travel_with_ev

we are a family of three (one teenage boy) looking to go to greece over the summer. we were looking to spend around 1-2 weeks, and ideally see all of the country. so...
A) is this possible?

and B) if so, how do we go about doing that.

will probably be there sometime in august, and plan to fly into athens. thanks!

suze

Since there are a couple hundred inhabited Greek islands, no I don't think you can "see all of the country" in 1-2 weeks.

mariha2912

...and a very diverse mainland....

yiassas

After approx 30 holidays in Greece & now lived here for 10 years I still haven't seen it all, so the answer is no.
If you do some research & give some idea of interests you mat get some suggestions.

PetrosB3

See all the country in 1-2 weeks? Have you got any idea on the size of Greece? To get from Corfu to Kastellorizo is the same distance as Paris from Vienna. And there are a bunch of seas between.

There are 7 mainland regions:
-Peloponnese
-Attica
-Sterea Hellas
-Thessaly
-Epirus
-Macedonia
-Thrace

And 7 island groups:
-Ionian islands
-Cyclades islands
-Sporades islands
-Dodecanese islands
-North Aegean islands
-Crete island
-Euboea island

And 1-2 weeks is enough for seeing the half of an island group. Please reconsider, do a research and find where you want to travel in Greece.

sparkchaser

A) No way, Jose.

B) You extend your trip to 9-12 months.

traveller1959

Okay, OP had asked a naive question. And now, we are giving answers which are not helpful at all.

Let's get constructive. If you have two weeks: You start in Athens and spend 3 days there. Then you rent a car for a loop drive with these destinations:

Corinth (antique city) and (even more interesting) Acrocorinth (medieval castle).
Mycenae (one of the oldest cities)
Epidaurus (best greek theatre)
Nafplio (classic city, castles, beaches)
Mystras (Byzantine monasteries)
Ancient Messene (best stadium)
Koroni (picturesque fishing village, beach)
Methoni (medieval castle, beach)
Pylos (scenery, one of the top-10 beaches in the world)
Olympia (the Games!)
Delphi (IMO the best archeological site in Greece)
Meteora (Byzantine monasteries on dramatic cliffs)
Hosios Loukas (Byzantine monastery in scenic setting)
Athens

If you have less time than two weeks, you cut a few places from the itinerary.

sparkchaser

I guess the way to answer the OP's question is to ask OP:

What exactly do you hope to accomplish with this vacation and what are you bringing to the table to support that?

PetrosB3

Yes, a tour of the Peloponnese would be nice. Stay three days in Athens, then rent a car and start the trip.

The Peloponnese is small, and all destinations are close to eachother. The most time consuming drive I mentioned is Nauplion to Monemvasia which is 3 hours, the rest drives are just 1 hour or so. So I don't think it's rushed at all, but adding a few days surely won't hurt you. Also consider that many of these towns are small and can be seen in just 1 day. So adding an extra day to a small town might be a bit too much, you would prefer to be in your car exploring the countryside or some neighboring villages and towns.

So for the days, consider:
-Drives are short.
-Towns are small and can be seen in a few hours.

Now, if I were you I would not add an extra day to a destnation. I would add a new destination, specifically Delphi. The ancient Oracle of Delphi is not in the Peloponnese but it is on your route for back to Athens following the northern route.

These 2 day would go like that:
Once you see Ancient Olympia and the Archaeological Museum, drive straight to Galaxidi. Spend your night in the beautiful little town. Wake up early you will do 2 stops. Your first stop will be Delphi (UNESCO), the Center of the World according to the ancient Greeks and one of the holiest sites of Antiquity. The Oracle of Delphi was the supreme oracle of Antiquity, Generals, Kings and Roman Emperors visited it frequently to hear the word of God Apollo through the mouth of high priestess Pythia. And don't forget to visit the museum, exceptional building and artifacts considered one of the top of Greek Museums.
Your second stop is Hosios Loukas Monastery (UNESCO) a grand imperial monastery of the Byzantine era. It's a masterpiece containing mosaics, frescoes, icons and is sculpted by the artisans from the Imperial Academy of Constantinople. It's a Byzantine masterpiece.

A simpler version of the updated Itinerary, so that you can Google it easier:

DAY 1
-Ancient Corinth
-Acrocorinth
-Ancient Nemea
NAUPLION

DAY 2
NAUPLION

DAY 3
-Ancient Mycenae (UNESCO)
-Epidaurus Theater (UNESCO)
NAUPLION

DAY 4
-Ancient Sparta
-Archaeological Museum of Sparta
-Mystras (UNESCO)
MONEMVASIA

DAY 5
MONEMVASIA

DAY 6
-Simos Beach in Elafonisos
MONEMVASIA

DAY 7
-Gytheion
AREOPOLIS

DAY 8
AREOPOLIS

DAY 9
-Diros Caves
-Vatheia
-Cape Tainaron
AREOPOLIS

DAY 10
-Kalamata
-Polilimnio Waterfalls
PYLOS

DAY 11
-Methoni Castle
-Voidokilia Beach
PYLOS

DAY 12
-Ancient Messene
-Temple of Apollo Epicurius (UNESCO)
STEMNITSA

DAY 13
-Dimitsana
STEMNITSA

DAY 14
-Ancient Olympia (UNESCO)
-Archaeological Museum of Olympia
GALAXIDI

DAY 15
-Ancient Delphi (UNESCO)
-Delphi Museum
-Hosios Loukas Monastery (UNESCO)
GALAXIDI

DAY 16
Return to Athens.



I hope that helped (I have suggested this Itinerary in older posts, so you have to remove some destinations to make it in less days)

yiassas

Also add Nestor's Palace when in Pylos, it reopened this week. Koroni & it's castle.
So much on the peloponnese you can vary the itinerary, so tell us your interests. We could make an endless list, but knowing your preferences would help to refine it

Heimdall

Travel_with_ev, one thing you may have noticed is: the posters who are really knowledgable of Greece have all recommended mainland itineraries rather than islands. I love the islands myself, but go there primarily to relax on the beach. There are great beaches practically everywhere in the world, but few countries with as much history and culture as Greece.

If you have only two weeks to spend on your holiday, I agree with the others that Athens + Peloponnese would the best way to see something of Greece. It's far easier to get around the mainland by car than from island to island by ferry, and more to see on the way.

P.S. There are some great beaches in the Peloponnese too!

thursdaysd

I spent six weeks in Greece and most of it was on the mainland. However, I would recommend a couple of days on Hydra which is close to Athens, as an add on to a mainland itinerary. And I very much enjoyed northern Greece (Kastoria and Ioannina as well as Meteora) and it might be a bit cooler there.

lauramsgarden

We are at the tail end of two weeks in Greece - we did not get to the Peloponnese and would definitely like to do so in the future. I will say that of all that we did (see the trip report I've got running entitled Athens, Meteora, Delphi Crete and Naxos) Athens is the part that I would skip even with the Acropolis and all the wonderful museums. I'm just not a big city person for the most part (although I do love Paris, Boston, London and Philly).

What I would definitely recommend strongly is to see Meteora and Delphi - they were both so mindblowing, beautiful, and with fascinating history. We spent four days on the mainland then flew to Crete and spent a week there, and then spent 4 nights on Naxos. Both islands were not only beautiful but had all sorts of things to see and the experience of swimming in the Aegian sea and just looking at the sky blue waters is not to be missed. IMHO - whatever you do enjoy.