Has anyone been to the Pistachio Festival in Aegina? (This year it's Sept. 16-19.) We will be on the mainland of Greece for a week (after a week's cruise that include a number of Greek Islands; I'll post the itinerary later), and will be there during this festival. I am wondering if it is worth trying to see (and will not be a zoo). I am looking for some different things to see and do other than just ruins and archeological museums. Any and all suggestions are welcome. We enjoy hiking and seeing flora and fauna, as long as the weather is not too hot. Also enjoy kayaking, and would like to see some traditional villages.

So far I'm considering the following: Athens, Diakofto Kalavrita Railway, Corinth, Delphi, and Maecennae. I'd appreciate advice about routing and best things to see and do, as well as medium-priced places to stay.

We will begin this part of our trip in Piraeus, after the cruise. Our flight home from Athens leaves a week later, at 6 am. I was thinking of renting a car as soon as the cruise is over and saving Athens till the end. However, I know that the airport is not real close to downtown Athens. Would it be better to stay somewhere other than Athens the night before our flight home?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi,
I do not know anything about the pistachio festival, but I have been to Aegina and truly enjoyed this island. On the Peloponnese, near Corinth and Maecenna is a good wine area. There are tasting vineyards and the area is lovely. The area is Nemea. Near Epidavros is a small town call Pale Epidavros, which has some moderate priced hotels and a small beach. It is a sweet town. From this town there are water taxis that can take you to other areas nearby.

Have a great vacation, Yipper

Napflion is a beautiful small city with many hotel choices at all price levels. I would use it as a base for visiting the Mycenae, Nemia, Tyrns, Epidavros and Corinth.Look at Hotel Ilion.

I agree that Nafplion would be an unique experience for you ... a stunning Old Town that feels like an island, since it's on a peninsula completely surrounded by water ... the town itself is worth a full day's exploring, and its location is perfect for short jaunts to nearby villages, beaches, places to hike and enjoy the greenery of fertile valleys.

Here's the Nafplion highlights slide-show I always attach, by Fodorite Stanbr, of Nafplio's beauties: http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/551991579dJbWvh If you enjoy flowers you have never seen anything like Nafplion, where flowering vines actually roof-over some of the lanes. IMHO, sunsets from its promonade eclipse those of Santorini. Slide-show also includes at the end some quick fotos of Mycenae, Epidaurus, Tiryns & Nemea, since ALL are so close. (If you've had your fill of ruins, you could skip Mycenae, just pick one or 2 quick stops, such as Tiryns and the glorious theatre at Epidaurus, then go for a swim after ...

Another good Nafplion hotel, facing right onto the main square, is Hotel Athena. Perhaps a busy locale during high season, but just right for mid/late September. http://www.athina-hotel.gr/hotelEN.html OR my favorite (request a balcony room), up above, looking down on Old Town and the sea, Hotel Leto --http://www.leto-hotel.com/hotel_e.html ... I found this Gem 9 years ago, and never looked back since. Tell Giorgio that Janet sent you!!

I agree on your renting a car right after the Cruise; usually those cruises dock in the AM. You can taxi from your Cruise dock to a Piraeus-based rental agency that is VERY close to a the Peloponnese-bound major highway (and you'd be going against the traffic). If you rent from Budget at its ATHENS website (not US/Not Greece), you can get a terrific deal http://www.budget-athens.gr/?gclid=C...Fdx05QodUkGLfw

Driving to Nafplio takes only about 2 hrs 15 minutes if you don't stop. If you want, it would easy, after the corinth canal, to exit to your right about 1/2 mile and visit Nemea -- an ancient Games site runner-up to Olympia (u can enjoy in 45 minutes or less). There are lots of small villages around, AND wineries... as mentioned.

While in Nafplio for a triple-treat (village, ruin, swim) drive toward the beach town of TOLO, but turn off LEFT at fork in the road and go 200 yards to tiny ASSINE (ASSINI) across a bay from Tolo... there's a ruin, a sandy EMPTY beach, a cute cove with Pebbly beach facing the sunset, with nice taverna where u can change, rent sunbed/umbrella, then enjoy dinner watching the sunset. In May, we ended a perfect day that way.

YOu could have all that enjoyment in 3-4 days, then have 3 full days in Athens to see the Acropolis & New Acropolis Museum, and enjoy the Plaka district. Yes, 6 am fight to US is early! You'll have to be in line by 4 am, meaning a taxi at 3:15 ... just have your hotel book one ahead, and try to get to bed by 10 pm, then catch up on sleep on homebound flight. A VERY handy hotel at a good price, under 100€ (especially when reserved someplace like booking.com) is Airotel Parthenon; Fodorite Yiassas & spouse have stayed there 2-3x and like it a lot. It's just off the beautiful pedestrianized walkway south of Acropolis

Your plan to rent the car first and stay in Athens at the end is sound.

Although the airport is a bit far it's easily reached by 24 hour bus or by using the metro. As hotels are scarce and expensive at the airport staying within walking distance of Syntagma Square to catch the bus or metro will work well.

Visiting Mycenae was the highlight of my last trip to Greece. Take a small flashlight to go down to the spring... the tunnel is unlit and otherwise very dark.

Another poster here, Nikki, recommended a book called "The Mask of Agamemenon"... I got a used copy through Amazon and it was a wonderful read.
Thanks Nikki!

Rob

I highly recommend Nafplion as well. It is very cute! There is also a fabulous gelateria there, Antica di Roma, right off Syntagma square -- a tiny bit of Italy (run by actual Italian-speaking Italians in Greece). The views from the Palamidi fortress at the top of the town are stupendous. You could visit Mycenae, Epidavros, Tiryns, Nemea and Corinth easily in one day on your way from Athens to Nafplion, or vice versa. I was at Mycenae early in the morning, and the citadel was almost empty -- amazing. Corinth was one of my favorite ancient sites. It is compact in connection with some of the other sites. Perhaps it was the fact that it was the end of the day, and that the site was almost empty, but it had a very special feel to it.

Delphi was very interesting to me, and the museum there is wonderful. Delphi town is cute, but the little town of Arachova, about 20 min. from Delphi is extremely charming. It is in winter a ski resort and is on the slopes of Mt. Parnassus. I was there in September, and you got more of a feel of the locals. The town is built on a hill, and some of the "streets" turn into ramps or stairways as you head up the hill to the church.

I also enjoyed Olympia, but it may be too far for you. Again a wonderful ancient site and museum.

Thanks so much for all of the advice and suggestions. They are extremely helpful. It sounds like Nafplion would be a great base for exploring the Peloponnese. Tentative plan is to see Corinth when we drive from Piraeus to Nafplion after the cruise. How much time should we plan on spending in Corinth? Might we have time to see some other place that day? I notice that one poster said it was possible to visit Mycenae, Epidauros, Tiryns, Nemea, and Corinth “easily” in one day on your way from Athens to Nafplion. Do others agree?

I have booked four nights at the Aetoma Hotel in Nafplion. It received the most positive reviews I have ever seen on TripAdvisor. I can change it to three nights or even two if that turns out to make more sense. (Cruise ends on a Monday, so we will be in Nafplion during the week, when it should be less busy.) While based in Nafplion we will see the sights in that city and nearby areas (Nemea, Tiryns, Argos, and Epidauros).

Is it reasonable to make a day trip from Nafplion to Olympia? Given that we have only seven days for mainland Greece, is it worth going on the Kalavrita Express from Diakofto to Kalavrita? If so, can this be done as a day trip from Nafplion?

Before ending our trip with a couple of days in Athens, we would like to go to Delphi. How much time should we plan on there? It looks like it makes the most sense to get to Delphi from Nafplion by crossing the Gulf of Corinth on the Rio-Antirio Bridge. I’d appreciate advice about this part of the trip – Olympia, ?Diakofto-Kalavrita, Delphi. In particular, which one would be best for an overnight between our stays in Nafplion and Athens? (I should probably change our stay in Nafplion to three nights or maybe just two. I would like to have around two complete days in Athens, which may mean three nights since our flight leaves before the crack of dawn our last day.)

Meteora sounds great, but it doesn’t seem like we’ll have time to go there.

Should we consider staying Attica our last night? One of the posters mentioned staying at Peri’s Hotel, which s/he said would take you to the airport, which is only 10 min. away. I presume we will not want to keep our rental car in Athens.

Is an international drivers license needed for driving in Greece, or will our California licenses suffice?

By the way, our cruise, which is organized by UCLA Alumni Travel and run by Thomas Gohagan and Co., begins in Istanbul and goes to Troy, Esphesus, Patmos, Rhodes, Santorini, and Delos and Myknanos before ending in Piraeus.

I couldn’t find a book titled “The Mask of Agamemnon” on Amazon, but I did find one titled “Golden Mask of Agamemnon,” by John Wiles. Is that it?

Thanks again, everyone, for your help. I can’t imagine trying to plan a trip anymore without fodors.com and the wonderfully helpful people who frequent it.

The Ancient Corinth site is very compact in comparison with Delphi and Olympia. I don't think I spent more than an hour there, and I saw and photoed everything. If you attempt AcroCorinth, the acropolis visible on the large hill above the site, that would take longer, depending on whether you drove or hiked.

If you do travel from Delphi via the Rio-Antírrio Bridge you will likely pass by or through Náfpaktos, formerly known as Lepanto, and site of the famous naval battle of the same name in 1571. It is charming, especially around the harbor. There is also a Venetian fortress on the hill in the town.

I'm the poster who said that you could easily see the sites I listed in one day. I didn't rush, but I did lots of research ahead of time and knew what I wanted to see. I also had my guide books and maps/diagrams which were very helpful. I don't remember having to wait in any line at any of the Peloponnesian sites (excluding Olympia).

Thanks, Delaine. Perhaps I should change to 2 nights in Nafplion and have an itinerary something like the following:

Mon. - Drive from Piraeus to Nafplion, seeing as many as possible of the sights (Corinth [probably skipping AcroCorinth], Epidaurus, Nemea, Argos, Mycenae) along the way but spending some time to enjoy Nafplion.

Tues. - Whatever of these signts we didn't see + sights in Nafplion + beach.

Wed. - Drive to Olympia and see it.

Wed. nt. and Thurs. day - Where spend night? ???Diakopto-Kalavrita

Thurs. nt - Spend night in Delphi.

Fri. - Delphi and drive to Athens

Sat. and Sun. - Athens

Mon. - Leave very early morning for home.

As far as homebound flight goes, why change hotel yet again .... why not have a good athens hotel in Plaka for Fri-Sat-Sun, and either walk to the Syntagma Square bus at 3:15 as I did, or have your hotel order a taxi for 45 minutes before you have to be in line. Peris HOtel offers breakfast with its room rate, but not until 7 am by that time you'll be airborne. It also gives u a shuttle, but only after 7 am so you'd have to take a taxi anyway. And why be waaay out there eating a pizza in a no-place your last night ... instead have a nice meal in Plaka. You can doze on the plane.

Hey judilie..definetely get that Int'l Driver's Permit! Head to your local AAA..it's $15 (if they didn't change their rate) and good for the year! You may not be asked for it when renting, but will certainly come in handy in case of any mishap or stopped by local police;-)
As far as Olympia on a day trip from Naupion..unless you don't mind driving approx 6 hours in one day r/t, would give it a pass..unless you include it enroute up to Delphi..it's how most of the tour operators make the run! Agree Meteora is a bit out of the way since it's pretty far North and you're concentrating primarily in the South;-) Would certainly give Athens at least 2 full days and would stay central..no reason overnighting out in the middle of nowhere when you can have a great finale! Have fun..and ENjoy!

Here's my current thinking. I'd appreciate comments and reactions.

Mon. - Drive from Piraeus to Nafplion, seeing as many as possible of the sights (Corinth [probably skipping AcroCorinth], Epidaurus, Nemea, Argos, Mycenae) along the way but spending some time to enjoy Nafplion.

Spend this night and the next one at the Aeotoma Hotel in Napfplion.

Tues. - Whatever of the places listed above we didn't see + sights in Nafplion + beach.

Wed. - Drive from Nafplion to Olympia and see it. Then drive to Diakopto (Diakofto) and spend night there (?at Chris-Paul?). Each of the drives is about 3 hours. I thought it would be good to get to Diakofto that evening so we could get an early start on the train ride the next day.

Thurs. - Diakopto-Kalavrita Railroad, getting off midway at Zahlorou to hike to Moni Megalou Spileou monastery, and then go to top. After train ride, drive to Delphi (apparently about a 3-hr. drive)and spend the night there (?where?).

Fri. - Delphi and then drive to Athens (apparently a 2-1/2 hr. drive).

Sat. and Sun. - Athens

Fri., Sat., and Sun. nights in Athens. (Need to decide about lodging.)

Mon. - Leave very early morning for home.

Approximately how much time one should devote to Olympia, Diakofto-Kalavrita, and Delphi?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Judi, I think you need a really GOOD road map of the Peloponnese AND to consult Michelin's trip planner.

Here's a terrific map (click on it & it gets HUGE) http://www.esperides.gr/images/pelop..._esperides.jpg
... YOu say start from Piraeus, right off your cruise ship (I'm guessing about 8 am. Well, you can pick car up somewhere in the port, but getting to the agency, getting car etc, will take an hour. So suppose you get on the road by 9. What can you see en route to Nafplio? Let's check the map.
... It will take you 90 minutes to get to Corinth, then maybe another 30 to find your way through the tangle of roads to Ancient Corinth... and maybe an hour to tour it. By now it will be Noon. As the Map.It shows, the next item on your list, Nemea, is just off the big road to the right ... and you can tour it in less than an hour... so now it's about 2:30.
... Next is Mycenae (spelled Mikines on the map & pronounced that way) ... But wait! You've had nothing to eat since dawn ... best to grab a sandwich before you reach the site, there's not much there except water & chips. Onward!
.... Mycenae is hard to do justice to in less than 90 minutes... and now it's 4:30 or 5. Tired yet?? At this point, head Directly for Nafplio, bypassing Argos if you can, because the road through town is narrow & car-choked. Anway, check your guidebook, Argos ancient sites are few (there is a WORLD of treasure still buried, but the townspeople refuse to have their homes destroyed in order to dig it up!!).

As the map shows Epidaurus is not on the way to Nafplio, it is South East of it... go the next day, watch signs and look for Ancient THEATRE to find it... On the way back, treat yourself to a quick swim AND a ruin! Just before Tolo, there's the ruin of Asine, and beside it a tiny taverna and a cute pebbly cove, Kastraki.. never crowded. A hidden find.

About Olympia -- check http://www.viamichelin.com/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm It is supposedly only 3.5 hours from Nafplio, but for a first-timer I wonder. Good luck!

While you're in Delphi, I'd add a stop in Meteora to see the monestaries! Truly amazing!

Thanks, everyone.

I thought Meteora was quite far from Delphi and hence was not considering it for that reason.

I look forward to hearing reactions to my general plan, as I would like to start booking lodging as soon as possible.

We have spent a total of 6 weeks in Greece and the Peloponnese area was definitely a highlight. Be sure to get a map with English and Greek writing on it. We made the mistake of getting English only and then the signs were all in Greek. It made it very difficult to maneuver until we switched maps.

We ordered excellent detailed road maps from www.road.gr (Peloponnesean,and Crete). They mailed them to us in the US before we left for a nominal fee.

Thanks for the suggestion of getting a good roadmap. I found a Michelin map on amazon.com for about 40% the cost of the one available through www.road.gr and am leaning toward getting that one. It has the city names in both Greek and English and is 700,000:1 scale.

I'd still appreciate comments on the Olympia, Diakofto-Kalavrita, Delphi part of my planned itinerary.

Thanks.

Our maps were in Greek and English too and actually were better than the Michelin ones. We were traveling for six weeks throughout Greece and found them very helpful.
However,I always use Michelin in other parts of Europe so I'm sure it would work for you. None of the car rental agencies gave out decent maps so it's wise to have your own along.

Speaking of rental cars, I'd appreciate recommendations of agencies. We'll be picking the car up in Piraeus. Would like to drop it off about 5 days later in Athens, but could take it to Piraeus if need be.