Getting from Spetses to Nafplio

If you are heading to Nafplio from Spetses you are making your way from a car-free island in the Saronic Gulf to a neoclassical town on the Argolic Gulf in the Peloponnese, the first capital of modern Greece with the Venetian fortress of Palamidi above it and Mycenae, Epidaurus and Tiryns all within easy reach.

Take the ferry

There is no direct ferry from Spetses to Nafplio. Nafplio is accessible only by road. Getting there means either taking the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus and then driving or taking the KTEL bus south through the Peloponnese to Nafplio, which takes around 2 to 2.5 hours from Athens via Corinth, or taking the short ferry from Spetses to the mainland port of Kosta and driving north through the eastern Peloponnese to Nafplio, which takes around 1.5 to 2 hours and avoids Piraeus entirely.

Getting there by air

Nafplio has no airport. The nearest airport is Athens. Spetses has no airport. The nearest airport is also Athens. The short ferry from Spetses to Kosta followed by the drive north through the Peloponnese to Nafplio is the most natural and direct approach. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Take the short ferry from Spetses to the mainland port of Kosta and drive north through the eastern Peloponnese to Nafplio. At around 1.5 to 2 hours from Kosta it avoids Piraeus entirely and is the most direct approach. Nafplio rewards at least two nights and is one of the most rewarding overnight stops in the Peloponnese with Mycenae, Epidaurus and Tiryns all within easy reach. Note that Spetses is car-free so if you are traveling with a car it would already be at Kosta.