Seeking suggestions for visiting Athens, day trips, and 1 potential island

[AbbA]

Hi ER's,

I'm a little in the time crunch so maybe with so many people on the forum who have already been in Greece I can hear some advice/suggestions/comments/etc.
To make my story short, I want to take my college student to Greece (her dream to see it) in May but it wasn't clear until last week if she can travel or not I'm feeling a little overwhelmed because we are going solo and not with a tour group. I must start booking accommodations there before prices skyrocket but I don't even have an idea what places to see, what to avoid, what not to miss, how many days to stay in each place, etc.

I booked our flights over the pond today (no direct flights to ATH) to FRA. I'll buy some discount airline tickets to ATH for May 13th. We'll depart ATH on May 25 probably. So, what can we visit over 11 full days by using public transportation only? We like hiking but I think we will not do it due to the very warm weather there. We like sightseeing, simple but healthy food, don't care for crazy night life or laying on the beach. We avoid crowded places, but understand it cannot be prevented in Athens for example.

I think 3 days in Athens should suffice and then maybe we should either make day trips or go to an island. Any suggestions?

TIA

 

[Gumby]

Can you rent a car and drive?

Some interesting places within easy driving distance of Athens.

1. Meteora
2. Delphi
3. Olympia
4. Mistra

I really enjoyed all of them. (we went in early October 2023.)

 

[AbbA]

Thank you, Gumby. I forgot to mention that I don't want to rent and drive in Greece. I did drive in Italy and Rome years ago and I still can recall that experience. It's not for faint of heart.

 

[Gumby]

Thank you, Gumby. I forgot to mention that I don't want to rent and drive in Greece. I did drive in Italy and Rome years ago and I still can recall that experience. It's not for faint of heart.

Athens was, as all large cities are, a little crowded and more energetic, but I recall really long stretches out in the areas I mentioned with not much traffic at all. And the roads/highways are very good, in many cases better maintained than we maintain them here in the USA.

P.S. I have also driven in Italy, several times.

 

[BigBob]

We enjoyed the double decker bus rides where for one fee you get on and off wherever you want. Listen to some highlights while on the bus and go at your own pace. I think it was only $30 for the day. Recommend!

 

[Sunset]

Been ages since I was there, but if you can stay within a mile of the acropolis , there are many other things to seen by walking, like the plaka, and other ruins and museum.
Grabbing a map of where things are located would help to figure out which side of the Acropolis is better to stay at for walking around.

One island currently has earthquakes, and people have evacuated, so probably best to not plan on visiting those:

Emergency declared on a second Greek island as a string of earthquakes persists

Authorities have declared a state of emergency on a second Greek island as a series of earthquakes continued to rattle the south-eastern Aegean Sea region

abcnews.go.com

 

[bluelight]

We stayed in Athens for 4 days before a cruise in May 2023. The weather was warm, but not hot yet. We stayed in a nice small hotel, the AVA hotel in Plaka that was very close to the Acropolis and Museum. Each room in the hotel has a kitchenette if you want to save on meal costs. It was also a block away from a HO HO bus stop. The HO HO in Athens has a couple of different routes through the city and also to the beach. We booked a tour to drive us up to Delphi which was a wonderful day. They have ferries running between the islands. Our ship was stopping at Olympia, so we didn't try to book a tour there, but it is also a wonderful site.