Uppsala30, thank you for sharing your experience in Thessaloniki with some realistic pictures. I will still consider to visit this city in the future, but only for a few days. Three weeks would be too much for me in one city unless I'm considering to move there. This wouldn't happen with me though since I prefer quieter towns to cities. But you are lucky. You have an excuse to go to Greece because of your daughter

THank god you listened to some experienced Greece visitors, and dropped THessaloniki ... Nafplio will give you FAR more of what you want, including the best sunsets in Greece, and gorgeous 16th C Venetian architecture (protected by regulations). After you've visited Greece 4-5 more times, maybe then Thessaloniki.. but not as a first-time. You'll thank us.

I saw some gorgeous sunsets in Thessaloniki, and as a fan of Byzantine art, I was very glad to include Thessaloniki on my first visit to Greece. There are many reasons why one might choose Napflio instead, but claiming that is never suitable for a first time visitors seems off-base to me.

Oh, I do like that itinerary, Scenery. You will have time to be together at human speed. Maybe 3-4 full Nafplio days?

Bob did the Meteora day solo. It was ~3.5 hrs drive each way, and scenic enough to be enjoyable. Plenty of snow on the top of Mount Olympus. He liked interacting with the other international passengers, had a great lunch, but described the monasteries as "boring." That might say more about Bob than about the monasteries, though.




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Hi, I enjoyed my trip to Delphi and Meteora. I believe it was one long morning bus ride from Athens, w a stop for lunch. We spent the night at a cute hotel (;remember these aren�t 5* places by any means) and then spent the next day visiting the monasteries up,at Meteora. I loved the trip and our guide was great Tour guides in Greece are regulated by the government and are exceptionally well trained. I would recommend a tour vs trying to go by bus or train yourselves. There is so much history - you will miss out on lot if you go by yourself. That being said, my daughter is a fountain of information for me so I�m used to having a personal guide at all times😁

uppsala30 Did you take the 11-hour tour to Delphi from Athens? If so, how was your experience on this day trip? Do they have a stop to eat for both lunch and dinner somewhere or would you advise to pack some snacks too? I would probably manage with lunch somewhere, but young adults (at least mine) have fast metabolism .

stokebailey you are so funny about Bob...but he did take some fabulous pictures for you!! Thanks for sharing.

Awesome, everyone! You all helped me to get my itinerary organized. Now I can begin to research accommodations. If anyone remember hotels (preferably with breakfast) in all three places (Athens, Hydra, and Nafplio), I would love to hear.

Thank you!

For Nafplio, you might consider the Pension Dafni. Wonderful location, great breakfast!

If you have settled on three places (good idea) and you have 16 nights, you could potentially go to a further flung island if you wished. For a rough idea of ferry frequency and journey times check openseas.gr and look at timetables for same time last year (if not yet published for the coming season).

We had 3 days on Hydra and found that a good amount of time but we didn�t visit any of the other Saronic islands. We had one day hiking. Note that Hydra is not known for its beaches and doesn�t have a lot of townships on the island.

If interested in Hydra, I loved the television series So Long Marianne (not the movie by the same name) about Leonard Cohen, Clift, Johnston and others who lived on the island in the 50s.

My trip was a two day trip from Athens, 1st day was Delphi. After an overnight in Kalabaka, we visiting the Monasteries. Um if I remember correctly they had stops for snacks and bathroom regularly. But, after a day trip in Porto last year - I would recommend bringing your own water and snacks for the bus ride.

Scenery, you may find this post helpful https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowT...ds_Attica.html

4 days is a long time on Hydra. There are good food options there which you mentioned you love but if you�re after beaches it�s not great. You can swim at the beach bars which are off the rocks and quite a vibe. Maybe consider going to Spetses for a day? It�s a bigger island with more to see and do but still gorgeous

KJA took issue with my saying that perhaps Thessaloniki was not a destination for a first tripi. l should have said, for a relatively short trip (2 weks or less) and without a car. As I recall, her first trip was for a full month, and in that case, of course it can be an option, even without a car.

What a great memory! Yes, my trip was a month long . But I still think that whether to include Thessaloniki in ANY trip to Greece depends on the traveler's interests and preferences. Isn't it wonderful that we all have different approaches to travel?