Can't help you with tour companies as I don't think that there are any that would give you what you need. However, I can reassure you that, outside of Athens, driving a car is not a problem - the driving skills of the Greeks may be different, but not as bad as some make out! I have hired cars in Greece on many occasions and would not hesitate to do so again. Driving through the centre of Athens is a different matter though!
As the Athens airport is well outside Athens, you may wish to look again at this option (pick up and return car at the airport and then use the metro to go in to central Athens at your leisure).

Cheers,
Ralph

As Jetnoise says, away from Athens driving is not a problem. I'm afraid you are going to find very little in the way of tourist infrastucture open in February. Most UK tour operators dont start until April. Meteora is a fantastic place but the airport at Volos is only open to charters in the summer season so driving from Salonika would probably be the best option.

aha! that opens a new can of worms as I was not aware they are not open but it makes sense. any idea how long by car from athens to meteora?
btw, the ferries are still going to aegina in Feb?

thanks
Helen

There is a train service from Athens to Kalambaca (meteora) that takes 4hours 36mins or by car its 350 kms and suggests 4 hours 47. It looks more like 6 hours to me ! Yes the ferries still run but on a reduced schedule.

Driving in Greece is no more dangerous than driving anywhere else,Athens can be a bit hectic but more often than not the problem is the opposite,heavy delays.....the real problem on the roads out here is not the Greek drivers but the tourists in hire cars that seem to leave all their common sense and driving abilities at the check-in desk in their home country,greek roads tend to be largely empty,well mapped and well signed and also i suspect many of the places you'll want to see will be well off the bus and train routes,in addition public transport in rural areas is sporadic and notoriously unreliable,i'd definitely recommend a rethink on the hire car,if you get one from a reputable company and get every insurance add-on and waiver on offer you'll be fine.

As for tour operators offering the sort of trip you want,no idea,seems a bit specialised to me and i'd imagine demand would be extremely low?

As for sites to visit,no idea really as i'm not religious but you could try and contact the greek orthodox church in london,they'd be able to tell you more,or contact the greek embassy perhaps,they'd have information on organisations in london and elsewhere that might be able to help.

one thing i will say is that in feb it might be VERY cold in the area around meteora with a lot of rain and possibly even snow(there's ski resorts not too far away).

eyes opening everything I read on here, did not even know the weather is that cold then! thanks a lot for all the details, yes, looks like the greek orthodox church in London would be a good start
Helen

It's cold because of the altitude of the area,Aegina should be ok though,or at least in the day,if it's clear you can almost sunbathe,but cold and damp at night with a lot of wind that could cause disruption if you try to take ferries anywhere,generally though the one mode of transport you can rely on in Greece is shipping

There's so many monasteries and churches that too see them all would take a lifetime or more,although i'm personally not religious so don't know the importance of any,but i do know that the island of patmos is a hugely significant destination as it's where st john is said to have written his gospels,also here on rhodes the monastery at tsambika is said to be a miracle site,people who have trouble conceiving visit here and say a prayer or whatever and are meant to then be mircaculously fertile,there was once an icon found up there,said to have been on fire,apprently it vanished from cyprus and was found at the exact same moment up in tsambika?!

some of the more religious sites are off limits to women,and in some cases even men need permission to visit,as is the case with athos.

There's a member on here called athensfan that can probably shed more light on places to go on the mainland,including info on getting to and from etc

The monastery of the Archangel Michael in Panormitis, Symi is well worth a trip if you have the time. Ferries travel there from Rhodes on most days and it is one of the most important religious sites in that part of Greece.

Report HERE

do you know by any chance what will be the best way to travel from aegina to panormitis that time of the year?

Hi Helen,
There are monasteries & churches everywhere & has been said a car really is the best option. Away from the cities the main highways are good (apart from the Corinth-Patras stretch, all roadworks!). Once off them many roads are quiet, particularly in the winter with few tourist around & Greeks not holidaying!
As you are considering February you do need to be aware that there is snow on the mountains in many places (we do have several ski resorts here) & quite a few monasteries are in mountainous regions, but many below the snowline.
The travel to & from Aegina-Piraeus is no problem, regular ferries throughout the year as people live on the island & work, shop etc in Athens.
To visit any other island monasteries I would fly, particularly if they are the more distant ones from the mainland. It would actually be easier for you to do the mainland only at that time of year, but to check domestic flights available use this site, hold your cursor over the destination & the operators to there from Athens will show, click on it & the schedules will come up,
http://www.aia.gr/flight_schedule/domestic_en.htm
February's schedules won't be confirmed yet, but keep monitoring it!
If you want to visit any island without an airport you can fly to the nearest then ferry from there.