Thank you everyone. Parosblue, I will definitely give my hosts a heads-up. Thanks for the voice of experience.

New question--this time on car rental. I have read on this site that autoeurope.com is cheap and reliable. But when I went on their website to reserve a van for our 5-6 passengers, it looks like they want a deposit. I don't think I have ever put a deposit down on a car rental before. Is this new/typical/legit? Thanks!

nhberg,

It is not unusual to pay the entire price of a rental to AutoEurope. Do not to worry about advance payment as we deal with Auto Europe nearly every year when we travel to Greece. Excellent customer service, and one can cancel or change dates up until the actual pick up time. One must wait for a refund etc if one is due until your return to the states.
Last year, Auto Europe did not have an available 9 passenger van available which was necessary for our group of seven people, but we rented without incident with Pop's Car Rental Greece www.popscarrental.com with only a credit card guarantee. Do not forget that you need extra space for luggage.
We did the same islands and Napfion with our family last year, but in reverse and spending more time in each location. After the children and grandchildren left for home my husband and I spent another week or so relaxing in the Pellion region far away from tourists.

Auto Europe, an excellent company, usually bills the entire amount or at least a decent deposit in advance. I have never had a problem getting a full refund if I cancel and I've cancelled several times in various countries.

dave

Great--thank you. You give me confidence to go ahead and pay the deposit. I am only concerned now that they won't have a big enough car for us.

Before you book with Let's Fly Cheaper I would Google - complaints and Let's Fly Cheaper. What I found on their web site did not match with what their agents told me and it felt like a big scam, I ended up booking with Orbitz.

Are you doing a day-trip to Delphi and returning to Athens or spending the night and then driving straight to the Peloponnese?

I really enjoyed visiting Olympia, but it is somewhat out of your way.

You could easily do Epidaurus, Tiryns, Mycenae, and Corinth in one day (in reverse order if coming from Athens). You didn't mention Mycenae, but I really enjoyed it, especially since I have read the Iliad and the Odyssey.

I love Nafplion! There is a fantastic gelato shop there called Antico Gelato di Roma. They have a web site you can check out and are actually run by Italians. It is located just off the main square (Syntagma, like Athens).

We stay a couple nights in Athens and then will travel to Naflion and see the sights you mentioned but maybe not all in one day since we have a couple days there. We will leave Olympia for another trip! Then up to Delphi and back to Athens where we will catch a flight to Santorini. We are now just 9 days from leaving and I can't believe it!!