Back to Greece - help with planning please
 

What are you looking for:
archeological sites, medieval castles and churches, museums of all that, beaches, caves, landscapes, hiking trails......?

You might take a look at my trip report:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...reece-1460735/

+1

I would add Delphi and Meteora.

Paros to Nafplio?
 

You can always check your transportation options on rome2rio.com -- just be sure to click through to the underlying links, as the main page is not sensitive to seasonal variation in schedules.
https://www.rome2rio.com/map/P%C3%A1ros/N%C3%A1fplio

I agree Nafplio would be a great choice. Rather than take a ferry from Paros back to Athens (which is perfectly fine) think about a flight. Then you have a choice of renting a car or going by bus. If you don’t mind driving it will give you transport around Nafplio to all the sights, and the option of travelling further into the Peloponnese to e.g. Monemvasia (not really a day trip from Nafplio).

Should you decide you want to take the bus, you need to go to the Kifisou bus station for the KTEL Argolida service to Nafplio: ???? ????????? ?. ?. :: Routes information.

From memory the X93 bus will take you to Kifisou bus station from the airport. I’m not sure the best way to get to the bus station from Piraeus. Express buses leave almost hourly from Kifisou to Nafplio, and the schedule in the above link will give you the times.

Piraeus boat pier (or may be metro station) - Kifisou bus station:
only by taxi, everything else is a waste of time.

By public transport only:
harbour bus from boat to metro station,
metro up to Omonia,
walk from Omonia to Kifisou bound bus stop (ask local people, otherwise you may not find it),
bus ride to Kifisou bus station

NYLilly, to go from Paros to Nafplio you have several choices, depending on limits of time and money. I've done this trip 3 ways ... by both ferry/bus and by flight & bus and Flight & car. The first choice takes a full day, and people are cranky by the end of it. Here are options:

• BLUE STAR FERRY - €44 or so for reserved economy (necessary in July) dep Paros 11 am - arrive 3pm.(all other ferries are much later) Taxi about €14-16 to Kissifou KTEL station. Bus leaves hourly on half-hour, €13-15? 1-way... takes 2.5 hrs with 1 10-min rest-stop. U would get the 4:30 so you'd arrive Nafplio about 7 pm
• FLIGHTS - takes about 45 minutes - in July, flights @ 7 or 9:25 AM about €100. If you take the latter, you arrive 10:05 ...
BUS OPTION - can take taxi (€40) or xpress bus (€6 each) to Kifissou; KTEL Bus dep @ 11:30 - arrive 2 pm. RENTAL CAR: leave arport... 10:30 arr whenever u want.

I would suggest you tweak your Paros reservation (that's allowed this far in advance), to lop off a day and add it to Nafplio... there's SO much to see/do... plenty of beaches, walks, super dining, vineyard visits, etc. It's beautiful fertile valley w hills, views, villages etc.

If you rent a car i would highly recommend a trip that would start from Nafplio, then Vytina or Lagadia to see mountain Mainalon and the cave of lakes, from there to Olympia and finally Delphi.

I've also traveled on my own, without a car... and the bus networks work just fine .... the only time I do suggest a taxi is if you're going to the Kifissou Street Intercity KTEL bus terminal either from a Central Athens Hotel or from Piraeus (the local busses take a long time, thru industrial neighborhoods ... taxi is fast & not that costly). In Nafplio, there is a "happy train" open sightseeing thing that has the good feature of taking you up to the back entrance of the high fortress Palamidi, so you can take photos... then y ou take the next Happy Train back down to the seafront.

I totally agree with you ... I swill water midday in hot weather, but at dinner relish a glass o' wine or 3!! BTW, if you go to Nafplio, I absolutely recommend a moderate-price hotel, comparatively, that has the BEST location on the seafront, bar none-- Hotel Agamemmnon. I've been to Nafplio at least 7 times, mostly staying up at the "top of the steps", but this last time, I went with the trusted re commend by the friend & creator of the NONcommercial website Visit Nafplio... its top floor and next up floor (called 1st floor in Europe), as balconies with direct view of the sea... other hotels have cafes in front of them. There are several on side with sea views that rent for singles. In Early June, about €70.... more of course if u do July... but So worth it. Great service & a superb breakfast buffet. But do book as soon as you have itinerary set, because word's getting out. Also, book it thru booking.com or other online agency, because hotels booking direct can require an advance deposit of 1st night's rate .... and if u don't go thru an agency, hotels ask for a bank transfer (which is simple and cheap for EU members, but awful & expensive for others).