Dear Seasoned Travelers, We need some help picking our mainland destinations...

On the Mainland (Preferably in the Peloponnese) which 3 were your favorite places?

bookmarking to also hear the responses

With the caveat that I still have a lot of the mainland left to see, three of my favorites are Mystras, Monemvasia and the Mani peninsula.

http://www.onelittleworld.com/greece_1.html

#1 Nafplio !
For its own charms, plus proximity to other well known attractions (eg, Mycenae, Epidauros, and much more).

#2 Central Arkadia
Especially region centered on the villages Dimitsana, Stemnitsa, Karitaina, and the Lousios river gorge (there are several variations on spelling, which can make keyword searches tricky).

#3 Hard choice --
Ancient Olympia is a 'must see' if one enjoys classical antiquities, but I also enjoyed:

-- Mani region in general (much different 'look and feel' than rest of Peloponessus.

-- Monemvasia

-- Mystras

-- The Outer Mani villages of Kardamili & Stoupa.

Note, driving the less-travelled route from Nafplion along the sea coast toward Leonidio, then across the mountains to Lakonia and Mani, was especially beautiful. Allow _plenty_ of time.

Oh dear, do I have to choose?

I have to agree with most of those mentioned above but find it hard to restrict myself to just 3.

Monemvassia
Mystras (especially in the spring)
The Mani
Voidokilia (the most beautiful beach)
Nafplion
Arcadia (as per Tom's choice above)
the little cog railway that runs between Kalavryta and Diakofto
many ruins, including
- Mycenae
- Olympia
- Epidavros
- ancient Corinth

oops, well past 3 now and could still go on...

In the Peloponnese my three favourites are:

Tiryns
Nafpilo
Epidaurus

If you were looking for my top five I'd add Ancient Corinth and Argos.

Bill

Bill, I'm with you on that!

I'll agree with my LW's top 3, but I would definitely add Nafplio and Mycenae to that list.

My personal favorites...

1. Mystras
2. Nafplio
3. Monemvasia (1 full day and night will suffice)
4. Aeropolis (check out the Dirous Caves)
5. Methoni - amazing fortress
6. Pylos - great base for the area, very, very pretty town.
7. The Langada Pass
8. Vathia and surrounds
9. Koroni - makes a great stop if you have a car to explore the area.

The Peloponnese is beautiful and interesting - cant go wrong.

Have a great trip,

Naxos

I agree - really hard to choose. Depends, also, on whether you're looking more for sights or more for coast/country. I enjoyed Olympia more than I expected, and Mystras less (but we had a bad tour guide there). Definitely try to spend a night in Monemvasia. I did the Peloponnese with a tour, and I still don't think I'd want to do the same trip with public transport, but very doable if you wanted to drive. Trip report here: www.wilhelmswords.com/rsg2006.

Nafplio and surrounds (Mycenae, Epidauros, etc)

Ancient Olympia

Delphi

Acrocorinth

I know that is 4... sorry!

Epidavros
Nafplio
Nafpaktos
Elafonissos

Thank you Jan.

It is a very personal thing, but for me Tiryns knocks the socks of Mycenae. The added bonus is that this behemoth is only a few miles from Nafplio.

Bill

A lovely "off the beaten path" site in the Argolid -- copied from a Jan 10, 2008 post I submitted:

--- One of the less well known archaeological sites near Naufplio is the "Heraion of Argos", which I stumbled across while driving to Tiryns & Mycenae.

We were the only two people at the Heraion site. It was quiet (only some buzzing bees), serene, and pastoral, with nice views over the Argolid plain -- a lovely way to spend 30-40 minutes.

I'll have to post some pics one day !

In the meantime, Dartmouth College has some nice pics here:
http://tinyurl.com/yvlvfw

ms_go ,

Your photos at zenfolio are beautiful!
Really enjoyed going through them.

Thank you very much tom_h for the information and link to pictures of the Heraion.

I have read about the remains but never visited. Thanks to you I've now added it to my next trip 'list'.

Bill