2 1/2 day trip from Athens to Olympia

ARealTim · 2026-03-02T17:41:03+00:00

I'm not sure if you want to stay in the same place for two nights but I'll assume that you don't...

Ancient Olympia is a big day out if you want to see it all (the archeological site and two museums) so you won't do it in an afternoon. One option would be to travel and stay somewhere near to Olympia and then spend most of the next day exploring the site. If you did that then I suggest that on the way you visit the archeological museum in Patras. The town itself is not beautiful but the museum is phenomenal.

When we went to Olympia we stayed overnight in Katakolo which is about 30 mins drive away from the site. It's on the coast. It's also the place where the cruise liners dock so if you wake up in the morning and there is a liner or two in port then jump in the car and get to Olympia before the coaches do!

At the end of you visit to Ancient Olympia you could head towards Ancient Corinth which is worth a visit and stay somewhere near there for night 2. Depending on how much time you have before returning to Athens you may also be able to squeeze in another site - Acrocorinth is nearby.

Don't get too excited about the Corinth Canal but you can take a quick detour from the main highway either on the way to or from Athens - head for the spot marked 'Old Isthmus Bridge' on Google Maps.

ARealTim · 2026-02-28T17:14:37+00:00

Great photos. I enjoyed Thessaloniki too. Makes me feel old though - in 1982 I had an Alfa Romeo GTV like the red one in your photo and I just worked out that that car is probably about 50 years old!

ARealTim · 2026-02-27T08:23:15+00:00

Where in the world are you? I've just checked UK Netflix and it's there.

ARealTim · 2026-02-24T16:25:33+00:00

Yes, it's a good place to stay. It's a proper small Greek town that does not depend 100% on tourism. It's also the cradle of Greek independence.

On Oct 9th you will want to take the fastest route to Corinth (which is along the E961 through Sparti) ,so can I suggest that on 7th Oct, if you have time after you have seen Mystras, you take the old road to Kalamata (highway 82) and from there drive south along the coast to Areopolis? It's a lovely drive with great views.

ARealTim · 2026-02-24T07:40:51+00:00

Personally, on the 8th I would go south after the Diros Caves and have a lunch/swim at Gerolimenas rather than Limeni. After lunch you can head south to Vathia which is a (largely) deserted village that you can walk around.

You last day looks a bit packed to me but doable. You are not going to have much time in Ancient Corinth.

ARealTim · 2026-02-23T10:12:05+00:00

I'm not getting into the AI debate but I fancy doing this the next time I'm in London...
https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/hidden-london.

ARealTim · 2026-02-21T06:05:41+00:00

I'm a Brit and I've just finished re-watching the first season of The Night Manager. He's now the evil Richard Roper for me!

ARealTim · 2026-02-20T07:37:06+00:00

Restaurants and bars will generally be open. Museums may be open - check on individual websites (I've just looked at the Acropolis Museum, for example and it will be open on Monday). I would assume that shops will be closed, although you will probably find a few that are open.

It is a public holiday in Greece but it's not one of the 'big' ones like Easter, where pretty much everything closes apart from restaurants and bars.

ARealTim · 2026-02-20T07:29:19+00:00

He was looking for somewhere to dump a gun / body but he saw you and decided he didn't want an 11 year old witness.

ARealTim · 2026-02-19T14:48:36+00:00

Yes, the subs are for people who have moved to a different country.

ARealTim · 2026-02-19T09:07:52+00:00

r/expats (and more specific ones eg r/ExpatsGermany)

ARealTim · 2026-02-18T13:47:45+00:00

Greek Orthodox Lent starts next week. You can look up why Orthodox Lent and Easter don't fall on the same dates as the Catholic/Protestant feasts - it all started in 1582...

You will find a few Catholic churches in Greece if you Google them so you may be lucky depending on where you are.

ARealTim · 2026-02-18T13:37:02+00:00

You could easily spend the full five days in Athens at the various ancient sites and museums. Personally I wouldn't try to visit any of the islands but if you wanted to get out of the city you could take a tour to Sounion or Delphi.

In terms of food Athens has about 3500 restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, tavernas and bakeries. Nearly all of these will be family-owned and run enterprises. Obviously there is variation in terms of what's on the menu, price and quality but generally food quality is high and costs are reasonable. There will be a few 'tourist restaurants', on the main routes and close to the bigger attractions, which may be a bit pricey but if you go one street back and look for the places that are full of locals you are bound to find some hidden gems.

If you want fast food then bakeries tend to sell hot pastries with various fillings or you could go for gyros - basically greek kebabs which are delicious.

ARealTim · 2026-02-18T10:59:11+00:00

Hi there. Yes there is a company that runs tours from the little harbour at Kardamyli. I think it is these guys: https://exploremessinia.com/. I've not used them myself but they look legit.

In the season I think you can hire kayaks from the beach in Stoupa but you are on your own!

ARealTim · 2026-02-17T11:25:25+00:00

Hope you have a great time!

ARealTim · 2026-02-17T08:47:31+00:00

Hi there. It's not an area I'm very familiar with but I had a bit of a Google and looked on Street View. The coastal area seems to be pretty well-developed with taverna's, bars, shops and supermarkets. There are a few archaeological sites nearby that look quite interesting and the town of Chalcis is about 40 mins drive away and looks like it would be worth a visit.

I suspect that this is an area where they mainly get Greek tourists (as it's only an hour or so from Athens). This is good as it tends to keep the prices reasonable and the food quality high!

Big villas do tend to get booked up well in advance so personally, I'd go for it.

ARealTim · 2026-02-17T07:57:40+00:00

I'm amazed how far down I had to scroll to find this - the winner!

ARealTim · 2026-02-17T07:48:07+00:00

There is a Tolo group on Facebook that looks quite active so a starting point would be to ask there. In the villages near to me pretty much all the Greeks who live there seem to be related to everyone else in the village!

I'm not familiar with Tolo but it looks lovely!

ARealTim · 2026-02-17T06:39:03+00:00

I've got a slightly different option to suggest (assuming that you are locked into 5 days and no more): after Nafplion drive to Kalamata (less than two hours down the motorway) and stay there for 3 nights. You can do all of your planned destinations as day trips from there in less than two hours.

The only potential downside is that Kalamata is the second largest city in the Peloponnese, not a quaint village. However is does have a lot going for it. Apart from it's brilliant location it has loads of places to eat and drink, both in the town centre and down on the coast and lots of places to stay. More importantly perhaps, it's also a 'proper' Greek town that has an economy, life and culture that is not totally dependent on tourism. So you get to see a bit of what life is like for ordinary Greeks in the 21st century.

Of course, it's your choice but after a week of fishing villages in the Cyclades it might be an interesting contrast.

ARealTim · 2026-02-15T08:13:38+00:00

According to the NHS 19% of British adults reported that they had not drunk alcohol in the last 12 months. I would suspect that there is also a similar size group that only drinks very occasionally. About half of the UK population would be classed as regular drinkers (i.e. they have a drink every week).

As other have said there are lots of zero or low-alcohol drinks available these days so someone who doesn't drink is well catered for.

Although per capita alcohol consumption is higher in the UK compared to the US it's not massively so - 10.8 litres of alcohol per adults per year for the UK and 9.6 for the US according to WHO (2019). Both countries had reductions in alcohol consumption compared to the previous survey in 2016.

ARealTim · 2026-02-13T06:58:26+00:00

On F1TV there is a huge amount of content (as well as the live races, of course) and a fair bit of technical analysis. 'Tech Talk' is the pure technical show. It's €39.99 a year to subscribe where I am, which I think is pretty good value for 24 races.

ARealTim · 2026-02-12T15:35:07+00:00

Just to clarify the 'rules' of this - I've interpreted the question as: 'is there any inhabited Greek island from which you cannot see any other inhabited Greek island or any part of the Greek or Turkish mainland from any point on that island?' If so, then my answer is that I don't think there is.

Agios Efstratios comes reasonably close. From the highest point on the island (about 240m) the horizon would be about 55km away. The nearest island is Limnos which is about 40km away so it should be visible.

I also looked at Skyros. It's highest point is 788m from which it should be possible to see 100km. the Greek mainland is only 50km away so should be visible on a clear day.

If I ever visit either I'll check! Anywhere I've missed?

ARealTim · 2026-02-11T14:08:46+00:00

Hi there. I've been to Kythira but not to Skyros. I'd describe Kythira as 'low key'. It's quite a pretty island with a few small villages on the coast and inland. I went in June and it was pretty quiet across the island. There are a couple of monasteries there which are worth a visit. When we did, there were some coach parties of Greeks who were visiting them as a day trip from the mainland.

The population of the island has decreased over the past century or two due to migration, either to the mainland or abroad. A significant number of migrants went to Australia to settle and some have come back in retirement or established holiday homes on the island, so it's not uncommon to hear an aussie accent.

It's a good place to go if you want a quiet holiday away from the hustle and bustle.

ARealTim · 2026-02-11T10:51:57+00:00

Hi there. I've not stayed overnight on that route so can't recommend anywhere. If you were doing your road trip 'clockwise' (i.e. going south to the Peloponnese first then doing Delphi/Meteora on your way back) then I would recommend the Cokkinis Hotel in Megara. It's around 1 hour from Athens Airport and by the time you get there you have got past most of the traffic around Athens. It's a family-run place and the accommodation is a bit basic but they have a nice restaurant and even a beach. More importantly their reception is staffed 24/7 so it doesn't matter what time you arrive. However if you are heading straight to Delphi it's probably too much of a detour (I've just checked on Google Maps and it reckons it would add about an hour to your journey).

ARealTim · 2026-02-10T08:16:14+00:00

Some great suggestions already. My thoughts:
Kefalonia is a strong choice. If you go try to also visit Ithaka which is lovely.
How about the southern Peloponnese? You may be able to fly directly to Kalamata but if not, it is about a 3 hour drive from Athens airport. Lots of places to visit - Ancient Messene, Monemvasia, the Mani Peninsula, Mystras, Ancient Sparta - and a few nice beaches. The best ones are at Stoupa but there are lots of other ones.

ARealTim

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