Traveling to Greece - need information on hostels and trip ideas.

Athens: Student & Travellers Inn

http://www.studenttravellersinn.com

Carrie

Are you sure there is a boat from Hydra to Nafplio in March? I know they run in the summer but when I was in Nafplio in March 2007 I didn't see any signs of one.

Alan

Carrie, sounds like a great plan if, as Alan said, there is a boat to Hydra in March; you may have to go through Pireaus both ways. Try to see Corinth on your way between Athens and Nafplio; the ancient city and the acropolis are well worth a visit.

Thanks Alan and Ash,

As I have been reading it does not look like there is a direct transportation route from Hydra to Nafplio. It looks like we will have to go back to Pireaus and take the bus. I have heard nice things about Corinth.

Carrie

Carrie

The town of Corinth isn't anything special, but the ancient site is great. There are two parts

a) the roman ruins which are quite extensive and well worth a visit.
b) acrocorinth, the old, higher fortress. This is huge and, if you climb high enough within it, you can see both ends of the canal.

There's a nice photo and some information here

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/8687938

The roman site is around 30 minutes outside the main town by local bus. Acrocorinth is a good 30 minutes walk up from the roman site. We got a taxi from the roman site to acrocorinth and then walked back down.

There's a taverna by the gate of acrocorinth, but I doubt it will be open in March. There's also a taverna near the roman site but the food wasn't great and was overpriced. Better to go back into town or take a picnic. We spent a longish morning doing both sites, and still felt we could have spent more time on acrocorinth (which we had entirely to ourselves on a sunny December morning.)

BTW, Nafplio is a great choice. Beautiful little town, amazing venetian fortress, and good restaurants.

For accommodation there it might be worth checking with Acronafplia, who have various buildings scattered around. They would generally be pricier than you are looking for, but might do you a deal out of season.

http://www.pensionacronafplia.gr/hospitalityen.html

Have a great trip.

Alan

Thanks Alan,

That is helpful. Would you reccomend seeing Corinth for a day trip from Napflio instead of Epidavros or Mycenae?

Carrie

Carrie

No, I think probably I would choose Epidavros and Mycenae over Corinth.

I don't know if you are aware that there is now a direct railway line from the airport to Corinth? The train takes about an hour and twenty minutes and runs every two hours. The last timetable I saw had trains running each way from 7.05 to 17.05 plus an extra train from the airport at 19.05.

This makes it possible to cut out going back into Athens on your way back in order to fit in Corinth, if that appeals to you.

When you say you plan to take the bus to Delphi do you mean the one day tour? If you were planning to do it by scheduled bus then the last Delphi - Athens bus of the day leaves pretty early. Around 14.30 from memory.

Alan

Alan,

Thanks, this is very helpful. Thankyou for your patience with all my questions.

I'm not sure if it would be more advatagous to take a tour bus day tour to Delphi or just take the regular bus and do it on our own. Still deceiding that one.

Thanks for the info on Corinth.

What do you think would be the best way (for transportation) to see Athens, Napflio and Hydra. There does not appear to be any direct transportation from Hydra to Napflio without going back to Piraeus and then taking a bus. (I'm thinking it may be better to go to Hydra for the day from Athens instead of staying there and that would give us more time to see other places maybe from Athens.)

Do you have any other suggestions for cities/islands to stay instead of Hydra or Napflio (that may be better). We are looking to have between 2-3 cities to stay in?

Carrie

Carrie, you might consider renting a car for the Delphi & Peloponnese segment of your trip. Despite the horror stories you may have heard, driving in Greece is not difficult. Driving in Athens itself is a bit of a stretch, but you can arrange to pick up the car on the outskirts and avoid Athens traffic. Check out Matt Barrett's website at:
www.greecetravel.com

Thanks - I will check that out.

Carrie

Ash's idea of driving is a good one if you are happy to drive and can afford it. I tend not to think to suggest it because we never do.

I think Nafplio is a really good choice, both for the town itself and what you can reach from there.

I've never been to Hydra, so I don't know whether it is worth over-nighting. As you say, if you turn that into a day trip you gain time somewhere else.

One possibility would be to stay a night in Delphi. If you can free the extra night then I think this is worth considering. The advantage is that you can get onto the site, which is really big, and into the museum, late afternoon and early morning when there are no day trippers from Athens there.

I'm doubtful how much time you can get in Delphi doing it in a day by bus. The one time I did the one day tour I was frustrated by how little time we got - we only actually went on to one part of the site, missing out the Gymnasium and Tholos, which are on the other side of the road.

There's some interesting information, and a little video, of Delphi here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi

Alan

Just returned from Athens last week and stayed at the Marble House Hotel which was a ten minute walk from the Acropolis and 5 minutes from the Metro. Very small and quiet with a full supermarket up the street. The National Archaeological Museum is a Metro ride a way but well worth while.We paid 45 Euros a night for a double with private bathroom. Seems a pity that you are not considering exquisite Santorini.

Carrie,

I just returned from a month in Turkey and Greece. In Athens I rented a car from Avanti. They were beyond great. They met me at my hotel, filled out the paper work there, and showed me how to get to where I wanted to go. Same for pick up when I got back. Athens is a bit of a challenge to drive in (similar to Seattle at rush hour but without the motorcycles). However, the people from Avanti simplified everything...including stress levels :).