Touring Greece without the usual script

To our right, rugged, forested mountains touched a cloudless, bright blue sky.

On our left, as the road rose and dipped and zigged and zagged, a beautiful coastline merged with the sun-splashed, aquamarine waters of the Aegean Sea.

As drives go, it’d be hard to beat this.

Lately it seems as if all Greece is known for is having trouble living within its means. And that’s too bad.

During a week here in early May, my companion, Patti, and I explored the Peloponnesian peninsula in the country’s southeast, delighting in lots of friendly locals, wonderful food and a mix of natural and ancient man-made wonders that can match anything on the planet.

Our trip was arranged through Untours, a company whose name aptly describes its travel philosophy (and mine). This isn’t a get-on-the-bus, get-off-the-bus way of touring. It’s a go-where-you-want, when-you-want way to travel.

An Untours rep met us at the Athens airport and drove us two hours to Nafplio, a seaside town of about 14,000, where we were set up in a modest apartment in the charming Old Town section. And the company provided a rental car for the week.

Perhaps most valuable, though, was the two-legged guidebook we met the next morning at an outdoor cafe along the waterfront. Over the next few hours, Christos Bouchoutsos peppered us with information ranging from advice on tipping (1 or 2 euros on the table) and gassing up (it’s full-service and often cash only) to insights that only a local can provide, such as best lunch spot in Nafplio for tapas (it’s Noulis) or when to visit the outdoor market (Wednesday and Saturday).

Then we and the other Untourists in Nafplio were on our own, but Christos was always a phone call away if we had a question or when we wanted to book a boat excursion to the islands of Hydra and Spetses.

There are many easy day trips from Nafplio to take in natural wonders, such as 1,000-foot-deep Lousios Gorge, where old monasteries cling to the cliffs. Also nearby, you can explore famous ancient ruins at Mycenae, Corinth, Mystras and Epidaurus, whose classic stone theater, built in the fourth century B.C., still hosts performances during the summer.

Wandering Old Town Nafplio itself was a nice way to acclimate on our first full day there. The narrow, cobblestone streets were alive with scores of restaurants, tavernas and cafes and interesting shops, many selling komboloi, or worry beads.

We lunched in a shaded alleyway at Noulis, and Patti enjoyed dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) and the first of many tasty Greek salads of juicy tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, feta and Greek olive oil. I had rooster and noodles, which is a chicken leg quarter with orzo in a delicious tomato sauce. And, of course, good Greek wine and beer.

High above Nafplio is Palamadi Castle, a sprawling fort from the 18th century that we wandered after lunch. The ambitious can scale the 990 steps from the Old Town, or the less ambitious can drive up and explore, enjoying wonderful views of the sea and the orange-tiled roofs of the town.

Driving in the Peloponnese isn’t overly difficult, but the often winding roads beg you to pay attention and not rubberneck too much. Also, road signs can be a challenge.

In more populated areas, we found that intersections of major roads often had a sign with the names of towns in Greek, followed by a sign nearer the intersection in English. But, in more rural areas, town names frequently were only in Greek. Having good maps and a good co-pilot helps. By the end of our week, Patti had become quite good at deciphering the local alphabet. It was still Greek to me.

It’s hard to do justice to the Peloponnese in just a week (Untours also can be two weeks), and we refined our itinerary on an almost-daily basis, trying to sandwich in as much as possible at the risk of not fully exploring any one area.

One day, for instance, we drove less than an hour to Epidaurus and walked among ruins nearly 2,500 years old, then drove a hard-to-find, steep, winding road to Acrocorinth, above Corinth, where remnants of fortresses from ancient to medieval times rested amid grassy meadows speckled by brilliant red poppies and tiny white daisies. We finished at Ancient Nemea, a relatively small site where we craned our necks skyward as we stood next to Doric columns of the Temple of Zeus, built 1,700 years ago. So cool to be able to touch ancient history.

On the coastal drive mentioned earlier, we visited Monemvasia, also called the Gibraltar of Greece. A causeway leads to the bulbous, 1,150-foot-high rock that’s home to this fortified Byzantine town. The lower town bustled with tourists dining, shopping and walking the narrow cobblestone streets. The upper town is mostly in ruins but can be explored if you’re up for the hike. There also are a few hotels here, making it a good overnight excursion.

On the four-hour drive to Monemvasia, a spectacular canyon west of Leonidio yielded the sight of the Monastery of Elonis, perched near the top of a massive canyon wall. Driving up out of the canyon, we stopped at the monastery. There were no other visitors, yet we talked in whispers as we soaked in the quiet of this special place and stood looking down to the canyon floor.

Natural splendor, man-made wonders. That’s the Peloponnese.

If you go

The deal

Untours has three apartments in Nafplio. We stayed in Dimitri 1, a second-floor apartment that can sleep four. Pricing depends on the season. Spring and fall are ideal times to visit due to the hot summers in Greece and fewer tourists. For May 2016, the cost would be $1,119 per person double occupancy for one week or $1,749 for two weeks. If four stayed in Dimitri 1, one week would be $804 per person or $1,167 for two weeks. Car rental also is included, along with orientation, a group dinner and more. Untours provides a very good booklet about the destination and various day trips and longer trips from Nafplio. It also has Untours in other countries. 888-868-6871, www.untours.com

Getting there

You can book air through Untours or on your own. Obviously fares can vary widely based on time of year and your home airport, but round-trip fares from the U.S. to Athens in May next year are probably going to run a minimum of $1,200 per person.

Money issues

Solutions to Greece’s financial problems continue to evolve. We had no problems getting euros from ATMs during our May visit, and Untours reports ATMs in the country operational as of late August. That said, if you’re going soon and are the nervous type, you might want to buy euros in the U.S. before traveling. It’s good to have a sizable stash of euros in Greece anyway because it’s not uncommon for gas stations, restaurants or stores to not accept credit cards. On the plus side of Greece’s economy, we found prices to be a real bargain.