Greece 4 days; 2 days in Athens then debating between Hydra and Poros

Sandra

We spent a few days in Poros in December a few years ago and really enjoyed it. It may not work for you though. The island is effectively cut in two with Poros Town on one part and the beaches on the other. You'd need a car to get to the beach, although there may be the occasional local bus.

Poros Town itself is nice to wander about and has some good tavernas. In December it was very local in the evenings but had a big inrush of tourists at lunchtime. Various tours do all three Saronic islands in a day and so the town fills up when the tour boat comes in.

I've never been to Hydra, so can't comment. I really like Aegena for the greek atmosphere, and it has a couple of really nice sites, but I don't know what the beaches are like.

There are a few of my photos of Aegena here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanstpaul/sets/72157604342830254/

Have a good trip

Alan

Sandra, my wife and I did a version of your tour last May. We disemarked our cruise ship in Piraeus, took the 1 1/2 hour hydrofoil ride to Hydra for 4 days, then on to Nafplio for 3 days, finally back to Athens for 2 days before flying home to Seattle. Hydra was the most wonderful town and island you can imagine - slow, quiet, and relaxing. If you like slow dining, peaceful walking, incredibly picturesque views - you'll love Hydra. After the fact, I wish we'd stayed 4 months, not 4 days.

Thank you both for the information, the pictures of Aegena look absolutely beautful, thanks for sharing them.it seems that Poros might be difficult without a car, so now it's between Aegena and Hydra. I'm thinking Hydra is an easy 2 day stop that will give us everything we are looking for as for as a picturest authentic greek town..... and this will be the "vacation from our vacation" since all the other destinations we are going to will be fast pace and packed with museums and architectural sites to see..... One last questions, I keep hearing people say Hydra is very expensive... is it really? Thanks again!!

Sandra, Hydra is indeed picturesque, but once you have looked at the donkeys and walked around the picturesque Port, .... then what??? It doesn't have the whitewashed houses, more the terracotta roofs etc.

I would urge you to consider Nafplio ... a lot of Americans don't hear about it because it is not on brochures. But it is the most BEautiful Town in Greece -- a World Heritage Site for its beauty, historical importance, and preservation. It is on a peninsula in the Bay of Argos, so you feel as if you are on an island ... the Old Town has stairstep streets down to the water, festooned with flowering vines year-round. It has a MARBLE central piazza, a stunning Museum just reopened after renovation, a Castle in the bay, another atop the town and an amazing Fortress behind the town on a Gibraltar-style rock. Here is my friend's gorgeous slide show to display some of its highlights:
http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/551991579dJbWvh

More Plusses -- (1) Nafplio is really for the Greeks, it's the favorite weekend getaway for savvy Athenians (chic shops, great restaurants). (2)No car needed -- It's only 2.5 hrs by comfy reserved seat KTEL intercity bus, with lots to view while riding (3) it even has its own cute beach on the other side of the peninsula, water is still warm in October (see slideshow).

On my first trip in 1999, a Greek artist tipped me off & I spent my last 2 days there; have been back four times since! A Great Hotel overlooking town & bay is Hotel Leto (google it); tell them Janet sent you & you want a balcony overlooking the bay. You'll thank me.

Janet, the pcitures of Nafplio are absolutely gorgeous. I was actually starting to consider this town because Rick Steves mentions it in his book and speaks highly of it. How far would Ancient Corinth be from there? If we added a day to our time in greece, do you think we can spend 2 days in Napfplio and third day in Hydra? perhaps this: we can get to Athens around 10am on wednesday, take the two and half hour bus to Nafplio, spend two days there. On friday,we leave to Hydra, spend the day and night there, and then Saturday, head to Athens for 2 days there. leave Athens Monday morning.
do you think that's doable given the ferries, scheduling, and whatnot? i don't want to pack too much in the trip, but if it's doable, i would really like to see both places. your thoughts?

Hello Sandra. Yes, Janet is right, Nafplio is a beautiful place - we loved it. That said, it is a different experience from Hydra. Nafplio is about doing stuff (Epidavros, Mycenae, Corinth, etc), while Hydra is about doing very litte - a vacation from your vacation. Getting from Hydra to Nafplio (or visa versa) is kind of complicated - more than I expected when I planned the visits. I can give you more details if you chose to visit both towns.

Sandra

I second peoples' suggestion on Nafplio. One of my favourite places in Greece. I don't really see that it is possible to combine it with Hydra.

In the summer there is a hydrofoil from Nafplio to Hydra, but I don't think it will be running in mid October. This means you'd need to go right back into Athens, get from the bus station to Piraeus for the hydrofoil, and then to Hydra. That's probably a six hour trip at best.

It is possible, depending on your budget, to combine it with Poros. A few years ago we took a taxi from Poros, which is very close to the mainland, to Nafplio. The trip took about an hour and cost 40 euros. It would obviously be more expensive now.

Frankly though I think once you're in Nafplio you'll be happy to have another day there. There is plenty to do around town and you can also get local buses to Mycenae and Epidavrus.

Corinth is about half way between Athens and Nafplio, and Ancient Corinth about 30 minutes from Corinth itself.

A couple of things that may be of use.

From the airport the X93 bus goes straight to the bus station. You can get bus times to Nafplio here

http://www.athensinfoguide.com/busTT.htm

If you really want to go to Ancient Corinth there is also a train direct from the airport to Corinth. When I last did this the train ran at 5 minutes past the hour from seven in the morning to seven in the evening and the trip took an hour and twenty minutes. This is worth considering as it saves a trip into Athens.

Have a good trip. We're off ourselves to Andros in September, but will probably be in Athens and Nafplio in December.

Cheers

Alan

Thanks so much for this idea, my husband really likes the idea since he also heard that the drive from Poros to Nafplio is really nice with many sights along the way... at this point i think we have to choose between hydra and Nafplio, since it would be too much to try and do both. while i love the idea of going to nice and quite Hydra, my husband is taking an interest in Nafplio since there is more to do and see. That said, we are thinking about taking a ferry from Pireaus to Poros, then renting a car from there and driving to Nafplio, staying there for 2 nights and driving back to Poros, then leaving o Athens.... is renting a car a good idea around there? if we do Nafplio i'm very interested in seeing Ancient Corinth....Do you thnk it's better to have a car in that case?

Sandra

Some of my pictures of Nafplio are here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanstpaul/2389943636/in/set-72157604393457010/

Some of them are of a street market, and probably boring, but hopefully the rest will give an idea of what it's like.

I think if you want to get to ancient Corinth then you definitely need a car. It's about an hour and a half drive from Nafplio. You drive past both Tiryns and Mycenae.

Given the time you've got I'm not convinced it is worth going to Poros. It's pleasant enough but there is nothing really there.

I would probably do one of two things depending on taste and budget.

First option is take the train from the airport to Corinth, hire a care there and take in Ancient Corinth and Mycenae on the way down to Nafplio. Do a trip out to Epidavrus from Nafplio at some stage and then take the car back to Corinth and the train into Athens.

Second option is take the bus to Nafplio and hire a car for a day and use it to do a circular tour of Mycenae, Corinth, Epidavrus and back to Nafplio.

It's worth knowing that Ancient Corinth has two parts. The roman site, with its biblical connotations, and Acro Corinth, the older higher fortress. Both are well worth a visit. The roman site is reasonably well preserved and from Acro Corinth, on a clear day, you can see both ends of the canal, which is pretty spectacular.

Cheers
Alan

Sandra, Alan gives u 2 sensible options -- I'm surprised he didn't give you the third, which minimizes transit time, maximizes enjoyment time. Heres Option #3:

WED - Wed, 11 am Rent Car AT AIRPORT. (if u drive stick-shift u can get great rates, best-buy is Budget at GREEK website http://www.budget-athens.gr/default.aspx All mod. hi-way driving, superhiway, no traffic lights all the way to Corinth; 2.25 hours to Nafplio nonstop... OR 1 hr stop for Ancient Corinth (skip AcroCorinth = mainly Byzantine ruins). In Nafplio early aft. for city exploring, dinner & Sunset. (I love Hotel Leto, ask for Balcony overlooking town and bay, tell them Janet from Philly sent you).

THURS & FRI - RUINS! - Mycenae, Tiryns, Epidaurus - all in a day or pick & choose. NEARBY BEACHES! Tolo, handiest, or hidden-gem Asine (take food & water) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/49908474@N00/25787589
... even Nafplio has cute pebbly arvanita beach (on that slide-show, Slide #24 & 25 show beach & the waterside path to it). Note: Nafplio, surrounded by water, FEELS like an island, so u get best of both worlds. The town has charm, chic shops, history, great food and REAL greeks ... what's not to love!!

SAT - Revitalized, "Greekified," drive back to Airport, drop car, take Metro to Syntagma Square, toss bags in Hotel, sightsee! SUN - More of same.

I like this option because it saves you time & hassle, so u can relax in a lovely setting.

Sandra, I've just found a SUPER website for you, that depicts ALL the lovely beaches of the Nafplio area... It shows Arvanitia right in Nafplio on the other side of the PEninsula... and the TWO beaches of Asine -- the sandy one, and the small one right by the ancient Asini wall -- the latter is great because it has a lovely taverna there, while t he other has no facilities.
http://www.ktima-anastasia.gr/beaches_en.html

I am travelling to Greece in early October - 9-13 from USA to Greece and then back to USA. I cannot stay longer sadly. I will be traveling by myself. I'm following the advice you are giving Sandra. Is this an itinerary that makes sense for me as well. I will not be driving and have just a short time so I want to make the best use of it and have a great vacation as well. thanks for any help.

Valerie

It's obviously a question of what you like, to some extent.

Nafplio is two and a half hours from Athens by bus, and the buses are hourly, so it's easy enough to do for a short break. From Nafplio you can get to Mycenae and Epidavrus fairly easily.

If I was you though I think I would plan to stay in Athens and do one or two day trips. There are one day trips that do Mycenae, Nafplio and Epidavrus. You can also do a one day cruise of the Saronic Islands, or a one day to Delphi.

For me spending some time in Athens, which is wonderful, and using daytrips to get a better idea of other places is a better bet if short of time. But, as I say, it's a matter of taste.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip whatever you decide.

Alan

Alan, thanks so much for your advice! I appreciate it very much.

Alan, I hope you will not mind my asking one more thing. Is there a particular part of Athens that is better than others for me as I am traveling alone? Any particular property I should try to use? thanks again!

Valerie

Athens is still fairly safe for a big city, although I would avoid the area around Omonia at night, and certainly wouldn't stay there. The problem is pickpocketing, drug dealing, and a generally heavy atmosphere rather than the risk of say mugging. In the daytime it's fine but I would keep a hand on any valuables.

A lot of tourists stay in or around Plaka, which makes sense as you are close to most of the major sites and can walk to most places.

In terms of hotels the Attalos is a good bet. Close to Monastiraki metro, for easy access both to the airport and to the port of Piraeus if you want to do a one day cruise. It's also comfortable, reasonably prices, and has a roof top bar with great views.

http://www.attaloshotel.com/reservation.html

I also like the Phaedra, which is at the other end of Plaka and has quite a lot of rooms with great views of the Acropolis.

They have the beginnings of a website, but it is very uninformative. In my experience they do respond to e-mails though. It's a converted old building and less standard than the Attalos. Some people find the rooms a bit pokey, but we've always been happy there. It is a few minutes from the Acropolis metro station and so requires a change at Syntagma if coming from the airport.

http://www.hotelphaedra.com/

Have a good trip.

Alan

Valerie, I second the recommend for Hotel Phaedra. Mrs. Manolatou answers her e-mails promptly and is very hospitable. Location Of hotel is UNBEATABLE ... much better than Attalos, IMHO. and it even has an open rooftop with tables/umbrellas & view of Acropolis. Yes, not fancy, but clean and prices are GREAT. As for getting there, if you don't want to change Metro trains, it's easy to WALK from Syntagma Square stop of Metro (or x95 bus). Amalias Avenue is the wide street leading from the top of the square... walk down that for about 4 -5 corners. When u see Hadrian's Arch across the street, time to turn right ... at the corner of Lyskirates (where there's a beautiful bus of Melina Mercouri in a little "tribute triangle"). Walk about 100 yards down the street... and you're there! In the heart of Plaka.

Hi,
We are travelling to Athens on 6th Oct and have almost a week to spend. From all the reviews it looks like 2 days is good enough for Athens. I am also considering Hydra (day trip) and Nafplio (2 days) based on good reviews on the helpline. Are there other places nearby that I could do for another day or two. As we are also going to Cyprus I'd prefer something more on the mainland rather than an island. Any ideas? Thanks
Also, any experiences good or bad with Centrotel in Athens?

thanks again.

Janet, sorry for the delay in replying! I lost the thread somehow. Thank you for the second on the hotel!