Questions on Greece itinerary, May 2011, 5 adults
 

Will be travelling May to Greece with wife, brother and his wife, and sister. Five of us, all 55-60, in good health. Am of Greek heritage and will be our first trip to Greece(Brother was in Athens in 1970s.). Part of trip is to see where grandparents came from - the Pelopennese along the Sea of Corinth. Also, ancestors came from the north. Thus , interest in heading to Thessaloniki. All of us have a moderate amount of travel experience but this is the first time to Greece. Ideally, we wish to touch base with at least the regions of our ancestors ( relatives remaining in Greece are quite distant now to us) as well as experience Greece. Including at least an island stop seems to be a necessity, Budget is not extravagant but not limiting.

Our flights leave US on May 17, flying with DW and sister. DB and his wife will arive on 5/18 (when we do) after a week in Israel(her heritage). Those two depart on 5/28 and I with DW and DS head back on 5/30. Want to do hiking in places as well as beaches, ruins, Museums - am hoping this will only be the first of trips but would like this first time to be a good overview of Greece.

So, an initial itinerary that I would appreciate comments on:
May 17 - Leave US
May 18 - arrive Athens with wife and sister, rent car, meet with DB and DSIL, and head to Peolpennese.
May 19 - Visit villages of grandparents. Night in Patra.
May 20 - Visit Delphi. Head towards Thessaloniki. Overnight somewhere enroute.
May 21 - Arrive Thessaloniki. 2 nights.
May 23 - Drive back to Athens. Return car. To island - ? Santorini? ?Naxos? Others? - that night or next day. Feel we have time for only one island.
May 26- Return to Athens from island. Museums/sights in Athens.
May 28 - Brother and sister-in-law depart. Continue to see Athens.
May 30 - The three of us return to US.

Are we trying to include too much in this time frame?
Would going from Thessaloniki to Lesbos to Athens be a reasonable thing to do to get the island experience?
Would going to Western Greece - Vikos Greece/Ioannina - in place of Thesaloniki - be something worth considering
Other than the heritage aspect of going north to Thessaoloniki ( plus my brother remembers his visit to there fondly), is that worth the time driving to get there?
I would like to be able include Mt Olympia but not sure we have enough time.

I appreciate any input! Thank you!

So you're renting a car immediately upon arriving at the Athens airport? Usually one is tired and jet-lagged after an overnight flight, too tired to drive. Would your brother or sister-in-law be able to drive? (Since they presumedly are recovered from jetlag.) Also one car for 5 people and their luggage needs to be quite big, maybe too big for small villages.

Olympic Air and Aegean Air have flights between Thessaloniki and Santorini, also Mykonos for Naxos. This could save you the time for the return drive to Athens.

"This could save you the time for the return drive to Athens"

Keep in mind that the flights from Thessaloniki to Santorini, Mykonos and Naxos all require a plane change in Athens.

This seems too ambitious a trip for such a short time. The entire time could be spent just on the Peloponesse as it is a beautiful area. Many ancient sites also. My husband is an
American born Greek and has relatives who summer in Giato on the Sea of Corinth. We usually hook up with them there if they are not in Athens. We have spent many a month just doing the Peloponesse. Naplion could be a nice place to start your search from if the villages are in that area. Further west the mountain villages, might look close on a map, but driving between them is a different story. We often drive directly from the airport and it only takes an hour or so to reach the canal area. It all depends on our arrival time if we do so. We are older than you, but are very familiar with the country, Patra is just a busy port city, so if you do travel to Delfi from the Southern side of the Corinth Sea, try Galaxidi for your overnight stay on route to Delphi. Charming little village with sea side tavernas--one half hour ride to Delphi. Seems to me Thessalonika should be left for another time. An island experience may be a tight fit. The area around Stoupa and Kardimilli are interesting and could give you an island feel with out leaving the Peloponese. Also, if you had more time a short ferry ride to Kefalonia in the Ionions could fit the bill. Even so, you really do not have time for that. Are these villages remote or near the Corinth Sea? That area has become quite populated in recent years. An interesting trip for you to plan, and I know you will return to explore more of a beautiful country. Even more fun if you speak some Greek! There were less than 50 reisidents in my husband's dad's village-- nearly everyone shared our last name.. we were treated like royalty.

I am afraid that it will be a long way driving and this will make you feel tired and might prevent you from enjoying the trip. I have been in Greece twice but I was visiting just the islands (Crete, Rhodes, Corfu and Zante). This spring, I will be there for 12 days and I am going to see the mainland which is full of ancient sites and I will spend 3-4 days in Santorini where I have not been yet. I was thinking of renting a car too but a friend of mine discouraged me from doing so and suggested me look for a guided tour with professional guidance and a professional driver. The advantages of having somebody else transferring us from one place to the other is that we will be able to enjoy the route without risking of getting lost in unknown routes or getting too tired due to driving. Actually, my friend persuaded me that after such a long trip from America we should make our best to enjoy Greece as much as possible. We decided to try a 7-day trip to Greece, by coach. We booked it online (two days ago!!!) and, since then, we are contacting an agent (he is greek) who has arranged hotels and dinners for us (included in the price). We are a group of 7 people and we asked him to make some shifts to the initial tour for us and it has worked perfectly by now. I hope that no unexpected events will occur during our tour but I feel safe because the person that has contacted me seems to be a professional who knows what to do very well. I hope that it is not going to be considered an undesired promotion so I dare to give you the link of the trip we have booked: http://www.greece-tours.me/athens-to...our-of-greece/ . Well, I cannot guarantee that this is the best solution for you but I am really satisfied with my schedule. For me, it is the first time asking an agent to help me for my trip to Greece, usually I made the arrangements on my own in the past, but this time it looked a bit difficult.
My advice is to have second thoughts on driving immediately after your flight. The weather in Greece will be hot and this will make it difficult for you.

Thank you all for your comments. We are rethinking including Thessaloniki in this trip. Beginning to sound like too much time on the road. Gogogreece, the idea of staying in the Pelopennese with a trip to Delphi is appealing. My grandmother's village is Kato Loutro, on the coast west of Corinth. Grandfather's town is not too far away but need to confirm with my uncles. They actually met in the states and married after 1 month. I like the thought of getting "an island experience" by Stoupa. Will look into that more - that had not occurred to me. Clayton - will look at that tour site. May not work for us in trying to do the villages that family came from. Yes, we know it will be hot but we are all from the South so not unfamiliar with high temps. We arrive early in the morning and would like to get out of Athens that day.

Kato Louto appears to be close to, or a part of Xzlokasto, a rather lovely sea side resort. I Googled the town, so hope what I came up with is correct. It is only 2 or 3 miles from Kiato/Giato where our relatives have a summer condo. It is a good sized town now, and the beach there is nice if I remember it correctly. I remember it as a rather large sea side resort. Your Granddad's village could be in the hills, they have some lovely small settlements overlooking the sea from pine forests. Our cousin has a small summer home in those hills, The views are beautiful from her place. Her mom and dad are the ones in Giato. You may want to spend an overnight in Xzlokastro, but recommend you reserve first.
good spot to rest up in. An easy ride on the highway--a toll road-- and suspect it would be less than an hour and half time from the city. The highway signs are numerous and well marked for your exit. Try to find a car rental agency on Syngrou Street--Most rental agencies are located there. There is fairly easy access to the toll road from Syngrou. One must keep up with the traffic's speed so be sure to have a navagator look for the correct signage. No inner city driving would be necessary. Do write back with questions if you decide on the Peloponesse. If you drive down the south east coast to Monavasia you could almost have your "island experience" there! Marvelous place, Stoupa is on the western coast. All doable in a week with time for Delphi, many other fantastic sites, and some hiking before your return to Athens. Happy travels.

PS--Really do not worry too much about the heat. Athens will be unbearable, but all homes and rooms now have great airconditioning, so always possible to cool off. When by the sea side there is a cooling breeze, and one can usually find a shade tree--sometimes right on the beach. No need for a quide, fun to plan as you go!

Here I am again. Good thing I read your letter over. Thought you were going in July. May will give you wonderful weather. wild flowers will be everywhere on the Peloponesse. Not to worry about hot weather at all--even in Athens. No need to make advance reservations even for a large group at that time. Easy traveling and you can adjust how many days to somewhere on the spot.

Thank you, gogogreece, for your help. You have made some great suggestions for us! Hoping to settle our travel plans with brother and sister in next week. Am hoping the group decides to concentrate on the Pelopennese - we shall see.

I do not recall ever seeing a question on this forum pertaining to this area in Greece, so hope I am some help to you. As mentioned previously, I doubt the only Americans you well see or meet in your village search are just passing through the area, or others on a search like yours. However, once you leave there you can glean information on the rest of your trip from other Fodor contributors. Eager to hear what your decision will be. Do write back and let us all know about how your "search" turned out.

I liked Thessaloniki, but I would skip it in your case. It is a long way to drive round-trip.

If you are still planning on driving from Patras to Delphi, you will probably go through Nafpaktos (formerly Lepanto). It was a very nice town with a very picturesque harbor and an elaborate fortress on the hill at the top of the town. It was the site of the very significant Battle of Lepanto. It might be worth a visit.