Continued from Part 1 - Athens because I'm too verbose...
Kardamyli - 4 nights
We rented a car from Swift Car Rental (https://www.greektravel.com/swift/index.html) to leave Athens and I can't say enough good things about them. Cost with full insurance was much better than the big global brands and no issues taking the car on ferries. Even better they picked us up at our hotel and drove us out of Athens, then gave us the rundown on the car and turned us loose. Much later on in the trip (as were headed to Nafplio) the car broke down and they sent roadside assistance to us within an hour, had a taxi come pick us up and take us to Nafplio when it was determined the car couldn't be restarted and needed to be towed, and then also delivered a new car to us (an upgrade too) in Nafplio all the way from Athens that same evening, arriving at 9:30 at night. The service and value can't be beat, I will use Swift every time we go to Greece and just wish they operated I'm the rest of Europe!
We drove from the Athens outskirts to Ancient Corinth and then Acrocorinth. Both were wonderful but I wish I had allocated more time for Acrocorinth because the views from there were amazing. Unfortunately they close the gates at 3:30 and if you're not out, you stay there for the night. So with limited time we couldn't hike to the top. A couple of tips for that site: (1) get a good trail guide in advance, signage is really awful and we spent unnecessary time wandering and looping trying to find the right trail, and (2) wear really good grippy shoes, bring a trekking pole of that's your thing. The entrance into the site is ancient marble that is so worn it's as if it's polished and it is SUPER slippery. All the tourists we encountered here were having difficulty on both the up and down, including myself. We joked that the Byzantines probably did that on purpose as a defensive measure.
We them drove on to Kardamyli the same day (Corinth just being a stop en route). Kardamyli is cute but it's incredibly touristy. Prices are very high at the local shops and restaurants, all cater to tourists (mostly Brits there). I wish that we had stayed in one of the smaller fishing villages instead, such as Kitries. I was looking forward to the quiet, simple, seaside taverna and didn't find it here.
We stayed at Sea and Sun Apartments (https://seaandsun-apartments.gr/) which was fabulous. The view from the balcony was amazing, especially at sunset, and our hosts were fantastic. The bed was comfortable and apartment well stocked, especially enjoyed having a washing machine for a few days.
Favorite day trip from here was Mystras, we drove through Lagkada Pass around Mt Taygetos. It's a beautiful drive and Mystras shouldn't be missed. We went to Sparta after Mystras for lunch and exploring but didn't find much worth seeing there. I think I would skip that if I had it to do over again. (Yes, there are ruins there but they are Roman, not Spartan, and we've seen Roman ruins all over Europe so weren't interested.)
Links to all reports for this trip:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-greece-part-1-athens
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-greece-part-2-kardamyli
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-greece-part-5-nafplio