Taxi from Levadia to Delphi? And how about this Athens>Meteora>Delphi>Athens itinerary?

I haven't done the trip in this way but your plan sounds like a good one! As far as your last question goes...you should have plenty of time to explore Delphi with one afternoon and an evening. I would take the 11am bus back to Athens so that you can maximize your time there.

We're in Greece right now. We rented a car where they will take you out of Athens which was very valuable. Driving in Greece is actually fairly easy (or course there are always hiccups and Greek drivers can be intimidating). We drove from Athens > Meteora > Delphi > Olympia. The roads are in good condition and it took us about 4 hours with a few stops (1 at the Leonidas site of 300 movie fame). All sites are worthy of your attention. We happen to be here around all the Easter breaks as well which has provided some student visits (aargh!), and still not a deterrent. Your timing will likely be good. I highly recommend a car unless you just don't want to drive on your own.
BTW, Kalambaka is nothing special. We actually preferred Kastraki and stayed at Hotel Kastraki where you are within walking distance of the monasteries, which many people do. We had a hiking guide to see the "hidden" sites and a guide for the monasteries. Both worth their weight in gold.
A taxi to Delphi from Levadia? That's quite a distance. BTW, we had a guide there too. We spent 1 night in Delphi. Stayed in the Acropole Hotel. Ate at one the best restaurants ever, at the Patriko Mas. An amazing restaurant. You can walk 10 minutes from the hotel to the Delphi site.

If you have other questions feel free to email me at [email protected].

I ended up doing this and wanted to share my experience for others who may be looking to do the same as during my planning stages I found it hard to find concrete data.

Basically, I started to get nervous about trying to get a taxi at the Levadia station. I did manage to find some people who posted about their experience that sometimes there are not taxis waiting at the train station. I also read the rail station is a bit far from the city center and the bus station (I think 6km if I remember correctly).

So I contacted VisitMeteora with who I had scheduled a few tours during my stay there. They also have a transfer service directly from Meteora to Delphi but it was 300 euros. A little too pricey for me. I asked if they had a contact at Levadia who could help.

So, VisitMeteora gave me the name and number of a taxi driver in Levadia. I ended up waiting to contact him (got side tracked with other things) and contacted him 5 days before my needed transfer.

This was the first challenge because I was in Greece by then and had a Greece Vodafone SIM which gave me local calling and data but did not include text messages. Being the introverted and awkward person I am I really would have preferred to text. That's when I remember a lot of people here use Whatsapp and if you put someone's number in your contact list Whatsapp will tell you if they also have Whatsapp and you can message them.

Well I tried that, but no luck. He was not on Whatsapp. Then, I remembered another app that seems to be used a lot here that a tour guide mentioned called Viber. Success! He showed up there and I sent the message. We managed to arrange a pick up time and price. 60 euros for the trip.

I got off the train and he was waiting there right on time. I asked him if there are typically taxis waiting at this station. He said sometimes there are not. In that case you would have to call Radio Taxi and request a taxi. He said that is usually more expensive (don't know how much more expensive).

As a matter of fact another woman got off the train and needed a taxi to Arachova which is on the way to Delphi. He said she was lucky I happened to have him waiting for me that day so she could share our ride together. Otherwise he said she would have had to call Radio Taxi.

Anyway, the whole ride took about 40 minutes and was super easy. HTH someone looking to do the same.

Oh, I also wanted to add something else that was worrying me about this trip that hopefully helps others and that was the train from Kalambaka to Levadia. There is a change of trains involved in Palaeofarsalos. The time between changing trains is less than 10 minutes and I didn't know what to expect regarding changing trains at this station.

Let's just say it is relatively easy as its a small station.

First, my train from Kalambaka left at 930am. This is actually the train for Athens as well. So you get on the train and it ends in Palaeofarsalos. There the conductor made an announcement: track 3 for Athens track 4 for Thessaloniki. I was going to Levadia but that is a stop on the train to Athens. So I got on that train and got off at Levadia. Also, I was worried what if the train from Kalambaka was late, but I've been assured the train for Athens won't leave until the Kalambaka train arrives (sometimes its the same conductor and he is changing trains as well).

Anyway, HTH someone looking to do the same journey.

Ok, one more thing :)

I think the 1 afternoon and morning was sufficient. I got to Delphi a little before 1 and it was too early to check in to my hotel so I went to the museum. It was Tuesday so it closes early (5pm instead of 8pm). I spent a couple of hours there which was nice since it was in AC and it was pretty hot outside. There were a lot of people though (tour groups). I decided to sit on a bench in one of the exhibition halls (the one with the Naxian sphinx) and wait for everyone to move along. 30 minutes later most people had cleared out and I was able to explore the rest of the museum in relative tranquility. Only a few people here or there. Even had some time just by myself in some rooms.

Then I went back to the hotel, checked in, freshened up, and then went to the Apollo Sanctuary. Got there around 6pm. It closes 8pm. I used just about the whole 2 hours to leisurely walk the site up to the stadium and back down stopping to take plenty of photos. The tour groups had left and it was just a very small number of people. The setting afternoon sun made for some wonderful light.

This morning around 9am I went to the Athena sanctuary. I didn't realize but this is a little bit of a hike from where I was staying (Nidimos Hotel). Took about 25 minutes to walk there. Spent about an hour walking the site taking pictures and as I was leaving the first tour group stopped and was heading in.

Anyway, I guess that was a minitrip report. Hopefully it helps someone looking to decide how to budget their time. I took the 11am bus back to Athens (actually writing this on the bus now).

The bus kind of confused me on how to buy tickets. There is a wall that says BUS STATION but I didn't see any ticket office. Well turns out you buy the ticket from the taverna that is right there (In Delphi Restaurant). You can also buy online. That's what I did. It says you have to print the ticket out though. I just emailed it to my hotel and they printed it for me. Gave it to the ticket collector no problem.

Tomorrow back to the US!

That's a great update James - you did some clever planning to make it all work out.

Safe travels!

I was just at Delphi and Meteora with my husband. We drove but would not wanted to that alone. The details you gave will be helpful to many people but especially those traveling solo.

Thanks James. We will do the same trip as you did to Meteora and Delphi in October 2022. I’ve followed your notes on your trip and appreciate your follow up report here. We are 4 people, but don’t want to drive. Appreciate all your advise.

dsabojnk, I'm glad you found it useful! I just took a peek at your previous thread on your itinerary and it looks like you have an awesome trip coming up!

I just wanted to add for completeness that VisitMeteora sells a package that does this exact trip (train from Athens to Meteora for 2 nights, then train/taxi to Delphi for 1 night). They arrange the purchase of train tickets and taxi pickup at Levadia so you don't have to worry about that.

I went the do it yourself route because I added up all the costs of doing it independently and it came out a bit cheaper than the packaged tour. I also got the flexibility to pick my hotels. If you do the package, VisitMeteora picks for you (though in fairness they list the hotels they use and I looked them up and they all seem really good, as a matter of fact I ended up choosing one from their list).

I just wanted to add that option in case it interests you, but if you do go the DIY route like I did its fairly straightforward.

I would like to thank James and everyone who has written here so far for the detailed information!

I've been trying to put together a similar puzzle, haha, and many times, as James said, it's difficult to get concrete data. Boy, do you need to research! And that's why forums like this are amazing, right?

I'll be in Delphi for some days and I have a ferry to catch at 12pm on a Sunday at Pireus port. Unfortunately, there are no buses leaving Delphi very early on Sunday morning (the first one is 11am, in case anyone reading is interested; you can check the schedule at the link James posted above: https://www.ktel-fokidas.gr/en/delphi/delphi-athina-delphi). I've read a lot about how hard it is to get reliable information about transportation by bus in Greece, but I got a very professional and attentive reply when I wrote to [email protected]. It took some days to have a reply, but it was perfect, so it's a good tip! By the way, I could take the last bus from Delphi to Athens at 6.30pm on Saturday (it runs every day at this time, in case anyone is interested, and the trip takes around 2h30 apparently - can anyone confirm this, please?), but I'd like to leave Delphi later than that.

So that leaves me with the transfer option (EUR 300 - yes, James, quite pricey!) or.... as I've just found out, taking a train from Levadia (close to Delphi) to Athens. The railway website looks perfect: https://tickets.hellenictrain.gr/dromologia/. The train runs several times. I'd still need to take it on Saturday evening, but at least it gives me more time in Delphi. If anyone reading this has had any experience on this route, or with the railway service in Greece, I'd appreciate your comments, please! :)

So the final piece of the puzzle now haha is to go to Levadia from Delphi! I don't believe they have buses to Levadia, it's not listed on their routes, but I'll write to them. So I am checking prices for transfers, but will also consider using Viber, as you said, James. It's like uber, right? I've heard about it. But do you think it's safe? I'll be traveling alone, in the evening, and I'm a girl (yes, this does add to the equation unfortunately still...) Maybe it would be safer to hire a transfer?

And tks everyone for the tips about Delphi, I'll definitely use them!

I hope this post helps other people on a similar trip, and may we all have a great time in Greece! :)

but will also consider using Viber, as you said, James. It's like
uber, right? I've heard about it. But do you think it's safe?

Viber is an application for calling and sending messages (like WhatsApp and Signal), it is not used to book a transfer but only to contact someone via the Internet instead of the local telephone network.

In Greece services like Uber do not exist as you know them.
Uber drivers must now have a Taxi license, so individuals who want to work for Uber are very rare or they are official taxis who use the application

Tks, JoLui, for the info on Viber, I probably confused it with something else I'd read!
I'm not in Greece yet, doing research at the moment. And if anyone reading this happens to know, please - is a taxi the best way really to get to Pireus Port from central Greece? Thanks a lot!