Requesting feedback on Greece Itinerary (9 days in April 2026)

Thank you for specifying the exact locations and dates. You could swap Hydra and Delphi or make minor changes, but overall this itinerary is quite doable and well-planned in my opinion.

From a location perspective the hotels where you will be staying are in good places. In Athens, the Belle Epoque is in the historic center. You can get there by taxi (€40 flat rate). By public transport, you can take the X95 bus (€5.50) or the metro (€9) to Syntagma Square. From there, it's less than a 10-minute walk to the hotel.

The Kimon Athens is also well-located in Plaka. In Delphi, the hotel is barely a 2-minute walk from the KTEL bus stop.

In Hydra, you will need to check with the owner to find out the easiest way to get to the accommodation, as you already know it will only be on foot (or by donkey).

The Athens bus station for Delphi is KTEL Liosion. Getting there from your hotel by public transport isn't very convenient. A taxi will take you there more easily for a few euros. Bus schedules and tickets to Delphi are available about a month in advance here:

https://ktelbus.gr/fok/ticketweb/

The metro is convenient and inexpensive (€1.20) to get to the port of Piraeus to catch a ferry to Hydra. You can also take a taxi. Ferries to Hydra normally depart from Gate E8 at the port of Piraeus. The timetable for April 8th is available here:

https://www.ferryhopper.com/booking/results?itinerary=PIR,HYD&dates=20260408&passengers=1&vehicles=0

Note that Friday the 10th will mark the beginning of Orthodox Easter celebrations. There will be religious ceremonies and processions in the streets in the evening.

You’ve got some good details there, I agree that both Athens properties are well located.
The only correction I would make is that the Delphi bus does not go from KTEL Kifissou, it goes from Liosion bus station.

Oops, yes, sorry, I got confused. It is indeed KTEL Liosion station, I'll correct that right away.

Thank you both for your help! I'm really grateful for this forum.

Hi, folks, one more question. We'll now be staying in Athens until Sunday April 12, flying out Orthodox Easter morning. Is there anything you would strongly suggest doing or NOT doing in Athens on Good Friday and Holy Saturday? I have read that a lot of locals leave town and many sites reduce their hours on those days. Our main focus in Athens is historic sites and neighborhoods over museums.

Thank you.

On Good Friday and Holy Saturday most sites and museums will close earlier than usual.

On Holy Saturday, the Acropolis is usually open from 12:00 PM to 3:30 PM. Many shops also close earlier.

This should be checked for each location during Easter 2026. Summer opening hours will not be available until mid-March (approximately).

Thank you again!

Hello, I’ve been to Greece many times over the years. Your itinerary looks great. The only suggestion I’d make is spend 1 less day in Athens and 1 extra day in Hydra. Enjoy!!

Thank you, jennyd. Anything in particular you would recommend doing in Hydra?

While Hydra has one of the prettiest waterfronts in Greece with the village cascading down the hillside to the harbor there really isn't that much to do other than hanging out on the harbor, people watching, wandering around the waterfront, shopping, eating and not having to dodge traffic.

To get away from the crowds head uphill and explore the village as it's much quieter with lovely homes, narrow lanes, views and a more Greek Vibe.

In addition you can take a walk along the waterfront to a small fishing village where it's more tranquil.

Hydra is ideal for a day trip as most of what you want to see and do is in a small area.

You can check out Hydra and other areas of the Argolis here. Double click on the video to enlarge it.

Scroll down to the very bottom to get videos I made of Hydra to get an idea of where I like going when on Hydra:

https://tinyurl.com/39mm5ys6

Thank you for the info and the videos! What a lovely place to explore.

With regard to Hydra at that time of year: it will likely be pretty quiet (even more so than usual), and there may not be as much open because they're not in the main tourist season yet. Also, getting to and from there could potentially be a little difficult depending on the weather, as seas can sometimes be a bit rougher, and ferries will occasionally be canceled. If anyone is prone to motion sickness, stock up on dramamine.

If you are interested in Greek Orthodox celebrations, Good Friday and Holy Saturday are absolutely worth checking out. If you have ever seen the RS video on Easter in Europe (it's on YouTube), there's a section on Easter in Greece set in Nafplio. The basic events will be the same in Athens, but larger in scale. Midnight on Sat/Sun will have lots of fireworks.

FYI, especially at that time of year, the listed opening and closing hours of places should be taken with a grain of salt. By all means, make plans, but be prepared to be flexible.

Have a great time!

I did a day trip to Hydra mid-to-late April 2025 which had the videos I posted earlier with the link.

Most everything was open along the waterfront and back streets and on the walk along the coast to the small fishing village.

Pleasantly busy without the huge crowds of summer but still lively.

I took the ferry from Ermioni which took about 35 minutes so no problem getting to Hydra and return.

Not sure where you'll be taking the ferry from to Hydra but most everything should be open.

Thank you, sdmarinos and tommyk5. Understood about needing to remain flexible due to the holidays and the weather. Even so, I'm thinking it would be good to purchase tickets in advance for the ferry (Athens to/from Hydra) and bus (Athens to/from Delphi). Would that be your recommendation?

NYC: Nothing wrong with booking ahead of time but April is off season with less tourists traveling so it will be just as easy to buy the ticket the day of travel but do what makes you feel more comfortable.

It may also depend on the day of travel. Weekends tend to be more busier with weekdays less so.

Piggybacking on tommyk5's answer- the smaller ferries usually have a capacity of 150 to 300, but the buses top out at about 50. At that time of year, sellouts are less likely, but if you're invested in a particular departure time for scheduling reasons, I'd be inclined to get tickets beforehand, as, from my perspective, buying in advance just means there's one less thing to think about. Having said that, if you do decide to wait till the day of to purchase your tickets and your preferred time happens to be sold out, you can almost certainly go at a later time (i.e., there's little danger of you not being able to make it to Delphi or Hydra at all).

The only downside with buying in advance is if you think your plans might change- although tickets for ferries and buses are often refundable, there are usually ever-diminishing windows for when you can do it e.g., fully refundable at 30 days before; 75% a week or more before; 50% less than a week before.