Public Bus to Delphi from Athens

Yes there is a bathroom break about 60 - 80 mins en route. If you are going in High Season ( mid-June thru early Sept) the first bus of the day can fill up ... so you may want to reserve a seat ahead. Have your hotel telephone the day before. Also, you really should know the usual scenario from May - Sept so you are not taken by surprise ... the Public bus arrives around 10:30 -- at the SAME time as at least 6 FULL busses of tour groups... and they all start up the ruins site at same time ... the site is Big, so that isn't a problem. However, what IS a problem, is when the entire horde turns and pours into the Dellphi Museum at once, jampacking the isles making it hard to see the exhibits, and a lot of hubbubs as guides loudly proclaim their (simplistic) descriptions at once, Very frustrating! Then the mobs are then, again, herded out and into busses to go off to a mandatory mediocre group lunch (which is self-pay), and then to various souvenir shops (do we smell kickback?).

Your strategy could be very simple, even if you arrive at same time as tour-armies. Bring a little packed lunch. Go to Museum first, when almost no one is there. THEN go uphill into ruins, and enjoy your picnic sitting on a fallen column. Unllike the hapless tour groups, YOU will be able to go on your own downhill to the Athena Temple Ruin, and to the Castalian Springs.

Again, think ahead about what bus to take back to Athens... I think the last bus is about 6 pm, which might be full if you wait to get a ticket at that time. Get the schedule before you go to Dellphi ... & you have several options. An easy one is this. On reaching Delphi, the bus first stops right at the Ruins entrance... then it continues uphill to a Y intersection which is the village crossroads. A small office at this point is the ticket office. You can buy a ticket there, and then walk back to the museum & site entry (downhill) along the road, which has a parapet wall, with views down the mountain & out so see... with flags blowing in the breeze... lovely.

The Athens trip to/from the Liossion KTEL Bus Terminal is best done by taxi ... local busses don't come directly & you'd have to walk through streets of junkyards. Taxi used to be about €13 - maybe 15 by now. Ask your hotel person for estimate & have him tell the driver, so taxi will know you are aware of correct fare.

I'm sure you've done some "homework" to enjoy Delphi without a licensed Guide ... advance homework hellps. The museum has v good signage, easy DIY. For Sacred Way -- https://people.hsc.edu/drjclassics/sites/delphi/sacredway.shtm Some favorite sites of mine have disappeared, but Wikipedia is pretty good, to edit & print. Enjoy your visit~

Wow! Good to know -- and more. Your comments are all very useful. I am actually planning two nights in Delphi, with a full day to explore the ruins, museum, and town. Back to Athens by bus on day 3. I'm really looking forward to it and your info will help a lot. Thanks!

Glad I could be helpful. Like many I learned from first-timer mistake. My first trip was one of those day-tours ... very frustrating. years later, on my 4tth or 5th trip to Greece, a friend & I went on our own, took a midday bus, stayed o'night, came back next afternoon. a totally different experience.

We didn't even make a Hotel reservation (tho now, with internet, it's wiser to), and wandered into PAN hotel & asked for balcony room. he offered to show us one on main floor... we thought ?? but said show us. it was the rear of hotel, on dowhill side. We walked out on balcony... it was a sheer drop -- hawks were circling 100 feet Below us! view down mountain, across olive grovew, out to a silvery sea. We said YES. Across the lane is Hotel Artemis -- there, you'd want a balcony at the Front.

That day, we walked along the road at 6pm to Museum (at that time u could access Museum/Ruins on 2 different days on 1 ticket; now you pay 2x). It was May & sunset was 8:30 or later. Right at the Y intersection was a small cafe w outdoor terrace, not fancy. we had spaghetti & watched sundown. NOTE: Do Not Miss the local water! We asked waitress about whether to buy bottle water. She said -- she pointed up the mountain. She said, our water is pure snow-melt straight from the top of Mt. Parnassus thru our faucets to you. It was the most heavenly water I have ever drunk. Fill your canteen!

Because we wanted to enter ruins at 8 am opening, our landlord served us light breakfast (coffee & pastries) early ... and we had almost 3 hours before the Dozen busses arrived... by then we were high up the hill. We were able to enter the stadium up top but this may be blocked off now, due to rock-falls... good luck on that.