Thinking of doing it, but after Athens going to Meteora instead of Hydra. Anyone done this? Thoughts?
Posted by
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
1594 posts
Meteora is a wonderful experience. You might want to spend a night there as so you can visit more Monasteries. It is about a 4 to 5 hour drive from Athens.
We also went to Delphi after visiting Meteora.
Here are some images.
Delphi and Meteora https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157698930270992
Posted by
5997 posts
Are you looking at a tour itinerary or something from the books? Plus every segment into Google Maps to determine the drive times. It would likely be too fast paced for me, but maybe you feel differently.
Posted by
NC
594 posts
Without knowing your timeframe or mode of travel, and with never having been to Hydra, I can recommend driving from Athens to Delphi for an overnight stop and on to Meteora for a couple pf days. Meteora is spectacular!
Posted by
OP
Collinsville, Illinois, USA
8 posts
The pictures were wonderful! Meteora is high on my list of sites to see.
Posted by
Moncton NB
1303 posts
We did both, and both were absolute highlights.
We drove to Meteora. Our rental car company (Swift-Avanti) picked us up at our hotel, drove us to their office on Syngrou (major street in Athens) where we did the paperwork, then pointed us to the freeway out of town. It was very easy to navigate out of Athens, but very congested until we left the city. Then it was an amazing drive. We stopped at Thermopylae to see the statue of Leonidas where the Spartans fought the Persians; then again at some roadside cafe up in the hills. When we did this four years ago a new freeway was partially completed; it must be completed by now which will make the drive easier, but take away that very cool windy road through the hills. We stayed in Kastraki (Doupiani House). Meteora is way too far from anywhere to make it a fun daytrip, but its an amazing place to stay for a night (or two in our case). We got a minibus tour from Visit Meteora which picked us up at our hotel.
For Hydra, we took the fast ferry from Piraeus and stayed two nights (Pensione Alkionides). Hydra is my favourite of the Greek islands. Much quieter than Santorini or Mykonos. Not a beach place, more of a enjoy your ouzo on a seaside patio kind of place.