MClayton

Hello we are planning to go to Greece at the end of Sept. for 2 weeks.
Plan:
land in Athens, drive to Kalambaka, visit: Meteora, Monastery of Rousanou, theopetra cave, Monastery of the Holy trinity, Stay here 1 or 2 days.
drive to Delphi visit: temple of Apollo, Ancient theatre, Athena pronea temple,Stay here 1 or 2 days.
drive to Antirrio, see bridge, drive to Olympia visit: temple of Zeus, temple of Hera, statue of Zeus, stay in Olympia 1 night
drive to Nafplion visit: bourtzi fortress, palamidi castle, stay in Nafplion 1 night
drive to Epidaurus, visit epidaurus theatre, drive to Mycenae visit: lion gate, ancient mycenae, citadel and treasury of atreus, drive to corinth canal, not sure where to stay in this stretch......????
drive to Athens - stay for 3 days - take tour.

Question.
- Have I gotten all the big highlights to see?
- where are the best places to stay 2 days, and which ones are 1 day stay only sufficient?
- from Nafplion to Athens - not sure where to stop for the night (or 2 nights)??

artsnletters

I did a similar circuit a couple years ago in the other direction. I stayed four nights in Nafplio (LOTS to see around there beyond Epidaurus and Mycenae - Tiryns, Corinth, Midea, and two a day is about the limit. Then a night in Olympia, two nights in Delphi, and two nights at the Meteora (long drive to get to the Meteora and from there to Delphi, and a full day for the monasteries is needed).

One argument for doing this in the opposite direction from what you propose is that the most challenging drive on your trip will be the eastern half of the road between Nafplio and Olympia, so you'd be driving the most difficult part while you are freshest. Dimitsana makes a nice stop about midway between the two.

It's only 2 1/2 hours between Nafplio and Athens, so you really don't need a stop in between. If you think you'll be too tired to drive that far after your day's sightseeing, I suggest staying another night in Nafplio and driving to Athens in the morning.

kja

If there is <b>any</b> chance that you will have jet lag, I would strongly encourage you to take public transportation for your first night or two. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and <b>nothing</b>you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. And please note – microsleeps aren’t dependent on getting sleep or not, they result from shifting your waking / sleeping cycle away from the one to which you are accustomed. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience!

For Meteroa, consider staying in Kastraki rather than Kalambaka. As artnsletters says, you really need 2 nights, as the monasteries and convents take a day. I was pleased with my stay at Pyrgos Adrachti; you’ll have to decide whether it suits your needs.
http://www.hotel-adrachti.gr

I also agree that Nafplio makes a good base for Epidaurus and Myscenae. In Nafplio, you might look at the Pension Dafni:
http://www.pensiondafni.gr/en/

You’ll see some wonderful places -- enjoy!

PetrosB3

If you are in Phocis (region where Delphi is located) don't miss the Hosios Loukas Monastery. It'a a UNESCO monument, a true masterpiece of Byzantine architecture and art.

dgunbug

What a great trip! The mainland of Greece was one of my favorite trips. Any chance of adding on a few more days to get to santorini or Mykonos...two of my favorite Greek islands?

tom_h

IMO, Nafplion deserves more than 1 night. I could easily spend 3 nights there, as it makes a fine base for exploring the Argolid and is itself a lovely small town. Nafplion to athens is only a 2-3 hour drive, there's no reason to overnight anywhere on the way.

Two weeks is not that long a time, and your schedule seems rushed. Others may disagree, but I'd drop Meteora and focus on the southern portion of your itinerary. Eg, maybe even an overnight in Monemvasia.

HappyTrvlr

Napflio needs more time, Delphi less. From Napflion you will visit the Mycenae and Epidavros. Three nights at least for this beautiful town.

kja

Seconding Hosios Loukas!

dgunbug

Regretted missing Meteora, but got to the outstanding town of monemvasia. Unfortunately, there are always trade offs with time constraints.

artsnletters

I wavered a lot on adding Monemvasia to my itinerary, but since I felt I overall need to come back to the Peloponnese, I decided to get to the points north and save Monemvasia for a later trip. I spent 10 days on the mainland: Nafplio, Olympia, Delphi, Meteora - and did not feel that it was at all rushed.

MClayton

Thank you everyone for the great comments!!! Really appreciated