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Hi. We will be driving down from Delphi one morning, then taking the ferry over to Peloponnese. Unfortunately, we will only have one day and night to spend on Peloponnese before heading back to Athens. Can anyone offer their suggestions on their favorite sites there? (I've been reading about Olympia, Mycenae, Corinth and some of the others, but I'm not sure which is best.) Are the roads good enough that we could possibly visit two sites in one day, or would that be overdoing it? Thanks!

I'm afraid I didn't understand your available time precisely. It appears that you'll visit Delphi one day, spending the night there. The next morning you'll leave and you'd still have a night to spend in the Peloponnese. Is that correct? How soon do you have to be back in Athens the following day? Roads in the Peleponeese are ok but there's a route question. There's a ferry in Agios Nikolaus ... I have no idea on ferry frequency and crossing time, though. There's another ferry farther west in Antirio, the crossings are very frequent and fast. Unless you're sure about ferry frequency in Agios Nikolaus, I would drive to Antirio. I'd rule Olympia completely out because it would add some 3 hours to your total driving time (you'd have to go the Patras-Pyrgos-Olympia-Langadia route). Anyways, if I were to choose between Olympia and Epidavros I would stay with the latter. Independently if you ellect to visit Mycenae, Epidavros, Argos or Akrocorinth, you should allow some 6 1/2 - 7 hours total nonstop driving time from Delphi to Athens (maybe a little less if you're able to get a ferry in Agios Nikolaus right away). Among the 4 sites mentioned above, I would stay either with Mycanae or Epidavros. Having available time, I would visit one of them and spend time in Nafplio (which is one of the most beautiful ports in all Greece). To visit Mycenae you should allow some 4 hours (it's a big site and you won't be able to see it all even in 4 hours). To visit Epidavros you should allow some 2 1/2 hours. Now, it's very difficult to recommend one over the other. They're completely different. Mycenae is much older ... and the whole setting in Epidavros is certainly much more beautiful. If you leave Delphi around 8am, you should be able to get to Nafplio around noon, 12:30 pm (nonstop driving). After checking in a hotel, you could visit Mycenae and call it for the day, spending the evening in Nafplio. The next morning you start driving to Athens. If you have 5 hours available to reach Athens, you may drive to Epidafros, spend 2 1/2 hours there and continue to Athens (that's what we did), otherwise you drive to Athens the direct route (2 hours). Paulo PS. Are you aware of the Osios Loukas monastery near Delphi? On your eventual drive from Athens to Delphi, if you have 1 1/2 hours to spare, it may be worth to consider visiting it.

Paulo, Thanks so much for your answer to my question. Yes, that is correct. We'll leave Delphi in the morning, head down to Peloponnese, then spend the night there before we return to Athens. I'm not sure how soon the next day we have to get back to Athens. Our plan is to leave on a ferry that same day for either Mykonos or Santorini. But I'm starting to think that we'll get back too late for the ferries and may have to fly instead. In any event, I appreciate your help and welcome your suggestions! Thanks. Tom

When are you travelling? When we were there, we did exactly that. We drove from Nafplio to Athens via Epidavros and took it easy. We still had time in Athens for a late lunch (4pm) and some shopping before delivering the car (Auto Europe) and taking a taxi to the Piraeus. This was in a July and the ferry left at 8pm or so to Santorini. We used the Agapitos Express ferry co. In case you decide for Santorini and you're going in the summer I would guess that there should be a daily night ferry. This is recommendable on two accounts: a) the 9-hour trip gets kind of boaring after 3 hours ... having a cabin to sleep is nice; and b) the view of Santorini's caldera at dawn is quite something. Presently Agapitos Express Ferries (this may have changed to Hellas ferries) appears to have ferries leaving the Piraeus at 5pm. The arrival time in Santorini is somewhat awkward. You may wish to contact them to hear if they've plans to change their schedules. http://www.agapitos-ferries.com/schedules.html One other company serving Santorini isG. A. Ferries. Paulo

Hi Paulo, We'll be getting there in late June and staying until early July. Part of our problem is the short amount of time we'll have -- only eight nights overall. We'll be spending two nights in Athens, one night in Delphi, one night in Nafplio (at your suggestion!), then we'll have four nights to spend in the islands. I'm beginning to think that maybe we'll have to fly to the islands instead of taking a ferry to save time. But as one who hardly ever gets to see the ocean here at home, I have to admit that the thought of taking the ferry on at least part of our trip really appeals to me! Thanks again for your help. Tom