A detailed family friendly itinerary to see Peloponnese with kids, based on our experience. Best places to see, kid-friendly hotels in the Peloponnese, Peloponnese travel tip for families.
Our trip to the Peloponnese with kids had been a long time in the making.
We had originally planned to go in 2020 but I guess I don’t need to get into the details of why that trip never happened… no one wants to relive that time!
Rather, I want to focus on the family vacation that did happen, and that has cemented our love for Greece with kids for ever!
Our family trip to the Peloponnese happened this summer just gone and it was all we had dreamed of, and more.
In Peloponnese, we saw stunning archaeological ruins, met lovely people, tasted delicious food, bathed in crystal clear waters.
We were also able to add to the Peoloponnese road trip a stop (actually 2!) in Athens, which is now one of the my favorite European cities for kids.
This is all you need to know about our family vacation in the Peloponnese and all the tips to plan your own!
Please note: this post contains affiliate links. Should you make a purchase through them, we might make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Table of Contents
Peloponnese with kids itinerary
Our Peloponnese itinerary consisted of
- Day 1: arrival in Athens (Late evening)
- Day 2: Athens
- Day 3: Morning in Athens, then drive to Nafplio and Mycenae
- Day 4: visit to Epidaurus Theater, drive to Olympia
- Day 5 Olympia, drive to Koroni
- Day 7-11: Koroni area, with day local day trips
- 12: drive to Athens, Athens for the afternoon and evening. Flight the morning after.
Peloponnese with kids practicalities
Some practical observations about visiting the Peloponnese with kids.
For this trip, we flew into Athens and visited the city on foot.
We then rented a car in Athens city and drove with no difficulties to all out other destinations.
We found driving in Greece overall easy and we had no problems driving out of Athens, even if the city does see a lot of traffic.
I’ll have a full post about driving in Peloponnese soon but overall, it was easy and we would do it again!
We rented our car from Hertz and wee brought our own car seat for our 10 year old daughter (the Bubblebum, which we love and bring with us all the time. Read here >>> our Bubblebum review.
Overall, we found the main roads in Greece to be wide and well kept.
In most cases, especially around Athens, we noticed multiple toll stops, so plan for extra time to get from one place to the next as they do slow you down. Coins and cards are accepted.
Like in Italy, we fond Greece is always welcoming to kids even if they don’t offer have kids menus or extra facilities for them.
Our kids are older now but I did notice there are no baby changing facilities and public restrooms are hard to come by: a restaurant or cafe is usually the best way to find facilities!
In all our destinations we noticed you cannot throw toilet paper in the toilet, which may require some adapting, especially for smaller kids.
Since we visited in summer, Greece was all very hot, although rather windy.
Sun cream and light clothing are a must.
Everyone we met spoke good English and manus where always in double language
We only booked our car and accommodation in advance: we found no need for booking archaeological sites and restaurants.
This includes the Acropolis.
We booked all our accommodation via booking.com – all links to specific places we stayed are provided below.
Our family road trip to the Peloponnese – day by day itinerary
Day 1 arrival to Athens
Our first vacation day was a travel day.
For this trip, we flew into Athens from Rome and landed rather later, after 10pm local Greek Time.
Due to this arrangement, the first day was just a travel day.
The two good things to report are:
Taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel was easy.
We had asked our hotel to arrange one for us, which worked great, but we notices lots of taxis stationed outside the arrivals hall, all with the official ‘taxi’ sign on the roof.
The fare from Athens International Airport to the city center is fixed.
Need to know: taxis in Athens do not carry car seats and do not require them. If you have a child too small to be secured with standard seatbelts, make sure you bring your own seat.
Our Athens hotel was lovely.
We stayed in a hotel called ‘Colors hotel’ and it was nice for families as it has a colourful, hip vibe and a good family room with separate alcove for the kids’ beds.
Fin info and prices >>> here <<<
As we returned to Athens at the end of the trip we changed hotel and stayed in one in Plaka with interconnecting rooms, also excellent, this one >>> Plaka Hotel <<<
I recommend both and would have no doubts in staying again.
Day 2: Athens sightseeing with kids
This was our full day in Athens and it was perfect!
We got to do a lot on this day and we found Athens to be so beautiful, welcoming and dynamic, we fell head over heels in love with it.
I’ll do a proper write up of our day soon, but at a glance, we did:
Visit Syntagma Square, where you can see the famous changing of the guards.
This is a free and fun to watch even, with the Greek Guards in their high uniforms performing a series of movements that recall those of a perfectly synchronised dance!
Stroll around Plaka and Anafiotika, a delightful neighborhood in Athens with whitewashed houses, cascading pants and a lovely outdoor restaurants (touristy in parts but lovely, just what you want on your vacation in Greece).
Visit the Roman Agora, a wonderful example of a Roman Archaeological ruin in Athens
Stroll through buzzing Monastiraki market
Visit the Greek Agora, a mindblowing rchaeologicla site with wonderful temples, a beautiful museum and great views of the Acropolis
Visit the Acropolis and the Parthenon – we got to do this right before sunset and it was magical!
The Acropolis is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in the world and one I most dearly wanted to show to my children.
We all loved it and it was a highlight of our trip, I highly recommend you don’t skip it!
Good to know: we have visited all these location with a combined tickets that allows entrance to all of Athens’ most famous sites at a contained price. You can get the combined ticket on the day or in advance on Tiqets.com. If buying on the day, avoid the ticket booth at the Acropolis as it is very crowded. Go to the one at the Agora instead: less crowded and you’ll get it no time!
At the end of our day, we had a lovely meal near the Acropolis and walked back to our hotel after dark.
While the walk back to Colors Hotel was a little long, we enjoyed that it meant crossing some wonderful squares and getting a feel for Athens’ nightlife.
We felt perfectly safe walking with our kids and we loved the many resuarants and pretty wine bars we noticed on the way. It was a perfect summer night!
You can find here >>> all our tips for visiting Athens with kids
Day 3: Athens, Nafplio, Mycenae
On day 3 of our Peloponnese with kids road trip, we actually went to Peloponnese!
Morning in Athens
We spent a lazy morning exploring the area of out hotels, which had some some lovely bookshops, including one with children books in English.
We had a nice break at the Coin Museums, which is interesting and also has a nice leafy yard with a cafe, and got a taxi to our car rental agency.
We also managed to see the stunning buildings od the University of Athens, a breathtaking city landmark!
To get to Peloponnese from Athens, it didn’t makes sense to go back to the airport so, instead, we picked up the car from Hertz inside Athens city.
This worked very well and they were even able to recommend the best way to Peoloponnese avoiding extra toll charges – this was not what google maps was suggesting and it turned out to be a better, faster, easier and cheaper way to do so!
Driving out of Athens wasn’t as stressful as we though it would be.
while I would highly recommend to not drive in the Plaka area, Athens city center is busy but well indicated and with large roads.
Top tip: For us, the best location to rent a car to go from Athens to Peloponnese was the Hertz office in inner city Athens, which is just on the main street leading you out of town. Easy and stress free.
Lunch in Nafplio
Our driving into Peoloponnese led us to pass the Isthmus of Corinth and then to Nafplio for lunch.
On the road, you find signs to get to the Corinth overlook; however, we decided not to stop and head straight to Nafplio, leaving Corinth for, possibly, the way back.
The drive to Napflio was easy and fast and we got to the town for a late lunch/ snack, which was perfect.
Nafplio is a lovely small town with a lovely town center, a fabulous sea fortress, cute shops and a romantic feel. We stayed for a couple of hours and the kids had a blast in the small but nice Nafplio playground, while we enjoyed the beautiful views.
Find here >>> our essential guide to visiting Nafplio with kids (with lunch recommendation and playground location too!)
Late afternoon in Mycaenae (Mykines)
After Nafplio, we got back into the car and reached Mycenae.
This was a highlight not just of the day but of our whole trip!
We had planned 2 nights in Mycenae and we stayed at an adorable local place called le Petite Planete.
Le Petite Planete is a simple and lovely agrutourism kind of place, with nice rooms, a pool, dinner on sight and adorable hosts.
Find all info >>> here <<<
Good to know: Le Petite Planete is a simple, local and exceptionally friendly place and our favorite places in Peloponnes with kids for local flavour!
It is located only two minutes drive fro the ancient site of Mycenae so we checked in, left our luggage and went exploring.
Mycenae is relatively small but wonderful.
We visited both the site and the local museum and while many of the artefacts are are replicas (the originals are in Athens) it is wonderful to see them where they belonged and added a lot to the visit of the site itself.
Find here >>> our essential guide to visiting ancient Mycenae with kids
Day 4: Epidaurus
On this day, we told the car and visited the breathtaking archaeological site of Epidaurus.
The site is mostly down for its awe-inspiring ancient theater and but it has a lot more than that.
An ancient healing center, connected with the worshipping of Asklepius, the site is a large outdoor areas with temples, a stunning theater and the fascinating abaton, the room where the God would pay a visit to the sick.
Good info panels explain what you are seeing and allow for a visit to the site without a guide. We absolutely love Epidaurus and we huffily recommend you visit!
You can find here >>> our guide to Epidaurus with kids
We spent the rest of the day back in out hotel, which was a welcome decision to cool down after a hot summer day in an ancient site
Find info about our hotel >>> here <<<
Day 5 – Ancient Olympia
On this day, we drove to Olympia and settled there for the nigh.
The drive to Olympia is rather long but also very beautiful.
The archaeological site is surrounded by mountains and we got a lovely hotel with nice views which was ideal for visiting the site and the town and also was great for the kids as it had a pool and a restaurant on site.
We visited the Olympia archaeological site in the evening and it was perfect: the site is rather large and it has a beautiful museum so make sure you have enough time for both. Set aside a few hours.
You can find here >>> our guide to visiting Olympia with kids (ancient and modern)
Day 5: Olympia and drive to Koroni
On day five, we went for a short stroll around the town of Olympia thinking there would be little to do outside of the archaeological site. however, we were mistaken!
Olympia is a peasant town with one Main Street with restaurants but is has one thing out kids adored: a technology museum!
The museum is small but packed with things to see and machines and us and teh kids spent hours exploiting it and learning all the amazing Greek inventions -some of which we still use today!
This was an unexpected stop for us and a highlight of the whole holiday.
After Olympia, we drove to Koroni and settled Inyo our apartment: as it was right in front of Mimi beach, we spent the afternoon relaxing in front of the sunset as the kids snorkelled they way in the beautiful Koroni waters.
We booked our apartment vi booking.com. Now we cannot find it on that platforms but noticed they seem to have there own website
Good to know: this apartment is simple yet has all all you need, including a wonderful host. It has gorgeous sea views, a delightful terrace, a lovely restaurant a minute down the road and Mimi beach is only a few minutes walk. Highly recommended if you are looking for a relaxing place for a vacation in Peoloponnese with kids and want a local, friendly atmosphere!
5-10 Koroni and surrounding area
The bulk of our holiday was a relaxing stay in the small and super pretty town of Koroni.
We had five full days there and many of them were filled with beach time and restaurants.
A few day trips in the area are, however, outstanding and I highly recommend you make time for them!
Koroni town – a lovely place to open and afternoon or for a meal. make sure you walk up to the Kastro and the bastions, stroll the main streets and try out the several pretty beaches in the area. Mimi beach was our favorite!
Koroni is small and local, perfect for families who want to be off the beaten track. we recommend it for slightly older children especially as there is no direct beach access from the town.
Methoni – a wonderful day trip from Koroni and a town that is perfect for kids thanks to its large sandy beach with shallow waters and an out fo this world castle.
Fantastic for young families and a place that strikes us as perfect for a sea and sun vacation in Peloponnese with kids in tow.
Pylos – the ancient town of nester,pulo is a eaitgul buzzing center with lots of restaurant hops boat tours and facility. the place is wonderfunto explore on the ay and a lovely one for a more prolongs stay for fmialeis who love more dynamic center
Athens 11/12
After Koroni, we returned to Athens where were were able to spend an afternoon in the city.
For this stay, we had selected a Hotel in Plaka which turned out to be perfect, Hotel Plaka, info >>> here <<<
The hotel is in the very center of tourist Athens and we worried it may be noisy but it wasn’t.
Close to everything, it has good size interconnecting rooms, excellent breakfast and nice staff. We had a restful, quiet night here: a great pick and we would definitely sta again!
We decided to spend our afternoon visiting the Athens’ Archaeological Museum. This was absolutely stunning and a must see.
I had read online that the museum had nothing for kids an this is true in terms of what they offer (no treasure hunt or kids’ audio guide.
However, it si a fantastic place and our kids loved it!
The museum is large and airy, with lots of space to explore at leisure, and the items of display are beautiful and full of stories.
Kids who love mythology will recognize their favorite heroes and deities and if they will also recognize the items coming form Mycenae, the originals of which are displayed here!
If you have an interest in history, this is one of the best museums in the world but it is so beautiful, I believe everyone should see it and let the beauty of the works of art and artefacts work their charme!
After the museum, we decided to head back to Anafiotika, my favorite area in Athens and watched the sunset form there.
Dinner in the area and a drink on out hotel rooftop bar (with the kids) was a perfect end to a perfect holiday.
The ring after we bought a taxi to the aport, already promising ourselves to to be ack soon (I’ve actually already booked for next summer!!)
I hope you enjoyed this quick overview of our trip to Peloponnese with kids and it helped you plan your own. Safe travels!
Peloponnese with kids – Pin this!
