car rental in Peloponnese, Greece ?
 

I'd like to pick up a car at Nafplio or Corinthos for a one-week travel in Peloponnese. Any suggestion about car rental companies and itineraries ? I usually rent cars with Avis, but I think they don't have offices at these locations, and I want to avoid taking the car at Athens. Thanks for any help !

Yes, avoiding Athens at all cost is a good idea - I learned this THE HARD WAY. Don't even consider the airport. AGAIN, I learned this the hard way. Rent from a Greek Rental Agency. They are normally open to negotiation. Sun Drive rents cars from its office in Tolo. There may be others. There are hourly buses from Nafplio to Tolo - 30 min. The phone is 59 797. For more on the Peloponnese see www.footloosetravel.com. The Online Magazine has an article you may find helpful.

Last year we gor best rates from AutoEurope (note that in some Greek cities AutoEurope functions as a car rental company and not only as a car rental wholesaler). We had the car delivered in our hotel in Athens, but I guess they shouldn't having any problems delivering it in Nafplio. I have to disagree with Mike, though. We drove out and into Athens for our trip to the Peloponnese with no problems ... certainly not a big deal. We would surely do it again instead of going through the nuisance of using public transportation for car pickup outside the city. You may contact AutoEurope through their page <BR>http://www.autoeurope.com/ <BR>Paulo <BR>

Regarding itineraries, it would really depend on your interests. If you decide to pick the car in Athens (in the morning), one possibility would be: <BR> <BR>Drive to the Daphne monastery; visit <BR>Drive to Delphi; visit and spend the night (plan to have dinner in Arakhova) <BR>Drive to Osios Loukas monastery; visit <BR>Drive to Olympia using the Antirio-Rio ferry crossing and eventually visit Pyrgos; spend the night and visit the next morning <BR>Drive to Nafplio (plan to have lunch in Langadia) and set it as a base (for sure the nicest town we visited in all of Greece) to visit Micenae, Epidaurus, Tiryns and Argos (eventually also Tolo in summer); you may visit Mistra on a day trip; if you decide to visit also Monemvasia, Mistra can be visited on route; forget about Sparta <BR>Plan to visit Akrocorinth on your way back to Athens. <BR>We haven't visited the west coast ... it's supposed to be beautiful; you may forget about Patra, though. <BR> <BR>If you decide renting a car in Corinth or Nafplio, visiting Delphi and Osios Loukas (which I consider a must) becomes unnatural ... awkward. <BR> <BR>Paulo

Thanks for the tips! It is still a draft plan, but I intend to travel through Peloponnese (at least one week) and then through Central Greece (including Delphi and now, thanks to Paulo, also Moni Osios Loukas). By the way, I e-mailed AutoEurope and they don't have car rentals in Nafplio.

Do you plan to go back to Athens before touring Central Greece or are you going to tie it with the Peloponnese? Are you travelling in the summer? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, I would strongly consider to rent in Athens. You'll need a good (new) car possibly with a/c and your option in Corinth or Nafplio would be limited. Car rentals there are usually run by locals and most available cars are on the small side (minis) with no a/c. You shouldn't worry that much about traffic in Athens. Even if you get completely lost (which I doubt) it'll take you less time to find your way to, say, Corinth than taking public transportation. If you're planning to rent a car for 12 days or so, I doubt that you'll find a car rental company that'll beat Auto Europe. <BR>Paulo <BR>PS. I know a Brazilian that runs a travel agency in Athens. You may contact him to hear what he thinks and/or if he's able to arrange you a car for pickup in Corinth or Nafplio. Email me if you're interested. <BR>

Do you plan to go back to Athens before touring Central Greece or are you going to tie it with the Peloponnese? Are you travelling in the summer? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, I would strongly consider to rent in Athens. You'll need a good (new) car possibly with a/c and your option in Corinth or Nafplio would be limited. Car rentals there are usually run by locals and most available cars are on the small side (minis) with no a/c. You shouldn't worry that much about traffic in Athens. Even if you get completely lost (which I doubt) it'll take you less time to find your way to, say, Corinth than taking public transportation. If you're planning to rent a car for 12 days or so, I doubt that you'll find a car rental company that'll beat Auto Europe. <BR>Paulo <BR>PS. I know a Brazilian that runs a travel agency in Athens. You may contact him to hear what he thinks and/or if he's able to arrange you a car for pickup in Corinth or Nafplio. Email me if you're interested. <BR>

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