twodanes

Taking a cruise in September, will be stopping in Western Greece.

Have the excursion option of Mycenae , Epidaurus or Nafplion during one of the stops.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

jdolberg

We enjoyed all 3 places but I personally found Nafplion to be a very charming little city. You'll see brightly colored flowers everywhere and in the evening the entire town turns out to sit in cafes around the square while the children play. It felt less like a tourist destination and more "real".

newcomer

We stayed in Nafplion and did day trips to Mycenae and Epidaurus. It depends on what you're up for. Nafplion, which means "beautiful city" in Greek is just that, and was one of our favorite places. It has neat shops, a charming little folklore museum, a small beach, a pathway that starts at the beach and winds all around the penninsula with great restaurants right on the harbor, and, of course, a wonderful ruined fortress to explore at the top of the hill. Epidaurus has a nice little museum and a fabuluously preserved ampitheatre in an incredibly lovely natural setting. Mycenae is basically just more ruins that you've probably seen elsewhere and the tholos is rather dark to see much; good museum, but, again, nothing you wouldn't see in Athens.

carolyn

I would choose Mycenae for the history, but then I went to Greece for the ancient sites more than for present-day villages, however charming. We did visit Nafplion, and it is indeed charming.

If you have a good guide, you will learn a lot at Mycenae

TravelsWithStDavid

We also stayed in Nafplion and made a side trip to Epidaurus. I thought the theatre in Epidaurus was exceptional. When we were there, we went and sat in the highest row of seats. A young German tourist stood on the cement cirle in the middle of the stage and read from a book in a normal tone of voice. Though we couldn't understand the language, we were able to hear every word; that is how excetional the accoustics are. That the ancient Greeks were able to build something so perfect and so lasting, blows my mind.

wondering

It probably depends on whether you want history or not. As the other posters have commented Nafplion is a charming town. The other two are pretty famous archaeological sites. If you decide to go to Mycenae or Epidaurus, it might be helpful to read up on your ancient history. (I was at all three places this spring with a student tour group. The people who knew nothing about Mycenae liked it the least of the places. I think they just thought of it as a lot of rocks!) Each site has a small museum on the grounds. Good luck deciding. I don't think you can go wrong!