My husband and I are flying into Athens and definitely want to to see Delphi, Mycenae, and Epidavros so we are working with Rick Steve's itinerary there. We also want to swim at some relaxing beaches during our time. What are some of the best beaches to swim and relax in if we will be traveling around Athens and the Peloponnese? We would like some softer sand, nice water. I'd love some input!
Thanks!!
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3320 posts
Hi Penny!
We want to give good advice, and your time is not unlimited, so it really helps to give key details (yes people say they want to keep it short, but if we don't have important info, we may waste time & energy on unworkable scenarios). So please tell us the following:
• Does your 10 days include travel time to/from home? If so, it may only be 8 or 8.5 days "on the ground"
• Where in US are u traveling from (East Coast = easy, West-Coasters = exhausted; advise thus may differ)
• What DATE and TIME of day does your plane arrive? Ditto (Date/time) for departure.... Dates DO matter especially if includes the week of August 15, Greece's BIGGEST holiday -- v. busy traffic & bookings days before & after.
I assume you're renting a car & know all usual stuff (getting an Intl Driving Permit, planning ahead if you need automatic shift etc). This SUPER online rmap http://euro-map.com/karty-grecii/peloponnes/podrobnaya-turisticheskaya-karta-peloponnesa.jpg can help (click to enlarge tnavigate w. side sliders) plus google https://www.google.com/maps/@38.2823062,22.5020666,10z?hl=en Also, I find Michelins website useful for realistic routs & times: http://www.viamichelin.com/web/Routes Also, I just looked at the Rick Itinerary and you probably will want to modify it for several reasons:
• Rick Tour STARTS with the Athens sightseeing, for a good reason it allows time to make sure all group members get there Since
there's just the 2 of you, I'd suggest (depending on arrival tme) leaving on your tour First & doing Athens LAST
• On Rick's Tour, someone else does the driving, you rest. As a D-I-Y, You'll want to minmize those 5-hour driving days.
• Ricks Tour takes 14 days; I'd suggest Dropping he Mt. Gorge/Rwy, maybe Mani, in favor of more beach time and consider how
much you care about Medieval stuff (Mystras, Monemvassia) befrore committing to same. Olympia is the BIG commitment in
terms of driving but there are many options EXAMPLE: The Pelops North Coast road (Corinth-Patras) is all torn up this summer
so I'd consider going Delphi, Rio Bridge to Patras, Down to Olympia, then Down West Coast Back thru Center to Argolid area.
A route I would suggest might Be: Delphi (1st night), see ruin in AM, then Galixidi (1 night , swim & recover) drive to OLYMPIA (1 night), then down coast to GIALOVA*** just outside Pylos (2 nights) drive straight East nonstop to NAFPLIO (2 nights -- see area sights) .. back to ATHENS (see Epidaurus enroute) - ATH by 4pm; ATHENS final 3 nights.
*** Gialova is my "secret Eden": gorgeous soft-sand beach, Hotel Zoe, book balcony room overlooking sea ... you can see Nestor's palace narby and wildlife refuge and stunnning Voidokilia bay
How do-able this will be depends on y our dates... this assumes 10 days on the ground. If it's ony 8.5 days you may have to go from Delphi on day 2 back toward athens then go over corinth Canal... in liieu of Olympia see Ancient Nemea Games Site, then go to Nafplio area for 3-4 days (plenty of nice beaches nearby), then back to Athens for 2+ days sightseeing. In all cases skip Hydra, no beaches, it's a harbor mainly.