sparks389

Hi! My husband and I will be in Greece in about 3 weeks. I have everything booked and planned, but I was ready that driving times may not be as short as I thought, so I am asking for advice to see how long to visit a site before we need to take off for the next stop. I have driven in other European countries, but my husband is a nervous nellie and does not like driving at night or mountanous roads with no guard rails, etc. Here is our itinerary and appreciate your help:

Day1- arrive late afternoon at Athens airport, staying close by at Peris hotel.
Day 2- drive to Delphi & stay overnight
Day 3- drive to Olympia area & stay overnight
Day 4 to 6 - drive to Kalamata and stay three nights
Day 7 to 9- drive to Monemvasia and stay three nights
Day 10 to 12 -drive to Napflion stay three nights
Day 13 - Peris hotel near airport
Day 14 - fly home

stanbr

Driving times in Greece can be quite deceptive. While distance may not be that great mountains and amazing sites can make a drive much longer than you anticipated. On one trip we averaged 23 kilometers an hour from Nafplio to Monemvassia simply because we could not resist all of the archaeological sites along the way.

The drive from Delphi to Olympia will probably be your longest day.

On the way you might want to plan a quick stop at Chlemoutsi Castle.
The next day on your way to Kalamata you will be passing Pylos Methoni and Koroni. All have great Venetian era castles. You can probably do them on a day trip from Kalamata or stop as you drive by and spend a night in one of them.

On the way to Nafplio you might want to stop at Mystras near Sparti it is really a remarkable site. As I said driving times can be interrupted by sites just too good to pass up.
Here are some images
Olympia Delfi Meteora https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645469717811/
Peloponesse Castles https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645468134284/
Nafplio and Peloponnese http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094108982/

clausar

Here are the driving times :

Athens Airport- Delphi 2,5 hours
Delphi - Olympia 3,5 hours
Olympia - Kalamata 3 hours
Kalamata - Monemvasia 2 hours
Monemvasia - Nafplio 2,5 - 3 hours
Nafplio - Athens Airport 2,5 hours

As stanbr said, there is so much to see on your way, that these driving times are just to be used as an indication

sparks389

Great! just what I needed. Would gas stations be plentiful along these routes or do we need to make sure we fill up when we see one? Our car is a small one so I expect we won't use too much gas.

stanbr

Greeece has an overabundance of gas stations. As a rule of thumb on a full day drive start to look for a gas station when you have a quarter thank left.

sparks389

I have been researching routes and using AAA trip planning maps and I am concerned because I have found references to a nerve-wrcking, nail bitting drive from Kalamata to Sparta on the way to Monemvasia. This happens to be the way our map advised us to go. Granted, some of the comments were from a few years ago. Is there a better way to get from Kalamata to Monemvasia?

msweg

I drove this road 4 years ago, and chose that route for the chance to see some wonderful scenery. I recall a couple of blind hairpin curves that were only 1 lane wide, where people would honk to warn that they were approaching the curve. A little scary, but the scenery was breathtaking. Unfortunately I have very few photos of this stretch, as I was driving solo, and there was almost never any place to pull over when I wanted a picture. Well worth it!

Do you plan to stop at Mystras on your way to Monemvasia? If so, this is the route you will need to take. Viamichelin shows this as 3.5 hours, and I would plan on another 3 hours minimum at Mystras itself. If you were planning to go to Mystras on your way from Monemvasia to Nafplio, then you could instead go from Kalamata down to Areopolis, and through Gytheio. Viamichelin shows this as a 4 hour alternative route.
I hope you don't plan to skip Mystras altogether!

traveller1959

We have just made almost the same tour, but in opposite direction.

Driving is very fast in Greece - the roads are in excellent condition and there is not much traffic. We almost were faster than route planners had indicated. So the driving times given by Google Maps or viamichelin are pretty reliable.

A few comments:

- We found Delphi was the highlight of our trip. Just breathtaking. On the way to Delphi, we stopped at the Hosios Loukas Monastery, one of the finest examples of Byzantine Monasteries and UNESCO World Heritage. If you have an hour to spare, do it.

- Compared to Delphi, Olympia, although historically significant, is a bit disappointing because there is not too much left. But standing at exactly the place where the Olympic Torch is ignited is as special as walking through the athletes' tunnel into the stadium.

- On the way from Olympia to Kalamata, you might make a little detour. Near Pylos, you find a most beautiful beach, Voidokilia.
http://www.architecturendesign.net/2...und-the-world/, number 6.

- We did not like the town of Kalamata too much, but ancient Messene is an outstanding archeological site - the very best stadium and a beautiful theatre and a 9km city wall. In most guidebooks Messene is underrated because the excavations are so recent. From Kalamata, you can also visit Mystras, another Byzantine site.

- Nafplion is a charming town and a good base for Mykene and Epidauros. You can also drive to Corinth. Corinth's archelogical site is not too good, but, again it is historically significant and, there is still the terrace where Paul delivered his speech.

sparks389

Thanks for the input. We have decided to take the route down the coast to Gythio and then on to Monemvasia. The husband has anxiety issues and I think avoiding the mountain route might be better.
msweg, we would like to stop at Mystras, but I am not sure. It will depend on how the husband takes all my driving.I see it looks like it has to be done when we are at Kalamata because it is not close to any of our other stops.
traveller1959- we will take your suggestions of stopping at the monastery on the way to Delphi and understand that Olympia is not much to see. I did want to take a day trip near Pylos but not sure whether it will be warm enough to swim in late October.I guess we can just sit on the beach and relax.

Thanks all for the information!

travelerjan

It may be warm enough to swim in late October ... the sea is slow to warm in Spring, but likewise stays warm FAR into the Autumn ... just make sure you have a wrap on hand for when you get out, because air chillier than water.