How to visit Delphi - Greece Road Trip

Visiting Delphi, Greece is a jaw-dropping experience. Located on Mount Parnassus, Delphi is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is full of history and offers stunning views of mainland Greece.

Delphi is also one of the most important historical sites in Greece, dating back to the 4th century BC. Best of all, Delphi can easily be visited from Athens either as a daytrip or as a part of a longer road trip.

Looking for how to visit Delphi to make the most of your trip? Check out this comprehensive guide to Delphi.

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How to visit Delphi? Start by understanding the historical significance

In ancient Greece, Delphi was considered to be the center of the world. Several city-states (including Athens) kept their treasuries here and built temples honoring Athena and Apollo.

One of the biggest significances of Delphi was the Pythia, the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo. The Pythia, is more commonly known as the Oracle of Delphi.

The oracle was known through out the lands of Greece and beyond. People would journey long and far to the oracle to seek advice and hear the prophecies she made.

Today, when visiting the site of Delphi you can walk the path to the Temple of Apollo and experience where the Delphi Oracle once made her prophecies.

How to visit the ancient site of Delphi + Archeological Museum

Visiting the site of Delphi + Archeological Museum is very easy, as they are located right next to each other. You can buy a combination ticket on site that includes both for 12 Euros. For opening hours see the website here.

The visit in total will take you around 3-4 hours, depending on your level of interest. We spent around 1 hour at the museum and about 2.5 hours at the historical site.

How to plan your visit to Delphi

There are a few ways to visit Delphi, you can do a guided day tour from Athens, hire a driver, or rent a car. We personally rented a car and spent 1 night in Delphi as a part of a larger road trip in Greece.

Day Trip from Athens

If you are only spending a few days in Athens, but want to see historical sites outside the city then Delphi makes a great choice. Day trips can be booked via viator or get your guide. There are 3 benefits to a guided tour:

It is time efficient and allows you to see more on your trip
You don’t have to worry about driving the mountain roads to Delphi
A guided tour provides further historical + cultural information

How to visit Delphi by driving

You can also plan to visit Delphi via driving. Driving is a phenomenal way to experience Delphi as you are on your own schedule and have the freedom to visit other places in Greece.

If possible, I would recommend staying 1 night in the town of Delphi town so that you can add other destinations on your drive from Athens.

Places to visit on the way:

Archova: Only around a 20 minute drive from Delphi, Archova is a picturesque mountain town worth a stop. This is also one of the most popular ski areas in Greece. You may even choose to spend a night in Archova rather than the town of Delphi as it is so close.

Meteora: Meteora is an AMAZING experience and one of the most unique places in Greece. It is located 3 hours north of Delphi (4 hours from Athens). Interested in Meteora? Check out this post for everything you need to know.

Napflio: A beautiful coastal town that is located 3.5 hours from Delphi, but is on the way back to Athens. The town has a beautiful Venetian fortress and there are tons of ancient historical sites nearby. Hint: if you drive here from Delphi, go the route that passes through Napfakatos and along the coast. It’s a beautiful and easy drive.

Olympia: Ever wanted to visit the origin of the Olympics? Olympia is another UNESCO world heritage site located 3.5 hours southwest of Delphi, and can be a great stop on your way back to Athens.

A note about driving in Delphi:

Delphi is located in the mountains and does include some curvy, high up roads. The roads are paved and in good condition, but if you aren’t used to mountain driving it may seem tricky.

If you are a confident driver or have experience driving in the mountains, this drive shouldn’t be a problem. We live in Florida and never drive in mountains and handled it just fine.

However, if you are nervous of mountain driving or scared of heights, you can always consider doing a guided tour or at least spend 1 night so you break up the drive and can take it slow. I would also recommend not driving this route in the winter or snowy conditions.

How to visit Delphi: Stay a night in the town of Delphi!

After seeing the archeological site + museum, being able to relax with dinner and drinks in Delphi is wonderful.. oh and the views are out of this world!

I would recommend staying in one of the hotels in Delphi town, there are a few of them and they are very budget friendly. We only paid around 50 Euros for a 1 night stay.

Looking for a Sunset View?

Check out the Telescope Cafe in the town of Delphi for amazing sunset views over the mountains! They have a balcony overlooking the amazing view and telescopes where you can see a costal village in the distance. This is a family owned restaurant and the owner is super friendly too.

Interesting Fact about Delphi- Hidden Athenian Treasure

While speaking with one of the locals of Delphi, he explained to us that Delphi has been known to have buried treasure + some of this has actually been found! This is because in ancient Greece, the city-states would keep their treasuries full of riches in Delphi.

Some of these ancient treasures + relics were buried before the Persians invaded. Other relics had just been lost to time, until within the last 100 years or so when modern day construction has uncovered some of these ancient items!