Delphi, Sterea, Greece – 2 Day Trip

Nothing new for World Cup Wednesday so another Greece post from my summer trip, enjoy!

A short morning flight from Chania, Crete back to Athens to hire a car and then drive to Delphi. I hired a car from Enterprise RentaCar using Expedia. I had initially booked this car rental for 8 days and as of yesterday, my brother decided to extend his trip to Greece so we could go see Olympia and Epidaurus Theatre.

When I got to the front desk I was able to increase the length of time for the car rental and when I put full coverage on the car (recommend in Greece) I got a free upgrade to an SUV. Probably not the best since fuel is expensive in Greece, close to EUR 1.75/liter (USD 7.50/gallon). The cost to hire the car for 13 days was USD 978 with full coverage and thankfully I got this because I ended up scrapping the car on a tight parking spot on a wall, phew.

Day 1 – Drive to Delphi 07.02.2021

Thankfully I had some practice driving in Crete or I would not have been prepared at all for the aggressive driving in Greece. Fortunately, most of the trip to Delphi was all free-way, and leaving from the Airport I was able to completely avoid driving in Athens.

The drive to Delphi is just under 3 hours from Athens airport and at the two-hour mark, we made a very quick stop at the top of the mountains overlooking Arachova.

We arrived in Delphi at 15:00 and the town is small that the road splits into one-ways, one up the hill, and the one that is flat through the main part of town. Parking was done by parallel parking and you have to park the car up on the sidewalk to leave room for other cars to drive by. We stayed at Fedriades Delphi Hotel, booked through hotels.com. It is one of the best hotel views I’ve ever had.

We wanted to grab a quick bite to eat and then check out the town. We ate at Hydria Delphi and I had my first ever Greece-style pizza. Great location overlooking the valley and all of the olive trees. Back to the hotel to rest and then we went out for a drink at Telescope Café, a great place, and a great owner. I highly recommend stopping by.

Day 2 – Ancient Delphi, Museum, & Athena Pronaia Temple 07.03.2021

Starting the morning with a breathtaking view from the balcony and then off to have hotel breakfast.

The first stop for today is the free part, which is Athena Pronaia Temple and the Ancient Gymanssium of Delphi. A short walk from our hotel 2km (1.25 mi). The best view of the Gymanssium is from the street, which provides an overlooking view, unfortunately, the gym was all fenced off and closed so that was the only view that we got.

The next stop was the temple which requires walking down a short steep pathway from the gym and then it opens up looking over the valley. Nice spot, no need to spend more than 15 minutes here, and then we are on our way back up to get tickets for Ancient Delphi. Don’t forget to stop at the Kastalia Spring to fill up your water bottle.

The cost for Ancient Delphi is EUR 12 and it includes entrance to the museum after. Ancient Delphi was dedicated to the Greek God Apollo and built in the 8^th Century B.C. At the time was known as the center of the world. Walking in from the entrance there is an inclined pathway and stairs up to the top. It wraps around the big events are passing through the treasury, Temple de Apolo, and the Theater.

The main thing that I wanted to see was an ancient stadium. The stadium was built around the 4^th century B.C. and can hold up to 6,500 spectators. Unfortunately, you cannot go into the stadium and the place to get the best photos were blocked off.

Walking back down my brother and I went to the museum. I’m not too big on museums, I rarely read anything and just look at all the ancient artifacts. I only spent about 30 minutes here.

Tomorrow we are off to Meteora to see the famous Eastern Orthodox Monasteries.

Thanks for reading and liking my post, Cheers!