March is a little early to vacation in Greece as it is a rainy month, but it is also a very good month to get away from Canada so we took our chances. Even with the rain we had no regrets, the Greeks were having their worse spring in years but we found it quite lovely with millions of wild flowers. The weather got better and we had an amazing time.
The country may be in crisis but the people were lovely and welcoming and we felt no bad effects from their current economic situation. We felt safe at all times.
Here is a brief outline of our itinerary – we spent most of our time in the Peloponnese area :
Athens for one day
We then rented a car and drove to Nafplio where we stayed for 5 days. From Nafplio we visited Mycenae, Epidavros and explored the local castles.
From Nafplio we drove to Ermioni where we parked our car and took a ferry to the fantastic island of Hydra. We returned the next day and spent the night in Ermioni.
From Ermioni we drove to Leonidio along a coastal road – we spent the night in Leonidio.
From Leonidio we drove to Monemvasia, an ancient walled town on a giant rock where we spent two nights “on the rock”.
From Monemvasia we drove to Areopolis and then spent the following day driving the Mani peninsula.
We then drove to Kardamyli where we spent the night in a little pension and had a beautiful walk in the morning.
From Kardamyli we drove to Mystra – the ruins of a Byzantine city in the mountains. We spent the night in the village of Mystra.
From Mystra we decided that we had unfinished business in Mycenae so we decided to skip our orginal plan of Olympia, and return to Mycenae. We spent the night in a local hotel.
From Mycenae we drove to Delphi – we took the route along the south shore of the Bay of Corinth and it was our only bad plan. 125 km of construction alongside uninspiring towns.
We spent the night in Delphi and the day exploring Delphi and Arahova.
Our last night was spent in a B&B just minutes from the Athens airport.
As always – we were not ready to go home – we have unfinished business in Greece!
Here is the link to my photos. Greece 2015