Our trip was at Easter (April) last year. We landed in Athens as it was getting dark, so headed straight to Peri’s Hotel for one night. They ordered dinner in for us, delivered to our room, and we had just enough energy to stuff the leftovers in the small fridge in our room and fall asleep. We’d planned to hit the countryside first and leave Athens for last, and had planned to go first to Rick Steves’ “backdoor” island of Hydra, getting our car after we’d finished on Hydra.
But because of rough seas, the first morning ferry from Athens’ Piraeus port to Hydra was cancelled. We waited for the second ferry, and when that was also cancelled, we found another couple to split a taxi to drive us to another port, some distance away, where we could make an easier crossing and make it to our Hydra B&B.
We’ve tended to not do one-night-stays much anymore, but this 2 1/2 week trip involved several. We did have 2 nights on Hydra, then ferried over to Ermioni to pick up our rental car from Pop’s Rentals. Their office wasn’t very quick, and they sent us to a bookstore 3 blocks away to look for a map, as they only offered a map of tiny Ermioni, not one covering the Peloponnese. The car was great and the price was good, even if the rental office didn’t make a great first impression. We headed to Napflion for the remainder of the day and 2 nights. Great market, and close to Epidavros and Mycenae. We also visited amazing Nemea, a smaller stadium and temple site to rival Olympia. We had the athletic field and the unique tunnel leading to it (with ancient athletes’ scratched-in graffiti declaring their victories) all to ourselves.
One night in/on Monemvasia. That was the only place that presented even the slightest parking challenge, and we had to park along the causeway leading to the entry gate, and walk 5-6 minutes to get to the island, then another 8 minutes to reach our B&B at about the end of the main “street.” Dinner outside, surrounded by cats eyeing the fish on our plates, was amusing and enjoyable.
By the way, oncoming drivers often cut corners on curves, drifting into our lane and heading at us, before drifting back into their lane. Beware as you approach any blind curves.
Heading down to the Mani peninsula, we used Aeropoli as our 3-night base, more remote and quieter than Kardamyli (except on Good Friday, when the church bell tolled mournfully all day long), and an excellent base for doing the amazing Mani Peninsula loop drive. We saw incredible vistas from high on ridges looking down to little towns and beaches, drove to those towns featuring old tower houses, reached an ancient land’s end site with ruins’ ornate mosaic floor tiles out in the open, just a stunning drive.
We cruised thru Kardamyli en route to Kalamata for the Easter observation at midnight. Glad we didn’t spend more time in Kardamyli, but wish we’d had more time than a night and part of the next day in Kalamata. By the way, we made an excursion up to Kastania, described in Rick’s book, in the rain - the big and tiny churches are striking.
From Kalamata, we headed to Archaea Olympia, and hired Nikki, recommended by Rick (and featured in his TV episodes) for an outstanding guided tour.
From there we headed onto the mainland, by bridge, off of the Peloponnese, and drove east, thru Galaxidi for an incredible night (wish we’d had more time, and hope to return), then Delphi and its ancient sights, before turning in the car as we reached Athens, really easy. We had 3 days to explore the capitol.
Didn’t visit Kefalonia, but Aeropoli, Kalamata, Archaea Olympia, Galaxidi, and the sights at Delphi would all be worth visiting, if you had the time and inclination. We’re spending this October 2 1/2 week trip exclusively on Crete.
