Itinerary Saronic islands and Peloponnese

Considering a three week trip to the Saronic islands and Peloponnese mid July, and would be grateful if someone has input on the best way to travel. I don't really want to hire a car, would prefer ferry and if needed public transport by land (or taxi). I have been to many of the greek islands but so far skipped the Saronic islands because they don't seem as easy to navigate by ferry as eg. the Cyclades. Can anyone suggest a good route? And what would you suggest on the mainland Peloponnese? Ps. I read here and there that the Saronic islands aren't worth it, anyone care to disgree? Appreciate your advice.

The Saronics are dead easy to negotiate by boat as they are all connected in a chain - Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Spetses with frequent connections. To get from The Saronics to the Peloponnese, you simply take a hydrofoil to Porto Heli, Methana or Ermioni. There are differing views about the Saronics - I like Spetses and Hydra but don't care for Poros and can't really comment about Aegina as I've spent little time there.

You then need a bus to Nafplio and you're plugged into the transport system. Easy places to get to by bus from Nafplio are major sites such as Mycenae, Epidavros and Tiryns. to get further afield, you would need to take an Athens bus from Nafplio to the Isthmos but station and wait for a connection coming down to Sparti (for Mystras), Monemvasia, Kalamata etc. Olympia is more difficult by bus but it can be done from Patras, Kalamata or Tripoli with changes if you were really determined.

Thanks Olive Farmer. This was very helpful.

You wouldn't suggest visiting eg. Epidavros after Poros? Then by land to Hydra. Just as an example.

Any other input? Was hoping for a kind of route combining the different points of interest.

I wouldn't recommend that at all as it's an inefficient use of your time. Bus connections between major sites in the Argolid and ports are infrequent or non-existent so you'd spend a lot of time hanging around waiting for connections. Much better to see the islands first and then visit the mainland or vice-versa.

For the mainland Peloponnese, there are unlimited possibilities. If you gave an indication of your interests, you can get much more focused advice. If you can stretch your budget to renting a car, you'll save a lot of time vis-a-vis using buses.

Thanks Olive. Budget is not issue, but I was hoping I didn't have to drive. Is it possible to rent a car and drop it often in Athens? I'm guessing that would be much more expensive. Interests would be basically historical sights and villages. Not interested in covering a lot of ground since I come back to Greece often. Thanks again.

Alma Car Rentals in Nafplio advertise drop offs at locations other than where you picked up the car and are unusual for Greece in that respect. If you simply want to get back to Athens, you can get a bus from anywhere in the Peloponnese so to me there wouldn't be any point in paying a lot of money to drop a car off there. Nafplio to Athens by bus is only two hours and from memory costs around €12.

The Peloponnese has dozens of historical sites and any guide book will help you choose.

thanks

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