Honeymoon in Greece: End of September 2013
Jun 1st, 2013, 04:08 PM
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Honeymoon in Greece: End of September 2013
My fiance and I are planning a two-week honeymoon to Greece during the last two weeks of September. Just one small problem... we really have no clue where to go!
We are interested in visiting some Greek mythology sites like Mount Olympus and Ithaca. Does anyone have other mythology recommendations? Of course, we'd like to see some ruins and whatnot, but we really are looking for more things off the beaten path. We'd love to do some more adventuresome things (hiking, hang-gliding, etc) that would really show us the natural beauty of Greece.
Any suggestions for adventure/mythology heavy areas?
We are interested in visiting some Greek mythology sites like Mount Olympus and Ithaca. Does anyone have other mythology recommendations? Of course, we'd like to see some ruins and whatnot, but we really are looking for more things off the beaten path. We'd love to do some more adventuresome things (hiking, hang-gliding, etc) that would really show us the natural beauty of Greece.
Any suggestions for adventure/mythology heavy areas?
Jun 1st, 2013, 04:44 PM
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Start with a copy of a good travel guidebook for Greece to narrow down your options. There are just too many places to recommend otherwise. Fodor's, Lonely Planet, Frommers, Rough Guide, Let's Go and T. Cook's "Greek Island Hopping" will get you started.
Jun 4th, 2013, 12:53 PM
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There are a lot -- Delphi & Mt. Parnassus, Vergina (associated with Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great),Olympia, Mycenae, Tiryns, Nemea, Sparta [not really mythical--more historical] (the last 5 all on the Peloponnesian Peninsula).
Jun 9th, 2013, 01:05 AM
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Hello!
2 weeks will fly by!
Although not known to many people, activities such as river kayaking, snow ski etc exist in Greece. The prolem is that those are seasonal activities and September is not a good time for them. On end of September you will most likely have to focus on hiking, climbing, maybe sea watersports...
A car for the whole two weeks could be an excellent opportunity to explore parts of mainland in a slow pace. Adding islands is not really necessary, but this is up to you.
I would start by hiring a car on the airport, saving Athens part for the end of the trip.
There are countless options.
Just an idea is as follows:
Hire a car, drive to Delphi. Spend a couple of days in the area. Delphi site and modern town is very touristy but still a very important place both in mythological and in historical aspect and landscape is fantastic. With a car you could visit Distomo and Hosios Loukas Monastery or drive up to Corykion Cave on mountain Parnassos and explore the mountain villages or at least visit Arahova. Or you can choose to be based on Galaxidi, a very scenic sea side town with pleasant harbour, old captains' mansions and a couple of decent beaches. E4 European hiking trail pass from Delphi itsself and in parts meets the ancient path that pilgrims used in order to reach the oracle. So there is some hiking here too.
http://www.travel-to-arachova.com/villages.php
http://www.osiosloukas.gr/en/
http://www.greecetravel.com/hiking/delphi.html
http://www.walkingeurope.info/walks/..._descrip/6102/
http://www.visitdelphi.gr/j/index.ph...ask=view&id=62
You can then make your way to Meteora and spend a couple of days there too. Although Meteora name is bonded for ever with Byzantine era and Orthodox Christianity, in antiquity people believed that the area was the battlefield of titanomahia (titans against Olympian gods war). Touristy up to an extend but dramatic scenery and many climbing and hiking options here and you could always decide to go off exploring Plastira Lake area too.
http://www.kalampaka.com/en/meteora/index.asp
http://visitmeteora.wordpress.com/
http://www.odigoslimnisplastira.gr/index_en.php (Greek only)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP-psaq-Ens
Aften all this moving around, maybe you could relax for 5-6 nights in Pelion area.
For hiking I think it really worths to check mountain Pelion, it is the mythical area where Centaurs lived and setting is fantastic with traditional villages, river bridges, forests... There is a large old (mostly medival) path network connecting villages and tourism is very low key, mostly restored family owned mansions offering genuine hospitality and traditional breakfasts. There are mountain villages but sea side villages too by the foot of the mountain and of course the "capital town" of the area, Volos is pleasant enough and popular for its meze-tsipouro places. End of September there might still be ferry connections to Sporades islands (Skiathos, SkopelosAlonissos etc) from Volos if you want to check those too for a few days. Skiathos is the most touristy one with great sandy beaches, the rest sporades very low key, there is an important protected Sea area in Alonisos, habitant monk seal, dolphins etc. Snorkelling and diving is interesting in the area.
http://www.aroundpelion.com/pelion/village-index.html
http://www.pilionwalks.com/english/engstart.html
http://www.pelion-paths.gr/
http://www.greeka.com/thessaly/pelion/greece-volos.htm
http://www.skiathos.gr/index.php?lang=en
http://www.skopelos.net/geography/index.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI9RAfdHyjA
You may then want to drive directly to Athens or make an overnight stop by Kamena Vourla, a pleasant sea side town receiving thousand of visitors every year because local spring water is supposed to have medical/revitalising impract in one's health.
http://www.kamena-vourla.gr/ (Greek only)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu4qTbg_Pe0
Athens definately deserves at the very least 3-4 full days to appreciate some of the major sites and areas connected with history and mythology. There is no real need for a car while in Athens, so you could keep it to visit Cape Sounion and off the beatten track Attica sites such as Vavron or Marathonas, otherwise simply drop it off upon arrival and use the excellent public transport. There are tons of info on line for Athens, so I'll not add specific links here...
Whatever you decide to do, enjoy your trip!
2 weeks will fly by!
Although not known to many people, activities such as river kayaking, snow ski etc exist in Greece. The prolem is that those are seasonal activities and September is not a good time for them. On end of September you will most likely have to focus on hiking, climbing, maybe sea watersports...
A car for the whole two weeks could be an excellent opportunity to explore parts of mainland in a slow pace. Adding islands is not really necessary, but this is up to you.
I would start by hiring a car on the airport, saving Athens part for the end of the trip.
There are countless options.
Just an idea is as follows:
Hire a car, drive to Delphi. Spend a couple of days in the area. Delphi site and modern town is very touristy but still a very important place both in mythological and in historical aspect and landscape is fantastic. With a car you could visit Distomo and Hosios Loukas Monastery or drive up to Corykion Cave on mountain Parnassos and explore the mountain villages or at least visit Arahova. Or you can choose to be based on Galaxidi, a very scenic sea side town with pleasant harbour, old captains' mansions and a couple of decent beaches. E4 European hiking trail pass from Delphi itsself and in parts meets the ancient path that pilgrims used in order to reach the oracle. So there is some hiking here too.
http://www.travel-to-arachova.com/villages.php
http://www.osiosloukas.gr/en/
http://www.greecetravel.com/hiking/delphi.html
http://www.walkingeurope.info/walks/..._descrip/6102/
http://www.visitdelphi.gr/j/index.ph...ask=view&id=62
You can then make your way to Meteora and spend a couple of days there too. Although Meteora name is bonded for ever with Byzantine era and Orthodox Christianity, in antiquity people believed that the area was the battlefield of titanomahia (titans against Olympian gods war). Touristy up to an extend but dramatic scenery and many climbing and hiking options here and you could always decide to go off exploring Plastira Lake area too.
http://www.kalampaka.com/en/meteora/index.asp
http://visitmeteora.wordpress.com/
http://www.odigoslimnisplastira.gr/index_en.php (Greek only)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP-psaq-Ens
Aften all this moving around, maybe you could relax for 5-6 nights in Pelion area.
For hiking I think it really worths to check mountain Pelion, it is the mythical area where Centaurs lived and setting is fantastic with traditional villages, river bridges, forests... There is a large old (mostly medival) path network connecting villages and tourism is very low key, mostly restored family owned mansions offering genuine hospitality and traditional breakfasts. There are mountain villages but sea side villages too by the foot of the mountain and of course the "capital town" of the area, Volos is pleasant enough and popular for its meze-tsipouro places. End of September there might still be ferry connections to Sporades islands (Skiathos, SkopelosAlonissos etc) from Volos if you want to check those too for a few days. Skiathos is the most touristy one with great sandy beaches, the rest sporades very low key, there is an important protected Sea area in Alonisos, habitant monk seal, dolphins etc. Snorkelling and diving is interesting in the area.
http://www.aroundpelion.com/pelion/village-index.html
http://www.pilionwalks.com/english/engstart.html
http://www.pelion-paths.gr/
http://www.greeka.com/thessaly/pelion/greece-volos.htm
http://www.skiathos.gr/index.php?lang=en
http://www.skopelos.net/geography/index.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI9RAfdHyjA
You may then want to drive directly to Athens or make an overnight stop by Kamena Vourla, a pleasant sea side town receiving thousand of visitors every year because local spring water is supposed to have medical/revitalising impract in one's health.
http://www.kamena-vourla.gr/ (Greek only)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu4qTbg_Pe0
Athens definately deserves at the very least 3-4 full days to appreciate some of the major sites and areas connected with history and mythology. There is no real need for a car while in Athens, so you could keep it to visit Cape Sounion and off the beatten track Attica sites such as Vavron or Marathonas, otherwise simply drop it off upon arrival and use the excellent public transport. There are tons of info on line for Athens, so I'll not add specific links here...
Whatever you decide to do, enjoy your trip!
Jun 9th, 2013, 01:18 AM
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PS: I forgot to add, if oyu decide to visit/climb mountain Olympus, further north from Meteora, you may want to google it with addition to Litochoro village that serves as a gate for everyone willing to climb the mountain. Having a car would help to explore the wider area around , for example maybe Paralia Katerinis etc.
Ithaca is to be found on the Ionian sea (between Greece and Italy), you could get a ferry from Patras on Western Greece and combine it with a Peloponnese and maybe Kefalonia exploration. Ithaca is a very low key place, two or three small villages and lots of greenery, not much to do though. It will be extremely quiet on end of September.
I find it hard to combine those two areas in a two week time frame although it is possible. In general the more distant areas to Athens, the more you'll have to break the journey and add one or two night stays here and there. It is up to you to decide if this approach suits you or not : )
Ithaca is to be found on the Ionian sea (between Greece and Italy), you could get a ferry from Patras on Western Greece and combine it with a Peloponnese and maybe Kefalonia exploration. Ithaca is a very low key place, two or three small villages and lots of greenery, not much to do though. It will be extremely quiet on end of September.
I find it hard to combine those two areas in a two week time frame although it is possible. In general the more distant areas to Athens, the more you'll have to break the journey and add one or two night stays here and there. It is up to you to decide if this approach suits you or not : )
