Greece with 10yr old who wants to re-live Greek mythology
 

Hello Fodorites,

My 10yr old is enamored by Percy Jackson and Greek Mythology and so we want to ring in her 10th birthday in Greece. Before I book my flights I wanted to get a sense of which cities/ islands we should plan to see, sites that are not be missed & how many days would we need. We plan to do this trip end March/early April. Also advice/ recommendations for travel between cities/ islands would be greatly appreciated. We are family of 4 ( DH, 10 yr old and 5Yr old).

Thanks in advance

Rent a car in Athens and drive to Nafplion. From there you cam visit Tiryns (Hercules was born here), the amazing theatre at Epidaurus
and Mycenae... home of Agamemnon. One of the biggest thrills I've ever had travelling was walking through the Lion Gate... the same portal he would have used on his way to the Trojan war.

Nemea is also close (instead of the long drive to Olympia) as is Korinth. A drive to Delphi via Elefsina and Thebes (Thiva) is also easy... you pass the crossroads where Oedipus killed his father...

If you drive back to Athens a detour via Thermopylae (not that much to see but glad I have been) and Marathon might be in order.

Hope your 10 year old has fun!

Good information from ParisAmsterdam. A good circular route. Some friends of ours had a 10 year old who wanted to visit Ancient Greece in March and they had a great trip.
I might add that while Nafplion is a great place to do day trips it also has two Venetian era fortresses and a wonderful marble paved central square in the old town area where families come out to spend the evening(in summer anyway). Your kids may enjoy that experience as well.
Also at Corinth you can visit Ancient Corinth the Roman town and Ancient Nemia which had sister games to Olympia and still has a partially restored temple and a stadium.
Here are images of Nafplio and the surrounding area as well as images of Delphi (ignore Olympia and Meteora.
Nafplio and Peloponnese http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094108982/
Olympia Delfi Meteora https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645469717811/
have a great time

One other destination to keep in mind is Sicily--lots of Greek myths (Persephone, Arethusa) and temples, etc. there. I felt much closer to the myths there than in Greece, oddly enough.

Pelion is the land of the centaurs and the playground of the Olympian gods. Cyprus is the island of Aphrodite and you can visit her birthplace at Petra dou Romiou and her baths in near the Akamas.

Apollo and his twin sister Artemis were born on Delos, near Mykonos where you can board a boat for a day trip to Delos.
The Minotaur is from Crete.

Mount Olympus which was supposedly the home of the gods is a real place: http://www.olympusfd.gr/us/Default.asp

A couple of summers ago, extended family from US visited Greece and roamed around most of the usual archeological sites. Although the 8 year old son was fan of the movie and started the trip with enthousiasm, he seemed seriously disappointed and fed up when they reached Delphi, after 2 weeks of visiting ruin after ruin. He was very disapointed he could not find any figure of Perseas in any souvenir shop either. I feel no one had really prepared him for this trip.
Things improved somehow only when I lend his grandmother (of Greek origin who knows decent Greek, but rest of the family saddly not) some Greek children mythology books of mine and she would translate then to him.
He finally showd some interest on visiting Delphi oracle when I told him some myths/stories about its history, especially about Apollon killing Python , the cleverly put prophecies of Pythia and the death of Aesops. I tried to relate myths to the site, for example the Plistos river down the valley is rumored to be the spine of dragon Python, Faedriades rocks are where Aesops was kicked from etc.
They stayed several days in the area and he enjoyed taking it easy, visiting the near by Itea town for a swim, joining the local kids in the square kicking heir football around, been pampered by relatives and staing in taverns till late wiout having to wake up early and move every day. lol
I have see many children visiting who are in search of traces of the movies and sometimes they find them, sometimes they are not.

I am not saying here to burst your son's enthousiasm, I am saying to steer it to the right direction. Other than the movies, is he really familiar with Greek Mythology? Try to prepare him by watching some documents on specific places/sites and by reading him myths and history related to specific sites you decide to visit. The same applies to the younger son. Try to drow their attention on other activities and modern Greece too. I feel no matter how impressive, there are so much ruins, museums and sightseen a child can take. Check if some museums offer specific activities for kids and enjoy them as a family. Athens Acropolis museum offers some such projects and there might be others.
I can unearth you history and mythology even on places which are known for other reasons. Pelion with its nice sea side and mountain villages is the land of centaurs as said before. Meteora with its Byzantine monasteries was a battle field between Olympian gods and Giants. Thessaloniki, the second larger city in the country, with mostly Roman and Byzantine sites and a great ambiance was founded by people who had Hercules as an anchestor and has the same name as the mythical sister of Great Alexander. And so on... All of Greece and actually a large part of surrounding area is related to myths, but what is there to see and do and if it's attractive for a child is a different matter.

Please do note that March/early April is off season on most islands. You may really enjoy them without the crowds and heat, but there will be no beach activities and smaller islands with small pernament population will feel nearly deserted. Islands with larger population are a better bet, say Crete or Rhodes. A flight might be more advisable for a family than a loooong ferry ride.

Personaly I suggest you to have a look on a guidebook or two, form some ideas, then come back with more specific questions. I am sure this will be a great trip : )

Mariha2912 beat me to it.

I think you can have a fantastic trip with your 10 year old, with many atmospheric high points, but the way in which the Greek myths were tied to the landscape of Greece requires some large leaps of imagination to reconnect with today. You might be able to find a tour guide in some places who really specializes in this and it could be worthwhile to get in touch and see if their tours are geared toward kids.

Do you live near a museum with a solid collection of Greek artifacts (vases, etc)? That might be one way of getting a feel for what your daughter relates to.

Also, you know your daughter best, but I travel sometimes with a 9 year old and it has been pretty hard to keep up with his ever-changing enthusiasms. Many kids do have sustained interests over years (I certainly had a few growing up) but it can be something to keep in mind about such an expensive present. That said, even if your daughter becomes enthralled by Darwin after you've already bought tickets, you can still have a truly wonderful time in Greece and learn a lot about many important things.

Wise words, wise words from both above. Good planning can avoid disappointment ... and even bring unexpected thrills.

First, I'd suggest you celebrate that March birthday with a terrific movie, and birthday cake shaped like the Parthenon, then postpone the trip until early June ... an ideal time to visit Greece and the Greek islands! Sunny days, still lots of greenery from spring rain, everything's open, nothing's crowded, sea warm enough to swim ... and plenty of ruins & landscape to explore. The right choices can bring discovery excitement. Examples:

NAFPLIO & Argolid area -- Only 2+ hours away from Athens on modern highway... and it has more impressive ruins/historic sites per square mile than any other place except maybe Athens. If you stay in Nafplio, there are THREE "castles/forts" ... one in the bay, one on a GIbraltar-size rock behind town (999 steps up!) and one atop the town... the last one was mainly fortified in Medieval era, but at the high point of the peninsula, there are remnants of walls dating to 300 BC! And in the museum, the earliest suit of armor in the world (!). Nearby the fortresses of Mycenae (Iliad!), Tiryns, and stunning Epidaurus theatre, AND Nemea, site of ancient Sacred Games (children can parade thru the athletes' tunnel, race in the stadium). BTW, defeating the Nemean Lion was one of Hercules' famous feats. Plus of course lovely beaches ... a great introduction.

NAXOS -- An island with landscapes AND history... ancient statues lying where they fell ... in the Cathedral courtyard, an Iliad-era burial ground viewable thru a glass floor .. a Gigantic arch "doorway" on an islet, a tiny museum with marble "idols" over 4000 years old -- plus beaches of course. And this is the island where the slayer of the Minotaur, Theseus, took Ariadne.

If you choose Greek places that are named in Mythology AND afford places for active kids to climb, run and play, their imagination will do the rest.

Wow!! This is great advice!!While I have been researching myself I have been skeptical too if her enthusiasm does not sustain. In addition I also have a 5yr old son who is not going to be as interested. So Yes plan was to show them the movies, She is already reading and watching a lot of Greek mythology on her own and sharing it with her lil bro:-)
Will take into account all your above suggestions and come up with a tentative itinerary for your review. We actually prefer April weather ( lil cooler) than June. Coming from Singapore we are done with the heat:-)Thanks a ton folks...

There will be no heat.. and please note.. some of the islands really will be closed up still in March..

Greek Orthodox Easter is 12 April next year, a great time to visit.

asmama, I still believe May 15 - June 15 is ideal weather, I just think you haven't researched it. In fact, there's a Creation story about God going around giving every area of the world a different climate and vegetation etc, and then at the end someone said, well, you've given away all the climate options, and you forgot Greece. Oh, said God, well, then I'll just give Greece the weather I was saving for Paradise.

Weather in Greece May 15-June 15 is unbeatable. At breakfast it's about 19°C/66F, by midafternoon, it's warmed up to about 28°C/82F ... then toward sunset, it goes down to about 20-21°C (a light cardigan over the shoulders), and you sleep well under a cotton bedspread as temp goes down in wee hours to about 18. To me, that's not "heat."

I've been to Singapore (and Malaysia) a couple of times, and can assure you that late May and early June in Greece will seem quite cool in comparison to your year-round temperatures. You need a plan for when your 10 year old tires of looking at ruins, which will probably occur sooner rather than later. I see school Term II in Singapore ends on 29 May, and that would be a perfect time to go to Greece.

HI all,

Thanks so much for all your advice above. But Looks like Greece will be March end - early April for us.

So want to make the best of it with the understanding that a few places will be closed:-( and we will not be doing complete justice to the place at all. So based on what all my daughter really wants to see and some places we would like to touch upon I have planned as below.

Can you please help with the tentative schedule

Day 1 : Arrive Athens, Fly to Crete - Heraklion, relax and recover from jetlag, overnight @ Crete
Day 2 : Explore Heraklion - Minoan palace of Knossos & Musuem, overnight @ Crete
Day 3 : Explore Heraklion, ferry to Santorini, overnight@ Santorini
Day 4: HIke and sunset, Overnight @ Santorini
Day 5: Day @ Santorini, Fly to Athens, overnight @ Athens.

Day 6: Explore local Athens..Acropolis, Parthenon, Musuems theater of Dinoysus, temple of Zeus, overnight @ Athens
Day 7 : Day trip to Nafplion via Nemea and Corinth, overnight @ Athens
Day 8 : Day trip to Delphi, overnight@ AthensDay 9 : Depart from Athens


One place that she wants to visit is Cape Sounion which I don't seem to have time for. Can I / should trade it for something? Are there flights from Santorini to Cape Sounion so then we can fly directly to Sounion, spend sometime there and then drive to Athens?

Would appreciate your thoughts

Thanks

I think you've packed a 2-week trip into 1-week, with very little down time for a 10-year-old and a 5-year-old.

As mentioned above, the islands are not at their best at that time of year. I would take them out of the itinerary and focus on the mainland.

You could stay a few nights in Nafpion without having to subject your kids to a nearly 5-hour car ride back and forth to Athens the same day.


And/or you could visit Cape Sounion, which is only 1.5 hours from Athens. We've overnighted there a few times because The Temple of Poseidon is particularly beautiful at sunset. There's a nice hotel on site ( The Aegeon) which is within walking distance ( though maybe not for the five-year-old) to the Temple.

I'm not trying to be rude, but as a mom I know for sure my kids who are much older now would never have gotten through this itinerary without becoming insanely cranky.

Good luck!

Bookmarking

If you plan to be in Greece on 25th March, do note it is a public holiday, commemorating the Greek uprise in 1821 against the Ottoman rule (aka museums and sites will be closed and parades will take place all around disrupting traffic etc).

Hi asmama,

Be advised that ferries between Crete and Santorini are seasonal, and don't begin until April 9th this year. There is a once-per-week conventional ferry that runs on Sundays, but isn't shown on the ferry timetables for March-April at the moment. Earlier this year it was shown as departing Heraklion on Sunday at 10 pm and arriving on Santorini Monday at 4:40 am.

Your other alternative is to fly back from Crete to Athens and catching a connecting flight to Santorini.