Best Day Trips from Athens

Athens is well placed for day trips, but the distances vary a lot. Some are a relaxed afternoon, one is a long day in the mountains, and one is too far to do properly in a day.

Cape Sounion

The Temple of Poseidon stands at the southern tip of Attica on a cliff above the sea, with the Aegean on three sides. Go for the sunset, which is what everyone does and for good reason. The coast road down the Athens Riviera takes about an hour and a half by car. KTEL buses leave from Pedion tou Areos park, near Victoria metro station, and take around two hours. Look for Lord Byron's name, carved into one of the temple's columns. Combine it with a swim at Vouliagmeni or one of the coves on the way.

Delphi

The sanctuary of Apollo, where the ancient world came to consult the oracle, sits on the slopes of Mount Parnassus above a valley of olive trees that runs down to the sea. The temple, the theatre, the stadium high up the slope and the museum with its bronze Charioteer fill most of a day. It's about three hours each way by KTEL bus from the Liosion terminal, or two and a half hours by car. A tour makes it easier. Stay overnight in the village of Delphi or in Arachova, and you can see the site in the quiet of the early morning.

Hydra and the Saronic islands

Hydra has no cars at all. Donkeys and water taxis do the work, stone mansions of old sea captains climb the hills around the harbour, and you swim off the rocks. Fast boats from Piraeus take around two hours. Aegina, known for its pistachios and the Temple of Aphaia, is closer and cheaper. Poros sits in between. Organised "three islands" cruises are rushed. A ferry to one island is the calmer choice.

Nafplio and Mycenae

Nafplio, the first capital of modern Greece, is a Venetian harbour town with the fortress of Palamidi above it, about two hours away. Pair it with Mycenae, the fortress of the Bronze Age kings, with its Lion Gate, or with the theatre at Epidaurus, famous for its acoustics. With a car you can do two of the three in a day. With a night in Nafplio you can do all three.

Meteora

Meteora is the one to be clear about. The monasteries on top of rock pillars above Kalambaka are four to five hours from Athens by road each way. Day tours exist, but they're mostly time on a coach. Rail travel has also been disrupted since storms in 2023, with buses replacing trains on part of the route, so check with Hellenic Train. Give it at least one night.

How we'd choose

With one spare afternoon, go to Sounion. With one spare day, Delphi or Hydra. For more, rent a car and take two days in the Peloponnese. Our three-day itinerary fits Sounion in, and the getting there guide covers the ports and bus terminals.