Corfu, Meteora, Delphi, Athens
 

This is a continuation of a discussion that started on another thread. So as not to further hijack another poster's questions I'm starting a new thread.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-greece.cfm?17

Corfu comments:

PetrosB3 on Aug 14, 13 at 7:09pm

Corfu/Kerkyra: The Jewel of the Ionian Sea and the Gate to the Adriatic. The city of Corfu is the only Greek Island which never fell to the Turks. It was the most important colony of the Venetian Republic, and as a result, Corfu is a harmonic mix of Greek Neoclassical Architecture and Venetian Colonial Architecture. It has 2 Great Forts, wonderful Churches with Venetian High Bell Towers and the biggest park in Greece. The City is simply gorgeous, left in the period of Renaissance. The French and the British left their mark by building landmarks, Palaces, Mansions and gardens throughout the City. The legendary Austrian Empress Sisi had her own Palace, the Achilleion.

The whole City is also protected by UNESCO. The island of Corfu is the greenest island of Greece, with turquoise waters and some gorgeous Colonial styled villages. The Corfiots have Italian temperament, they speak quick, loud and singing and have added Italian words to their dialect. The cuisine is unique, it is influenced by the Venetian Cuisine and from the Cuisines of the Adriatic Sea.


adrienne on Aug 15, 13 at 6:05am

I was glad to see Corfu mentioned here since there are few references to it on this board. I'm thinking (once again) of a holiday to Greece and wanted to visit one island and was thinking of Corfu. Then one of my co-workers tried to put me off the idea of Corfu. Corfu seemed the most logical if choosing one island for two days and it has captured my interest for some time.

clausar on Aug 15, 13 at 6:31am

adrienne

Corfu is a very beautiful island, full of history and with a unique city, that is a Unesco World Heritage city.

Unlike the Cyclades which most people have in mind, when they think of Greek islands, Corfu is a very green island with a strong Venetian influence. ( even in the language of the locals)

Even though it seems to be lesser known to Americans, Corfu is one of the first islands that started receiving foreign visitors, and it is a popular destination in the UK and Italy.

Corfu is also famous for it's Easter celebrations...
In any case should you decide to visit it, stay away from Cavos, at the far South of the island, which is a party place for young Brits :)

Heimdall on Aug 15, 13 at 7:16am

Hi Adrienne,

Corfu is a very popular destination for Europeans, who can get direct flights to the island from airports in their home country. Most stay on that one island for their entire holiday. Go to the rival travel website Trip Advisor, and you will see an entire forum devoted to just Corfu, and even sub-forums for different parts of that island.

Fodor's posters seem to be mainly from North America and Australia, and all but a few arrive in Greece at Athens Airport. From Athens you can fly to any Greek island with an airport in less than an hour. Looking through the various Fodor's posts, most travellers who come to Greece from outside Europe want to visit more than one island, and the Cyclades and Dodecanese have the best inter-island ferry services. Go to the Ionians, Sporades, or NE Aegean and you will find island-hopping more difficult. That, I feel, is why most Fodor's posters end up in the Cyclades.

adrienne on Aug 15, 13 at 7:21am

With what I'm planning I don't have time for the Cyclades as I'd want to see more than one island and it takes lots of time to see all the islands I want to visit. For this trip I was thinking of flying to Athens, flight to Corfu, return to Athens for 4 days and 3 days for Delphi and Meteora. I'll post a separate thread with more firm plans. It all depends on the budget which is minimal right now. I will check TA for other info.

Heimdall on Aug 15, 13 at 7:42am

Adrienne, that sounds like an interesting holiday, and Corfu would fit well with your plan to visit Meteora. Rather than returning to Athens after Corfu, why not take the ferry to the mainland (Igoumentisa), then make your way by road to Meteora. That would be a much shorter road trip than going to Meteora from Athens. Then you can make your way down to Delphi and back to Athens.

Comments, clausar?

clausar on Aug 15, 13 at 8:25am

Heimdall that is an excellent idea.

The whole region between Igoumenitsa and Meteora is one of the nicest of Greece with high mountains and beautiful mountain villages . Highlights on the way to Meteora are the oracle of Dodoni, the city of Ioannina, located on the Pamvotis lake and the village of Metsovo.

There is a KTEL bus between Corfu and Trikala, even though it runs twice per week, from what i saw on their website.
From Trikala you can reach Athens again with a KTEL bus.
KTEL is a private coach company with an extended network, covering even the most remote village of Greece

If you would rent a car the itinerary could look like this :

Athens - Meteora - Ioannina - Corfu - Delphi - Athens

However i am not sure 6 days would be enough, since that would require a lot of driving...

clausar on Aug 15, 13 at 8:28am

Forgot to add, that if you take a bus, you will have to go to the city of Trikala first and change to a local bus to Kalambaka, where Meteora is located.

Interesting responses. I had thought of taking a 3 day escorted tour from Athens to Delphi and Meteora. I had not considered doing this part on my own. This might be a real adventure for me!

Would an escorted tour be beneficial for Meteora? I'm sure I can manage Delphi on my own. If I take local buses to Meteora can I get to the caves? I have not researched this area yet. I mostly have information on Athens and Corfu. Since I had thought I would take a tour to Delphi & Meteora I hadn't put much effort into reading about it or the logistics of getting there.

I do love off the beaten path stuff and I'm semi adventurous.

Hi adrienne,

A three day escorted tour from Athens would be the easy alternative, but then you have the limitations of sticking to the tour timetable rather than doing things at your own pace. If you are on a tight schedule that may be the best way of doing it.

I threw out the idea of going straight to Meteora from Corfu because both are in the same general area of Greece, and the ferry ride from Corfu to Igoumenitsa is very short. This will give you a general idea of the roads between Igoumenitsa and Meteora: http://distancecalculator.himmera.co...tion-9412.html

I will leave the details to others who are more familiar with that part of Greece than me.

I see what you mean - I had a lot of backtracking with the way I was planning. Now it depends on whether or not I want to hire a car and do the driving. It might be fun.

My daughter and her boyfriend drove through that area last summer as part of a much longer overland trip (London to Cape Town). They arrived in Kalambaka after dark, and when they woke up next morning couldn't believe how beautiful the area is. :-)

We went to Kalambaka on our own from Athens. Then hired a taxi to take us around to the monasteries in Meteora. Driver waited in the taxi while we toured each monastery.

A car gives maximum flexibility to explore around and usually is less time consuming, but with careful planning, doing this on public transport is possible too.

Bus Athens- Delphi
http://www.ktel-fokidas.gr/?module=d..._id=29&lang=en

Bus Delphi-Lamia then onwards to Meteora
http://www.ktel-fokidas.gr/?module=d..._id=31&lang=en

Bus Kalambaka/Meteora-Trikala, then Trikala- Corfu
http://ktel-trikala.gr/?module=defau..._id=28&lang=en
http://ktel-trikala.gr/?module=defau..._id=26&lang=en

It is easy to do Meteora on your own. I just rented a taxi - I was there at the very beginning of the season so I was offered a good price and places weren't crowded. The KTEL buses are great. Note that if you are on Corfu you could make a day trip to Albania for the Roman ruins at Butrint.

For my trip to Greece see http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html

Getting at Meteora on your own its pretty easy. I would rather go on my own and follow my program rather than get packed inside a coach where you dont get to see even half of Meteora. Have a look at a nice guide on how to reach Meteora from Athens.
http://www.visitmeteora.travel/athens-to-meteora

All interesting and great advice. I would be going from Corfu to Meteora, then Delphi, and lastly Athens.

Are you planning of doing this itinerary with the public bus or would you rather rent a car?

I think the bus would be difficult so it would be a car from the mainland near Corfu and drop off either in Delphi or Athens. The car would add flexibility to wander into smaller towns and get off the main roads.

Is it preferable to drive or taken public transport while traveling in the Pelleponese.

Depends on your definition of "main" in the north. I found the buses very easy, but now I can't find an online timetable. However, you should have no difficulty going Igounmenitsa to Ioannina to Kalambaka to Athens. Not sure about Kalambaka to Delphi.

adrienne
A car is the best way to see more of Greece, as you can stop where you want.
Renting a car in Corfu with drop off in Athens, can be quite expensive, due to one way fee. ( the car would have to be returned to Corfu). Do compare prices between companies.

You can also rent a car in Athens and drive as oer following itinerary :
Athens - Meteora - Corfu - Delphi - Athens.
( this way you would bypass any additional charges )

I did a google map and that route is 783 miles. I'm not sure I want to drive that much. I also checked Autoeurope for a quote, choosing a week in September (next May is too far out), picking up on Corfu and dropping at the Athens airport is $187. It's the same price to pick up and drop off in Athens. This is for a one week rental. I'll call Autoeurope to confirm there are no additional charges. I still have lots of time to organize this.

Do I need theft insurance in Greece?

Any other thoughts are greatly appreciated.

You don't want to rent the car on Corfu, unless you're planning to drive there, you'll have to pay to take it on the ferry. Wait until you get to the mainland - Igoumenitsa. BTW, there should still be a train from Kalanbaka to Athens, although it's shorter going direct to Delphi.

Igoumenitsa- Ioannina (Every weekday, no service on weekends/bank holidays)
http://www.ktel-thesprotias.gr/?modu..._id=16&lang=el

Ioannina-Trikala
http://www.ktel-thesprotias.gr/?modu..._id=16&lang=el

Trikala-Kalambaka
http://ktel-trikala.gr/?module=defau..._id=28&lang=en

Trikala-Athens
http://ktel-trikala.gr/?module=defau..._id=16&lang=en

I believe above bus stops on Lamia or Larrisa and you can swap towards Delphi

Alternative Kalambaka- Delphi

Check trains to Levadia

http://tickets.trainose.gr/dromologia/

Around 70 euro taxi ride away or connect to city center and get a bus to Delphi. Bus departing Athens to Delphi pass through Levadia ~2 hours after departure.

http://www.ktel-fokidas.gr/?module=d..._id=29&lang=en