Olympia worth it?

[Alex71]

Since we are travelling with two kids (8 and 6) and have a packed itinerary on this cruise without any sea days, I'm wondering if we should take it easy in Katakolon an just walk to the beach rather than rush to Olympia and back.

 

We'll be in Venice, Bari, Katakolon, Santorini, Piraeus, Corfu and Dubrovnik. My feeling is that the other stops are must see destinations, whereas some seem to think that Olympia is not as spectacular in comparison.

 

Any opinions will be much appreciated.

[mskaufman]

I asked the same question last spring before we went on a similar cruise. On one hand the respondents indicated that the ruins were not very impressive. Others said how could you pass up visiting such a historical place. We wound up going and had a nice and informative afternoon in Olympia. There are low cost options to get to Olympia. Here is a link to my pictures to help you make the decision.

 

https://markandkareneurope2013.shutterfly.com/pictures/561

[John Bull]

There's a dearth of alternatives.

Ships call here because of Olympia.

 

Katacolon is a one-street village. A few tourist shops & bars, worth no more than 30 minutes plus mebbe a lazy drink or two.

The beach is poor, & the water infested with jellyfish when we were there though mebbe we were unlucky.

 

We rented a car (about 40 euros plus fuel) & drove to Olympia, very easy & free easy street-parking. But it was just soooooo hot, & we're not heavily into ancient ruins that we had a drink, decided not to go in, & explored the area by car. Not the most exciting or interesting day of our lives.

 

JB :)

[cruisemom42]

Looking at the other ports on your itinerary, I'd skip Bari or Corfu before I'd skip Olympia.

 

Bari -- not much to see there.

Corfu -- could be your beach day.

 

Personally I'd take the kids to Olympia. Every two years when the Olympics take place they will remember that they went to the birthplace of it all. Will they really remember a beach day?

[CruiserBruce]

Looking at the other ports on your itinerary, I'd skip Bari or Corfu before I'd skip Olympia.

 

Bari -- not much to see there.

Corfu -- could be your beach day.

 

Personally I'd take the kids to Olympia. Every two years when the Olympics take place they will remember that they went to the birthplace of it all. Will they really remember a beach day?

 

Agree totally.

[Hlitner]

I guess the question should have been framed as to whether it is worth the cost of a cruise ship excursion to go to Olympia with a family of 4. We would probably say no...but as somebody else suggested, renting a car and driving your family to Olympia would probably cost no more then 100 Euros (Total cost) which is pretty reasonable to see such an historical place. Not sure whether the train is still a valid option so perhaps some others can post recent train experience.

 

Hank

[Relda]

I guess the question should have been framed as to whether it is worth the cost of a cruise ship excursion to go to Olympia with a family of 4. We would probably say no...but as somebody else suggested, renting a car and driving your family to Olympia would probably cost no more then 100 Euros (Total cost) which is pretty reasonable to see such an historical place. Not sure whether the train is still a valid option so perhaps some others can post recent train experience.

 

Hank

 

I agree with Hank that the cost of a ship excursion for 4 is probably not worth it and in addition to his suggestion about renting a car you could also check your roll call for your cruise and see if anyone is putting together a private tour you could join for much less, or you could arrange a private tour yourself with local tour guides. This will be much less expensive as well.

 

That being said, and having been to all of the ports you mentioned I would agree with the other posters and say that skipping Bari or doing a DIY beach day in Corfu is a better idea than skipping Olympia.

[kadey]

We are planning to use Katakolo Taki Since we didn't want to plan our whole day with just Olympia Our day plans are : Olympia (archaeological site +

stadium museum), olympia land winery and if time allows St andrew beach for coffee. This tour takes approximately 4 hours. With children I"d replace the winery with museum!

 

We are doing the same itinerary as Alex 71. Our trip is the beginning of May. In Bari we are planning to just walk around the town and have lunch.

 

 

Corfu- we have been here before in June and traveled to the beach. It was not a quick ride! We never went to Corfu Town. I thought early May might be too cool for the beach and I'd like to see Corfu Town.We are in port from 12:30 to 8:30. Is just doing Corfu Town not enough to fill my day? At this time of year am I a little to early to plan a beach afternoon and early evening town visit?

I'm sorry to divert this post but I see some of my favorite more experienced posters/travelers here!! Thanks-Kade

[harz99]

I guess the question should have been framed as to whether it is worth the cost of a cruise ship excursion to go to Olympia with a family of 4. We would probably say no...but as somebody else suggested, renting a car and driving your family to Olympia would probably cost no more then 100 Euros (Total cost) which is pretty reasonable to see such an historical place. Not sure whether the train is still a valid option so perhaps some others can post recent train experience.

 

Hank

 

Yes the train is still a viable option @ 10 EURO each return. Used it myself in November last year off NCL Jade. There is a ticket booth just in front of the station and trains run all cruise ship days. From memory we got off ship around 0810 and the train left about 0840.

 

 

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[Alex71]

Great insights everyone. I think we will do Olympia and go with a rental car. My concern was that the apeal of Olympia would be not so much what one could actually see, but rather the historic importance. Looks like there is enough to see though.

 

We'll be in port for six hours only and since this is a tender port we might only have 3 1/2 or four hours net. The kids tend to complain when things get too rushed, but hopefully we will have enough time to enjoy the trip.

 

Thanks again!

[lisiamc]

We were impressed with Olympia, and part of that is because we had a good guide. If you decide to do it on your own, please read up on it beforehand - well worth the effort.

[mskaufman]

We were impressed with Olympia, and part of that is because we had a good guide. If you decide to do it on your own, please read up on it beforehand - well worth the effort.

 

There is a nice book with plastic overlays that show pictures of what the site looks like now and when you put the overlay on, it shows what it looked like back when.

[Alex71]

I think we'll task the kids with preparing the visit and with doing some research up front. The upcoming winter olympics should get them interested.

 

I did in the meantime reserve a rental car and was able to get a very good rate through Sixt in Germany (36 EUR including km and insurance). Does anyone have experience with Sixt in Katakolon? It sounds like most have used Avis, which would be quite a bit more expensive in our case. I don't want to get ripped off with unexpected charges though.

[lisiamc]

There is a nice book with plastic overlays that show pictures of what the site looks like now and when you put the overlay on, it shows what it looked like back when.

 

Yep, we bought that too! I love those sort of books. :)

[Karysa]

Looking at the other ports on your itinerary, I'd skip Bari or Corfu before I'd skip Olympia.

 

Bari -- not much to see there.

Corfu -- could be your beach day.

 

Personally I'd take the kids to Olympia. Every two years when the Olympics take place they will remember that they went to the birthplace of it all. Will they really remember a beach day?

 

From Bari take the train to Polignano a Mare. I got lots of help on cc on how to do this trip on our own back in 2011 and if you go to the Italy board and do a search you will see the planning info and my review. I absolutely loved it. We used it as our beach stop on our Adridic Sea cruise.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Karysa

[Alex71]

From Bari take the train to Polignano a Mare. I got lots of help on cc on how to do this trip on our own back in 2011 and if you go to the Italy board and do a search you will see the planning info and my review. I absolutely loved it. We used it as our beach stop on our Adridic Sea cruise.

 

Thank you, I'll check it out. We only have five hours in Bari. Do you think it it doable / enjoyable in such a short amount of time? We are staying two nights in Venice before the cruise, so might still be a little exhausted after everything that is there to see. Bari will be our first stop.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Alex71

[luv2vacation]

I am also interested in the train to Polignano a Mare. It looks interesting but I am worried 5 hours in Bari wouldn't be enough time to get there and back.

 

Kadey - do you mind sharing how much it cost for your 4 hour tour with Katakolo Taki? It sounds like a good tour.

[KatKay]

Since we are travelling with two kids (8 and 6) and have a packed itinerary on this cruise without any sea days, I'm wondering if we should take it easy in Katakolon an just walk to the beach rather than rush to Olympia and back.

 

We'll be in Venice, Bari, Katakolon, Santorini, Piraeus, Corfu and Dubrovnik. My feeling is that the other stops are must see destinations, whereas some seem to think that Olympia is not as spectacular in comparison.

 

Any opinions will be much appreciated.

We just returned from visiting Olympia via the NCL Jade. The 10 year old boy in our group (of three adults and one child) really enjoyed it. He loves the picture we took of him running on the same track where ancient Olympians once ran. I contacted four highly rated tour operators and chose Andrew from Katakolo Taxi. He charged 120 Euro for a 4.5 hour tour which is in line with the competition; we paid before we left via Paypal so got a great exchange rate and no fees. If I were to do it again, I would negotiate that fee a little since we were in a Taxi and had no guide. We saw Olympia (archaeological site + stadium museum), Virgin Mary Monastery and were supposed to go to St Andrew beach for coffee but did not. The tickets for the museum and the site are 9 euros per person and are excluded from the tour cost; children will get inside for free. The Monastery was free and very interesting but was a drive and really was just a "take a look" place with no tour or interpretation. Once again though, our 10 year old really enjoyed it and remembers it fondly although it would be easy to leave off your itinerary if you don't want to spend the time.

[kadey]

I am also interested in the train to Polignano a Mare. It looks interesting but I am worried 5 hours in Bari wouldn't be enough time to get there and back.

 

Kadey - do you mind sharing how much it cost for your 4 hour tour with Katakolo Taki? It sounds like a good tour.

 

Katakolo Taxi is charging us 120 Euros. It is just Dh and I but I believe it's the same price for 4 persons.

[luv2vacation]

Katakolo Taxi is charging us 120 Euros. It is just Dh and I but I believe it's the same price for 4 persons.

 

Thanks Kadey for letting me know the taxi price!

[Cornishpastyman1]

Since we are travelling with two kids (8 and 6) and have a packed itinerary on this cruise without any sea days, I'm wondering if we should take it easy in Katakolon an just walk to the beach rather than rush to Olympia and back.

 

We'll be in Venice, Bari, Katakolon, Santorini, Piraeus, Corfu and Dubrovnik. My feeling is that the other stops are must see destinations, whereas some seem to think that Olympia is not as spectacular in comparison.

 

Any opinions will be much appreciated.

I made this from my visit

Clearly, you need to use your imagination at times but as a sports nut I would not have missed it for anything. All the best, Tony

[Alex71]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated!