I’d looked at cruises and travel packages but none of them really did what I wanted.

In our homeschool, we studied ancient times in history this year and I wanted to go to Greece to see the places we learned about.

I’ve always wanted to go to Greece!

I used Airhint to find great flight deals with Ryanair. I used Booking.com for hotels. We rented a van in Athens and in Thessaloniki with CarRentals.com.

We flew from Frankfurt Hahn to Thessaloniki, then to Athens. We drove all over the peninsula, then back to Athens, flew back to Thessaloniki and explored for a couple days, then flew home to Frankfurt Hahn.

I wish we’d had more time to explore some of the islands and some other historic places.

Here’s our itinerary for our weeklong tour of the Peloponnese:

We arrived late into Thessaloniki, ate a lovely meal at the hotel and crashed before our next morning early flight into Athens.

Athens

We rented a van and parked it the whole time we were there. We spent 2 days exploring the city on foot. It’s charming and friendly.

We were able to spend the afternoon at the Parthenon Museum and have the best meal of our entire trip before crashing our last night before flying back to Thessaloniki.

Mycenae

We retrieved our rented van and drove all over the Peloponnese. We visited the archeaological site on the way to Kalamata.

Kalamata

We spent 2 nights at this beach resort. It was a much-needed rest.

Olympia

We took a day trip to the training grounds for the first Olympics while staying in Kalamata. We were surprised how much we loved this!

Nafplio

We visited this picturesque town in the morning on the way back to Athens. Great views and a bead shop.

Epidaurus

We stopped by the temple of Asclepius and the ancient theatre in the afternoon on the way back to Athens.

Thessaloniki

We rented a van and spent 2 days exploring this lovely city before flying home.

Check out our Eating Through Greece post!

Tips for traveling in Greece:

• I bought Rick Steves’ book on Athens and the Peloponnese for my Kindle app on my iPad mini so I got to view it as we walked around. It was SO helpful!
• Be very aware on public transportation. We didn’t even use it, but we still put our extra money and passports in our hotel safe so it wasn’t a worry. We were even warned about the metro and the Central Market by our hotel clerks.
• Restaurants serve ice-cold pitchers of tap water. I love that! Be aware that some places add a charge for it. We noticed a Euro or two for water and bread on some of our bills. It didn’t bother us because we needed it after walking all day long, but you can always ask and decline if you’re on a budget or gluten intolerant.
• English is spoken very well almost everywhere. Euros are the accepted money. ATMs are widely available. Cards with the pin and chip are accepted at most restaurants and shops. Cash is still needed for lots of places.
• Don’t throw anything – including toilet paper! – into the toilets. There are handy little containers to place everything into beside the toilets. The pipes are apparently so easily clogged in Greece that this is the solution.

We loved our trip to Greece.

We’d love to return someday and explore the islands and other cities we didn’t have time to see.

We fell in love with the food in Greece.

We love the olive oil and oregano and fresh salad! We love the bread and grilled meats – and Tori and I love the fish!

Where we ate in Athens:

Enteka for lunch the first day.

Kid-friendly. Affordable. The staff is very friendly and fun.

Amazing souvlaki and gyros. Fresh and quick.

We went to the Horiatiko Bakery for treats.

It just beckoned to us every day as we walked by.

Super friendly. Gorgeous, pleniful selections of cakes, pastries…BAKLAVA.

Street food!

Roasted corn on the cob.

Pretzel and sesame bread rings.

Nuts and coconut strips.

The kids loved it all.

One morning, we went to Grand Dionisos for omelets.

I finally got to try Greek coffee (Ellinikos Kafes). It is SO good. We bought a set to bring home!

It’s thick and sweet and gorgeous. It comes in these little copper pots that make the coffee taste better than anywhere.

After the Acropolis, we had lunch at Dia Tauta, a touristy little place on Adrianou, near the Ancient Agora. We were starving and got a couple platters of mezes that were plenty for all of us! Delicious salad, bread, olives…and pitchers of ice-cold water kept coming! This was a place we noticed a small charge on our bill for that, but it was well worth it.

The advantage to having a teenager is that we can let the kids have street food in the hotel for dinner and go out for a date!

Great local mezes at Rozalia in the Exarcheia district.

We got zucchini fritters (Kolokithopita), meatballs (Keftedes), hummus, gorgeous salad, and wine.

Amazing organic local food at Yiantes – also in the Exarcheia district.

I wanted to try Taramosalata (fish roe dip) and I LOVED IT. My husband? Not so much. We also got some hummus so he was happy.

I got the fish with onions and tomatoes (Psari spetsiotiko).

Aaron got the hamburgers (Mpiftekia). These are not ordinary hamburgers. They are flavored with cumin and oregano and oh, so moist and tender!

The best food we had in Greece was at To Kati Allo, around the corner from the Acropolis Museum. 

We felt like family staying for dinner. They didn’t have my first choice from the chalkboard menu – he said it wasn’t good enough quality to serve – so he kept bringing us dishes of everything they had.

Roast chicken, roast pork, stuffed zucchini (Kolokithia Yemista), ratatouille (Briam), salad, pita, and this amazing tomato rice pilaf (Pilafi me Saltsa Domata).

He hugged and kissed us when we left.

We all plan to go back someday. It was that good.

Where we ate in Kalamata:

We ate at the hotel the first night and had lovely pork chops and pasta with salad. Even simple food in Greece is just amazing.

Look at that gorgeous sunset!

The second night we ate at Lemoni.

It was expensive and there was a huge wedding party that arrived a few minutes after we did. I think we might have done better at one of the cafés on the beach strip.

I got the fish special and it was good. Tori got this shrimp spaghetti that was good, though not fresh. I think since it was the end of the season, they didn’t have as much to offer. The chicken souvlaki Liz got was tough but flavorful. But you don’t go to a restaurant on the dock and not get seafood.

Where we ate in Nafplio:

We stopped first at Antica Gelateria Di Roma for really delectable gelato.

So many flavors! Tiramisu, hazelnut, fruits…decisions!

We had lunch at Epi Skinis before heading out to Epidavros for the afternoon.

I got the amazing moussaka. We shared the saganaki (fried feta cheese).

The kids had fun signing the guest book and looking at the decor.

Where we ate in Thessaloniki:

The first night in Greece, we ate at our hotel.

Salad, soup, and pasta.

It was divine.

I’m not a big fan of white wine, but I love Greek white wine!

The Last Slice for lunch – for the most amazing fresh pizza. Just a fun little corner place.

We watched them twirl the dough and top it for the oven. We kept going back to order more!

Plaisir for amazing waffles and ice creams. Fun sugary goodness!

I got a sandwich and coffee. But it came with brownies and cookies!

Oval Cafe for a very expensive dinner. Nice view of the White Tower and bay.

The pastas and hamburgers were really very good. Homemade lemonade was a hit with the kids.

The desserts were pretty amazing. Rose lemon custard and this cheese tart (Kalitsounia) from Crete. It was a like a cream cheese-filled sopapilla.

Greek beer is refreshing and flavorful. Fix was our favorite. Mythos and Alfa were also good. These are all lagers.

Aaron likes ouzo but I did not care for it. The presentation is neat though.

We loved, loved, loved Greek food!

View our MAP of where we ate in Greece!

Check out our whole Greece itinerary here.