For our second weekend in Greece we took a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride northwest to the town of Delphi for an overnight visit. Our main purpose was to visit Ancient Delphi, home of the famous Oracle of Delphi, but modern Delphi is also a nice small town that is worth exploring, with stunning views of the surrounding mountains.
All intercity buses in Greece are managed by a service called KTEL (to my knowledge unaffiliated with the record compilations of the 1980s) but each route is operated by a smaller company.
The route from Athens to Delphi is run by KTEL Fokidas out of a bus station called “Liossion Terminal B” located in an inconvenient (for tourists) part of the city filled with car-repair shops. We took a taxi there. The station itself was basic but had a pleasant and well-stocked café that served good coffee.
The bus was comfortable and we enjoyed nice views for the second half of the trip, once we began winding our way up the mountains of Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. On the way we passed through Arachova, a busy ski resort town only 24 km from the snowy mountain peaks. Thankfully there was no snow in Delphi, just pleasant fall-like weather.
Immediately after disembarking in Delphi we found ourselves distracted by beautiful mountain views. The intercity bus stop sits just outside the modern city, on the way to the archaeological sites, about a 10-minute walk away.
The two main roads in Delphi are lined with hotels, cafes and restaurants, so it’s just a matter of crossing your fingers and picking a place (or reading the reviews on Google, whichever you prefer). Tourism is Delphi’s main economy and it has a reputation for being over-crowded in the summer. In winter, however, it was a very quiet and almost everything seemed to be open for business except a few gelato shops.
We’d pre-booked a room at Hotel Kastalia, which is right in the town center and was recently renovated. Off-season rates meant we got a room with a view on the top floor for a very reasonable price. The staff were great and a very good breakfast was included.
The hotel restaurant also has a very nice back patio, with a retractable awning for the summer heat. We had a drink there at sunset and took countless photos as the sky grew orange. The temperature dropped quickly along with the sun, but it was worth braving the chill.
We planned to get up early the next day and head to the Ancient Delphi archaeological sites before the tour buses arrived.