Day trip to Epidaurus and Nafplio from Poros

This is the card Poros holds that no other Greek island plays as well. You cross the two hundred metres of channel on the shuttle boat, land at Galatas and you are in the Peloponnese. From there, the theatre of Epidaurus is an hour’s drive away and Nafplio an hour and a quarter.

Put another way: you can have breakfast on a Greek island, see the best acoustics in the ancient world, have lunch in the prettiest town in the Peloponnese and be back on the island to sleep.

How to organise it

With a hire car. This is the most flexible option. There are rental agencies in Galatas and prices run to around 35 to 60 euros a day in season. You cross on the shuttle on foot (about 1.20 euros, leaving every ten or fifteen minutes from seven in the morning until midnight), pick up the car and you are off. Parking a car on the island makes no sense, so this is the right way to do it.

With an organised tour. Several agencies on the Poros waterfront (Askeli Travel, Family Tours and Marinos Tours are the longest established) run full-day minibus trips to Epidaurus, Mycenae and Nafplio, crossing included. Prices sit between 45 and 80 euros per person depending on the route and whether a guide is included.

With a hired taxi. For groups of three or four it works out well. You agree a fixed price for the day with a driver in Galatas.

What to see, in order of priority

Epidaurus. The fourth-century BC theatre, with room for fourteen thousand spectators and acoustics that are still being studied: from the top row you can hear a coin drop in the centre of the orchestra. It is a Unesco site, and the complex also includes the sanctuary of Asclepius, the great healing centre of the Greek world. Allow two hours minimum.

Nafplio. The first capital of modern Greece, with a Venetian old town, the fortress of Palamidi perched on the rock (999 steps, or drive up) and the feel of a small town with plenty of life. It is the best place to eat on the whole route.

Mycenae. If you have time and energy to spare, the Lion Gate and the Mycenaean tombs are another forty minutes from Nafplio. It is a lot for one day: we would rather do Epidaurus and Nafplio without rushing.

Troezen. Less known and much closer, twenty minutes from Galatas. This is the mythical city of Theseus, and several of the pieces in the Archaeological Museum of Poros came from here. Good for anyone who wants a short half-day plan.

Pain points

The heat. Epidaurus at midday in July, with no shade and the stone tiers radiating, is hard going. Go first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Opening times. Greek sites usually open eight to eight in summer and close earlier in winter. Check before you set off, and bear in mind that on performance days (the Epidaurus Festival runs in July and August) access to the theatre can be restricted in the afternoon.

Tickets. The Epidaurus site is around 12 euros in high season and 6 in low. Palamidi in Nafplio is about 8 euros.

The last shuttle. Head back with time to spare. The Galatas to Poros service runs well into the night, but you will not want to gamble on it after a long day.

Footwear. Uneven ground at the sites and 999 steps at Palamidi if you fancy it. No flip-flops.

Why this changes the trip

Because it turns Poros into something more than a beach break. You can put together four days combining swims at Askeli, the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi, the lemon forest across the water and a full day of archaeology in the Peloponnese.

It is, to our taste, the best island-and-mainland combination Greece offers within a reasonable distance of Athens.