3 hours in Olympia enough time?

It seems that most buses traveling to Olympia provide only 3 hours of time in Olympia. Is that really enough time? I would like to visit the archeological site, museum and the Olympic museum then have lunch and walk around Olympia town. I am trying to figure the best option since the train is not "reliable" these days. I will be in port from 8am to 5pm. Thoughts please. Thank you!

Yes, I think 3 hours is OK. You will see a lot. If you are really serious, it may not be enough. But 3 hours is a good amount of time.

Suggest you engage Georges Taxis via his website . He meets you at the port gate in an a/c Mercedes and takes you to all the sights in Olympia, plus a local restaurant then returns you to the boat . He paces the trip to suit what you want . Last October we arrived at 0900 and were back on board at 1500 seeing all the sights you named at Olympia . George is very obliging, an excellent guide and he charged very reasonable rates, max 4 pax per car . He can supply multiple cars .

IMO, three hours is plenty of time.

Three hours should be enough to see the site and the Archaeological museum. I don't think there is a separate Olympic museum. :confused:

I'm not sure lunch would be a big deal. If you want a local meal you could wait until the tour gets back and eat in Katakolon.

Remember the main site is really just piles of rocks now. The Museum is about a 10 minute walk from the ruins. You get a free map of the ruins when you buy your ticket at the ticket booth. I personally don't think you need a guide. We were back at the ship in about 3.5 hours (including driving time) and felt we saw it all. Then we had a nice lunch in town on the harbor. Not much in town but lots of tourist shops.

Three hours is about right--tour the site and the museum (quite good--it was robbed a few days ago--don't know just how serious the losses were, but it seems something like 77 ancient artifacts were stolen):

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2012/02/greece-museum-theft-ancient-olympic-artifacts.html

There is a separate Historical Museum of the Olympic games, which I have not visited, but understand that it is nothing special...mostly photos, literature, and a few Olympic medals, et cetera.

Yes--a lot of rubble around the Ancient Olympia site, but we found it to be, somewhat like Delos, a supremely transcendental, magical, mystical, powerful sort of place. Much like Peanuts' Pig-Pen speculating whether some of the dirt on his clothes may have been the dust of some ancient civilization, perhaps trod upon by Solomon, or Nebucchadnezzar, we really were quite struck to be standing where the ancient games took place (one can do a victory lap around the ancient track), and to see where, just like almost 2800 years ago, the flame is still lit for the Olympic torch (it will be lit on May 10th, for this summer's games in London).

The town is ok (there are much better places to wander/stroll around in Greece). There is a grocery store on the main street where they sell several different size containers of Greek Nescafe (best instant coffee ever!), some come in sets with a shaker so you can enjoy real Greek cafe frappe ("caff-A frapp-A") long after you've returned home).

Lunch--I would suggest returning to Katakolon and having lunch at one of the many tavernas that line the harbourfront--great lunch, superlative views, where we watched the fishermen mend their nets (I know it sounds corny, but that's exactly what they were doing!) and the local kids kick the soccer ball around. After, the shops on the (small) main street are worth a poke around.

Kevin

 

Yes--a lot of rubble around the Ancient Olympia site, but we found it to be, somewhat like Delos, a supremely transcendental, magical, mystical, powerful sort of place. Much like Peanuts' Pig-Pen speculating whether some of the dirt on his clothes may have been the dust of some ancient civilization, perhaps trod upon by Solomon, or Nebucchadnezzar, we really were quite struck to be standing where the ancient games took place (one can do a victory lap around the ancient track), and to see where, just like almost 2800 years ago, the flame is still lit for the Olympic torch (it will be lit on May 10th, for this summer's games in London).

 

Agree 100%

To be at the place where sport began was a thrill for me, even though you need to bring your imagination for most of it. I made this from my time there

All the best, Tony

Three hours is about right--tour the site and the museum (quite good--it was robbed a few days ago--don't know just how serious the losses were, but it seems something like 77 ancient artifacts were stolen):

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2012/02/greece-museum-theft-ancient-olympic-artifacts.html

 

There is a separate Historical Museum of the Olympic games, which I have not visited, but understand that it is nothing special...mostly photos, literature, and a few Olympic medals, et cetera.

 

Yes--a lot of rubble around the Ancient Olympia site, but we found it to be, somewhat like Delos, a supremely transcendental, magical, mystical, powerful sort of place. Much like Peanuts' Pig-Pen speculating whether some of the dirt on his clothes may have been the dust of some ancient civilization, perhaps trod upon by Solomon, or Nebucchadnezzar, we really were quite struck to be standing where the ancient games took place (one can do a victory lap around the ancient track), and to see where, just like almost 2800 years ago, the flame is still lit for the Olympic torch (it will be lit on May 10th, for this summer's games in London).

 

The town is ok (there are much better places to wander/stroll around in Greece). There is a grocery store on the main street where they sell several different size containers of Greek Nescafe (best instant coffee ever!), some come in sets with a shaker so you can enjoy real Greek cafe frappe ("caff-A frapp-A") long after you've returned home).

 

Lunch--I would suggest returning to Katakolon and having lunch at one of the many tavernas that line the harbourfront--great lunch, superlative views, where we watched the fishermen mend their nets (I know it sounds corny, but that's exactly what they were doing!) and the local kids kick the soccer ball around. After, the shops on the (small) main street are worth a poke around.

 

Kevin

Kevin- this is a great post! we were in Olympia 20 years ago and felt just the same. Now we are going with two grown teenagers and another family and I am trying to decide on what service to use to do all the things you mentioned. What service did you use for your visit?

Thanks for your kind words. This is such a great site--a real 'community' of interested, like-minded travellers, most of whom go out of their way to share great experiences and info. I've found so much great info here!

We generally like to do our own thing, so we just rented a car (reserved in advance). We rented from a local outfit, Elias:

http://www.rentacarkatakolo.gr/en/home.html

I think Avis also rents cars in Katakolo.

There's also the train, which was re-instated in 2007, but I understand service was cut, but again re-instated. Seems to be unreliable to say the least.

There is, apparently, a new bus service catering to cruise ships...20 Euro, 4 hrs (3 hours in Olympia):

http://www.katakolon-express.com/

There's some more info here on transportation options:

http://www.katakolon.org/

The taxi drivers at the port tend to charge about 150 Euro for about 3 hours (2 hours at Olympia)--seems expensive to me.

Enjoy Katakolon!

Kevin

Agree 100%

To be at the place where sport began was a thrill for me, even though you need to bring your imagination for most of it. I made this from my time there

All the best, Tony

Excellent video - many thanks;)

Last September we used Andreas Stamos for a private tour. We had a great time at Olympia and the museum was my favorite of the cruise.

We also went to Olympia town for lunch and shopping. Tourist season was over, so we had the stores to ourselves! My husband found his favorite Greek leather shoes, I found my two tone greek necklace. We also went to Olympia Land winery. A new winery that already has won awards. It was a great day! Enjoy your trips!