102km distance, 1,287m climbing

Up out of Epidavros and a beautiful ride along 40 kilometres of coastal road, before a coffee break overlooking Poros island. Then onto a nice climb and descent down to the ferry to Hydra, the famously creative island, where you are only allowed to travel by foot or donkey. After some time exploring the island, followed by lunch and a swim, it’s back on the ferry and retracing our route back to Epidavros. This time with added hop on another ferry for a coffee stop and explore of Poros island.

86km distance, 1,130m climbing

We leave Epidavros, heading inland, via the quiet old high road to Nafplio for 40km of countryside roads to, what is for many riders, the historical highlight of the week, one of the best-surviving structures in all of Greece, the 20,000 seat, ancient amphitheatre of Epidaurus. After our coffee stop and visit, we head on to Nafplio for a harbourside lunch, in the original capital of the whole of Greece.

We leave Nafplio, along the coast, on the ‘road of the heart’, popular with young lovers and said to extend the life of any rider with heart issues! And head for Tolo, following the coastal road south before its time to turn inland and over our major climb of the day on our way back to Epidavros.

82km distance, 478m climbing

The hills and hidden beaches around Epidavros area are filled with monasteries, dating back thousands of years. They are a great excuse for a loop around the local hills, taking in the small untouched villages, amazing views and a beach bar coffee stop.

Lunch is taken at an olive oil factory, where we can see what is produced from the Peloponnese’s 88 million olive trees, before passing a few more monasteries on our route back to Epidavros.

120km distance, 1,900m climbing

Out of Epidavros, with the 400m climb over the big hill to head inland, over the rolling terrain towards the upmarket harbour town of Porto Helli, for our harbourside coffee stop. It’s only 10km from there to the ferry for Spetses. We take our bikes with us and prior to lunch can do a 25km lap of the island. Spetses has a great harbourside walk that takes you past the numerous choices for a fresh seafood lunch, before it’s back on the ferry to complete our loop back to Epidavros.

Before we descend to the house we stop off for a post-ride drink at the restaurant on the hill top and watch the sun set over Epidavros and the lights start to shine bright in Athens, only 50km away across the Sardonic gulf.

126km distance, 2,813m climbing

From Epidavros, we can see the volcanic Methana peninsula, out in the gulf. With more than 30 (inactive) volcanoes, lava domes and hot springs it’s calling out to be ridden.

We take the inland route, over two climbs before coming back to the coast at the single road entrance onto the volcanic peninsula.

One lap is about 40km and the volcano tops out at about 600m. There are several towns, villages and remote picturesque harbours where we take our coffee stops before heading back towards Epidavros, this time along the coast road.

87km distance, 737m climbing

We head north up the coast road for coffee at the Corinth Canal - an astonishing engineering feat that opened in 1893, only 21m wide over its 6km length that cuts off the Peloponnese from the rest of Greece.

It’s then inland towards Nafplio with the route taking us past the imposing walls of Ancient Mycenae, (thought to date from 1200BC) to a vineyard tour in Nemea, the centre of the Peloponnese’s wine-making revival, the location of the first of Hercules’s twelve labours and the home to athletic festivals that only took place at Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia and here.

Our ride back to Epidavros finishes as our evening begins - tasting the very best wines we have seen being produced earlier today.

110km distance, 425m climbing

There is, perhaps surprisingly, a great cycling route from Epidavros to Athens. The road hugs the coastline most of the way, providing amazing views, before crossing the Corinth canal and a spot of island hopping over Salamina takes us close to Pireaus and the ride into The Acropolis and even on to the airport.

This route could be taken as your way back to Athens or the airport, on your final day.

Many Greek cyclists actually spend longer on mountain bikes than road bikes, as there are amazing off-road gravel trails throughout the Peloponnese.

If you wish to try them out, let us know in advance and we can guide and provide the best routes that suit your ability and fitness levels.

155km daily distance, 2,495m daily climbing

During your week we can make one overnight stop before returning to Epidavros and continuing our daily rides.

This gives us the chance, after 100km of rolling, amazing coastal roads that take us south to Leonido, to climb the Peloponnese’s second-highest climb, Mount Parnanos, climbing over 35km, from sea level to reach the summit at 1,447m.

We spend the evening and night in a mountain top village, surrounded by amazing views and numerous hiking trails, before the next morning travelling north across the mountain range and descending the phenomenal, hairpin-strewn, road back down towards Nafplio for lunch and on to Epidavros.

130km daily distance, 2,150m daily climbing

For regular cyclists looking for a challenging ride but one filled with amazing sights and sites, we can undertake the 4-day tour. This gives us a chance to get up and over the famous Taygetus mountains, into the wild and rugged Mani. We also get to coffee stop at the picture-postcard coastal villages of Stoupa and Karymilli, lunch break with olives in Kalamata and climb Greece’s most famous road, the Pangala pass.

This takes us up to Mystras, the preserved remains of a whole Byzantine village, before we descend to the fortress town that is Sparta and a photo with the statue of Leonidas. It’s then over Mount Parnanos and the descent to Nafplio and onto Epidavros.

Daily ave: 130km, 1900m climbing

This is an ultimate cycling challenge - a ride through the history of civilization. We stop in Sparta and Olympia, pass numerous ancient sites and enjoy coffee where Hades, Hercules and Helen of Troy earned their legendary status.

But we also stop over in contemporary Kalamata and Nafplio, to enjoy evenings with locals and the best culture and cuisine of Greece.

This is a tough cycle challenge for regular cyclists. The daily distance and climbing are similar to the Raid Pyrenees, but we also make time for short visits at the ancient sites.

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