We have long wanted to take each of our grandchildren on a trip to experience a different culture. This summer we embarked on our first trip with the three oldest girls, ages 17, 14 and 12, to Greece. In planning the trip I relied heavily on Rick Streve's Greece guidebook. I modified Rick's best trip by car in two weeks. Knowing it would be hot and it was very hot, I factored in less driving and more leisurely sightseeing. We stayed in Airbnb's at our 4 locations.
Before the trip each traveler was assigned a few Greek gods and goddesses and one city to research.
This was our itinerary:
Athens: 4 nights/3 full days.
Day 1: We went to the Acropolis and we all listened to Rick's audio tour. Then visited the Acropolis Museum. We took breaks for food and drink often!
Day 2: Took the Metro to Monastiraki neighborhood for shopping and lunch. Then back on the Metro to the National Archaeological Museum.
Day 3: Metro to Syntagma Square and changing of the guard. We picked up Rick's Athen's walk to visit the Orthodox Churches. Then we caught the bus to Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. It was beautiful and had a fun swim in the Aegean Sea. The bus ride was about 1 1/2 hours down. The ride back was very long...I suppose because it was Sunday and we hit all of the traffic back into Athens.
Delphi: 2 nights. We used Swift/Avanti Car Rental, a local car rental agency recommended in the guide book. It was about half the cost of the national car rentals. We needed a van because we had 6 people and luggage, so this was a huge savings. The van was well used, but it served us well. We could not get the GPS to work, so we relied on the granddaughters's T-mobile international coverage on their phones to use Google Maps and our paper map of course. Best of all they delivered our car to our Airbnb apartment and helped us get out of town. We returned the car to the airport, where we were met for an extra 15 euros.
Along the way from Athens to Delphi we stopped to see the Osios Loukas Monastery. I highly recommend!
We stayed in an historic villa in Delphi, another Airbnb find. It had a beautiful view, but no AC!
We hired local guide Penny Kolomvotsou to guide us through the Archaeological Museum and Site. She was amazing, bringing it all to life. This was one of the favorite aspects of the trip for the granddaughters.
Olympia: 2 nights.
We visited the Chlemaoutsi Castle along the way. The granddaughters had never seen a castle, so had to fit one in!
Rick recommended guide, Niki Vlachou, did an excellent job explaining the history of the Olympic games and bringing the site and museum alive for all of us.
Nafplio: 5 nights.
We decided to make this beautiful town our home base for several day trips.
Day 1: Drive to Nafplio and swim at their local beach
Day 2: Explore Nafplio, evening play at the ancient theater at Epidavros
Day 3: Day trip to Mycenae and Corinth
Day 4: Day trip to Island of Hydra (a favorite for all!) We drove 1 1/2 hours to Metochi and caught the ferry to Hydra. Nice drive and easy to do.
Day 5: Hang out in Nafplo and final shopping for sandals and souvenirs.
We eliminated the long drives to Mani Peninsula and Monemvasia, knowing that this would be too much driving for the granddaughters. It was a good decision as they needed to down time in the afternoon to connect with family and friends. Since it was so hot, we needed that time, too! Siesta in Greek is: Mesimeriano ipnos. It was good to get into the rhythm of the Greeks; sightseeing in the mornings, rest in the afternoon, and then out in the evening when it is cooler.
Posted by
Cape Ann, Massachusetts
3207 posts
Sounds like a great and well planned trip! I loved Penny!
Posted by
681 posts
Sounds like a great trip. Glad it all worked out.
Posted by
1220 posts
Loved Greece. Sounds like you made some awesome memories with your granddaughters. They will cherish them forever.
Posted by
11156 posts
You planned this trip perfectly! So glad you all enjoyed one of my favorite countries.
Posted by
1 posts
This looks like a wonderful trip! We are following a similar itinerary in part during late March/early April with our 16 and 12-year-old sons. Do you have contact information Penny that you could share (couldn't locate anything via Google)? We are staying in Delphi after a night our Athens to Meteora leg, so would love a private tour guide. Thanks!
Posted by
Alexandria, VA
771 posts
This sounds like a well thought-out trip with a great combination of activities and flexibility built in. I love that you got the girls engaged by having them do research ahead of time. I look forward to the day when our grandchildren are old enough to travel with us, and hope to plan something as fun and memorable!
Posted by
1220 posts
That is wonderful that you are helping to show them other cultures, history, etc.....I bet it will foster a love of travel in them. So want to do this with my kids and eventual grandchildren.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you to everyone for your comments! It was truly a memorable trip for the girls. The 14 year old was not ready to come home and had been thinking that she could get a job at the local gelateria and stay for awhile! When we arrived at Delphi, she said, "I could live here!" She already had made her top ten list of countries to visit next. She says she finds herself daydreaming about Greece often.
We found our Delphi tour guide, Penny, in Rick Steve's Greece guidebook. Her contact info is: Penny Kolomvotsou, mobile: 694-464-4427, email: kpagona@hotmail.com. She loved that we had brought our granddaughters and were exposing them to another culture, especially such an ancient one as Greece. She would ask them direct questions about the different gods and goddesses. She engaged with them very well.
Have a great trip with your sons!