Hope you can give us some feedback. We stopped in Athens during a cruise, loved the Acropolis & Hephaestus (a wonderful temple). We'll be on another cruise ship with a stop from 8 am to 11 pm (one day) and don't know if we should do a tour to Delphi or try taking a hydrofoil to Hydra on our own. We don't love organized tours but we do like ruins, though Delphi didn't look like it's got that much left. Feedback anyone who has done either/both? (Guess we could fly to one of better known islands for the day,but that seems a bit extreme..then again, when will we go back?) Our visit will be early May, by the way. Thanks for help--Ellen

I think your decision would rest on how many Greek islands you have seen or will see on the trip. <BR>For me n o question - the chice would be Delphi. There may not be "much left", but its place in Greek mythology and history is central. It his here that Sophocles' Oedipus heard the oracle that set him on his tragic course. Reading up on how the oracle worked adds to the intensity of the experience. I remember sitting in the amphitheatre [up the hill a bit] with Mount Parnassus behind and the Gulf of Corinth below. As I looked down on the stage area, I could hear Jocasta pleading with Oedipus [her husband and son]to not ask any more questions... It doesn't get more Greek than this.

My vote goes for Delphi as well. There may not seem much there's the remains of many buildings spread out right up the hillside with the stadium at the very top. There is also a section of the site downhill on the opposite side of the road to the main entrance. A good guide can add life to the site and the vistas are superb. <BR> <BR>I've been to Hydra twice, not on the hydrofoil but on one of the three-island day trips (with Poros and a third island in the group who's name completely eludes me at the moment). I'm not sure what's inland on Hydra, I've never got further than the quayside shops and cafes.

One more vote for Delphi BUT ... unless you have solid references for a very good bus tour company (I have none to recommend and don't even know if one indeed exists) you may be in for a big disapointment (my mother went twice ... and she was able to enjoy it only the 2nd time around, when she spent the night in Delphi and the tour being organized in Italy with a professor as a guide and not in Greece). Otherwise, visiting the Archaeological Museum (IMO, Athens most important site) and spending the rest of the day strolling and taking it easy in Monasteriki and Plaka may be much more rewarding. I would rent a car and go to Delphi on my own (with the Blue Guide Greece as companion). This would also enable me to visit Osios Loukas and Arakhova shortly ... But I like to drive and usually take the most out of it! <BR> <BR>When we were there last, we didn't find ONE bus tour visitor on a day trip that wasn't complaining ... after you've deducted the 7+ hour bus round trip + increased lunch time (tour lunches always take longer than needed) + the time spent in some obscure shop, there'll be not much left for the real thing ... <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

Go to Delphi!!! My parents went on their first trip to Greece and insisted I go on mine...it's BEAUTIFUL and one of the most special places I've ever been to - - and I'm not a big ruins fanatic. Maybe it's just the layout of this hills, I don't know. I just found it remarkable, like a walk back in time, and totally worth the trip. I took a tour bus from Athens (don't remember which company).

PS I loved it even after spending 8 months in Italy!