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Contents
1. Introduction
Meteora was one of the highlights of our 3 month European road trip. The scenery is out of this world with the 6 ancient monasteries perched on sheer rocks. The only negative was the numerous tour groups.
If you have a car you could visit all of Meteora's monasteries in one full day. Two nights would be sufficient if you visit one monastery on the day of departure. We stayed three nights and had two full days in Meteora.
Most of Meteora's monasteries close for one day during the week. It is only at the weekend that all the monasteries are open. None of the monasteries open before 09.00 and most close early.
If you only stay two nights your visit could be spoiled by bad weather. When we visited Meteora in late May it was very foggy when we arrived and it was raining on the day we left. We thought that the view of the monasteries perched on the sheer rocks, and the scenery, were more spectacular than the interiors of the monasteries.
Our visit to Meteora was part of a 3 month road trip from the UK to the Greece. See my blog North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 for our daily trip report covering Meteora.
2. Ways of avoiding Crowds at Meteora
We struggled with the large tour groups that arrived at Meteora by coach. They would crowd into the small chapels, and take over the space, while their guide explained the history. There would occasionally be a queue of tour groups waiting to enter a chapel.
You have to understand the logistics of these tours to be able to avoid the crowds at Meteora:
Most coach tours only visit 3 monasteries at Meteora. Two of them will be the Great Meteoron and Varlaam, if they are open. The third monastery that groups usually visit is either St. Stephan or Roussanou.
Coach tours don't often visit the Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery and the Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery. There are too many steps leading up to them for their groups who have already walked up to the Great Meteoron and Varlaam monasteries.
Some coach tours have to pick up clients from their hotels and don't arrive at the monasteries until after 09.00.
Most coach tours stop at a restaurant for lunch.
My recommendation for avoiding the tour groups and crowds is:
Great Meteoron Monastery
The Great Meteoron monastery only opens at 09.30 so you won't beat the crowds by going early. The best time may be at lunch time around 12.15 pm. That is when we went.
Varlaam Monastery
We went at lunch time (12.30 pm) and avoided many of the tour groups.
As the Varlaam monastery opens at 09.00 another strategy would be to go early, around 08.30. It takes 10 minutes to walk from the gate at the base of the monastery up to the entrance. I am not sure what time the gate is opened.
Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery
You can visit the Aga Triada monastery at any time as it isn't popular with tour groups.
Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery
The third monastery on most tour groups' itineraries is either Agios Stefanos or Roussanou.
We arrived at the Agios Stefanos monastery at 08.45 and one tour bus had already arrived. We waited at the gate until it opened at 09.00. It is a short walk to the entrance. As it took time for the tour group to buy tickets we had the chapel to ourselves.
By 09.30 there were several tour groups queuing to enter the chapel. When we left there were 13 tour buses outside the monastery!
We passed Agios Stefanos at 11.00 a.m. and all the tour buses were leaving. The next day we saw that all the tour buses were leaving just before 11.30 a.m. Therefore late morning is probably a good time to visit.
I don't know what Agios Stefanos is like in the afternoons. It is open until 17.30. My guess is that it may be quiet from 16.30. You would have plenty of time to see it before it closes if you arrive around 16.30 to 16.45.
Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery
You can visit the Agios Nikolaou monastery any time as it isn't popular with tour groups. It is best to visit the more popular monasteries at the start of the day and at lunch time.
Roussanou Monastery
The third monastery on most tour groups' itineraries is either Roussanou or Agios Stefanos. We visited Roussanou at 14.00 and there weren't any groups. I didn't observe it at other times but feel that some groups might come here first as for Agios Stefanos.
3. A One Day Itinerary for Meteora
This itinerary is only feasible at weekends when all the monasteries are open. During the week you will have to visit the monastery that is closed the following morning.
Arrive at Varlaam monastery at 08.30. You should then be one of the first to enter when it opens at 09.00. Your visit shouldn't take longer than 75 minutes.
Drive to Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery. The monastery can be seen in 45 minutes.
Drive to the nearby Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery. You should get there after 11.00 a.m. which is when the tour groups start to leave. You only need half an hour for this monastery.
Drive back to the car park at the Varlaam monastery. Have a bit of lunch or a snack there. There are no restaurants at any of the monasteries so you will have to bring something. Walk 10 minutes to the Great Meteoron Monastery and enter by 12.30 at the latest.
Drive down to Roussanou Monastery.
Drive down a bit further to Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery.
Visit the view points afterwards or at sunset.
4. Summer Opening Times at Meteora's Monasteries
Summer is deemed to be from 1st April to 31st October.
Great Meteoron Monastery
Open from 09.30 to 15.00
Closed on Tuesdays
Varlaam Monastery
Open from 09:00 to 16:00.
Closed on Fridays.
Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery
Open from 10.00 to 16.00
Closed on Thursdays
Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery
Open from 09.00 (09.30 on Sundays) to 13.30 and 15.30 to 17.30
Closed on Mondays
Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery
Open 09:00 to 17:00.
The monastery is open every day
Roussanou Monastery
Open from 09.00 (10.00 on Sundays) to 16.30
Closed on Wednesdays
5. Dress Code at Meteora's Monasteries
The dress code requires women to wear a dress or skirt covering their knees and men and women to cover their shoulders.
All of the monasteries, except Varlaam, lend free wraps so you can comply. Varlaam sells them for Eur 3.50 and they only accept cash.
I wore long trousers and in late May it wasn't too hot. Lani brought her own wrap to put over her long trousers.
Some monasteries aren't strict about the dress code but Varlaam and Roussanou are.
6. Great Meteoron Monastery
There is very limited parking in front of Great Meteoron monastery and it isn't free. Most people use the free car park at Varlaam Monastery or park on the road. Finding parking can be a problem at peak times.
It is a 10 minute walk from the free car park at Varlaam monastery to the Great Meteoron monastery. There are then more than 300 steps up to the entrance of the monastery.
The Great Meteoron is the oldest, largest and grandest of the monasteries. Entry costs Eur 3 and it takes about an hour to see.
There is a beautiful chapel, a museum, an old kitchen and excellent views from the monastery. The refectory is now closed to visitors. It is one of the monasteries you should see and for that reason it is always busy.
7. Varlaam Monastery
There is a free car park at Varlaam monastery. If it is full you can park on the road. Parking can be difficult as visitors to the Great Meteoron monastery also use this car park and road.
There are 142 steps up to the entrance of Varlaam monastery. There you will have to buy a garment for Eur 3.50 in cash if you don't comply with the dress code. They are strict about this. The entry fee is Eur 3.00.
At Varlaam monastery you can:
Visit the beautiful church dating back to the mid 1500's.
See a huge old wooden water barrel.
View the old winch which was used to haul people and goods up to the monastery.
Visit the museum. The most interesting exhibit is a short film shot in 1924 showing how the monks lived.
Enjoy spectacular views from the pleasant terrace.
Use the best toilet facilities of the 6 monasteries!
8. Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery
The monastery of Aga Triada isn't popular with tour groups despite being featured in the James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only". It is more beautiful and interesting than the nearby Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery which is visited by tour groups.
There is free parking and if it is full you can park along the road. It is a steep climb up about 145 steps to the entrance. The entrance fee is Eur 3. Aga Triada's church has beautiful restored frescoes. There is a garden and there are boulders which you can clamber up to admire the views.
9. Agios Stefanos (St. Stephan) Monastery
There is a small free car park in front of the entrance of Agios Stefanos monastery. If the car park is full you can park along the road. This is the monastery with the easiest access as there are very few steps. As a result it is the third most popular monastery. The entry fee is Eur 3.
The monastery was bombed in World War 2 and rebuilt afterwards. The interior of the chapel is beautiful. The views from the terrace aren't as spectacular as at some of the other monasteries.
10. Agios Nikolaou (St. Nicholas) Monastery
You can park in a small layby across the road from the steps leading up to the Agios Nikolaou monastery. From there it is a 10 to 15 minute steep climb to the monastery. Luckily that deters a lot of people so it is the quietest monastery. The entrance fee is Eur 3.
This monastery is the smallest at Meteora. It is very atmospheric and the small chapel is beautiful. I am not sure if it could accommodate a tour group! You can sit in the chairs and admire the fabulous frescoes.
You can climb up to the roof top from where there are excellent views of Meteora's stunning scenery.
11. Roussanou Monastery
We parked on the road above the Roussanou monastery and had a 10 minute walk down to the monastery. Equally you can park on the road below the monastery which would involve a 10 minute walk up. If there is no parking in one area drive to the other area. There is an entrance fee of Eur 3 and the dress code is enforced.
The Roussanou monastery has a small chapel with gruesome seventeenth century frescoes of beheadings, spearings and mutilations! There is a small terrace outside with good views over to the other monasteries.
You can see the Roussanou monastery in 15 to 20 minutes but walking to and from the monastery adds another 20 minutes.
12. Viewpoints at Meteora
We went to several good viewpoints:
The rocks by Varlaam Monastery's car park.
The rocks before the Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Monastery, when coming from the west.
The "Main Observation Deck of Meteora" on Google Maps.
They are popular viewpoints and are easy to find. They provide some of the best views of the monasteries.
13. Accommodation at Meteora
Most people visiting Meteora stay in Kalambaka as it has the most accommodation in the area. It is a 15 minute drive to the Great Meteoron monastery
Kastraki is a smaller and more attractive place to stay. It is a bit closer to the monasteries but has less accommodation options.
We booked a 1 bedroom apartment in Kalambaka through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 61 per night for our 3 night stay. My review of this accommodation is on my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1" (number 12).
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