How to Spend a Day in Nafplio, Peloponnese
In my Destination Greece: Part 1 and Part 2 I talked about our road trip in Greece I did with my wife in November of 2017. Our choices of destinations were mostly based on my research of best things to do in Greece among other reasons.
The trip started from Athens with a short stop in Ancient Corinth, then we continued driving on to Nafplio (also could be written as Nafplion). We decided to visit Nafplio because I found in many travel guides it was one of the top places to visit while in Greece. It was also conveniently located for us on our trip through the Peloponnese peninsula.
Nafplio has a long, interesting history, has beautiful scenery, and it used to be the capital of Greece long time ago.
Because of my short vacation time and many other places we wanted to see we only planned to stay one night in Nafplio.
Oranges in Greece
From Ancient Corinth it didn’t take us long to drive to Nafplio. Well, it took us some extra time to take to reach our destination because we stopped couple of times to take pictures of orange trees.. Yep, we took photos of trees.
There were orange trees everywhere in Greece. And we were offered fresh orange juice in just about every hotel and restaurant that we visited. That was actually one of our favourite things we liked about in Greece.
I used to live in Florida (also known for oranges) for five years and never saw as many orange trees than what we saw in less than two weeks in Greece.
I think in Florida the orange juice industry is very commercialized compared to the fresh homemade orange juice we had every day in Greece. ..or maybe I was just drinking too much other drinks during my Florida years. 🙂
Arrival to Nafplio
We arrived Nafplio just after sunset and searched for our hotel in the city center. We were looking for a small family owned Aetoma Hotel. The hotel received excellent reviews on all the hotel websites I checked. It was a bit difficult to find though as the streets were narrow and there was no big sign outside.
We ended up parking about a block away and walked to the hotel. The door was open and the owner, Akis, was waiting for us. In general in this type of family owned hotels there is no 24 hour reception, so it is good to let the hotel know in advance about what time you will be arriving.
Downtown Nafplio, Greece.
Check In
It was a pleasant check in and a friendly welcome. Akis gave us a local map and explained what is there to see and to do in Nafplio. He also gave us good advice on dinner and lunch restaurants in the area.
The parking lot behind the hotel was full, but luckily parking didn’t seem to be problem in Nafplio. Within five minute walk from the hotel there was plenty of free parking space.
Aetoma Hotel
We couldn’t have been happier with the hotel choice. It was in a perfect location just in the center of Nafplio downtown. The room had a balcony where we had some ouzo and wine in the evening and coffee in the morning.
The room itself was big and the bathroom was decent size and well equipped.
Breakfast was served in a cozy setting. The hotel used to be a private home but now the living room was a dining room. We were served fresh orange juice, Greek yogurt, and many pastries among other things at breakfast time.
Since we only stayed there for one night we already checked out after breakfast, so we wouldn’t have to spend time coming back for our things.
Aetoma Hotel, Nafpio, Greece was rated an Exceptional 9.8 / 10 in Agoda. It is also number 1 rated hotel in TripAdvisor for the area.
Having a drink in the balcony under moonlight.
View from Aetoma Hotel balcony in Nafplio, Greece.
Coffee in the balcony after breakfast.
A map of Nafplio we got from Akis. He wrote down all the recommended restaurants nearby and draw arrows to the locations. Great service! 🙂
What to See in Nafplio in One Day
Based on the recommendations of the hotel owner we had made a plan for the day. First we walked back to our car and left all our belongings there, carrying only the important stuff such as passports and cameras. Next we headed to the Palamidi Castle. That would be a nice hike after breakfast and would give us a good appetite for lunch later on.
Palamidi Castle / Fortress on top of the Palamidi Hill in Nafplio, Greece.
Palamidi Castle
Nafplio is very walkable small town and it took us only about five minutes to walk from the hotel to the foothills of the Palamidi Castle. There was a 999 step stairway that took us up to the castle. Alternatively you could drive up there, but we didn’t mind the hike.
The “castle” is basically a fortress from the 1700’s. It is very well preserved and offers amazing views of the surroundings. There was a small church and a dungeon in the fortress, but otherwise it was mostly an outdoor attraction.
It is definitely a “must visit” place if you are in Nafplio! It is well worth the hike up for the views, but you can also drive up there if you prefer.
Climbing up the Palamidi Hill. Only 999 steps!
The view from top of the Palamidi Hill was like on a postcard! 🙂
View from the Palamidi fortress window.
Downtown Nafplio
After hiking back down from the hill we wandered around the downtown Nafplio. The downtown area is very pleasant to walk around.
There are many walking streets and not many cars around. Lots of little shops and restaurants were all around.
We purchased some souvenirs and continued on to find a lunch restaurant by the water.
Alleyway in Nafplio downtown.
Nauplion Promenade / Nafplio Harbor
This walkway, Nauplion Promenade, was just by the water with a nice view of the water castle of Bourtzi. We didn’t visit the Bourtzi castle due to time limitations and because Akis told us there is not much to see in the castle; it actually looks nicer just to see it from the shore.
There were many cafes and restaurants on the walkway. Also we saw scores of fish swim by while looking down the water. We had a relaxing lunch enjoying the sunshine and smell of sea water.
Castle of Bourtzi on an island just outside Nafplio.
Nafplio Harbor
Arvanitia Walk
After our lunch we continued walking to the south around the peninsula. There was a walkway about 1 kilometer long that had steep drop to the water on one side and a steep cliff on the other side. It was nice to walk little more after the lunch.
First we passed the “Five Brothers” monument, which was basically five old cannons lined up. Then we passed through a short tunnel and reached the Arvantia Beach.
We didn’t stop for a swim. Instead we walked back north with the Palamidi Caste to our right. Then we spent a little more time in the town; walking around and browsing the stores.
Finally we got some coffee to go from a local fast food restaurant, Goody’s Burger House, and walked back to our car.
Old lady fishing in Nafplio while a cat is watching! 🙂
Small tunnel on Arvanitia Walk.
On the Road Again
We had checked out from our hotel already after breakfast, and all our luggage was already in our car. With coffee onboard we left the town first north, then south west. Our next destination was beach resort in a small town called Costa Navarino. It was about 2:40 minute drive there and I preferred to arrive there before it got too dark.
Final thoughts about Nafplio
This sums up our short stay in Nafplio. I actually wish we would have stayed there for a second night. The town is small but it has very nice and friendly atmosphere.
The excellent guidance and advice from Akis at the Aetoma Hotel really helped us with our time management! Thanks Akis, we really appreciate it!
In my next Greece post I will introduce Costa Navarino.
Thanks for reading!
~Funky Traveler Vesa
View of Nafplio, Greece.
If you are interested in visiting Greece please check out my other posts in my Greece Page! 🙂
Does anyone else hate it when he says “sneakers”