eztravel

My husband and I booked a week in Greece in Mid-March. We are considering an agenda like this:

Day 1 Arrive Athens and explore
Day 2 Athens in the morning then drive to Meteora (4 hours, 20 min)
Day3 Meteora
Day 4 Leave Meteora for 2 hour 40 min. drive to Thessaloniki to fly to Rhodes (1 hour flight)
Day 5 Rhodes
Day 6 Rhodes
Day 7 /Rhodes to Athens then home

I am wondering if this seems like too much, or doable? Also, Crete or Rhodes? Finally, is it hard to rent a car in Athens and return it in Thessaloniki? We love hiking, getting off the beaten track and eating awesome local food. We are pretty seasoned travelers and have been to Cyprus but not Greece.

Thank you in advance for your help!

dgunbug

On our first 3 week trip to Greece, we arrived mid March and had glorious weather - cool and comfortable. IMO you are shortchanging Athens which deserves at least two days. If you go to Meteora, it seems a pity to skip Delphi with its magnificent ruins. You may consider a day trip to the island of Hydra which is close to Athens rather than going to Rhodes.

kja

I completely agree with dgunbug. I would add that IMO, Thessaloniki itself is worth seeing.

You can definitely rent a car in Athens and return it to Thessaloniki – if you are willing to pay a very hefty drop-off charge.

While it depends entirely on what YOU want to see and experience, you might wait to visit Crete until you can give it at least a week.

Hope that helps!

Odin

You can easily rent a car from Athens and drop it off in Thessaloniki. The one way rental fee is not always hefty so check it out. However you are doing a lot of travelling in a short amount of time, can’t see the point of going to Rhodes when you’ve not seen Athens. If you like hiking, getting off the beaten track and like awesome food, head to Pelion.

Heimdall

Totally agree with the others! IMO it would be a crime to go so close to Delphi and not stop to see it. Even if you aren't interested in ancient sites (and Delphi is one of the best), its mountainside setting is breathtaking. Since you are renting a car anyway, take advantage of it to see some of the other interesting sights in Greek Macedonia (northern Greece).

Kja is being modest on this thread! She hasn't mentioned her wonderful trip report of her travels in Greece, which will give you an idea of what else to see along with Meteora. Hopefully Kja will reply with the link.

March is still winter in Greece, and not the best time to visit the islands, even the more southerly ones like Rhodes and Crete. Although most people who post on Fodor's think of islands, there is much more to do and see in the winter on the mainland.

thursdaysd

That is very rushed, and you seem not to have allowed for delays getting back to Athens.

i was in northern Greece the end of March/beginning of April in 2006, and while the nights were chilly the days were fine. There is so much to see in mainland Greece, and indeed in Athens, I would not bother with an island, aside perhaps from a day trip to Hydra, at that time of year. (See European Spring 2006 -- Wilhelm's Words for my trip.)

Nikki

I have only been to Greece once, and it was over ten years ago, but it was in March. We spent the entire week on the mainland and it was gorgeous with wildflowers blooming everywhere. I agree about spending time in Athens, which I really enjoyed. We took a day trip to Aegina, a nearby island, and that was very pleasant. And Delphi is one of the most wonderful sites in one of the most spectacular settings I have ever visited.

eztravel

Thanks, everyone. It sounds like adding Crete or Rhodes is a bit much for this trip. We have heard great things about the Peloponnesian peninsula. Would a revised itinerary of 2 days in Athens, a day or two to see Meteora/Delphi, then a drive to the peninsula be too much as well? We want to be sure we get at least a little beautiful coastal village time, but don't want to spend the whole trip driving either. Thank you so much for the help with all this.

kja

Here’s a link to my trip report:
With Gratitude for a Glorious Solo Month in Greece

I would have felt ridiculously rushed trying to visit Athens, Meteora, and Delphi into one week; YMMV. If you are confident that you can fit those locations in and still have time for something else, Hydra would, I think, be well worth considering. For other options, see a good guidebook or my trip report or thursdaysd's....

@ Heimdall: Thanks!

Odin

I mentioned the Pelion region because it is a stunning beautiful area with many coastal villages, dramatic cliffs and interesting local architecture etc. We did a trip there in conjunction with a trip to Athens, Meteora and Delphi but we had more than just one week. You can visit Pelion from Meteora but it is still a long drive, 2-3 hours but it might be than trying to cram in a visit to the Peloponnese.
Galaxidi is close to Delphi and is a charming coastal town.
Athens/Meteora/Delphi/Galaxidi is possible in a week IMO, something like 2 nights Athens, 2 nights Meteora, 1 or 2 nights Delphi or Galaxidi, last night Athens, maybe somewhere on the Athenian coast eg Vouliagmeni.

mariha2912

A car gives you a great advantage to explore the surrounding areas of your key destinations, so you don't necessarily have to criss-cross the country to find hiking, coastal towns, sightseen, off gthe beaten track places and so on. For example from Delphi you can hike the ancient path down to the sea side through the olive grove or if there isn't snow, up to Mt Parnassos till the Corycean Cave the other direction. You could drive to Itea and especially Galaxidi for sea side or make a nice tour of the Parnassos mountain villages to see a completely different side of Greece. There is a small winery to visit on Souvala village if you wish. In case of snow you could always head to Parnassos ski center for a change : ) Arachova, Hosios Loukas, near by Distomo, Antikyrra and Desfina is an other nice driving tour. And there are many other options.

Ditto in Meteora area there are many other activities to check other than the monasteries and the same applies more or less everywhere.

As a side note, if you plan to visit late March, do note that 25th March is a National Holiday in Greece, commemorating the 1821 Rising against Ottoman Rule. This might influence your planning somehow (closed archeological sites, parades on the streets and so on).