Self-Launched Mainland Greece: Athens, Meteora, Delphi & the Peloponnese

Land at Athens Airport (ATH) and take Metro Line 3 into the city centre (about €9, roughly 40 minutes) or the X95 airport bus (€5.50) to Syntagma. Check into a hostel or budget hotel in Plaka, Monastiraki or Koukaki — all walkable to the ancient sights. Spend the evening wandering Plaka's lanes and having a first gyros or mezze dinner. Buy a 5-day combined archaeological ticket (around €30) at any site ticket office or online via etickets.tap.gr — it covers the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Kerameikos, Roman Agora, Temple of Olympian Zeus and more.

🚌Airport Metro Line 3 ~£8

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Plaka/Koukaki (dorm £18-25, private budget room £40-55)

• →Self-guided evening walk in Plaka
• →Buy combined archaeological sites ticket (~£26)

Get to the Acropolis right at opening (8am, earlier in summer) to beat the crowds and heat — with the combined ticket you're already covered. A licensed guide at the gate or a GetYourGuide Acropolis-and-museum walking tour (around £35-45) gives you the archaeologist insight the tour includes. Walk down to the Ancient Agora and the Acropolis Museum (€15, or free on some winter Sundays) in the afternoon. For the G for Good element, stop for lunch at Shedia Home, the non-profit café on Kolokotroni Street run by the street paper Shedia — just turn up and order, no booking needed.

🚌Walking and metro day pass ~£4

🛏Same Athens hostel/guesthouse

• →Acropolis & Parthenon (combined ticket)
• →Ancient Agora
• →Acropolis Museum (~£13)
• →Lunch at Shedia Home non-profit café
• →Optional GetYourGuide guided tour ~£40

Take the morning KTEL Fthiotidas bus or the direct KTEL Trikalon bus from Athens (Liosion station) to Kalambaka — around 4.5-5 hours, €30-35, bookable at ktelbus.com or on arrival. If you go via Lamia/Thermopylae you can hop off to see the Leonidas statue at the Thermopylae pass before continuing. In the afternoon, join a local truffle-hunting experience in the Pindos foothills: independent guides around Kalambaka/Metsovo run truffle walks with dogs from about €45-70 including a tasting; message them directly or book via GetYourGuide/local guesthouse. Finish with truffle pasta and local wine in town (many tavernas serve it — £15-20).

🚌KTEL bus Athens–Kalambaka ~£30

🛏Family guesthouse in Kalambaka (~£25-35 per person)

• →Thermopylae Leonidas statue stop
• →Truffle hunt with dogs and tasting (~£50)
• →Truffle pasta dinner

Spend the morning at the Meteora monasteries — Great Meteoron and Varlaam are the biggest; entry is €3-5 each. Either join a half-day Meteora tour (around €30-40 including transport between monasteries) or use the local bus from Kalambaka (€2-3 each way) and walk between the closest ones. Views stretch to Mount Olympus on clear days. In the afternoon, take a KTEL bus back through Trikala/Lamia toward Amfissa and on to Delphi — this is a long connection (5-6 hours total with changes, around €25-30); alternatively spend the night in Trikala and catch an early bus. Evening in the tiny village of Delphi with a view over the Pleistos valley.

🚌Local Meteora buses plus KTEL Kalambaka–Delphi ~£28

🛏Guesthouse in Delphi village (~£25-35)

• →Meteora monasteries (entry ~£4 each)
• →Optional half-day Meteora tour ~£35

Do the Delphi archaeological site and museum yourself with the official site ticket (around €12 for both) or book a licensed guide/GetYourGuide Delphi walking tour (£30-40) for the oracle stories. Walk the Sacred Way to the Temple of Apollo and the Tholos. In the afternoon take a KTEL bus down to Patras or Kiato and onward across the Rio-Antirrio Bridge into the Peloponnese, then to Pyrgos and Olympia — around 4-5 hours, €20-25. Arrive in Olympia in the evening for an orientation walk and dinner in the village.

🚌KTEL Delphi–Olympia via Patras ~£22

🛏Guesthouse/hostel in Olympia village (~£25-30)

• →Delphi archaeological site & museum
• →Rio-Antirrio Bridge crossing (on the bus)
• →Evening orientation walk

Visit Ancient Olympia at opening time — the Temple of Zeus and Hera, the workshop of Phidias and the stadium where the Games began in 776 BC. Combined site and museum ticket is around €12; a GetYourGuide or on-site licensed guide adds the storytelling for £30-35. Midday, catch the bus from Olympia to Pyrgos, then the KTEL bus down the coast to Nafplio via Tripoli (around 4-5 hours, €20). Spend the late afternoon exploring Nafplio's Venetian old town, Bourtzi Castle from the waterfront and Palamidi Fortress (climb the 999 steps free, or €8 to enter), finishing with gelato at one of the famous shops on Syntagma Square.

🚌KTEL Olympia–Nafplio ~£18

🛏Budget guesthouse in Nafplio old town (~£30-40)

• →Ancient Olympia site & museum
• →Palamidi Fortress and Bourtzi views
• →Nafplio old town walk
• →Local gelato

Spend the morning at leisure in Nafplio — swim at Arvanitia beach or walk the Acronafplia headland. In the afternoon take the local bus or a short taxi (around €10 shared) to Mycenae, and explore the UNESCO site yourself: the Lion Gate, the Cyclopean walls and the Tomb of Agamemnon, €12 entry, plus €8 for the museum. From Mycenae, continue to Nemea by bus or taxi for a winery tasting — several estates offer walk-in tastings with cheese and mezze plates for €20-30 per person; book a day ahead by email. Return to Nafplio in the evening.

🚌Local bus/taxi Nafplio–Mycenae–Nemea ~£12

🛏Same Nafplio guesthouse

• →Mycenae archaeological site & museum
• →Nemea winery tasting with mezze (~£25)
• →Arvanitia beach swim (free)

Take the morning bus to Epidaurus (around 45 minutes, €5), home of the Sanctuary of Asklepios — one of the world's first healing centres — and the astonishingly acoustic ancient theatre (combined ticket ~€12). In the afternoon continue by KTEL bus to Corinth, walk out to the Corinth Canal viewpoint, then take the suburban Proastiakos train or a KTEL bus from Corinth back to Athens (around 2 hours, €8-10). Book a farewell dinner in Psyrri or Monastiraki — grilled fish, mezze and a carafe of house wine, roughly £20-25.

🚌KTEL Epidaurus–Corinth–Athens ~£15

🛏Athens hostel or budget hotel (~£20-30)

• →Epidaurus theatre and Asklepion
• →Corinth Canal viewpoint
• →Farewell dinner in Psyrri

A last morning for the Monastiraki flea market, a freddo espresso and a final baklava before heading to the airport by Metro Line 3 (€9) or the X95 bus (€5.50). If your flight is late, check out the National Archaeological Museum (~£10) or the free National Garden.

🚌Metro to Athens Airport ~£8

🛏N/A — departure day

• →Monastiraki flea market
• →Optional National Archaeological Museum