One month in Greece - what do we add or where do we stay longer?

Two summers ago we went to Greece. We visited Santorini and Hydra and of course Athens. We Loved Santorini. We stayed in Oia at a lovely villa. Hydra was nice but extremely hilly. We has a boat at our disposal, so that made things easy Athens was great, we loved it, On the islands and mainland the food, was incredible. And so were the people. It was our first trip as a couple abroad and loved it. We went in June/July. I think the next time we will go the same time you are planning, It was just to darn hot. Not much help probably, but any chance to say how much we enjoyed Greece is a good thing.

Mary If you are driving from Nafplio to Monemvasia, both fine choices BTW, I would spend a night in Sparta which is en route. Sparta itself isn't particularly interesting but just outside is the brilliant site of Mystra. http://onthetrailofhiddengems.blogspot.com/2009/09/byzantine-mystra.html Similarly if you are driving from Olympia to Delphi it is possible to spend a night at Nafpaktos. A small Greek holiday town on the Corinth Gulf with a beautiful little harbour and a castle. http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Greece/Central_Greece/Etoloakarnania/Nafpaktos/photo1018828.htm Not necessarily worth an overnight but if you are driving from Athens to Nafplio the site at Corinth is worth a visit. The roman ruins are very good and acrocorinth, the high castle above them, is huge. Walk up to the top and on a nice day you can see both ends of the canal. Have a great trip. Alan PS We will be in Greece ourselves in September and on Andros. I didn't recommend it as you already have an island week.

I would add in the Meteora in North central Greece, these are the monastaries perched high on cliffs. Very beautiful scenery and Kalambaka is a nice town. You could also burn a few days visiting the Saronic Gulf Islands from Athens or from the Peloponnese; or just add a night or two on an island on the way Lefkas.

I would go north, where fewer foreign tourists go. I went Thessaloniki - Kastoria - Ioannina - Meteorea by bus (see wilhelmswords.com/eur2006 ), but with a car you could also visit the Prespa Lakes, Vikos Gorge or maybe the Pelion Peninsula. The north became independent later, and has a somewhat different "feel". If you do the north you might want to start there as it will be cooler.

Outside of Delphi about 30 minutes is the monastary of Hosios Loukas. It's a wonderful 11th century Byzantine monastary and well worth the trip. I don't recommend staying in Delphi if you can avoid it. Try Galixidi, about 30 minutes drive on the Corinth Gulf coast from Delphi and a charming little sea town. When staying in Olympia, definitly eat dinner at the restaurant in the nearby town (I forget the name but it's in RS book and has amazing food). Mystras outside of Sparta is a must, think of it as the Pompeii of Greece. Also drive out to Cape Soulis for the view and temple ruins. About 30 minutes outside Athens.

Crete can easily fill up a week. I recommend www.explorecrete.com, or PM me if you want to know more about the Chania area.

Thank you everyone, for your suggestions. Would continue to welcome more. We are checking out some of the possibilities recommendedalthough we are staying on the mainland & close islands for this trip. We hope to come back again to 'do the islands'. What do people think of Spetses? And would you do it as a day trip from Nafplion, or stay a night or two?

Forget Spetses. In that neighborhood go to Hydra instead. RS's Greek tour used to go to Spetses, but now goes to Hydra instead. I was on the tour (go here for my scrapbook - http://www.wilhelmswords.com/rsg2006/index.html ) when it went to Spetses, and took a ferry to Hydra for the day instead of staying there. Hydra is quieter (no motorized transport) and cuter.