I'm planning a two-week trip to Greece covering a mix of the country's highlights in mid-October. I'd initially been focused on the Peloponnese, but the driving times look long given the times we'd be likely to spend at the sites, particularly since we'll be travelling with two young children. Delphi, Meteora, and Thessaloniki have stood out for having a combination of culture, scenery, and history, and of course we can't miss Athens and would like to get to at least one major island.
Of note, we recently spent two weeks in Turkey (so are interested to see how that influence manifests in Greece) and have an interest in Jewish sites too. Beaches are of less interest, though with the kids we'll visit at least one or two. In Turkey we mostly relied on public transit. We'd be amenable to doing that here too (for the mainland portion) or renting a car.
Here is the itinerary I'm contemplating and on which I'd be interested to see comments.
- Day 1: Arrive in Rhodes midday (only two hours of jetlag)
- Days 2-4: Three full days in Rhodes (assume we would base ourselves in the Old City)
- Day 5: Fly to Athens in morning
- Days 6-7: Two full days in Athens
- Day 8: Drive to Delphi, visit ruins/museum, and stay overnight
- Day 9: Drive on to Meteora and spend afternoon visiting monasteries
- Day 10: Visit remaining monasteries in morning and drive on to Thessaloniki in afternoon
- Days 11-12: Two full days in Thessaloniki
- Day 13: Fly to Santorini in morning (via Athens)
- Days 14-15: Two full days in Santorini
- Day 16: Fly home in late evening on direct Ryanair flight (so effectively three full days in Santorini)
As alluded to above, I'm also contemplating a different itinerary of starting in Santorini (we can get there directly) for 3.5 days, then flying to Thessaloniki (there's a direct flight), making our way south, and ending the trip in Athens (so only going to one island). This would give us a few days on the Peloponnese, but I sense we'd be "confined" to the Kalavryta and Nafplio areas (or alternatively, Olympia and Nafplio) while spending considerably more time in the car for long stretches (on consecutive days). Is there an argument that those places could merit that? I appreciate there's also travel time with flying to two islands (and cost too), and am trying to get the best balance for a trip that has a mix of sites and doesn't entail endless time on the road.