Visit Delphi and Meteora

You may want to look into your plans further. There is no train to Meteora. And it is not a town, it's a mountainous region with hilltop monasteries. You'd either need to drive or join a tour group.

Not sure where you can store luggage at Delphi. There might be a bag check at the museum. I'm not even sure there is a formal bus station; it's probably just a stop or ticket office.

Have you thought about renting a car? If not, look into a tour group that might include both (there are many that go to Delphi).

In addition to reading about your destination(s) in the RS book on Greece, you might take a look at this: http://www.greecetravel.com/delphi/. And here's a link to the (year old) bus schedule from Athens: http://www.athensguide.com/practicalinfo/busschedulesB.htm. And from the same Matt Barrett source, here's info on Meteora: http://www.greecetravel.com/meteora/. Pay particular attention to the section on Getting to Meteora.
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This excursion may be a bit more complicated and take you longer than you expect if you take public transportation. As Matt says, it might cost a little more but would be much more convenient to take one of the 2 day tours that cover both Delphi and Meteora.

I know the advice sounds expensive and the opposite of independent travel to you, but it is good advice. Even Rick doesn't (?) carry a sleep-sack and camp rations anymore! You will probably also have to find/accept a roommate for the hotel night(s) at Meteora. We only did the commercial bus tour to Delphi, which is in the middle of nowhere, but an excellent visit. True, we would have liked to have more time at the site. We prevailed on our bus guide to leave us at Delphi while the bus-full went to lunch, and pick us up on the way back to Athens. Dephi is so far that it makes sense to go on to Meteora if that destination is important to you.

Sue

I'd not seen the Visit Meteora website, so thanks for posting that. It looks interesting.

I've done both Meteora and Delphi by public transport and my immediate thought it that your timing is very tight.

You can get the train from Athens to Kalambaka and that is a good base to tour the monasteries at Meteora. You'd arrive around 2 in the afternoon so could get a day and a half in the monasteries. You wouldn't be able to see all of them without joining a tour but you could do several just walking and perhaps using a taxi. Whether you do a tour or walk / taxi is obviously a matter of taste. For us walking up from the back of Kalambaka to the nearest monastery was one of the most magical bits.

As I say I didn't know Visit Meteora but their transfer time of 3 hours to Delphi looks about right. Here though I think you hit a snag. The last time I was in Delphi, a couple of years ago, the last bus from there to Athens was at around 2 in the afternoon. That gives you almost no time there. I think you would need to plan a night there as well, if that's possible.

A shame if you can't. It would be a great trip.

Alan

Thank you all for the very helpful tips and advice. Really appreciated.

I found the bus schedule from Delphi to Athens in this website: http://www.ktel-fokidas.gr/index.php/en/delfi but don't know whether it is current. I will also check out the organized tours for Delphi and Meteora.

Sue

Thanks for posting the bus timetable. Buses are certainly more frequent than when I was there but the site looks pretty up to date so presumably it's reliable.

Let us know how you get on!

Alan

My advice may be dated, but a couple of points.....

The train to Kalambaka is a good option, there was some disruption to routes with Greeces earlier troubles, but that one I believe is still running. The train is much faster and easier than the bus, you may also have a change of trains as opposed to direct as I recall.

No experience with the transfer service you mention, would have loved to have had it when I went, we were going the opposite way, but the bus from Delphi to Meteora was a long, slow, process with 2 or 3 changes.

I agree with others that it would be tough to do a quick hit of Delphi in a few hours, you can try, but be flexible enough that if you have to stay in Delphi it works out. Not sure of luggage check, the museum by chance might have a check area, you could search for that, if not, there may be someplace in town.

Thanks Paul for your posing. I just booked the train tickets, there is a direct train from Athens to Kalambaka leaving at 8:27 am.

I know my schedule in Delphi is quite tight, hopefully we will see most of the sites. Bag check in the museum is a good idea, we will try to pack light in small backpacks rather than a suitcase ( we are a family of four).

Just a note - on the visit Meteora website, they do show multiple daily DIRECT TRANSFERS to/from Delphi and Meteora - This was previously a transportation vacuum that was difficult to maneuver - the previous multiple and time wasting connections. They also provide several local mini-van tours in Meteora which are great for a solo traveler without a car. I'm planning an independent trip to Greece in May 2015 as a 'mature' :) woman . My plan is to go directly to Meteora first, spend a couple of days and then transfer to Delphi with an overnite. Another savvy traveler advised me to see the Delphi museum in the evening of arrival in Delphi, when it's almost empty (check hours), spend the night, and then see the ruins early in the quiet morning before the hoards arrive....have lunch, then return on the 1 pm bus back to Athens. I like to spend a little more time in these locations when i travel to absorb the atmosphere. I'll report back next year. Happy trails.

I have been trying to sign up for the van service (one of them) between Delphi and Meteora for a date in early September 2014. But they won't let me sign up because there aren't 5 people (I'm only one). Given that most people do not sign up in groups of 5, I am puzzled as to how they will ever get to 5. The maximum is 7 and the minimum is 2 or 5 (depends on where you look on the website). They say they can cancel if there aren't enough customers, but they are making it difficult to become one. They are turning down customers! Has anyone used the other (more expensive) van service)?

I have been trying to sign up for the van service (one of them) between Delphi and Meteora for a date in early September 2014. But they won't let me sign up because there aren't 5 people (I'm only one). Given that most people do not sign up in groups of 5, I am puzzled as to how they will ever get to 5. The maximum is 7 and the minimum is 2 or 5 (depends on where you look on the website). They say they can cancel if there aren't enough customers, but they are making it difficult to become one. They are turning down customers! Has anyone used the other (more expensive) van service)?

You might consider taking the bus. We plan to do that and just buy our tickets at the station. But we are spending 2 nights there with the day in between for seeing the ruins and the museum.