sparks389

I need some input on our itinerary. Two older adults going for 2 weeks this October. We have seen Athens and want to concentrate on the Peloponnese area and include Delphi. We will be renting a car and already have reservations at a B&B near the airport for the first and last nights. We love ancient history and food and like smaller villages where we can walk to restaurants and cafes. Trying to figure out how to keep from moving around to too many different bases. Any input is appreciated.

Day 1- arrive late afternoon Athens from US. Stay overnight to adjust.
Day 2- pick up car and drive to Delphi. Stay overnight nearby.(?)
Day 3, 4 & 5 - drive to koroni (?)- day trips
DAY 6,7 & 8 - drive to Monemvasía - day trips
Day 9,10 & 11- drive to Návplion- day trips
Day 12 drive to Athens- stay overnight near airport
Day 13-leave for home

HappyTrvlr

Stay overnight in Delphi. It's in a beautiful mountain setting and we had views from our room all the way to the sea.

sparks389

Where did you stay?

travelerjan

Stay IN delphi ... we went to Hotel PAN just a few 100 yards from where the bus stops ... it's on the "downhill side" of the man street, Hotel Artemis across the st. is a "sister hotel." at Pan, the manager asked, a room on this main floor OK? We wondered... because we wanted a view. We asked to see it and walked down a hall. Went out on the balcony, and saw hawks circling --- BELOW our FEET! There was a 200 foot drop below us to greenery & the next street -- to our right, we looked down the mountain to olive groves, and the sea, and the sunset. Yes, we said, we'll take it. JUne 1st a double was about 35E.

PS: don't miss filling your water bottles in Delphi. The tap water comes straight from a mountaintop ... best water I've ever tasted in 11 trips to Greece.

sparks389

I need more input. After more research, I have revised the itinerary. One issue was the long ride from Delphi to koroni, so I decided to stop the night near Olympia and the continue on after going to see the ruins. I also can not decide about staying in Koroni. I found a cool cottage rental in the Finikounda area in the countryside, a nice B&B in Pyrgos and a place near Koroni. Since this is late October, I don't want to be stuck in a resort town that is mostly closed. Any suggestions? I can supply the choices I have for hotels.

Day 1- arrive late afternoon Athens from US. Stay overnight to adjust.
Day 2- pick up car and drive to Delphi. Stay overnight. Made reservations
Day 3, 4 & 5 - drive to koroni or Finikounda - day trips
DAY 6,7 & 8 - drive to Monemvasía - day trips
Day 9,10 & 11- drive to Návplion- day trips
Day 12 drive to Athens- stay overnight near airport
Day 13-leave for home

sparks389

Sorry. I left out Olympia

10-24- arrive late afternoon Athens from US. Stay overnight to adjust.
10-25- pick up car and drive to Delphi. Stay overnight. Made reservations
10-26 Olympia
10/27, 28 & 29- drive to koroni or Finikounda - day trips
10/30, 31 11-1- drive to Monemvasía - day trips
11-2,11-3,11-4- drive to Návplion- day trips
11-5 drive to Athens- stay overnight near airport
11-6 -leave for home

clausar

I noticed that you will be trveling at the end of October- begining of November.
Even though Southern Peloponnese has a milder climate compared to the North, i would not recommend to stay in Finikounta or Koroni that late in October.

It will be colder for sure, and most bars/cafes/restaurants that are opened during the tourist season, will be closed.

The best alternative, would be the city of Kalamata in my opinion, a lovely city located on the Messenian Gulg, with an old castle, old city and a very long seaside promenade.

It is a good base to visit Methoni/Koroni and Pylos, or Kardamyli and Stoupa, two quaint villages of the Messenian mani.

On your way from Kalamata to Monemvasia, Areopolis, Gytheion and the Diros Caves are must sees.

sparks389

The problem seems to be that Kalamata has mostly resort-typr hotels. We prefer small B&B types and villages. I kind of like Chamaloni Guesthouse on a hill overlooking Finikounta. Would that be an issue in October to find tavernas?

clausar

Kalamata is a city, not all hotels are resort hotels, Pharae Palace and Iviskos are two good hotels for example.

At the end of October, there won't be any resort tourism anyway... so it is a matter of priorities i think.
While Kalamata offers many possibilities , Finikounta, which is a resort.. will be rather sleepy.....

There might be a few restaurants open, but having been there often in the summer, personally i wouldn't choose it so late in October.

Finikounta is the typical resort village that gets sleepy off season. Since Chamaloni isn't located in the village of Finikounta , and you will have a car, i am sure that the owners will give you recommendations, on where to go.

It just makes a difference to me, between being in Kalamata among locals, with all the Plateia full of cafes and local restaurants, where you can soak in Greece's everyday life and a tiny sleepy village, where after dark, all you can do is reading a book or watch TV....

Just my opinion of course

28/10 is a big holiday in Greece, it would be very interesting to watch the parades and celebrations wherever you are... Greece is celebrating the Ochi day , the laconic answer of NO to the demand of Italy to surrender, which started the war and Greece's participation in WW2

Heimdall

Kalamata is the capital of Messenia, a thriving year-round city with a population of over 40,000. Finikounda is a small resort village with a summer population of 3,000 and a winter population of only about 500. For an off-season visit I would follow clausar's advice and stay in Kalamata.

Sparks389, perhaps the sources you are using for hotel search are aimed primarily at people looking for resort-type hotels, and that's why you are getting those results. Since Kalamata is a large administrative and commercial centre, it would have hotels catering for other types of visitor too.

NomadLass

An option you may want to consider for your last night since you're planning to stay near the Athens Airport - visiting the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio at sunset. Recall it's about a 40 minute drive south from the airport on a coastal road. Seeing those ruins at sunset on a hilltop overlooking the sea was one of the highlights of our 2 & 1/2 week trip to Greece. We did it on our last night. Google the Temple's sunset photos and you'll see what I mean. The Peloponnese was also one of our favorite areas. Best wishes for your trip.

stanbr

Since you are traveling late in the season I suspect that sunning on a beach is not the priority but rather ancient sites is the focus.
We have spent 17 days in the Peloponnese and broke that up into the east Nafplio, Corinth, Mustras Mani and Monemvassia. That took a full week. Last summer we did an additional 10 days and did the west including Methoni, Pylos and Koroni then Oylmpia Delphi and Meteora. Based on that experience and understanding driving times in Greece it seems to me that you are doing a lot of driving and trying to see too much in not sufficient time.

Since you only added Olympia to your plan because the drive from Delphi to Koroni was too long then I am assuming that Olympia is not one of your must sees.

We too broke up this long trip over two days and after that experience I would respectfully suggest that those two days can better be spent seeing other areas of the Peloponnese.

So here is what I would suggest. Drive to Delphi as planned. Stay in the village as Jan described the view down to the Gulf Of Corinth and the flowing river of olive trees is stunning.

Next head north to see the Monasteries at Meteora. It is a unique experience and while it is not ancient like Delphi it is over 500 years old and is not a ruin. Regardless of your choice to see Meteora or not the rest of my plan makes logistical sense.

We stayed overnight and got up the next morning and drove to Nafplio. This is a long day but it is on very good divided toll highway all the way to Corinth. On the way we stopped at Corinth and visited Ancient Corinth the canal and ancient Nemia which had sister games to Olympia.

From Corinth it is only an hour south to Nafplio driving through rolling hills and vineyards of Nemia.

Nafplio is a great location for a couple of days for its neoclassical architecture and two fortresses.
As planned you can take day trips to Tiyrns, Epidavrus, Mycenae and perhaps Argos.

Then head south and stop in Sparti to visit the Byzantine city of Mystras. This is a city with a fortress on top with ruins and cathedrals all down the side of the mountain.

On the same day continue on to Monemvassia. You can rent a period room and sleep inside the walls of the town. Our room had a gun port in the bathroom.

We then headed west and drove the inner Mani through high mountains and rugged landscape and visited the tower house village of Vathey. Then back to Athens for our flight home.

I think that by dropping the west and concentrating on the east you will get a richer experience by doing less.

Here are images of the east.
Nafplio and Peloponnese
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094108982/

clausar

Personally i would NOT skip Olympia, which is one of the most important archaeological sites of Greece and definitely worth a visit.

Meteora is too far away, being 360 km north of Athens, so that i would save for another trip.

The itinerary

Athens - Delphi - Olympia - Methoni/Koroni or Kalamata - Monemvasia - Nafplio, makes perfectly sense to me, as it will give you a good picture of the Peloponnese, which is very diverse and has a lot so see.

The Peloponnese is full of unspoiled mountain villages, forests, nature, gotges, rivers and also offers famous archaeological sites , castles and museums.

I would personally keep the balance between ruins and the unspoiled , non touristy Greece that you can still find in the Peloponnese.

stanbr

I forgot to add the photos of Olympia, Delphi and Meteora and our trip to the west last summer where we searched out Venetian Era castles.
Perhaps the photos will give Sparks an inspiration for their decision making.
Olympia Delfi Meteora
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645469717811/
Peloponesse Battle Castles
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...7645468134284/

clausar

Forgot to add, that on 25/10 Europe is switching back to "Wintertime"...... and sunset will be at 17:30 hrs...

Something that you should take into consideration.

sparks389

Great ideas and thanks. When we travel, we try to move as few times as possible and do day trips from one base. Would there be a good base in the middle of the Peloponnese that would work for Olympia,the Mani, etc.?

travelerjan

Sparks, the "base" idea works for places like tuscany, where you can stay in a villa and each day you drive 40 miles in a different direction, then 40 miles back. It doesn't work in Greece. Look at this good Map of Peloponnese and you will begin to see why: http://www.esperides.gr/images/pelop..._esperides.jpg (click & it gets huuge). the road system is like a wide-opening latticework, and in between are mountains. Many of the roads themselves are quite mountainous. If you plunked yourself in the middle, you would spend so much of your precious time backtracking. And anyway, places that are inland, where roads meet, are just not all that interesting (Tripoli, Sparta -- the latter has history but today it's just an ordinary not very big city). That's why, in the Peloponnese, you keep on the move. A day or 2 in one place, then on you go -- clockwise or counter-clockwise... with perhaps a diagonal going inland from, say, Olympia, to Dimitsana if you fancy a lot of mountain roads.

We get that kind of query a lot, from people who've done the "base" thing in northern italy and want to apply it to Greece Mainland and even islands. They want to use Santorini as a "base" and do day trips. No can do. You stay in one island a few days, then catch a ferry onward. That's why it's called "island HOPPING: not "island basing."

It's best to deal with Greece's geography as it is, rather than try to apply the practices from a different country. It's really fun, too, as long as you are not the kind of traveler who always wants to unpack his suitcase into the hotel bureau, put out framed pictures, and settle in. Keep the clothes in the case, and embrace the adventure!

clausar

sparks
Don't underestimate the size of the Peloponnese, it is a huge peninsula.
There is no place in the middle of the Peloponnese, that could serve as a base....Olympia-South Peloponnese would be too far away for day trips.

The only city that might be suitable, is Tripolis... but this is no city that i would recommend as a base.
Driving from Tripolis to all the points of interest would end up with long daily drives.

sparks389

Thanks for the advice! travelerjan, how did you know I was thinking of our trips to Italy? Ha! Well, will not pack the framed pictures this time and will plan on moving around then and just have to deal with it and enjoy the ride. Thanks

travelerjan

I knew because we get that idea of a "base" all the time on these forums, and it always turns out to be people who visited Italy!