6-Day Mainland Greece Road Trip with a Kid: Athens to Mt. Olympus—Itinerary and What We’d Do Again
Day 1: Kicking off our 6-day mainland Greece road trip at the Acropolis in Athens.
Quick Summary
✈️ Route: Athens → Delphi → Meteora (day trip) → Litochoro → Thessaloniki
🗓️ Duration: 6 days, 3 bases, 1 rental car
👦 Traveling with a Kid: Our 7-year-old handled it like a champ
✅ What We’d Do Again: Almost everything — with a few small tweaks
💡 Why It Worked: Compact route, ancient myths, mountains, and just enough spontaneity
After two weeks in Crete leading a study abroad program, we flew to Athens for a 6-day mainland road trip. We wanted something different from island life — more ruins than beaches, more green than blue — and this route gave us exactly that. Here’s what worked, what didn’t, and what we’d repeat in a heartbeat.
At a Glance: Our 6-Day Itinerary
Days 1–3: Athens
Day 4: Delphi (via Livadeia)
Day 5: Meteora (day trip)
Days 6–7: Litochoro & Mount Olympus
Fly out of Thessaloniki
🏛️ Athens (3 Nights)
(No driving yet — flew in and explored on foot/metro)
We stayed in Koukaki, within walking distance of most major sites — which made it easy to explore on foot, while still having time to rest between outings. Our 7-year-old is mythology-obsessed so he loved the acropolis walking tour, racing around the Panathenaic Stadium, and chasing pigeons in the national gardens. We loved the city’s vibrancy — and the way the Acropolis seemed to glow above us everywhere we went.
We rented a car from Sixt in downtown Athens. It was a very easy process. Driving in Athens was not.
Drivers there are aggressive and chaotic, but it was fine once we got outside the city.
Athens in two snapshots: Olympic stadium races for him, Greek salads everywhere for us.
What we did:
Day 1
Metro from the airport - very easy to navigate, but crowded
Enjoy a delicious dinner at an outdoor taverna
Day 2
Early morning guided tour of the Acropolis
Acropolis Museum
Ancient Agora
Wandered the Plaka neighborhood—seeing ancient ruins along the way
Day 3
Panathenaic Stadium
National Garden
Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology
Shady outdoor tavernas + a lot of gelato
Where we stayed
Great centrally located apartment on Airbnb: Family-friendly, walkable to the sights, and plenty of room to spread out
Tips:
Book skip-the-line tickets in advance and Acropolis tour as early in the day as possible
Koukaki is ideal for families — walkable, less crowded, and close to playgrounds
Plaka is touristy, but very walkable — especially with kids
Book a tour for the ancient agora and consider doing on a day you don’t also visit the Acropolis
Don’t skip the stadium — it was our favorite spot
Read mythology books or listen to Greeking Out podcast to help kids connect with the sites
Athens had plenty of big sights, but some of our favorites were chasing pigeons in the national garden and wandering the streets by foot.
👉 Want more about our time in Athens?
Read the full post: Athens with Kids — Early Morning Ruins, Olympic Races, and Pigeon Chasing
🏺 Delphi (1 Night, via Livadeia)
🚗 Drive time: Athens → Livadeia: ~2 hrs | Livadeia → Delphi: ~1 hr
We left Athens late morning and stopped for lunch in Livadeia — a quiet town with riverside cafes, moss-covered bridges, and one of the most charming atmospheres of the whole trip. I honestly wish we’d stayed the night there. It had none of the tourist bustle of Athens, and our lunch along the water was a standout moment.
Overlooking the Herkyna River, once the site of the Oracle of Trophonius — where ancient seekers descended into an underground cave for visions so intense they often came out silent. Today, just joy, sunshine, and sunglasses.
In Delphi, we accidentally took the ancient pilgrims’ path instead of the main road, which meant we were late, sweaty, and slightly panicked for our scheduled tour. But we made it, and it’s now a core memory. The guide was lovely — especially with our son — and the views were unbelievable. We got to the archaeological site at 4pm, which was perfect. Hardly anyone was there.
The Temple of Apollo at Delphi really is a magical place. If you’re unsure whether it is worth a visit—let me assure you the answer is yes. 100% yes.
Looking out over the ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi — the site where the Pythia, or Oracle of Delphi, delivered prophecies for more than a thousand years.
The temple and museum were awesome, but the real showstopper was the Cats of Delphi
What we’d do again:
Take the same guided tour
Explore the site close to sunset for the best light and fewer crowds
One night was the perfect amount of time for Delphi. With one extra day we would have liked to hike the ancient path to the sea
Stop in Livadeia — but next time, stay the night
Where we stayed
Komody Apartments: Nice modern apartment, centrally located, and a killer view that you can’t beat.
👉 Want specifics on Delphi?
Read the full post: Traveling Differently at Delphi
🏞️ Meteora (Day Trip from Delphi)
🚗 Drive time: Delphi → Meteora: ~3.5 hrs
Our son wasn’t particularly wowed once we got inside — but from the outside, floating castles on rocks? That was cool.
Meteora is spectacular. Monasteries float above spires of rock in a way that doesn’t feel quite real. That said: doing it as a day trip from Delphi was… a stretch.
It’s a 3.5-hour drive each way, and by the time we arrived, we only had a couple of hours before the monasteries closed. The two monasteries we visited were fairly crowded, but it was neat to see. My husband loved it — said it was a highlight of the trip. I appreciated the views. Our son, after all that time in the car, was pretty over it.
What we’d do differently:
If you want to visit Meteora, stay overnight nearby
Research monastery hours — many rotate opening days and close mid-afternoon
Don’t expect the interiors to wow a kid — it’s the setting that makes it special
We didn’t know we needed toilet parking until we got to Meteora. Greece really thinks of everything.
🏔️ Litochoro & Mount Olympus (2 Nights)
🚗 Drive time: Meteora → Litochoro: ~2.5 hrs
(Or Delphi → Litochoro: ~3.5–4 hrs if skipping Meteora)
Litochoro was our last stop. The town sits right at the base of Mount Olympus, and we booked two nights so we could hike, rest, and reset before our flight. It felt like we got to see a picture of small town Greece in a way we hadn’t anywhere else on our trip.
Old men gathered for drinks each night in the tiny town square. Our hotel hosts made fresh pies for breakfast and kissing our son on the head like family. It was a dream.
“Old men gathered in the square, our hosts kissed our son on the head like family, and we slowed down — for real.”
Wandering the quiet streets of Litochoro with Mt. Olympus behind us and nowhere to rush.
The hike? Not what we expected. We tried to hike from Litochoro into the Enipeas Gorge to see the Old Monastery of Agios Dionysios and the Sacred Cave of Saint Dionysios. ChatGPT said it was a moderate, 4-mile round trip family hike. It wasn’t.
The trail was technically closed due to damaged bridges, but we were told by the park guide that it was still safe to hike as far as the first downed bridge. What we didn’t realize, thanks to misleading info from ChatGPT, was that the landmarks we came to see were actually on the other side of the broken bridges, accessible only from Prionia. Unless, of course, we wanted to ford a mountain river.
Well, that would’ve been helpful to know before we started hiking. Trail closed. Bridges out. Adventure... very much still on.
The hike itself was beautiful but intense: steep, rocky, and the hardest 6+ miles we’ve done with our son yet. Definitely not kid-friendly in the way we imagined. But still — it was worth it, and a story we’ll tell for a long time. Our 7-year-old did the whole thing and was incredibly proud. We were too. Just also…completely wiped out.
Sometimes the best part of a hike is sitting still for a minute — especially with tasty snacks and good company.
This was the view of Mt. Olympus we earned — miles in, sweaty, tired, and surrounded by a place made for the gods.
Was it the hike we planned? Not even close. But it was an adventure — and it gave us the chance to talk about Greek myths, river gods, and why it matters to choose to do hard things on purpose.
What worked:
The town itself: charming, relaxed, and framed by incredible mountain views
A slower pace at the end of the trip
Giving our kid a chance to prove what he could do (even if we wouldn’t choose that trail again)
What we’d do differently:
Choose a better-marked, family-friendly trail (like from the Prionia side)
Double-check trail info with actual humans. AllTrails, park signs, and rangers > chatbots. Let's just say... this hike was brought to you by "moderate difficulty" and "4 miles round trip" in quotation marks.
Know which side the landmarks are on. Spoiler: they’re not on the Litochoro side.
Pack for a real hike. This wasn’t a gentle stroll — think rugged shoes, snacks, and a “we might be out here longer than we thought” mindset.
Stay for an extra day to relax at the beach. Though we didn’t visit, the Litochoro beaches looked to be top notch.
Still… no regrets. Just sore legs and a story we’ll always tell.
Where we stayed:
Meydani Suites - Couldn’t recommend this more. The apartment was great, and the owners were the most lovely couple who made a home made breakfast and welcomed us like family.
✈️ Departure from Thessaloniki
🚗 Drive time: Litochoro → Thessaloniki Airport (SKG): ~1 hr
We drove to Thessaloniki on the final morning and flew out from there — no sightseeing, just logistics. Returning the car and navigating the airport was simple, and not having to loop back to Athens made the route feel efficient and complete.
💡 What We’d Do Again
This route. It gave us myth, mountains, history, and space to slow down.
Staying central in Athens for easy walking
Booking a tour at Delphi — the storytelling made it
Litochoro at the end — a peaceful note and some killer mountains to wrap things up
🚗 Driving Times Summary
| 🚗 Route | 🕒 Approx. Time |
|---|---|
| Athens → Livadeia | ~2 hrs |
| Livadeia → Delphi | ~1 hr |
| Delphi → Meteora | ~3.5 hrs |
| Meteora → Litochoro | ~2.5 hrs |
| Delphi → Litochoro (if skipping Meteora) | ~3.5–4 hrs |
| Litochoro → Thessaloniki Airport | ~1 hr |
📌 Travel Tips (Kid-Focused)
📚 Bring Greek mythology books or podcasts
Greeking Out was perfect for long drives and helped our son connect to the places we visited.🧑🏫 A good guide who gets kids is worth every penny.
Ours made our son feel like the tour was for him, too.⏳ Build in time to slow down and just play.
The most meaningful moments weren’t always at the big sites — they were chasing pigeons, racing in ancient stadiums, or sharing gelato in the shade.🚗 European rental cars are tiny
Get one with enough trunk space for your stuff (and your sanity).🧠 Don’t expect every hike to be “fun” the whole time — especially for kids.
But doing something hard together can build confidence and connection in ways a smooth day never could.
➡️ Keep Reading
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