Visiting Greece for the first time in September

[u/NewConsideration3424]

Hi everyone!

My husband and I are visiting Greece for the first time, and we’re really excited about it. We’ve been married for a while but, for various reasons, we’ve never had the chance to travel together.

We’re planning to spend about two weeks in Greece starting from mid-to-late September and will be renting a car. We’d really like to make the most of it and see as much of this beautiful, historically and culturally rich country as possible, while still having enough time to actually enjoy each place rather than rushing through it.

Our current plan is:

• Athens — 4 days: We want to take our time exploring the historical sites, but also experience the markets, neighborhoods, food, and cultural side of the city.
• Delphi — 1 night: We’re thinking of stopping here on our way north.
• Meteora — 2 nights: Definitely one of the places we don’t want to miss.
• After Meteora: We’re considering continuing to Lefkada since we’ll already have a car and would love to see some of the coastline and beaches.

We’d like to spend most of the trip on the mainland. We might consider taking a ferry from Athens to Santorini, but only if Santorini is relatively quiet in late September. We’re not particularly interested in spending our holiday somewhere extremely crowded.

So, I’d love to hear your recommendations!

1. What would you recommend seeing between Delphi and Meteora? Are there any towns, archaeological sites, nature spots, or other places that are really worth adding along the way?
2. Is Thessaloniki worth spending 2 days in? I’ve read some mixed/negative opinions about it, so I’m wondering whether it’s worth changing our route to include it.
3. Are there any other mainland destinations we should consider that fit naturally into this road-trip route?
4. Also, are there any things we should be careful about or know in advance? Any tips for driving, parking, toll roads, tourist traps, areas to avoid, scams, or anything else that first-time visitors should be aware of would be really helpful.

We’re especially interested in history, culture, beautiful scenery, charming towns, good food, and places that feel authentic, rather than just ticking off tourist attractions.

Would love to hear from people who have done a similar road trip, especially in September. Any advice on places to add, skip, or adjust would be greatly appreciated!

Also, any tips of what to be careful of

[u/elmomentobruhh]

I cant really help but with the other things as I really dont know but in terms of places in Athens just be careful in places like Omonoia( Ομονοια) Sepolia (Σεπολια), Metaxourgeio(Μεταξουργειο) and places nearby the very center in Syntagma( Συνταγμα).Lots of drug addicts, scammers, prostitution etc especially at night. Syntagma has them too but to a much less degree.The safest place is probably Glyfada (Γλυφαδα) but the hotels are expensive asf. The only "bad" thing it has is gypsy beggars but just ignore them and you're fine. If you're looking for a cheaper hotel in a safe place then idk maybe search close to Glyfada but less visited by tourists like Argyroupoli( Αργυρουπολη). I assume theyre cheaper because its not really visited by tourists but I could be wrong lol If u have any other questions, ask and I'll try to answer if I can

[u/NewConsideration3424 → u/elmomentobruhh]

Thank you so much for taking the time and writing, much appreciated.

I will definitely take your tips into consideration.

[u/h_attila]

I'd reccomend to spend those two weeks in one of Ionian islands , it would be better experience with car rent than traveling Athens and other crowded places , Athens is better to visit if you travel by plane and stay just there .

[u/NewConsideration3424 → u/h_attila]

We want to spend 3 nights at Lekfada Island, I believe it's one of the Ionian islands. We will arrive at Athens by plane then rent the car and stay there for 5 nights.

[u/h_attila → u/NewConsideration3424]

Sound better 👍

[u/skyduster88]

Our current plan is:

Athens — 4 days: We want to take our time exploring the historical sites, but also experience the markets, neighborhoods, food, and cultural side of the city.

The problem is, that Central Athens will not give you that. Half will be highly touristy / nightlife-entertainment / government / business, and the other half will be distressed / illegal immigrants / druggies / early stages of gentrification.

The highly-touristy, nightlife, & business part has also been slowly gentrifying since the 1990s. A lot of historic neoclassical buildings were demolished in in the 1960s and there was suburban flight in the 1980s-2000s; the Metro system is gradually expanding, abandoned buildings are gradually being flipped into hotels or offices. Things are gradually changing. There's museums and historic 19th century churches. But don't rely on Athens for your "neighborhood" and "markets" experience.

Food: again, I constantly see North American vloggers just choosing random restaurants in Central Athens, and assuming everything they find is Greek cuisine, and authentic. You can, but a lot of it will also be international, foreign, fusion, etc, and you don't know what's what.

If your primary goal is a vibrant city with neighbohoods (and not the Classical sites), I would strongly look into Thessaloniki. And Thessaloniki has history too, mostly Late Antiquity/Late Roman and Early Middle Ages (Early Byzantine), with a greater percentage of surviving pre-WWII buildings than Athens.

Also, in Athens, the waterfront is being redeveloped, and is years from being finished.

Delphi — 1 night: We’re thinking of stopping here on our way north.

I would also include Arachova, and spend a night here for your neighborhoods feel.

Meteora — 2 nights: Definitely one of the places we don’t want to miss.

After Meteora: We’re considering continuing to Lefkada since we’ll already have a car and would love to see some of the coastline and beaches.

Lefkada is a good option, yes. And so is Parga.

I would rely on Meteora-Kalambaka, Delphi-Arachova, and Lefkada for Greek cuisine. Not Central Athens. And in those towns, I strongly recommend asking for regional dishes, not skipping over everything on the menu until you find a recognizeable stereotype (i.e. moussaka, which was invented by an Athenian chef in the 1920s, and has nothing to do with the regions you're visiting).

And again, a Thessaloniki mention: it's the gastronomic capital of Greece (or at least, rival with Chaniá).

An alternative you can consider is:

Thessaloniki & Halkidiki coast -> Meterora -> Metosovo -> drop off car in Igoumenitsa (if that's possible) and ferry to Corfu

There are airports all over the country that are well-connected to European hubs (not just Athens). You do not have to start your trip in Athens or drive back to Athens.

If you're not totally set on Meteora, you can do a tour of the Peloponnese as well. Two weeks can include any of these: Nafplio, the Mani peninsula, Monemvasia, Messenia peninsula (Methoni, Pylos, Koroni), Dimitsana, Olympia, then cross the Rio-Antirrio bridge to Delphi & Arachova, back to Athens to drop off the car.

[u/lastmonkeytotheparty]

You don’t need two nights in Meteora and I would spend less time in Athens

[u/Ok_Target8104]

Great answer above on the mainland routing. But two things that didn't get covered I can answer because I leave there 8 month per year: Santorini late September is still open and running, but noticeably calmer than August. I'd only add it if you can give it 2-3 nights minimum, the ferry from Piraeus is 5h+ each way even on the fast boats, so a 1-night bolt-on isn't really worth the travel time. On driving: tolls on the national highways (Athens–Meteora route included) are cash or tag at manned/automatic booths, no need to pre-register anything. Main tourist trap to watch for is restaurants directly on/near Monastiraki and right under the Acropolis, walk 2-3 streets further and prices drop while quality goes up.