Olympia with children

[Jo and Rob]

Has anyone done Olympia with children? We are calling at Katakolon in October with our 6 and 8 year old and are considering going to Olympia. Any hints and tips for me?

[onthelake]

It is about 1/2 hour taxi ride from the port to Olympia. When we were there about 2 years ago they were asking 100 euro round trip per taxi. I think my husband got the driver down to 60. Be aware of how many ships are in port because the town will get crazy and taxis are limited - they can ask what they want.

 

My son was 14 at the time and this was a highlight of our trip for him (and we did Paris, Athens, the pyramids, etc.). The museum there is beautiful and you can spend a lot of time walking the grounds. It is actually great for younger kids since most of your time is outside.

 

We arrived at the site just as the tour buses pulled in and would have had to wait a long time for admission tickets if our taxi driver had not intervened (via the back of the ticket kiosk) and gotten us our tickets.

 

If you don't go to Olympia, the town is cute but is all touristy, knock-off items. Fun but not necessary. I would also be very careful of pick-pockets here because it does get so crowded.

[Onessa]

Our DD was 12YO when we went to Olympia. We were there in November and at that time were the only ship in port - so we also were able to get a taxi for 65E round trip (including the tip). We were among the first pax off the ship so we were in the park prior to the buses arriving and it was very nice. The ship's tours seemed a bit too "forced" for kids to have enjoyed.

 

There is a train, but it has very limited schedule and rarely seems to fit into most of the ship's times in port.

 

DD had been studying "ancient civilizations" in social studies so it was very interesting to her. The museum was less interesting to her.

[6rugrats]

I honestly don't think this is going to be of tremendous interest to children of this age, but I don't know your kids. I do remember ladies with whistles who would blow them if anyone tried to get too near the ruins, and they were pretty strict about this. Olympia was not the highlight of my trip; it's not restored and there's not a lot to see, but I am sure some will disagree. The museum was nice, but small.

 

Skip the ship tour and take a cab. IMO, 100 Euros is too much to pay for a cab.