Hi, neckervd,
Thank you for your feedback! That all looks lovely, and I'm sure we will stop in some or many of those places. My focus now is developing an itinerary that covers a wide range of areas but is not too fast paced. So right now, I'm trying to determine where we will stop and for how long. What your suggesting seems to be almost a reverse of my initial Peloponnese itinerary:

Alternative itinerary - counterclockwise around Peloponnese
9/23- 9/26 - Thessaloniki - 3
9/26 - 9/28 -Meteora -2
9/28 - 9/30 - Delphi/Galixidi/Arachova - 2
9/30 - 10/1 - Olympia - 1
10/1- 10/4 - Pylos-3
10/4- 10/7- Kardamyli - 3
10/7- 10/9- Monemvasia - 2
10/9 - 10/13 - Nafplion - 4

Is there an advantage to doing it this way? If there is, let me know what you think. Otherwise, my inclination is to the initial itinerary.
Initial itinerary outlined in original post, with dates included:

9/23 -Arrive Thessaloniki from Paris at midnight.
9/23- 9/26 - Thessaloniki - 3
9/26 - 9/28 -Meteora -2
9/28 - 9/30 - Delphi/Galixidi/Arachova - 2
9/30 - 10/4 - Nafplion - 4
10/4 - 10/6 - Monemvasia - 2
10/6 - 10/9 - Kardamyli - 3
10/9 - 10/12 - Pylos-3
10/12 - 10/13 - Corinth (or some alternative location closer to the airport) - 1
10/13 - Afternoon flight to Marseille

No offense taken.
But your experience sounds VERY different from mine. There was no music. No crowds. It was VERY quiet and peaceful at lunch. The quietness with the view was one of my favorite things about it. Truly, when I see photos from that lunch "peaceful" is the memory it brings. Our food was wonderful. I don't remember the bill, so the price/ expense didn't make an impression...and we ate pizza on the other days a LOT. Our "nice" meal was on Santorini at a restaurant with a sunset view recommended by our hotels. Trying to make the point that we didn't eat at expensive places much on the trip and our lunch wasn't expensive. It's almost as if we are describing two very different places. In any case, we loved our lunch there. I've posted on FB that the venue is one of my very favorite locations ever. If the view at the other place is better, it must be divine!

Heimdall,
Ancient Messene is on my must-see list! I'd skip Olympia over missing Messene! From what I've seen and read so far, it looks like a fantastic site. It's a definite!
Thank you!

I'm adding some photos. We were there for a late lunch, so maybe the time of day makes a big difference. I don't know but I do know it was one of our favorite places on our trip. I would not enjoy it if it were crowded with loud music, but that lunch was the polar opposite of loud and crowded.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...576e4d3c6f.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...60bd0ec713.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ad306a8282.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cb6b64c30f.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...19f48bbce8.jpg

Gorgeous views, starrs!

Thank you.

It was really one of the most incredibly beautiful - and peaceful - places I've ever been. We were there in early afternoon for a late lunch. I don't remember any noise, other than the low murmur of other diners and maybe birdsong. It was truly one of the loveliest venues for any meal. I was a bit irritated by new arrivals seated at the corner table on the terrace for blocking that view, but by that time our food had arrived. I have limited photos of the food because the manager had taken my smartphone to the desk to be charged while we dined. I hope to return fairly soon.

Here are photos of the beginning and the end - the water bottle and the complimentary dessert .https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ea9c2f83a5.jpg
The meal in between was very good -
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...40396cf465.jpg

"Alternative itinerary - counterclockwise around Peloponnese
9/23- 9/26 - Thessaloniki - 3
9/26 - 9/28 -Meteora -2
9/28 - 9/30 - Delphi/Galixidi/Arachova - 2
9/30 - 10/1 - Olympia - 1
10/1- 10/4 - Pylos-3
10/4- 10/7- Kardamyli - 3
10/7- 10/9- Monemvasia - 2
10/9 - 10/13 - Nafplion - 4

Is there an advantage to doing it this way? "

If you don't like to visit Olympia and if you prefer to backtrack all the way from Pilos up to Elefsina (suburb of Athens) along the highway you came down to South a few days before, there is no reason to change your initial plans.

I haven’t gone into the details of specific roads but I’m not sure what you’re suggesting is the problem. The last night might be in the general region of Corinth and not necessarily in Corinth proper, as I understand that this is not a particularly pleasant place to be. I was given the name of a hotel on the coast (Hotel Cokkadis) and I thought we might explore ancient Corinth and/or Acrocorinth before we got to the hotel, which overlooks the water.

My concern about the counterclockwise road trip is that we will be more fatigued toward the end, as we get to Nafplion, where we will tour some of the busier sites. I’m also uncomfortable with driving more than an hour away from the airport on the day of the flight. But I do see that it would work well in many respects and many folks say that driving to the airport from Nafplion is not a problem. So I’m seriously considering it.

I feel the same way about driving "too much" after a flight. What if there are flight delays?

I had a private driver meet me at the airport (7am arrival) and we went to Corinth and then back to my hotel in Athens in time for a 3pm check in. I LOVED seeing the countryside between Athens and Corinth. I would be happy spending my first night in or near Corinth. I really enjoyed ancient Corinth.

Thanks, for sharing your experience, starrs. It sounds like a nice drive before getting to the airport!

I wasn’t very clear about what I was referring to regarding the drive from Corinth. Several posters have suggested I do a counterclockwise road trip around the Peloponnese, which would have us in Nafplion the morning of the day we fly out of Greece. It would mean that we drive a little less than 2 hours to get to the airport thst day. Many people are fine with this drive, but I tend toward being a bit anxious and generally prefer not to drive more than an hour to the airport. But I’m considering this direction.

If we drive in the clockwise direction, I’m leaning toward a last stop just a little past Corinth overlooking the water. It would be less than an hour away from the airport.

I’m not sure which direction makes more sense right now.

Oh. Okay. I can't help with which direction, but I think you have to make the choice (of how many hours to drive before a flight out) that works for you. What works for other people really doesn't matter. Good luck with your decision!

Thanks, starrs!

Thanks for your gracious response, starrs!

Not to belabor the point, but yes, I thought the view better at Taverna Vakhos, and BTW, I ate at the railing-side table to the left of starrs's 2nd picture. Nice table! And to be clear, I didn't mean that my meal was expensive. I believe I said it was overpriced -- meaning MORE expensive than similar menus elsewhere, and I would have said that even if the food was of decent quality. For my tastes, what I ate (or more precisely, what I left on my plate) was not worth prices geared toward tourists rather than locals.

BUT I'm glad starrs enjoyed her meal there! I also noted that things change and people's experiences differ.

I did exactly that -- I skipped Olympia to see Messene. My TR includes mention of the wonderful B&B where I stayed when there, the Messana B&B
Messana-hotel - Home