zxcvbnm

End of April for about 10 days. Where would you go--to Crete or Peloponnese? if you're looking for beauty in nature, scenic locations, beautiful national parks (if they have them)...

zxcvbnm

Also, just wondering which hotel is better:
Grecotel Creta Palace in Crete
or
Olympia Oasis in Peloponnese?

and how does Olympia Riviera Thallaso compare to Grecotel Creta Palace?

zxcvbnm

Also in Crete we would have the options of visiting these places:
Heraklion, Knossos, Aquarium,
Chania,
Agios Nikolaos, Elounda and Spinalonga
Rethymnon and Castle
lake of Kournas & Cretan Village

In Peloponnese we would have the options of visiting these places:
Zakynthos island
kalavrita,
Nafplion,
Olympia

Which places are more scenic?

Are there other places we can go to that we can take a day bus tour from either Crete or Peloponnese?

Thanks in advance

stanbr

I have not responded to your request because it had minimal information and little focus. Your subsequent posts indicate you have done some research and have now narrowed it down somewhat.

There is still information missing that forces me to make assumptions which may not be accurate. Such as, will you rent a car or will you rely entirely on local bus. Are you flying direct to Athens or are you able to fly direct to Crete from you home airport.

I am assuming you are not planning to rent a car because you speak about going someplace else by bus. If you are doing this by bus my suggestions will be different than if you are renting a car.

Peloponnese.
Is a treasure trove of antiquities. Take the bus to Nafplio. There are several buses daily to Nafplio. It is a sea side town that feels like an island and is beautiful. Stay in the old town harbour area. Nafplio makes a good base for exploring the area.

Day trips could include Corinth to visit Ancient Corinth and Ancient Nemia which had sister games to Olympia. This excursion will require you to use the bus and then pick up a taxi to take you to the sites.

Nearby sites include Epidavros, Mycenae, Tiyrns and Argos. You will have to rent a car or hire a taxi or perhaps find a tour company to see these sites. I believe there is a KTEL bus that does a run from Nafplio to some of these sites but we have always rented a car.

You can certainly take a bus to Sparti and from there go to Mystras. This is at least a 4 hour site so you would probably have to spend the night there. Next day take the bus to Monemvassia where you can spend the night in a period room inside a walled town.
Nafplio and Peloponnese http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094108982/

You will have to take the bus back north to make a connection (probably in Corinth ) to go to Olympia. Again an overnight will be necessary in Olympia.

If you still have some time then Delphi would be a grand finale as it is one of the best ancient sites in my opinion. Again logistics to use the bus may require you to return to Athens to catch the bus.

An alternative is to go to Nafplio and just enjoy it perhaps use the bus system to get you to Mystras and Monemvassia then head back to Athens and take the 4 day classical Greece bus tour which includes Olympia, Mycenea, Delphi and Meteroa. Expensive but it saves you from having go use public transportation.


Olympia Delphi Meteora https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645469717811/


Nafplio and Peloponnese http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094108982/

having said all that because Crete is further south it will be a bit warmer than the mainland and because the bus travel logistics are much easier I would recommend Crete.

Again I am assuming you will fly to Crete. You will arrive either in Chania or Heraklion. If I had a choice I would make Chania my base. It is even more lovely than Nafplion. Here you can step back in time and easily imagine what life was like back in the 1500's.


Chania http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632117917828/
Chania 2015 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57655164548880


You are early season so it may be possible the Balos Gramovossa excursion boat will be running. Check with any travel agent who will know. That is a good excursion which gives you two beaches and a pirate fortress. You can book the whole tripo with a travel agent or take the KTEL bus which goes direct to Kisamoss harbour.

You could have a taxi take you to Ancient Aptera which is another mountain top antiquity just 18 km east of Chania.

Western Crete http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632115757899/

Next take the bus to Rethymnon. It is similar to Chania with a much smaller Venetian harbour and Old town but certainly worth a few nights. The Fortezza takes at lest 4 hours to explore properly.

Rethymnon https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57654700502270


Next take the bus to Heraklion. While it is an unattractive working class city the central area is full of Venetian buildings and exploring this area is a nice day activity. The archeological museum is in this area and of course Knossos is a must see ancient site.
Heraklion https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57655935354556
Crete Archeological sites https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645085297380/
This plan can be done from Chania to Heraklion or the reverse.


You can fly back to Athens

Make sure you are back in Athens for a couple of nights as it has lots to see as well.

Athens http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632121475515/

travelerjan

I just answered in response to your query tacked on to the nd of a 7-year-old thread. FInally you did start a new thread, but to be considerate, it would have been nice for you to return to the ancient thread and post that additional piece of information -- that your trip is for 10 days.

However, you still are extremely vague as to details, and with a short trip, these are vital -- does your "About 10 days" include day of arrival & day of departure? (should NOT, if you arrive by 9:30 or 10 am, you can count that as 1/2 a day, if you leave immediately by plane for crete, or car for Pelops). Also, does that 10 days include ANY time for Athens?? (the nature of your inquiry seems to indicate that you have never been to Greece before). If this is your first trip, it would be a crime to skip Athens altogether.

Please share more... then you'll get the best advice, altho stanbr has already given you a boatload of terrific advice despite the missing info.

zxcvbnm

thanks for your help.
I have more than 10 days besides for travel.
This is my first trip.
If we enjoy beauty in nature and national parks, scenic areas, which in general is better to go to: crete or Peloponnese?
What public or cheap private transportation options are there from Athens airport to Peloponnese? It seems that Araxos airport which is closer to our hotel, has no flights going there in April.

Sassafrass

Stanbr, while I am not the OP, your info will be very helpful for some trips we are planning. Thank you for posting such detailed transportation info.

sparkchaser

Stanbr, that had some fabulous information.

clausar

The Peloponnese has many quaint mountain villages, rivers, big forest areas, castles, old towns, and end of April ( are you talking about 2016?) will be full of flowers !.

From the Athens Airport you can get to the KTEL bus station and reach any city at the Peloponnese by bus, which is the cheapest option.

Depending on where your hotel is, you might need to change bus in Patras or Pyrgos ( it seems that you will be in that area judging from Araxos aiport).

Would you perhaps consider renting a car ? That would give you the flexibility of touring the Peloponnese at your own pace, and stop at places that you would not see with public transportation.. ( and there are lots of them at the Peloponnese)

zxcvbnm

clausar, thanks for the info.
yes the end of April 2016. Probably won't rent a car. how far is it from Athen airport to Kilini on bus? are there stops along the way?

also I'd appreciate your feedback on whether these places are scenic:
Zakynthos island
kalavrita,
Nafplion,
Olympia

or would the following places in crete be prettier:
Heraklion, Knossos, Aquarium,
Chania,
Agios Nikolaos, Elounda and Spinalonga
Rethymnon and Castle
lake of Kournas & Cretan Village

zxcvbnm

so we chose crete!

-Are there daily bus tours that pick up in Rethymnon from hotels and take you around for the day? which do you recommend?

-are there tours that we can do ourselves using public transportation or cabs? where should we go thats scenic (national parks or other beautiful mountains, or lakes...) and open at the end of april?

thanks

PetrosB3

I wrote down this Itinerary for the Peloponnese in another thread, and it covers all the highlights of the region. You can Google the places, and decide what is of your interest and also adjust it to your days. You supposedly begin from Athens. So, here you are:

DAY 1
-Ancient Corinth
-Acrocorinth
-Ancient Nemea
NAUPLION

DAY 2
NAUPLION

DAY 3
-Ancient Mycenae (UNESCO)
-Epidaurus Theater (UNESCO)
NAUPLION

DAY 4
-Ancient Sparta
-Archaeological Museum of Sparta
-Mystras (UNESCO)
MONEMVASIA

DAY 5
MONEMVASIA

DAY 6
-Simos Beach in Elafonisos
MONEMVASIA

DAY 7
-Gytheion
AREOPOLIS

DAY 8
AREOPOLIS

DAY 9
-Diros Caves
-Vatheia
-Cape Tainaron
AREOPOLIS

DAY 10
-Kalamata
-Polilimnio Waterfalls
PYLOS

DAY 11
-Methoni Castle
-Voidokilia Beach
PYLOS

DAY 12
-Ancient Messene
-Temple of Apollo Epicurius (UNESCO)
STEMNITSA

DAY 13
-Dimitsana
STEMNITSA

DAY 14
-Ancient Olympia (UNESCO)
-Archaeological Museum of Olympia
GALAXIDI

DAY 15
-Ancient Delphi (UNESCO)
-Delphi Museum
-Hosios Loukas Monastery (UNESCO)
GALAXIDI

DAY 16
Return to Athens.

zxcvbnm

petros, thank you for the itinerary, will keep it in mind for when we go to peloponese