We are driving from Nafplio to Monemvassia and cannot decide between the highway through Sparta or taking the coastal route. I dont mind twisting turning small roads, but am wondering if the difference is worth the extra driving time since we only have one night in Monemvassia. Has anyone taken either route? Does anyone know the difference in drive times?

The "coastal route" I took was beautiful and stunning, but it did take an extra few hours (we also stopped a lot) ... no regrets.

The route I took was :

-- Nafplio, start.
-- south toward Astros & Leonidio (this is the primary coastal portion).
-- head west thru mountain pass.
-- Elona monastery, built into side of mounatin, is worth a detour.
-- continue thru to village of Kosmas.
-- continue to Geraki.
-- continue to Skala.
-- head south-east to Monemvasia.

IIRC, My total drive time was 7-8 hrs, but we did stop a lot.

Road Editions, a greek company, has the best maps, including a 1:250000 scale Peloponesses map.

http://www.road.gr/road_en/index/default.htm

We more or less drove both routes last year, driving from Nafplion to Monemvassia over the mountains and via Mystras and back from there along the coast to Paralio Astros - from there it's just a matter of following the coast round the gulf to Nafplion. I've edited the following paragraphs from my trip report of last May, which is still on here somewhere. Both routes are attractive, I'd say the first might be faster but we used the opportunity to visit Mystras and on the return route, stopped frequently and didn't keep track of the time. I'd have to dig out my trip notes to find the actual distances.

We drove to Monemvassia from Tolon, via Mystras, following the coast north of Nafplion before taking the mountain road towards Tripoli, a winding but good, widened road. Approaching Tripoli, the signs for Sparta take you on a short section of the motorway to the next junction, joining the Sparta road without entering the centre of Tripoli. From Sparta, Mystras is signposted and the trip from Tolon took just over 2 hours (to Mystras). We spent 3 and a half hours wandering through Mystras, before heading off to Monemvassia (another hour or so).

We left Monemvassia, heading towards Sparta before turning right for Geraki on the road that goes over the mountains, to reach the coast near Leonidio. The road wound it's way up the mountains with views at first towards the Taygetos, with patches of snow still on the top and carpets of wild flowers lining the route. We passed a monastery perched high on the cliffs and beautiful mountain views, before we eventually reached the coast after driving through the narrow streets of Leonidio. Headed northwards, along the coast road stopping briefly at Sambatiki, a pretty bay with a small pebble beach backed by a few houses and fishing boats pulled onto the shore. We passed numerous small coves along the coast and turned off near the town of Astros for the little resort of Paralio Astros. I'd not known quite what to expect of Paralio Astros, finding little information on the web but we immediately liked the look of the resort.

tt

We have driven the coastal route from Naplion to Monemvassia on one of our many trips to Greece. On that trip had time to stay a few nights on the road in Polithera and Kaparissi. This September we will be touring with another couple and only have one night to stop. Do any of you Grecophiles (sp) know of a chsrming seaside village which would be about half way?