I would like to get some input on our Greece trip for May 2012. Right now we have our flight into Greece, 12 days/nights until we fly from Corfu to London (with a few days in London before returning to the US). We stayed on Crete, Santorini and Paros with several days in Athens on our last trip to Greece so are looking to explore another part of Greece this time.

We will be arriving in Athens on a Saturday morning (9:00). Our thoughts are to take public transportation (or a taxi if we feel like it) to Piraeus where we would take a ferry to Hydra. I am using September 2011's ferry schedule (I realize this year's could be different) and think we could catch a 12:00 or 13:30 ferry to Hydra. Do you think there would be a problem buying tickets at the port given that we don't know for sure what the timing will be?

We would like to stay 3 nights in Hydra -it seems some people think that is too much time but we would be arriving in the afternoon with a bit of jet lag. We would be exploring Hydra town, walk to Kamina, day trip to Poros etc. After Hydra, we would head to Nafplio. The ferry schedule showed a 9:40 ferry to Port Heli (arriving at 10:25) and a 12:05 ferry to Hermioni. I've found 2 rental car agencies that are in both locations that have pickup available there with a drop off at the Athens airport. Any thoughts on which port is better to arrive in?

We are planning on 3 nights in Nafplio (day trips to Mycenae and Epidavros) then 1 night in Monemvasia and 2 nights in Kardamyli. We would then return to Athens to drop off the car at the airport and then catch the 18:00 flight to Corfu (maybe stop at Mystras on the way although not sure if we would have enough time- if not then stop at Corinth?). I think flying is the best option to get to Corfu as the ferry route seems to be an overnight from Patra or a full day of island to island stops and then bus transportation to Corfu Town. Correct?

I know there are sites that we are missing out on but hopefully we will be back another time. Thanks in advance for any input.

Bus or flight from Athens is the more straight forward route to Corfu.

Your plan seems sound. Two things to watch for when you're in the Nafplion area... on the way to Mycenae you'll go right past Tiryns so give yourself time to visit. It's not huge and doesn't take too long. It's also not busy... in May 2008 we had to wake up the man in the ticket booth!

On your way to or back from Epidaurus watch for the Mycenaean bridge beside the highway and stop for a look. A 3,500 hundred year old bridge and it's right there!

If you stop over to the Greece forum at Trip Advisor look up Destination Expert Xaroula and send her a PM... she can give you an interesting back road to Mycenae with views few will ever see.

I always recommend stopping at Isthmia at end end of the Corinth canal... it's just 5 minutes from the regular road bridge... they have a unique sinking bridge. Far from ancient... but if a ship comes by it's cool to see!

Same as Isthmia is Poseidonia, which is the other end of the Corinth Canal..
You can combine Poseidonia with a stop in the beautiful town of Loutraki. Both Poseidonia and Isthmia have the same sinking bridge, something spectacular especially when a ship should enter the Canal....
To get to Poseidonia, just drive into Corinth and take the road to Loutraki. Loutraki has a very beautiful very long sea promenade, and it's famous for it's mineral water and spa.

Having a look at your itinerary i'd say that it looks pretty much ok, i am glad that you have included Monemvasia and the Messenian Mani ( Kardamyli etc).
parking in Monemvasia is difficult, especially during week ends , and in case you will book accommodation inside the castle.... You may have to park far away from the entrance of the castle and then carry your luggage for a long distance till you find your hotel.....

Regarding the pick up of your car, it doesn't really matter if it is Porto Heli or Ermioni, distance from both to Nafplio is 75 -85 km.. so there is no difference.

From Kardamyli normally you should drive through Kalamata back to Athens and not via Sparta ( where Mystras is located).
Otherwise you would be backtracking in a way....
Mystras is a wonderful site, but if you do decide to drive back via Kalamata, have a break to see the city, it is one of the oldest cities of the Peloponnese, with a nice centre.

Spending more time in Hydra is OK, buy the tickets upon your arrival at the airport from Amphitrion Holidays ( they are in the arrivals hall).
If you can choose, since you spoke of a day trip to Poros, i personally like Spetses better...so should there be on offer a boat trip to Spetses just go there... it is avery nice islands without cars, just like Hydra.

Flying back to Corfu is of course the best way if you don't want to sit 8-9 hours in a bus....
I hope that you will have some time to spend there, it is a unique island with a very beautiful old city.

We had a trip a few years ago where we visited Crete then Hydra. It was early October so low season and Hydra was quiet, all we did was explore the main town and relax which suited us fine. We had 4 nights I think and didn't get bored but we usually do very little on the Greek islands, we can sit for hours at a cafe people-watching and be quite content

The boat we caught (Flying Dolphin I think) wasn't full so I guess in May it would be similar, as May/Oct are both off-season.

If you are looking for somewhere to stay on Hydra, we liked this place, it's about 5-10 min walk from the port, very clean and well-run. The only thing we would have preferred is a private balcony, mainly as our neighbours were smokers.
http://www.ippokampos.com/

Kay

Wow-great input! mariha2912 and clausar - I booked a flight from Athens to Corfu, thanks for confirming that is the best way to go. We have 3 days on Corfu (staying in Corfu Town) and I am now wondering if we should rent a car while there.

ParisAmsterdam -Tiryns does sound nice so we have added that to our plan. Thanks for the tip on the Mycenaean bridge. I will also get in touch with the DE at Trip Advisor - thanks for that suggestion as well as stopping at Isthmia.

clausar - Do you think we would have enough time to cover Kalamata, Isthmia, Poseidonia and Loutraki on the day we go to the airport? I see that it is about 4 1/2 hours from Kalamata to the airport and our flight leaves at 18:00. Maybe we should day trip into Kalamata or Mystras from Kardamyli? It's too late for me to add another day in Kardamyli so we may have to eliminate a stop unfortunately.

We are going to stay inside of Monemvasia - thank you for the tip on the parking. We travel fairly light regarding luggage so we should be okay.

Good to hear about the ports Ermioni vs Port Heli - if the ferry schedule holds true from last year, we'll take the earlier ferry to Port Heli. If it stays as it is now, we will go to Ermioni. We found Heli Cars and Pop's Rental Cars that allow pick up there and drop off at the airport.

Hydra ferry tickets - that is good news to buy them at the airport. I'm glad to hear from that 2 1/2 days/3 nights is good. I am also glad you brought up your preference of Spetses over Poros. Thank you so much for your contribution to our trip!

KayF - I appreciate the info on Hydra. We entertain ourselves pretty well too by people watching. I looked up the hotel you mentioned and it does look nice.

There is not a direct connection on the Metro from the airport to Piraeus, correct? I thought I had read that there was construction for that leg of the subway but I have not been able to confirm that. But there is an express bus so would that be better? We are prepared to take a taxi if need be.

Thank you all again - this has been so helpful!

From the Athens Airport the best way to get to Piraeus is the bus, calculate 1.15 or 1.30 min of travel time.
You are right there is no direct connection from the Airport to Piraeus with the metro, you would have to change at Monastiraki station.

Should you take a taxi ask for a receipt, and before entering write down the plate number just in case.( some taxi drivers tend to overcharge...)

On your departure day from Kardamyli i think you will have time to see a bit of Kalamata and drive via Corinth-Poseidonia to Loutraki for a quick coffee.
If you start around 9 am, you will have plenty of time.

Driving back to Sparta to see Mystras would require too much time, especially in Mystras ( Sparta is just a small city.. not what one would imagine based on it's glorious past...)

The road from Kardamyli to Sparta/Gytheion is narrow, and requires your full attention when driving.
Don't forget to stop in Gytheion, a nice small town on the sea...

I would also recommend on your way from Monemvasia to Kardamyli to stop at the Cave of Diros, it's a unique cave that can be seen partially with a boat, another part you will have to walk. Have done exactly the same trip from Monemvasia to Kardamyli, and Diros was the highlight of the day !!

Corfu city is big enough to keep you occupied a whole day, as there's a lot to see. However driving around in the country side would be advisable, especially in May when the island is covered with flowers. On the island you will find offers for day trips to Albania ( Sarande)... do not try it... no matter how tempting it sounds.... Been there done that.... it's an ugly city, that has nothing to offer.....

I am sure this will be a wonderful trip....
you have included many of my favorite places

I second the advice to stop at Tiryns on the way to Mycenae. Tiryns is a really interesting sight and it should not be crowded at all. Just 1km from Tiryns is a well preserved tholos tomb in an orange grove. It is well signposted from Tiryns and you will almost certainly have it to yourself (unlike the tholos tombs at Mycenae).

Depending on which route you take to Mycenae, you could opt to drive right by the Argos Heraion. It is definitely worthy of a short stop. The views over the plain are amazing and the ruins are also quite impressive.

Re: the drive to Epidavros from Nafplio, yes, you will drive right by a Mycenaen bridge. But you will also drive past a sign which indicates a Mycenaen bridge in a farm field. If you walk about 10 minutes, you will find it and you will almost certainly have it all to yourself. It is spanning a small ravine and you can walk down to it quite easily.

Tolo is a popular beach rather close to Nafplio (though we like Karanthonas better). If you go to Tolo, drive a bit past it to Ancient Asine. There is a Mycenaen wall with the classic Cyclopean build that marches right down into the sea.

As I'm sure you can tell by now, the Argolis prefecture in the Peloponnese is literally FULL of interesting sights .

P.S.

If you go to Loutraki, the ruins of Perachora are pretty close. It is a beautiful small sight and is open until sunset-ish (free admission the last time we were there).

Here is a link to Perachora: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraion_of_Perachora

Map of the ruins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:He...achora_map.svg

I was thinking to propose this too, but i don't think they will have the time to see Heraion, plus the lighthouse and the Lake of Vouliagmeni, this would add 2 hours to their trip and they might not be on time at the airport...

TexasAggie once again you surprised me..
What you have seen not only the average tourist but also 99% of the Greeks haven't visited yet.....

Kalispera clausar!

Oh, I had not looked closely and seen that the poster needs to be at the airport on the day that they might visit Loutraki. In that case, yes definitely, Perachora should be saved for another trip! It isn't that far in distance, but the road is rather slow with traffic and lots of curves. It is a beautiful drive however . And we love the view of the sight from that lighthouse! Have you ever seen the nearby museum in Chora? We have tried to visit it two times but found it closed on both occasions.

As far as our sightseeing, we *really* like exploring . In June 2009, we visited the tiny sight of Titani (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titani) and the villagers told us that we were the first people to visit in over a year! They showed us all around the sight and village and then invited us in for conversation and spoon sweets. Truly, we have never met more hospitable people anywhere than in Greece.

Another fascinating small sight that you might enjoy (in Laconia) is Pellana. We visited it in 2009 as a daytrip from Mystras. The tholos tombs are unusual in that they are cut straight from the stone. We have not seen anything like them (yet) anywhere else. There isn't a lot of information about them online but here is a link with a bit: http://pellana.com/wordpress/wordpre...demona-greece/

With all these great suggestions I wish Google Streetview was available for Greece!

They have started in Athens some time ago, but there were many protests that this was against peoples privacy etc. so they had to stop.
Last May the Google car was seen again in the centre of Athens, so there is good hope that they resolved any problems, and are working on the Streetview map of Athens.

Thanks for the update Clausar. Please let us know if things move ahead...

Thanks again - this additional information is great! Clausar, yes we have Gythio on our list of stops while driving around the Mani. Regarding the Cave of Diros (and Vlychada?), I'm a little claustrophobic - so maybe I wait on land and let my husband do the caves? I hate for him to miss out on that due to my goofy fear.

That is good news on our departure from Kardamyli - I was not sure on the drive of what we could do and it sounds like a lot can be squeezed in. A big thanks on the warning about the day trip from Corfu Town to Albania - the idea of being so close was tempting us but we will resist.

TexasAggie - I looked at your links on Perachora and am asking a question on timing on this in a paragraph or two below. Great tip about the Mycenaen bridge in a farm field. Our guidebook(s) do not reference Pellana so I have to agree with clausar on your knowledge.

Does anyone have a suggestion of a stop between Nafplio and Monemvasia? I show that it is about a 3 hour drive so it's not necessary for us to stop in between - better to spend more time in Monemvasia than to stop?

I am still trying to work out time in Mystras - let me know if I should let it go due to time constraints. We would have an arrival day in Kardamyli (probably later day as we would be coming from Monemvasia and doing stops along the way). Then we have a full day in Kardamyli - would it be a good idea to go to Kalamata and Mystras that day and fit in what we can? And then we could add Perachora on the day we head to the airport?

A big thank you once more - every bit of advice is greatly appreciated.

Danis,

Regarding the Caves of Diros i'd say give it a try, the cave is huge, i can't recall any spot where i felt any fear... ( and i am a little clausrtophobic too...).
But have a look first at Diros on you tube, so that you will see how it looks like
There is a cafe outside the cave, and if i remember well the whole tour lasts 1 hour....

Mystras would be on your way from Nafplio to Monemvasia, so try to squeeze it in on that day.
As for a stop, you can stop in Sparta, Mystras is a few km outside of Sparta.

Perachora is not worth visitng.... it is on the mountain Gerania, 20 km away from Loutraki, a village that was totally destroyed by the big earthquake of Corinthia in 1981, and was rebuild. TaxasAggie mentioned a musuem in Perachora, that i haven't heard of... and i have a house in Loutraki...

I am afraid that you won't have time for more than a stop in Loutraki, since driving up to Perachora, Heraion, the Lighthouse, the Lake of Vouliagmeni and finally the Monastery of Ossios Potapios, would require more than 2 hours.
Ossios Potapios is a monastery above Loutraki with a magnificent view over the peloponnese, you can see clearly the canal of Corinth from there.
More info on Loutraki :
http://www.loutraki.gr/portal/page/portal/lp

You should just relax in kardamyli and enjoy the village, just spend the whole day there, the village is very beautiful !!
Perhaps you can also visit the nearby Stoupa, but do not drive to Kalamata, as you will have to drive through it on your departure day anyway.

Wonderful input again. I now have a more detailed map of Greece so I have a better idea of what will work on drive/drive times. Loutraki looks wonderful - we will play things by ear that day and see what we can while in the area - and save the rest for another visit.

Thank you all again - I know this will be a wonderful trip and I appreciate the help in making it better!