARK at the very PEak of the Peninsula... look down on "town beach" (Arvanita)... then walk a path at foot of cliff to get there. ALL in website; click every link. Plus Palamidi.. a Gibralter looming over Old Town (Tip - drive up back way, expllore fortress, then ONE parent walks kids DOWN the 999 steps other parent drives car to the cafe at the bottom, to await). OTHER sites? Myceena is loooong site for kids, but TIRYNS, just 10 mins outside town, is a Huge-Rock Thrill to climb around on, and NO crowds. Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is something all kids love (you can skip the acres of surrounding runis). On way back to town, Tolo beach, not crowdy in September. I love nearby tiny Cove of ASINE, just one taverna. where you can change clothes & have good food.

Wondering if Mystras & Momemvasia will thrill kids.... Mystras =scrambling down hill of deserted churches. Monemavasia = huge fortress on a rock on a causeway but also not a lot to do. Areopoli in the fall for kids? Atmospheric but not funfest. Beach relaxation? don't go to Navarino, haven of Richy-Rich... go to a hidden Gem ... Hotel ZOE, on the small perfect beach of Gialova, 10 miles N of Pylos - http://www.zoeresort.com/ - renamed as resort, but its still the wonderful family that created it. Most perfect beach in West Peloponnese ... and nearby, stuff to explore... castles on a causeway, a wildlife refuge just North..

Hoping this leaves u w 4 days -- drive drive back to Airport, drop car, get carservice to Central ATH hotel for 2 days sightseeing, one Magical day-trip to An island -- AEGINA. Go on Weekday, no crowds. Night before buy tix near hotel for open-deck ferry (avoid hydrofoils). Taxi to Piraeus (30 mins) & you'll have a great 1-hour "mini-cruise"... huge freighters, tiny sloops, 3-masters. Here's a photo-sequence of such a day-trip... http://www.flickr.com/photos/36264706@N03/sets/72157621604646139/detail/ -- have a last greek swim, and a sunset sail back to Athens ... a great finale to your trip.

The perfect island to visit when traveling in the Peloponnese is Kythira.

You can get there from Neapoli in 1 hour and 15 minutes with the Porfyrousa ferry operated by Triton Ferries (daily service).
Neapoli is about 30 minutes from Monemvasia.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dMDvNN7C3UcAkb6h6

Or from Gythio in 2 hours and 30 minutes with the Aqua Jewel ferry operated by Seajets (2 to 3 times a week).

https://maps.app.goo.gl/t6TvP9sbi345P6zG6

In both cases, you can take your car on the ferry.

As a frequent visitor to the Greek islands, I can say that Kythira is just as worthwhile as the most beautiful ones. And the best part is, it's not overrun by tourists. Regarding your planned itinerary, Kythira can be placed between Monemvasia and Aeropoli. Monemvasia, in my opinion, only deserves a few hours' visit, there's no need to stay overnight.

https://visitkythera.com/

Some photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1r346rrBGvEuziJo8

However, be careful not to try to see too much. You haven't mentioned how much time you have. Kythira requires at least four days.
If you don't have at least four days, forget it.

I focused on the Peloponnese with the same reasoning (also I’ve seen many Croatian islands, which swayed me a bit thought obvs very different) and I had absolutely no regrets and I’d be even more keen in September, when seas will be warm.

Thank you all. This has been very helpful!

The Peloponnese is a wonderful part of Greece that many first timers don't even consider as all they hear about are the Greek Islands which is understandable as there are many beautiful islands to go top and worthy of a trip.

However the Peloponnese offers just as much as an island and even more as it is a very large area with everything an island offers and more.

I've been several times and still have only scratched the service of it.

if interested you can read a couple of trip reports I posted about the Peloponnese with photos on another forum.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g189483-i1277-k14200587-Peloponnese_Trip_Report_Sept_25_Oct_12-Peloponnese.html

Here's a trip report of an area that most people have never heard about but is an amazing part of the Peloponnese:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g189483-i1277-k14775687-Peloponnese_Trip_Report_Kynouria-Peloponnese.html

If you can find the Cadogan Guide to the Peloponnese then it's worth buying as it's the most informative and detailed of any Peloponnese guidebook. Full of info you won't find anywhere else. A bit dated but still relevant. Look for it at abe books or ebay.

If you can get to the island of Kythira then that would be a wonderful island to experience as it's off the main tourist routes and still holds on to it's Greekness.

Kythira photos:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g319777-i11468-k14565904-Kythira_Trip_Report_Sept_28_Oct_3-Kythira_Attica.html

There are no wrong answers here but did want to say that we thought seriously about going to Kythira this coming May. But we found so many places we wanted to go on the Peloponnese that we decided not forego it.

BethFL:

I know what you mean about the Peloponnese and I'm still looking forward to more trips there in the future.

By all means keep Kythira on your "to-go-to" list as it's one of the last large islands that doesn't get overrun with tourists even though the summer sees Greek who immigrated to Australia returning to visiting the homeland.

It's a gem of an island, low key, very Greek and still a wonderful island for exploring.