Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nafplio private day trip from Athens (10 hours)

How are the ten hours divided?

Six hours of driving and three and three quarters at the stops, without traffic, routed on OpenStreetMap from the cruise terminals at Piraeus: 71 min and 78.3 km to the Corinth Canal, 15 minutes at the bridge for photos and a drink; 59 min and 48.7 km to Mycenae, an hour inside; 65 min and 46 km to Epidaurus, an hour for the theatre and the sanctuary of Asklepios; 41 min and 27.8 km to Nafplio, ninety minutes for lunch and the old town; then 126 min and 141 km back to the ship. From a hotel in the centre of Athens the first leg is 1 h 12 min and 78 km and the rest of the day is the same. In all 362 min on the road, which is why the page says ten hours and not eight: eight is what the road allows on a day without traffic, ten is what we plan for.

Will it feel rushed?

Less than a coach day, more than a stay in Nafplio. An hour is enough for the Lion Gate, the walls and the tomb known as Agamemnon’s at Mycenae if you walk straight to them, and an hour at Epidaurus covers the theatre and the sanctuary at a normal pace; ninety minutes in Nafplio is a lunch and a walk through the old town below the castle of Akronafplia, not the castle itself. If Nafplio is the point of the day, say so: we leave out Epidaurus or the canal stop and the hours move to the town. Two days, with a night in Nafplio, is a plan the custom tour form takes and the office prices; the hotel is yours to book.

What do the tickets cost, and when are the sites open?

Mycenae is 20 EUR (checked 14 Oct 2026, hh.gr) full and 10 EUR (checked 14 Oct 2026, hh.gr) reduced; Epidaurus is 20 EUR (checked 14 Oct 2026, hh.gr) full and 10 EUR (checked 14 Oct 2026, hh.gr) reduced. Both are paid at the gate and not included in the tour price, both close on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25 and 26 December, and both are free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October and the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March. In summer both open at 08:00 and close at 20:00 from May to August, earlier from September; in winter Mycenae closes at 15:30 from December and Epidaurus at 17:00, with the last admission 20 minutes before closing everywhere. Mycenae’s hours as the official ticket site lists them, with the date they were checked:

• 1 Apr to 30 Apr: 08:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:40
• 1 May to 31 Aug: 08:00 to 20:00, last entry 19:40
• 1 Sep to 15 Sep: 08:00 to 19:30, last entry 19:10
• 16 Sep to 30 Sep: 08:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:40
• 1 Oct to 15 Oct: 08:00 to 18:30, last entry 18:10
• 16 Oct to 31 Oct: 08:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:40
• 1 Nov to 31 Mar: 08:30 to 15:30, last entry 15:10

Checked 14 Oct 2026, hh.gr.

Epidaurus keeps the same summer hours to within a day; its winter hours are 08:00 to 17:00 from November to February and 08:00 to 18:00 in March.

Driver or licensed guide?

The driver takes you to each gate, waits with the vehicle however long you stay, and knows the road and the order of the day. Explaining Mycenae and Epidaurus from the inside is reserved to state-licensed guides under Law 5121/2024; if that is what you want, put it in the request and the office quotes a guide with the day.

Steps, shade, toilets and lunch

No official page we read states the steps, the shade or the toilets at Mycenae or Epidaurus, so we print nothing about them: your driver tells you at each gate where the toilets are and how far the walk is, and the vehicle is air-conditioned with bottled water in it. The canal is a stop at the bridge for photos and a drink, 15 minutes. Lunch is in Nafplio, at your own expense, in the ninety minutes planned there; the driver waits.

What does it cost, and where do we meet?

The day is priced on the 8-hour table, the longest on the rate card and the one every longer day takes: 700 EUR per group for up to three guests in a sedan, 800 EUR for four to seven in a minivan, and 100 EUR per person from eight in a minibus; the form shows your total and the office confirms it by email. Nothing is paid on the site, and cancellation is free until 72 hours before the start. Cruise guests are met outside their terminal at the Piraeus cruise terminals, the driver holding a sign with your name and the day starting there; the Piraeus page prints the call it needs. Hotel guests are met in the lobby at the agreed time. For a shorter day in the same direction, Ancient Corinth and the canal is five hours; the day-trips page compares them all.