r/GreeceTravel

I am a 46 year old woman from the US. My 75 year old mother and I are planning our third trip to Greece and we want to explore the Peloponnese region, specifically the Mani Peninsula. We enjoy eating and drinking (of course, that's why we love visiting Greece!), we like historic sites and museums, beaches are great but with my mom's age mountain hikes are probably not in the cards. We like to be busy and see lots of things, but we also really like staying somewhere long enough to get a real feel for the character of a place. We're looking at late May/early June 2027, 7-10 days.

I will be renting a car and doing all the driving. I am a confident driver, but only with an automatic transmission. Traffic in Athens is pretty intimidating, so I was trying to plan a trip avoiding driving in Athens. Those of you with experience, tell me what you think of my plan below, places I shouldn't bother with or places I'm missing. Thank you for your expertise!

Night 1: Travel from US overnight

Night 2: Overnight Kalamata 1 night

Night 3-4: stay in Kyparissia, day trip to Olympia

Night 5-7: 3 nights Kardamyli, trip to Messene on the way, day trip to Monemvasia, day trip down Mani Peninsula (Lemeni, Aereopoli, maybe down to Tenaro)

Night 8: 1 night Kalamata before travel home the next day

Hey guys, i'm planning to travel to Greece in the 2nd part of June, roughly from 15 to 30
I'm arriving in Athens in the morning and i was planning to stay there for 3 or 4 nights, not sure yet and what will be left i'll spend on Crete so 9 or 10 full days, the question is will it be too much considering i don't have a car? If you had 10 days would you spend all of them staying in Chania or divide this time with Heraklion or maybe i should stay more in Athens?
I like beaches, nature, hikes and making friends.

Much appreciate your advices!

Just FYI there was no ETS system running arriving in Athens from the US today.

I have been hearing about the new system and how it was slowing people down a bit doing their fingerprints and stuff but it just wasn't happening.

We were all put in line to go to a human agent, no picture and no fingerprint. They kept the line moving okay, it took maybe 20-30 minutes to get through.

EU citizens did have the machines and they all got through very quickly.

I took the metro into the city and tap to pay worked just fine, I didn't have to buy a ticket.

We’re traveling from

Naxos by ferry on Sept 4 and will be flying to the U.S. on Sept 6. Family of four (two teens) . Have been to Athens four times and like it but were thinking to do something else this time. No cars and we prefer to avoid Air B and B.

We were thinking to book two nights at the the Alex Monte Kastello in Piraeus. We’d be arriving by ferry from Naxos. We were thinking to downs Saturday September 5 somewhere on the Athens Riviera (Flisvos Marina? Glyfada?) that’s accessible by public transport from Piraeus. Then we’d take public transport from Piraeus to the airport on the morning of the 6th.

How does that sound?

How

We are going to Zakynthos and Kefalonia for a total of 9 nights in the end of May! We already have places booked in Tsivili and Sami (respective to each island). We currently have Zakynthos booked 3 nights, and Kefalonia booked for 6 nights, we decided to do Zakynthos for 3 nights since the ferry on the last day doesn't leave until 7:45pm.

With this said, we're not sure if we should change our itinerary and do 4 nights and 5 instead? We are 3 couples in our early 30s. We're very excited to have boat days, explore beaches, cooking classes, wineries and have nice long dinners as well as some cocktail nights out (maybe even a dancing night or two!)

Does anyone have thoughts here? Also suggestions if we are not staying in the right locations. We're a bit worried as Sami seems quite quiet, but couldn't nice any nice villas available in Argostoli.

Hi all

I am planning a wedding in Greece (for May/ September time) and I am struggling to pin down a location.

I‘ve narrowed it down to Chania and Skiathos. I also love the sound of Paros but a little bit concerned of asking people to travel that extra distance (would involve a ferry as well asa flight from the U.K.).

Anyway, what appeals to be about Chania is the beautiful old town and the fact there’s lots to do there but I also know you need to be prepared to travel to make the most of it. That’s not something me or my guests will want to do too much of (I imagine most will come for a week).

If Skiathos is a bit smaller, could we have just as much fun without needing to travel about the island so much?

Beautiful scenery and architecture, white sandy beaches, beach clubs, pretty towns, lively bars and restaurants are all high on my list!

If we can visit our destination before we get married, we will certainly try to do so but want to narrow it down a bit first. Any advice on Chania, Skiathos or other places greatly appreciated ☺️

Hi, my family and I've had no luck finding a one way car rental from Athens city to Gythio port. Not sure if anyone has advice or knowledge of any car companies that offers this?

However, I heard no companies offer this so I am looking for ways to visit the towns I have listed below and drop off a car - I'm assuming Kalamata is the only one way drop off option. I heard KTEL bus goes from Kalamata to Sparta to Gythio, but the KTEL bus website does not have any daily tranfers listed from Kalamata to Sparta, and then to Gythio (only on Friday and Sunday)

The only options I see are:

1. Bus. Drop rental off at Kalamata airport > Bus (Kalamata to Sparta to Gythio port for 3pm ferry) - (but there are no options Kalamata to Sparta to Gythio on wednesday mornings) - not an option
2. Taxi. Drop rental off at Kalamata airport > taxi from Kalamata to Gythio. Not sure how expensive this is? And how expensive taxis are? There are 3 of us.
3. Drive back to Athens Piraeus (4 hours of gas & time wasted) to drop off and take a ferry from there
4. Open to recommendations and advice for other options

Our original pathway (open to changing the order to make logistics work):

1. jun 19 - Athens city (renting on our 3rd/last day staying in Athens city center)
2. jun 20- Nafplio (Corinth/Mycenae along the way)
3. jun 21 - Kardamyli
4. jun 22 - Limeni
5. jun 23 - Monemvasia
6. jun 24 - Gythio port for ferry to Crete on Wednesday 3pm

https://preview.redd.it/oimrnc1jnmxg1.png?width=964&format=png&auto=webp&s=42cc2e4ef8bdfda5e57f9e51005d80f00d08d365

https://preview.redd.it/7hlmvcjlnmxg1.png?width=932&format=png&auto=webp&s=9de4d8e6003a646510a9dd7dd2c37862142589c8

We’ve done a few Greek islands before (Crete, Naxos, Paros) and absolutely loved them – Crete was our favourite, then Naxos.

Now we’re looking at the Ionian Islands for a 2-week trip with our family, including a 2-year-old. Main priorities are beautiful beaches (that Ionian blue water), great food, a relaxed vibe, and somewhere that works logistically with a toddler (so not too much driving every day as we’ll need to be back for naps).

From what I’ve read so far:

• Zakynthos sounds stunning but maybe a bit party-heavy?
• Corfu looks really green and varied, but the best beaches seem spread out or need day trips
• Kefalonia seems big, quieter, and more relaxing overall
• Lefkada looks like it has the most jaw-dropping beaches

For anyone who’s been — especially with kids — which island would you recommend? Or would you split between two?

Appreciate any advice 🙏

We’re going to the Greek islands in July (we know July is peak season, but it’s the only time we can travel). We are torn between these options. Which would you pick for July and why? We have 9 nights!

Milos and Sifnos

Milos and Naxos

Naxos and Paros

For context, we’ve been to Milos a few years ago (also during July) and loved it. We’ve never been to Sifnos, Naxos, or Paros. Thank you!!!

Has anyone taken a day trip from Nafplio to Epidavros? We don’t have a car. We’ve used Daytrip to get from Athens to Nafplio. Plan to use a taxi to Epidavros. Not sure about cost and if will be able to get a taxi back to Nafplio.

We are thinking about going to Naxos. We want a similar vibe to Mykonos but without it being so expensive, we want to meet people and have fun. Do you think Naxos is the right place? Ios is full of 18 year olds, we really really wanted to do paros but it’s just too far and complicated to get to.

EDIT: £1500 each

My friend wants to spend this amount all in on flights, Airbnb and spending money. I like to go to the luxurious beach clubs and really nice restaurants as well as quiet days that don’t cost a lot as well. Do you think we will struggle to achieve this without our budget or do you think it’s doable?

Any recommendations on what to pack for mid May for Athens, Santorini and Skiathos?

Temperatures seem to be 75F max (25C) and52F min (11C). Looks kind of cold. How windy it typically is?

Thanks

Hi! I, 19f, will be solo travelling around Greece for about a month this summer. I used to love Percy Jackson and different greek myths so I'm really looking forward to seeing different temples and ruins. To hype myself up for the trip and the sites I'll be seeing, I wanted to ask for some book recommendations prior to leaving! What do yall recommend?

What the caption says! Been to Zonar’s which is decent and the restaurant on Orizontes Lycabettus which was terrible. Looking for a standout restaurant for our final meal in Athens!!

Hey everyone,

I’m planning an 8-day solo trip to Naxos and thinking about staying near Agia Anna Beach.

I’m looking for:

turquoise beaches

good Greek food/street food

ATV road trips around villages and mountains

snorkeling/boat trips

maybe a day trip to Paros

nice towns/alleys to walk around at night

I’m not into partying, but I also don’t want the evenings to feel too dead or isolated as a solo traveler.

Do you think Naxos is a good fit for that?

best

Me and 4 other friends are going to Kavos from the 16-23 of June. Will the strip be busy? I’ve seen a few videos and comments about Kavos being dead and I’m not too sure what to make of it. I went to Zante in June last year and it was a perfect level of busy. I’m not expecting Kavos to have the same numbers since it’s smaller but I’d still hope it’s not “dead”.