Spotlight on the Best Road Trips in Greece
You can easily get around Greece by ferry, plane, or taxi. However, renting a car and hitting the open road will allow you to experience Greece in a whole new way. With no set agenda, transportation schedule, or tour times, you’re free to explore the country, linger in places that interest you most, and truly experience the relaxed pace of Greece’s lifestyle. Here are some road trips recommended by travel bloggers and writers who themselves have traversed the Greek countryside by car.
Athens to Thessaloniki
The route between Greece’s largest cities will take you 500 kilometers along the eastern coast of Greece’s mainland. Highway E75 provides an easy trip that passes through Lamia, a lovely coastal town with ancient roots that played an important role in Greece’s 1821 Revolution. The route then heads north by Mount Olympus, and history buffs can make a quick detour to the Museum of Royal Tombs in Vergina. There, you’ll find the tomb of Alexander the Great’s father, Philip II, and other Macedonian artifacts. Upon reaching Thessaloniki, visitors will find a wealth of ancient monuments, churches, and other buildings along with a relaxing seaside community.

Ancient Greece
Travel writer Dave Briggs offers instructions for a loop around the Grecian mainland that takes visitors by some of the most famous sites of ancient Greece. Briggs recommends allocating two weeks for the trip, which would include a few extra days for sunning on the beach or exploring new sites you find along the way.
The trip begins in Athens, where Briggs recommends staying for two days to visit the Acropolis, the ancient Agora, and the city’s museums. From there, visitors can drive west to Corinth along Highway 8, traveling along a southern coast of the mainland. After visiting ancient Corinth, you can check out vineyards in the Peloponnese and buy a few extra bottles of wine for the trip. From there, you can travel south to Nafplion, a gorgeous coastal town that’s worth visiting for a few days to relax. A quick 30-minute drive north will take you to Mycenae which, according to legend Greek mythology, was the hometown of Agamemnon. About three hours west is ancient Olympia, the site of the first Olympic games that still has a track that’s thousands of years old. The site is located in a valley where two rivers converge, and visitors will see the ancient Doric Temple of Hera, the ancient Olympic stadium, and the ruins of the temple of Zeus.
The trip continues north on the Rio-Antirrio Bridge that spans the Gulf of Corinth and travels into Nafpaktos. The Rio-Antirrio Bridge, which is the world’s longest multi-span, cable-stayed bridge, is world renowned for its design. Offering great beaches, mountain views, and friendly hospitality, Nafpaktos is a great place to spend a few days. The trip then heads east to Delphi, home to ancient ruins that date back to the Bronze Age. From there, visitors have less than a three-hour drive back to Athens.

Crete
This large island is big enough for a multi-day road trip to explore its natural beauty and ancient Minoan sites. You can travel the entire island by car, and a good place to start is the port city of Heraklion. While this bustling city may seem overwhelming initially, it’s worth spending a day or two visiting its many museums and churches. From Heraklion, you can drive west to Knossos Palace and Rethymno, an ancient town with architecture influenced by the Turks. The island’s second largest city, Chania, will be your last stop before heading to the famous Elafonisi Beach. Hikers can enjoy a day on the 16-kilometer trail in Samaria Gorge before turning around for the drive back.
The trip to Elafonisi Beach should encompass just more than six hours of total driving time. If you’ve allowed a week for your road trip, that will give you time to explore the rest of the island on your way back east. Suggested stops include the Koudouma monastery and its beach, the Diktean Cave, Agios Nikolaos, and the Lasithi plateau.
Athens to Meteora
Visitors interested in a quicker trip can travel northwest through central Greece from Athens to Meteora. The drive is about 355 kilometers, or about four hours of road time. The trip is a must for people who enjoy nature and the outdoors, as the road travels through Kalambaka, a mountainous area, to Meteora, which is known for its monasteries built on high, steep rocks. The trip offers a wonderful opportunity for a picnic lunch to enjoy the scenery. If you have time to stay in Meteora, there are plenty of opportunities to hike on Mount Koziakas and to raft on the Ionas River. On the drive back to Athens, you can take a slightly longer route and detour through Delphi, home of the famous Oracle of Apollo and other ancient sites set against a stunning mountainous backdrop.
