travelerjan

TRip planner, I totally envy you that extended time in the mainland ... I've visited the majority of those site, but it took me several trips. I wouldn't change that sequence at all... but would make ONE big change -- Flip Santorini to the FIRST, and with final 4 days/nights in Athens, Why? I'll list the reasons that many of us "vets" offer, based on our experience, and how we see our "newbie" companions reacting to a "Athens last" Approach:
• Staggering off from an uncomfortable exhausting transatlantic flight and sometime added stress of preparing/getting away, one's not in top shape to undertake heavy-duty sightseeing in a bustling Capital City -- that doesn't even use the same alphabet!
• It's SO Much more relaxing to get over jetlag on an island, just sitting on a balcony gazing at The Famous Caldera View, recouping and re-energiizing
• A couple of Island days & almost 2 weeks driving/sightseeing on Mainland & Pelops will famliarize you with "how greece works" -- enabling you to be much more knowledgeable and efficient in navigating the fascinating sightseeing possibilites of Athens
• After being immersed in Ancient Greek history for 2 weeks, the world-Famous Landmarks of Athens will resonate So much more with you!
-- one final reason (v. important to water-baby me), IF you value swims, doing Santorin (Not a beach destination) first, will give a little more time for Greek seas to warm up.. and there are ver ynice beaches all over the Peloponnse.

IF this proposition appeals, it's very easy & efficent because Santorini has THE most available flights of any island. Just allow 2 hours "layover" & board a domestic flight, it's only 50 minutes, and less than an hour after landing you can be sitting on your balcony, drinking in the View (and also maybe the famous Santorini Assytriko White wine... a citrusy wonder). After your time there, take an early morning (bargain) flight back to ATH, pick up your rental car, and start your mainland Adventure!

tripplanner001

CaKnK, thank you. Appreciate all the suggestions for the Nafplio area.

traverljan, thank you as well. We'll actually be hiring taxis or going on private tours for the mainland portion of the itinerary as we're not drivers. At the moment, it's unclear whether or not we're going to Santorini. Leaning towards sticking with the mainland as Santorini will be visited by several cruise ships each day towards the end of May.

tripplanner001

Based on our current itinerary, we would have about 1.5 days in Olympia - the afternoon coming from Delphi and all day the next day. Reading through options, there does not seem to be much in the area other than the ancient archaeological site and the museum. How much time would you allocate for Olympia? Do you think 1 night is enough as opposed to 2?

Looking at flights, assuming no delays, we would land in Athens at 7pm or 8pm. Should we continue onto our destination from there, which presumably would be Delphi or Nafplion?

Thanks again.

travelerjan

Tripplanner, when seeking the best advice, it's always good to say where you're coming from (unless you're in a witness protection program he he) -- someone travelling from West coast US has much longer more tiring journey than a New Yorker.

ARRIVAL DAY - in any case, landing at 7 or 8 pm means night drivng even in May -- and except for Greece-familiar "veterans", nobody recommends night driving. Some (afffuent) contributors recoommend staying at the (very pricey) Sofitel Hotel right next to AIport building (the ONLY hotel on airport territory -- kickback?). But the rest of us recommend a couple of nearby moderate-price alternatives that offer shuttle to/from airport (1) HOTEL AVRA, in nearby port of Rafina.. overlook a beach, a few hundred yards from shady village square w cafes for meal or snack. (2) PERIS HOTEL - small family-run hotel, good reviews, with nearby "Pizza place" for snack or meal. With both of these, u can collapse for early night, & shuttle next AM to airport for rental car, refreshed for a drive.

OLYMPIA -- One night is plenty -- THe "town" itself is mainly 1-2 long streets lined w hotels & mediocre cafes for visitors. Arrivingi Afternoon, u wiil benefit from most crowds just leaving .. I hear that the ruins area is very atmospheric iin late-day light. BTW, please do solid advance prep, with good guidebook or online print-outs, or the massive ruins-site won't make much sense. For some greece sites, you can buy downloadable audio guides, but I don't know about Olympia. The museum is more user-friendly... but some prep increases appreciation of the Temple of Zeus sculptures. I arrived late day, stayed at nice modest Hotel Hercules, & hotelier gave me great tip; he said all the bus-trippers go firstt in AM to outside ruins, so I should instead go museum @8:30 am - I did, & it was EMPTY... very good .. as I left at 1 - a huge line was pouring in.

Heimdall

The kickback for Sofitel is having a very comfortable bed only steps away from the passenger terminal. I’ve stayed there a couple of times on my less than affluent military pension. Great for late arrivals and early departures.

I’ve also stayed at Hotel Avra in Rafina a couple of times, and highly recommend it, especially if you arrive a little earlier but don’t wish to go into central Athens. Rafina is a nice little port town, and Hotel Avra sits on a hill overlooking the ferry docks. There are some good tavernas in Rafina for your first Greek meal.

FTOttawa

You were planning on hiring a driver or joining a small tour, not driving yourselves, right? Doubtful that many of those will be interested in leaving at night, and you’d miss the sights along the way.

I’d spend the night in Athens and leave the next morning. Stay somewhere convenient to rendezvous with the operator you choose.

tripplanner001

Thank you, everyone, for your feedback. Seems like it will make the most sense for us to just begin in Athens after we land, as it will be one less hotel change. Travel from the airport to the city center is pretty straightforward throughout Europe, so I assume Athens is no different.

Appreciate the hotel suggestions though, as we could use one the night before we fly out.

FTOttawa, yes, we are being driven all around the mainland. We’ve been in contact with taxi companies and tour agencies based in Delphi, Kalamata, and Nafplion, and have pieced the different legs together.

travelerjan, we’ll be coming from DC. When going eastbound, we’ve relied heavily on the late evening British Airways flight to Heathrow, as the schedule works perfectly for us.

travelerjan

THanks for the clarification ... it would have been nice to have the relevant facts up front (suggestions for next time)

tripplanner001

I'm currently looking at day hike options at or or near some of the places we may be visiting and came across some promising suggestions around Delphi as well as on Santorini. On Santorini, it looks like there may be good options away from the busy Fira to Oia corridor, so I'm wondering if there could get away from the cruise ship crowds after all. Near Delphi, I'm specifically looking at the ancient footpaths. On Santorini, the trail from Pyrgos to Ancient Thira and the southeast coast is appealing as are Meghalochori to Plaka and Nea Kameni. Anyone with experience on any of these? Other trails that you've enjoyed in or near Delphi or around the Peloponnese? Thank you.

FTOttawa

From Pyrgos to Ancient Thira is quite vertical. We only did the last little foot bit. The shuttle bus passed some hard-toiling pedestrians. Have a look at the switchbacks on Google maps.

tripplanner001

Thanks FTOttawa.

tripplanner001

Coming back to the question of Santorini or no Santorini. I understand the consensus is to only allocate 3 nights to Santorini rather than 4, but I'm having trouble trying to fit everything we would want to do into 2 full days rather than 3. My current thinking is:

Day 1 - Arrive midday. Get settled into our hotel (caldera view in Imerovigli). Walk to Fira. Time in Fira. [I'm also thinking about flipping Oia and Fira, as there will only be one cruise ship in port in the evening. How much time would you recommend for Oia? Half day?]
Day 2 - Walk to Oia. Time in Oia.
Day 3 - Pyrgos, Ancient Thira, Arkotiri, wineries. Some hiking if it makes sense.
Day 4 - Caldera cruise with visit to volcano (hiking) and Thirasia Island.

Should we combine some of this into one day?

Thanks.

balthy

I think your itinerary in Santorini is fine as planned.Half a day in Oia is plenty IMO. You can walk down to Amoudi and have a meal by the sea at one of the lovely tavernas, 3 nights is usually enough but as you have found plenty to fill your days, why not have that extra night. I didn't do any long walks nor did I go to Thirasia.

FTOttawa

Fira didn’t do it for me, other than the museum which was a brief visit. So, that is one option for squishing your time allocation.

IIRC the bus towards Oia stops near Imerovigli, but going the other way it takes a different highway to Fira. So perhaps bus to Oia and walk home? Just be aware that whatever time the little signpost says it will take to walk to Oia from your starting point, double it. Perhaps if you walk to it, take a taxi home.

For your winery visit, Venetsanos is well located near your other destinations and offers gorgeous views with or without sunset. Tasty wines, too.

With only three nights in Santorini, we didn’t have time for the caldera cruise, so if that is high on your wish list…yup, four nights,

travelerjan

BY the time you reach Santorini, you will have had many walking opportunites so I see no point in overlong walks in Santorini. Frankly the reason that Fira-Oia walk is mentioned so often is that Santorini doesn't really have many good walks. For thoughts, see below.

As for when to go to Fira -- cruise crowds are not the only factor! In May you'll also haveto contend with large PAckage-tour crowds that arrive by jumbo jet or Large ferry, and also invade Oia from charter busses. When should you AVOID OIa? From 10 Am - 4 pm -- this is when all those package/cruise mob invade -- they literally jampack narrow lanes. I remember once, with 2 "newbies" who lingered too long for photos, and were hit by "people tsunami" coming up the only entry lane - my 2 quite shaken by the experience. Between 4-7pm, something of a lull... then, here they come again!! Not cruisers, but hundreds (thousands?) pouring in because of website ballyhoo about Oia Sunsets! They pack riimside walls & stand for up to 90 minutes elbowing each other, awaiting the supposed magic sundown. Then they all try to get on the local bus at once. My tested solution? Taxi up to OIA at 8 AM, and have 2 hours to stroll and photoo in peace... that's enough. Besides the view, only shops to see. When mobs come, you GO.. and the walk from Oia to Imervogli is quite enough. If you want another walk, On arrival day, get bus schedule from your landlady & where to stand, Take bus from IMervogli to FIrostephani... and get off & walk 30 feet Taverna Aktaion right by rimside wall... oldest Taverna on island. Have a beer, lean on wall, loook at view. Walk dowon rimpath to FIRA Town-- Stay on RImside path til it widens to big promenade, near the Cathedral. If u want sunset & dinner without crowds & at reasonable price, go to top-floor terrace of Stani Taverna... if u want a top table, call ahead; they'll honor your reservation & will not require (bribe) tip, as many in Oia may. Then taxi back to Imervogli.
Hikes? We enjoyed Ancient Thira -- and NO crowds from cruise or package tours. 4 of us split a taxki that took us halfway up to the turnaround... we hiked up another 2o minutes, and walked all around the site. If u want to get most from it, do homework -- I lucklyl was there w 2 architects/ancient history buffs. Bring water & snacks or picnic... We walked all way down road...about 20 switchbacks, & caught a bus to Fira.

KarenWoo

You have obviously found things you want to do and see on Santorini so 4 nights is fine. You shouldn't omit things you want to do because some people recommend only 3 nights. There are also people who recommend only 2 nights. We stayed 3 nights on Santorini but we didn't do the caldera cruise. It's important to you so that is what you should do. I always believe that you appreciate a place more the more time you spend there. For example, I fell in love with Cordoba, Spain when we spent 2 nights there. Many people visit Cordoba as a daytrip, and I honestly don't think I would have liked or enjoyed Cordoba as much if we did only a daytrip there.

tripplanner001

Thank you all so much for your incredible feedback and help. It's hard to know what makes the most sense when it comes to some of these decisions, especially with places on where I don't have first-hand information, but I trust the feedback Fodorites have given me over the years so I definitely give what you have to say added weight. Good to know that 4 nights on Santorini may not be overkill. I guess worse case scenario, we may have lighter days then we anticipate, but there are worse places to chill out than at a terrace overlooking the caldera. Still going back and forth on whether or not we will ultimately include Santorini, but have hotel rooms on hold if we do.