Need help planning a 20 day trip
 

Hi,
We are family of 4 adults planning to visit Greece from 5th to 27th Sept. We like scenic places, sightseeing, unique experience and adventure activities. We like to see as much as possible and not really relax on holiday. We are not into hiking, long walks, drinking and partying. We are comfortable with only short flat walks. Please critique my itinerary and give your valuable suggestions.

5th Sept - Land in Athens at 2pm, and rest.
6th Sept - Athens
7th Sept - Athens
8th Sept - Rent Car and drive to Nafplio
9th Sept - Nafplio
10th Sept - Drive to Monemvasia
11th Sept - Drive to Olympia
12th Sept - Drive to Killini and car fery to Zakynthos
13th Sept - Zakynthos
14th Sept - Zakynthos
15th Sept - Car ferry to Kefalonia
16th Sept - Kefalonia
17th Sept - Car ferry to Lefkada
18th Sept - Drive to Meteora
19th Sept - Drive to Delphi
20th Sept - Extra
21st Sept - Extra
22nd Sept - Drive to Athens, leave car and ferry to Mykonos. Is there an afternoon ferry? I can just find at 7am. If that is the case we reduce 1 night in Athens earlier and spend the night in Athens.
23rd Sept - Mykonos
24th Sept - Ferry to Santorini
25th Sept - Santorini
26th Sept - Santorini
27th Sept - Fly to Athens and return flight to India is at 2pm.

As of now we have booked only International flights. Please give your valuable feedback. I've 2 days extra which I am having tough time to decide where to put. Is anything too packed where I should add or any beautiful places on mainland which we should visit? Or any other island we should add?

I wanted to keep Santorini for last as it will better to relax at the end of the trip.

We will be driving first time on other side of the road. We have previously driven in NZ who drive on the same side like us. So any dangerous route which we should avoid? Any scenic routes which is advisable to drive?

Thanks so much,

Check with the rental company to confirm they will allow you to take their car on ferries — most don't. Also, the driver will need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to legally drive in Greece. Here is a link from the Western India Automobile Association that explains the procedure: http://www.wiaaindia.com/international-driving-permit

Yes, there are afternoon ferries to Mykonos that leave from Rafina, which is near the airport. Rafina is the main ferry port for Mykonos.

Your itinerary is in my opinion too rushed, as you will end up sitting in the car and driving from place to place just to spend the night.

Also you have included Zakynthos , Kefalonia and Lefkas in your trip, which are best for beach holidays, and don't really have much to offer.

Personally I would replace these 3 islands with more days in the Peloponnese, which has a lot to offer.

The drive Nafplio - Monemvasia - Olympia is a long one, you will be passing through some great areas, just to spend one night in each place, without really seeing anything.

You need to spend more time to enjoy Napflio and see the antiquities that surround it, Mycenae ansd Epidavros ,just to name two major ones.

Thanks for your suggestions.
@Heimdall - Yes, I've mailed car rental companies if they would allow. Do you know any rental company which will allow? Thanks for the link, yes we will apply asap and thanks a ton for the afternoon ferry. It will solve my huge problem.

@Clausar - I really want to visit Ionian islands, I've seen pictures and it looks gorgeous. Definitely want to visit Blue cave and Shipwrech beach. Actually these 2 places along with Santorini is the reason I started thinking about Greece. But I still have 2 days extra which I can add to Peloponnese. Any suggestions where I should add them? Thanks for the advise. Is that drive making my trip rushed? Any suggestions for place to see on this route - Nafplio - Monemvasia - Olympia? I know there is a quite a bit in Nafplio so kept 2 nights. I could not find much things to see in Olympia and Monemvasia. Actually first time it all got planned late, I'm stressing for all the bookings and want to finalize itinerary soon. Normally I like 3 months to plan, which unfortunately I don't have for this trip. Thanks for all the help.

@HappyTrvlr - Isn't 2 days enough to see Nefplio, Mycenae and Epidavros?

Any suggestion for where I should put the remaining 2 nights to make the best use of it and make the itinerary less rushed.

Cheers

Hi Traveler_India,

Glad I could give you some help, but I don't know of a specific rental agency that allows their cars on a ferry. Many do for short crossings, e.g. Paros-Antiparos, but not for longer ones. You also need to check that your insurance covers the car for damage whilst on the ferry.

Another thing to consider: islands in the Ionian Sea aren't very well connected by ferry. As far as I can tell, there are only one or two car ferries per week between Zakynthos and Kefalonia, and that is in high season. Of course you can return to the mainland between islands, and that may be the only practical way.

Ferries between Zakynthos and Kefalonia are daily, here is the timetable :
http://ionionpelagos.com/en/content/112

and here is Kefalonia - Lefkas
http://www.ionionpelagos.com/en/content/111

Theoretically rental cars are not insured on ferries, I have taken a rental car many times in the past, never ever had a problem.... ( and also never heard of anything happening to others). :)

Hi clausar,

Thanks for correcting me! I didn't see that ferry listed on openseas.gr, so your local knowledge is invaluable.

Hi,
Thanks Clausar and Heimdall. That solves problem of ferries and will find some willing to allow us to take car on ferry. In case, no one agrees, plan B is to leave car at Kyllini and rent again after Lefkada. Anyways I checked price for this, it comes out to be same if I keep it for entire journey due to one way rental charges. But I'm pretty sure I'll find a car rental company, I'm ok with the risk that they are not insured on the ferries.

Any suggestion of where I should add the balance 2 days?

Traveler_India

I would add the 2 days to Peloponnese for sure...
Spend one more day in Nafplio, and one more in Monemvasia, which is magical !!!

Another alternative would be to overnight in Ioannina, on your way from Lefkas to Meteora.
Highlights except from Ioannina, which is a beautiful city on a lake, are the Oracle of Dodoni ( on the motorway to Ioannina, and the mountain village of Metsovo ( also a small detour away from the motorway of Egnatia Odos.)

Do not bother asking agencies about a permission of taking the car to the ferries, as you will receive the same answer, about cars not being covered by an insurance .. Just go ahead and drive with your car all the way, till you get back to Athens. That is what everyone is doing.

Hi Clausar,

Thanks so much. That is really helpful.
Even I was thinking adding 1 night at Monemvasia, or add in between of Monemvasia and Olympia, to split the long journey.

If we leave at 8 from Monemvasia, can we reach in time to Olympia to see Olympia on that day itself? Next day there is a ferry at 9:30 am from Kyllini to Zanthe, so no time in the morning to see Olympia. If yes, I'll add 2 nights to Monemvasia, if not add will add in between.

I'll check out Ioannina or extra day in Nafplio or was thinking of last night in Athens, so we get half a day in Santorini more and can take evening ferry instead of flight.

And about car ferry, you have been most helpful. I really appreciate your advise. Every where I search, every one is against the idea of taking car on the ferry. But I really want to see Ionian Island and feel this is the best way, rather than doing mainland first then backtrack to Athens and then again to Ionian Islands. I don't find the best use of time but strangely everyone i.e. forums, travel agencies suggest this.
I just received a mail from Athens Car Rental, and said you can take car on ferry and at no extra charge.

Well done getting confirmation that you can take the car on the ferry. Your plan makes a lot more sense than returning from the Peloponnese to Athens before the Ionian Islands. The less backtracking, the better!

On the car-ferry thing, I do believe you have to reserve car space on a specific ferry sailing in advance, you can't just drive up. I would suggest not delaying on this, as I know in US some ferries car-space fills up long in advance.

Traveler_India

There is no need to book anything in advance for the ferries to Zakynthos/Kefalonia/Lefkas, just be there on time.

Now as for taking the car on the ferries, no major car rental company is allowing that, because no insurance company is covering any damages of the car.

I looked at the website of the company you mentioned, and saw that they allow it. In my opinion this only means that in the unlikely event of a damage they and not the insurance would cover any reparation expenses.
Please ask for a written confirmation along with the confirmation of your reservation !!!

Hi Clausar, Heimdall and Travelerjan,
Thanks so much for helping me out.

I already have written confirmation from them. I will double check with them.

Any suggestions on this:
1) If we leave at 8 from Monemvasia, can we reach in time to Olympia to see Olympia on that day itself? Next day there is a ferry at 9:30 am from Kyllini to Zanthe, so no time in the morning to see Olympia. If yes, I'll add 2 nights to Monemvasia, if not add will add in between.

2) Will automatic Hyundai Accent 1.4 or Hyundai Matrix 1.6 will be good enough for 4 adults? Any idea on how spacious it is from inside? We are on heavier side, so prefer more space. They are offering it for 336 E and 392 E respectively.

3) Do you have any reliable link where can I get timings of various sites? I did search on net, but all state differently. They state Acropolis opens at 11am on Monday, whereas other article sated that now they have extended and it opens at 8am even on Monday. But that article was of 2014.

It will be a long drive from Monemvasia to Olympia.
Visit Dirou Cave on your way, which is one of the nicest caves of Greece.....

Calculate 4 hours fir the trip to Olympia.
The archaeological site has extended opening hours and is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00 hrs.

Here is the link to the official website of the Greek Ministry of Culture : http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh355.jsp?obj_id=2358

Like all Greeks I would never drive am automatic car ( don't even like the idea...) but a Matrix is definitely bigger than an Accent. As a side note, both are older models... I wouldn't want to have any of the two as rental cars...
In my opinion a Matrix even though it can accommodate 4 adults it might be too small if you travel with 1 suitcase per person plus various handbags.

Hi Clausar,

Thanks once again.
Then I am sorted, 1 extra night in Monemvasia.
I can't thanks you enough for the link. It was so confusing to find timings.

Haha, even my brother who is going to do most of the driving loves manual car. Actually most car in India are manual too. But I just can't drive manual, so looking for automatic.
I check matrix it is not sedan like but like a 4wd. Has a boot space of 570 lt, which I think should be more than enough. But don't like the idea of 4wd like, as we driven sedan only and don't want to try any stunts in a foreign country on the other side of the road.
On the other hand, Accent has just boot space of 420 lt. It seems everything will get cramped in it.

So which car do you think I should search for? Being a local, what do you think will be good enough for 4 adults for space, comfort, newer model and good in driving?

Traveler_India

I am not familiar with neither of the two models, they both have been quite popular in Greece in the past, due to their low price.
But since Hyundai is not producing them anymore, I would not want to have them as rental cars, because they would be very old and definitely not in a good shape.

Hi Clausar,

Yes, I meant which other car will you suggest for 4 adults.

Cheers,
Kavita

I've looked up Hyundai Matrix cars that were sold in the UK, and can't find any that were 4WD. The model is classified as an MPV, which means "multi-purpose vehicle", or in other words a minivan: http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/ca...s/2005112.html

Here is a Hyundai Accent car test report: http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/ca...s/2004065.html

For a group of four large adults, between the two models I would choose the Matrix. They both look rather small, though. Good point from clausar about the age of these vehicles, but perhaps that is why the rental company doesn't mind taking them on ferries.