Seeking advice on booking tour (both cruise excursion tour and least $ Viatour sold out) vs. renting car to drive in early May. Have others had experience with tour operators or with pros/cons of this roadtrip?
No experience with this particular port. I did find this option which I think would be better than driving yourself.
https://volostaxiservice.com/Meteora.html
Renting a car in Volos will probably cost you 3 to 4 times less than taking a guided tour.
See on Google maps by searching for "Volos rent a car" for car rental (it should be around €40 to €50/day depending on the type of car)
For daytrips to Meteora search for “volos tour”
You will find local travel agencies offering Volos↔Meteora tours as:
https://volostransfersandtours.gr/st_location/greece/meteora/
https://volostaxitours.gr/services/
... and many others. This will save you from going through Viator or another service which are only third party intermediaries which charge extra.
Thank you for your help, Carol and JoLui,! All your links were promptly responsive to my query!