Hi,
I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Greece in May or June. I'm try to figure out the most efficient route without backtracking. I want to visit Athens, Delphi, Meteora, Nafplio, and one island (Poros or Agenia).
Is the mainland trip possible without a car. I prefer not to rent a car. I have been a passenger in other European countries and driving is stressful.
My advice is to drive. Greece does not have anywhere near the rail system that Western European countries do. We had a car for Meteora and were so thankful we did. We loved exploring not just the town and monasteries, but the surrounding countryside as well. That part of Greece is more mountainous than we think of Greece as being. Very interesting drives.
Greece is building beautiful new motorways that make driving there very easy.
Tack Poros or Aegina at the beginning or end of your trip so you can drop off the car in Athens and jump on your ferry. And consider Hydra instead - its a car-free island and we loved it.
Your itinerary on the mainland without time-consuming backtracking by bus or train is not doable.
Driving in Greece isn't particularly stressful; you'll get used to it after a few hours.
By car from Athens, you can combine Delphi and Meteora on a trip north, then continue towards the Peloponnese (Nafplio), and finally return to Athens. It's also possible in the opposite direction.
A car allows you to have intermediate stops at the many interesting places you'll encounter along the route. As darrenblois mentioned, you'll have to cross some mountainous areas, so expect winding and scenic roads.
Are you a nervous driver at home? If not, then absolutely reconsider. I found the roads marvelous—either excellent modern highways or rural roads with little traffic. However, I am lucky to be married to a driver, which I am not, so I do have empathy for those who don’t want to drive—if that is their default, not for any concerns about Greek roads.
But the real answer lies in how much time you have. If it is several weeks, then sure, an adventure could be had with some truly slow travel throughout Greece, which would need to be supplemented with occasional tours or drivers. If you have a couple weeks like most of us, then you would have to drive or take a tour to get all of this in.
Driving in Greece is not dangerous as long as you don't drive dangerously which is possible anywhere you travel even back home.
Roads are good even in the most rural areas.
Driving is slow going in many areas not because the roads are bad but due to the terrain especially in mountainous areas, along curving coast lines and even driving through small villages.
If visiting a town/village there is usually parking available outside the village and that is your best place to park as driving through some towns is like a maze.
I also use a navigation system like Google Maps which really helps getting from Point A to Point B.
The best way to experience Greece whether islands or the mainland is by car as buses while available may not be convenient and hours may be geared to work/school hours.
Take your time and you'll be fine.
I am now leaning towards renting a car. My vacation time is limited.
Question, rent a car in city center, drive out of Athens manageable. Plan on getting a car after a few days in Athens.
On the return, easier to drop off at the airport? If I did this, do it night before my flight and book a hotel near airport.
We have rented and returned cars at the airport several times. That is what I would recommend. Driving away from the airport is straightforward.
If you find driving in Europe stressful , don't drive in Athens and your nerves will appreciate it.
Consider picking up and returning your car at the airport. This way, you won’t need to navigate through Athens.
This Greek website (in English) may be useful; it shows travel time, toll station locations and rates, calculates toll costs and estimates fuel expenses for your route.
An example for a trip from Athens Airport to Nafplio:
We did not find driving in Greece to be particularly stressful. However we did NOT drive in the city center, and were happy that we made that decision. For us, that would have been stressful. My recommendation is to rent outside the city center, drop the car off near the airport before your flight home.
Here is a rough draft of my itinerary. Open to suggestions.
I'm leaning towards mid May vs end of June for milder weather.
Arrive in Athens, spend 2 nights there.
Pick up rental car from airport, drive to Delphi, spend one night.
Next day drive to Meotora, spend one night
Drive to Nafplio, spend 2- 3 nights, use this as base, visit Mycenae, Epidavros
Drive to Galatas, leave car, ferry over to Portos, spend the night
Drive back to Athens airport, drop off the car, fly home next day.
If you think you’ll never be able to return, maybe it’s worth it to you to drive all the way to Meteora, so I can only say I would not do that. If I wanted to include Meteora, I’d include more in the north to make it worth the drive. You’d never run out of things to see whether you focus on north or peloponnese.
I agree with valadelphia, I would add that this itinerary will mean more hours spent driving than sightseeing, which is surprising for someone who initially wanted to avoid driving, but if you don't mind... it's up to you.
To each their own.
