Corinth Day Trip from Nafplio

A Corinth day trip from Nafplio drives north from the Argolid to Ancient Corinth, the rock of Acrocorinth and the Corinth Canal, and returns the same evening. Tours across the rest of the country are listed on Greece Tours.

The sections below cover the tours you can book, the road, the Temple of Apollo, Saint Paul, Acrocorinth, the canal, Nemea, timing, the season, packing and booking for a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, with links into the Ancient Corinth pages. The tours shown are checked on GetYourGuide and Viator.

What is a Corinth day trip from Nafplio?

Ancient Corinth is the target of a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, the capital of Argolis. The ruins lie south-west of modern Corinth, the capital of Corinthia. The visit covers the Doric Temple of Apollo, the forum, the site museum and the Acrocorinth fortress.

The ancient city stood on the Isthmus of Corinth, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. Under the Bacchiad clan, Corinth founded colonies at Corcyra and Syracuse. Its later tyrant Periander counted among the Seven Wise Men of Greece.

Nafplio works as a base for ancient sites in two regions. Mycenae lies inside Argolis and has its own Mycenae day trip from Nafplio. A Corinth day trip from Nafplio heads further north, into the neighbouring region of Corinthia.

Which Corinth day trips from Nafplio can you book?

Seven listed tours suit a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, four on GetYourGuide and three on Viator. One GetYourGuide tour runs 10 hours with an expert guide. Viator adds two private tours and a self-guided tour with 3D and audio.

The four GetYourGuide tours differ in length, start point and extra stops. Three of them carry Ancient Corinth in the title. The From Corinth tour starts in Corinth, which suits a self-drive Corinth day trip from Nafplio. Their full names run as follows:

• Ancient Corinth & Nafplion One-Day Tour – a full day with the Temple of Apollo and Nafplion
• Corinth Canal Cruise, Ancient Corinth & Acrocorinth Tour – a tour with the ruins and the Acrocorinth rock
• Corinth Canal & Corinth 4-Hour Private Tour – a four-hour private visit
• From Corinth: Ancient Corinth & Nemea Half-Day Experience – a half-day visit to the ruins

Viator lists the Ancient Corinth Private Tour with Licensed Expert Guide. It also lists the Ancient Corinth Private Tour from Corinth. The Ancient Corinth Self-Guided Tour with 3D & Audio comes without an entry ticket. Each private option keeps a Corinth day trip from Nafplio to one group and one guide.

How far is Corinth from Nafplio by road?

Ancient Corinth lies about 57 kilometres from Nafplio by road, a drive of about one hour. A Corinth day trip from Nafplio heads north past Argos and joins the A7 Moreas motorway. A short local road leads to the village of Ancient Corinth.

The fastest route leaves Nafplio on its bypass and skips the centre of Argos. It meets the old Corinth–Argos national road north of the town. A detour through central Argos stretches the drive to about 71 kilometres.

What does Ancient Corinth show around the Temple of Apollo?

The centre of Ancient Corinth is a Doric Temple of Apollo from the 6th century BC. Seven of its 38 columns still stand. On a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, the forum and the site museum lie close by.

Builders raised the temple in the Doric order on the ruins of an earlier temple. Columns once ran around all four sides, a plan called peripteral. The temple counts among the only features of the site visible since antiquity.

Excavations by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens began in the late 19th century. The modern village sits directly over the old city, so digging centres on the temple area. Finds fill the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth. A guided Ancient Corinth tour pairs the museum with the open-air ruins.

The Peirene fountain stood beside the road from the market-place to Lechaion, the city’s port. In the 2nd century AD, the traveller Pausanias saw white marble and cave-like chambers there. One myth says the hoof of Pegasus opened the spring. Other named monuments on a Corinth day trip from Nafplio include:

• the Glauke fountain, a second spring of the ancient city
• the Roman odeion, a small theatre for music
• the theatre, a stage first built in the 5th century BC for around 15,000 people

Why did the apostle Paul preach in Corinth?

Paul came to Corinth on his second missionary journey in the 1st century AD. He preached there and founded its church during an 18-month stay. His trial before Gallio is linked to the Bema seen on a Corinth day trip from Nafplio.

Rome destroyed the Greek city in the 2nd century BC under the general Mummius. Julius Caesar refounded it as a Roman colony in the 1st century BC. The forum seen on a Corinth day trip from Nafplio belongs to this Roman city. Corinth later became the capital of the province of Achaea.

In Corinth, Paul met Priscilla and Aquila, and the three worked together as tentmakers. He spoke in the synagogue until its members refused his message. He then turned his preaching to the Gentiles. Silas and Timothy rejoined him in the city from Macedonia.

Gallio, the brother of the philosopher Seneca, served as proconsul of Achaea. The Bema in the forum later became a church of the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians from Ephesus and the Second from Macedonia. On a later visit of about three months, he wrote the Epistle to the Romans in Corinth.

How high is Acrocorinth, and what does the fortress hold?

Acrocorinth is a 575-metre rock with Ancient Corinth at its northern foot. Its fortress served from ancient to Ottoman times. On a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, the path passes three circuit walls and the Upper Peirene spring.

The entrance lies out of sight of the town below. A single uphill lane leads there, paved in places and cut into the rock in others. The walls and gates rise on three levels:

• a lower vaulted gate, in medieval times fronted by a moat and a drawbridge
• a middle vaulted gate, about 100 metres further up, with a larger wall circuit
• an upper vaulted gate into the main castle, ringed by walls and towers

Byzantine rulers fortified the rock heavily and made it the seat of a strategos, a military governor. Leo Sgouros held it against the Crusaders for three years. The Franks of the Principality of Achaea, the Venetians and the Ottoman Turks then held it in turn.

The summit once held a temple of Aphrodite, later a church and then a mosque. The Upper Peirene spring gave the fortress a secure water supply. From the top, a Corinth day trip from Nafplio gains a view north over the Gulf of Corinth.

How was the Corinth Canal cut through the Isthmus?

Workers cut the Corinth Canal at sea level across the Isthmus in the late 19th century. On a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, the canal stop shows a channel just over 6.3 km long. Its rock walls rise up to 90 m above sea level.

Periander, 7th-century BC ruler of Corinth, built a paved ship track, the diolkos, instead of a canal. Nero started digging in the 1st century AD, and the work stopped after his death. The modern canal follows the same course as his cut.

A French-led company began the modern dig but went bankrupt. A Greek company took over and finished the cut, and landslides delayed the first sailings. The channel measures 24.6 m wide at the surface and 8 m deep, with no locks.

The canal joins the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf. It spares ships a voyage of about 700 km around the Peloponnese. Travellers based in the capital reach the same cut on the Corinth Canal day trip from Athens.

What can you add at Nemea on the way back to Nafplio?

Nemea adds a sanctuary of Zeus, a stadium with a vaulted entrance tunnel and a site museum. A Corinth day trip from Nafplio also reaches the Nemea wine zone, which grows the Agiorgitiko grape. The Nemean Games took place here every two years.

The Temple of Zeus rose over an earlier 6th-century BC temple that fire destroyed. Its surviving remains date to the 4th century BC. The builders mixed Doric, Corinthian and Ionic orders, with 32 limestone columns around the outside.

The stadium sits in a natural hollow, with stone starting blocks and a water channel for athletes. A barrel-vaulted tunnel 36 m long led them from their changing room to the stadium. It is the earliest known vault in ancient Greek building.

The Nemean Games ranked among the four Panhellenic games, beside the games at Delphi, Isthmia and Olympia. Myth makes Nemea the home of the lion that Heracles killed. Travellers based in Corinth reach Mycenae on the Mycenae day trip from Corinth.

How long does a Corinth day trip from Nafplio take?

A Corinth day trip from Nafplio fills a full day or a half day, set by the stops. The guided Ancient Corinth & Nafplion One-Day Tour runs 10 hours. The Corinth Canal & Corinth 4-Hour Private Tour covers its two stops in 4 hours.

A half day covers the canal and Ancient Corinth. A full day adds the site museum and a slower walk through the ruins. Four additions push a plan into the full-day format:

• A boat cruise through the canal
• A climb to Acrocorinth
• A walk along the diolkos remains
• A detour to the Nemea sanctuary

The Nemea half-day experience on GetYourGuide starts in Corinth itself. On a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, that start point means travelling north to Corinth first. Early starts leave room for the climb on the same day.

Which months suit a Corinth day trip from Nafplio?

Late spring and autumn suit a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, with milder heat on open sites. July and August bring strong sun, so summer visits start early. Winter brings cooler air and shorter daylight.

The canal edge, Ancient Corinth and the Acrocorinth climb all lie in open sun. In July or August, a Corinth day trip from Nafplio takes these stops first, before noon.

In ancient times, the Nemean Games fell in July, at the height of summer. A sacred truce let athletes travel to them safely. Late summer and early autumn bring the grape harvest to the Nemea wine zone.

What do you wear and bring on a Corinth day trip from Nafplio?

Walking shoes, a hat, sun protection and water cover a Corinth day trip from Nafplio. Ancient Corinth has uneven stone ground, and Acrocorinth adds a steep climb to a hilltop fortress. A small backpack keeps both hands free on the climb.

Closed shoes with a firm grip handle the worn paving and loose gravel at Ancient Corinth. Sandals slip on polished stone, and the Acrocorinth path rises over rough, broken rock.

• Sunglasses against glare off pale stone
• A light layer for cooler mornings
• Snacks for the gaps between stops
• A power bank for maps and photos

How do you book and cancel a Corinth day trip from Nafplio?

Book a Corinth day trip from Nafplio on GetYourGuide or Viator by picking a date and group size. GetYourGuide listings with free cancellation give a full refund up to 24 hours before the start. Each listing shows its terms before payment.

Viator offers an Ancient Corinth private tour with a licensed expert guide. It also sells a self-guided tour with 3D and audio content that leaves out the entry ticket. Buyers of that option add entry through the Ancient Corinth tickets page.

• Pick the tour and the date
• Choose the number of travellers
• Check the meeting point and start time
• Read the cancellation terms
• Pay and save the voucher

A landslide closed the Corinth Canal for over two years before it reopened. Before a canal cruise on a Corinth day trip from Nafplio, check that the canal is open.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Corinth day trip from Nafplio possible by bus?

Regional KTEL buses connect Nafplio with Corinth. The canal, Ancient Corinth and Nemea sit kilometres apart, so linking all three by bus takes extra transfers. A guided tour with its own vehicle covers them in one run.

Does a Corinth day trip from Nafplio include the Corinth Canal?

The guided Ancient Corinth & Nafplion One-Day Tour and the 4-hour private tour both stop at the canal. The canal cruise tour sails through it by boat. Self-drive visitors view it from the road bridges above the cut.

Is a Corinth day trip from Nafplio private?

It can be. The Corinth Canal & Corinth 4-Hour Private Tour serves one group only. The Viator Ancient Corinth tour with a licensed expert guide runs the same way. Other listings state their group format on the booking page.

How much walking does Acrocorinth involve?

Acrocorinth is a hilltop fortress above the ancient city. A steep path climbs on foot through its gates. The ground is rough stone and loose gravel. This climb comes on top of the walk around Ancient Corinth below.

How far ahead do you book a Corinth day trip from Nafplio?

Book as soon as the travel dates are fixed. Free cancellation keeps an early booking refundable until 24 hours before the start on listings that offer it. Private tours depend on one guide’s open dates, so early booking secures the chosen day.