Notes on travelling in Greece: Athens, the Peloponnese and a few islands

We went to Greece in mid-September to early October 2022 for a three week trip, travelling around Athens, the Peloponnese and a few islands. You can read about each stop by following the links below, see our full travel itinerary further down, including a map of where each destination sits, and I’ve also gathered some notes that apply more generally here, too.

I’d highly recommend a trip like this if you’re considering it! We had a wonderful few weeks of exploring vibrant cities, visiting historic sites, swimming in crystal-clear seas, basking in glorious weather, eating delicious food and I was utterly delighted by all the complimentary snacks and desserts we were given!

A basic map of the southern part of Greece, the Peloponnese and some islands, with arrow pointing between destinations that are labeled: 1: Athens, 2: Delphi, 3: Hydra, 4: Ancient Olympia, 5: Nafplio, 6: Mykonos, 7: Santorini, 8: Folegandros
Not an entirely accurate or complete map, but hopefully gives a sense of where places sit!

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The main destinations we visited

Street art near Athens Central Municipal Market, Monastiraki, Athens, Greece. Buildings surround a road, with cars and people. The buildings feature street art of a person with long hair looking downwards (by INO) to the centre-left and street art of a child looking at a sapling to the right (Untitiled by M. Koan)

Athens

View across the valley in Delphi, Greece, with a 'STOP' road sign to the left.

Delphi

Coastal path, Epar. Od. Mandrakiou-Molou, Hydra, Greece, showing the path in shade to the left, trees either side and buildings, sea and a hill visible in a gap.

Hydra

Photograph in the archaeological site at Ancient Olympia, Greece, showing a reconstruction of a pillar to the left and original ruins across the foreground, with trees behind and blue sky with clouds behind.

Ancient Olympia

Room with a view. Photograph of an abandoned shell of a hotel, with a view of the sea and mountains behind.

Nafplio

Church of Panagia Paraportiani against a clue sky with a few clouds

Mykonos

Photograph of hillside buildings in Oia, which overlook the port, in golden light as the sun sets.

Santorini

Vew of a path leading to Katergo beach, with the sea behind.

Folegandros

Our full itinerary for three weeks in Greece: Athens, the Peloponnese and a few islands

We pretty much used Rick Steves’ ‘Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese*’ to plan our trip, which worked very nicely, but he sure does pack a lot into each trip! There were quite a few long journeys, so it’s worth thinking about where you want to spend most time. Our itinerary is below, including our travel times, and you can click through each location to read all about what we did there:

A basic map of the southern part of Greece, the Peloponnese and some islands, with arrow pointing between destinations that are labeled: 1: Athens, 2: Delphi, 3: Hydra, 4: Ancient Olympia, 5: Nafplio, 6: Mykonos, 7: Santorini, 8: Folegandros
Here’s the rudimentary map again, so you can get a sense of the to-ing and fro-ing we did.

Athens: 3 nights (2.5 days)

Bus from Athens to Delphi (10:30 – 13:30)

Delphi: 2 nights (1.5 days)

Bus from Delphi to Athens (11:00 – 14:00), then metro to Piraeus, then Ferry from Piraeus to Hydra (18:30 – 20:30)

Hydra: 2 nights (1 full day)

Ferry to Athens (07:20 – 09:20), then bus from Athens to Pyrgos (13:00 – 17:30), then local bus to Ancient Olympia (19:30 – 20:15ish)

Olympia: 2 nights (1 full day)

Taxi from Olympia to Pyrgos, then bus from Pyrgos to Tripoli (07:35 – 12:00), then bus from Tripoli to Nafplio (16:00 – 17:30)

Nafplio: 3 nights (2 full days)

Bus from Nafplio to Athens (11:00 – 13:00ish), then ferry from Athens to Mykonos (16:00 – 21:05)

Mykonos: 2 nights (1 full day)

Ferry from Mykonos to Santorini (9:50 – 12:10)

Santorini: 2 nights (1.5 days)

Ferry from Santorini to Folegandros (15:00 – 15:50)

Folegandros: 2 nights (1 full day plus an afternoon and a morning either side)

Ferry from Folegandros to Athens (16:00 – 20:40)

Overnight stay in Piraeus before flying back to the UK the next day.

General things I found useful to know when travelling on this trip

These are a few things I found useful, based on my experience on the trip detailed above. Things probably vary in different regions and at different times of year but I thought they might be helpful anyway!

Suncream / Sunscreen / SPF / Sunblock

I wear suncream everyday anyway but being hand luggage only I only packed a small bottle with the plan of buying more in Greece. I found it really difficult to buy suncream in Greece in mid-September! It was really hard to find and then expensive when we did. I eventually found some in Lidl in Piraeus, but when I came back a week later in the hope of buying more we were told that they no longer had it because ‘summer is over’, so try to bring it with you if you can! I’d advise buying a bottle in departures if you’re travelling hand luggage only from the UK.

Bug spray

Don’t forget to pack/buy bug spray. We got bitten A LOT!

Basic first aid things and medicines

I forgot to pack plasters and needed some in Delphi, where the very swish pharmacy sold them at a high price. We’ve had similar experiences in Croatia when we needed some ibuprofen – it’s a lot more expensive there than in the UK. This is a note to remind me to take all these things with us just in case.

Loo roll

In most of the places we visited in Greece it wasn’t possible to flush loo/toilet/bog roll down the toilets, as the pipes are much narrower than those in the UK and they get clogged easily. It’s generally clear when this is the case, with signs to tell you, but I’m just mentioning it as I hadn’t thought about it until I saw this sign on our first day:

A sign showing an illustration of Liam Neeson on a phone with white text above reading 'Drop the waste only in the trash or else... I WILL FIND YOU'

Notes on Travel is a blog by photographer Jayne Lloyd, noting the things I found useful to know when I was visiting. All my notes are based around my experiences at that time. Please do check any dates/opening times/locations etc. if you’re planning your own trip – things change! Please also note this post contains some affiliate links, indicated with a ‘*’ – if you click them and decide to buy something I may receive a small cut of the payment, but it won’t cost you more. Thank you!

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