Volunteering in Patras & Argolic Gulf Itinerary

This 4-week Peloponnese itinerary combines volunteer work with FoodKind refugee charity in Patras with explorations of Ancient Corinth, coastal Kalloni, the Saronic island of Poros, and the volcanic spa town of Methana. Best time: late spring/early summer. Highlights: meaningful volunteer work, ancient ruins, thermal springs, and the journey that changed everything. Transport by KTEL bus throughout.

Note: This trip took place in June 2017. While the destinations remain as beautiful as ever, specific prices, bus schedules, and accommodation details may have changed. The volunteer charity FoodKind mentioned in this post has since ceased operations—please check current volunteering opportunities through greecevol.info if you wish to support displaced people in Greece.

Some trips are about discovery. Some are about escape. This one was about transformation. I’d returned from an earlier trip to the Peloponnese a few months earlier with my letter of resignation ready to hand in after 15 years in local government. Depression had forced my hand—something had to give. Greece, as always, had provided the clarity I needed.

After leaving my job and recovering, I wanted to do something useful. The images of little Aylan Kurdi, washed up on the Turkish coast, haunted me. I applied through greecevol.info to three charities supporting displaced people in Greece. FoodKind, a small charity providing two meals daily to 200 people living in abandoned factories in Patras, responded first. My daughter Sorrell, at the time an Emergency Medical Technician, would join me. Greece would be our shared purpose.

What Makes This Itinerary Special

Meaningful Travel Beyond Tourism
This journey combined volunteering with travel—proving that time in Greece can be both purposeful and exploratory. The weeks in Patras with FoodKind showed a side of Greece most tourists never see: the port where displaced people wait for passage to Italy, the abandoned factories where 200 souls make temporary homes, the small charities working with minimal resources and maximum heart.

Mother-Daughter Shared Experience
Travelling with my daughter Sorrell added depth to every experience. Watching her work alongside Doc Mobile’s medical team, sharing evening meals after long volunteer days, showing her Athens for the first time—this trip created memories that neither of us will forget.
The Northern Peloponnese Coast
The KTEL bus journey from Athens to Patras follows one of Greece’s most scenic routes—flying over the Corinth Canal, hugging the Corinthian Gulf coastline, passing the Rio-Antirrio Bridge. Ancient Corinth offers ruins that rival any in Greece. Methana’s volcanic hot springs provide therapeutic relaxation after weeks of hard work.
Authentic Connections
The eclectic volunteer team—an English GP, a French nurse, students from Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Norway—became family for those weeks. The displaced people we served taught us more about resilience, gratitude, and hope than any guidebook could. Even the smugglers lurking at the factory’s edges told a story about modern Greece that deserves telling.
Public Transport Throughout
This entire journey—Athens to Patras, onward to Corinth, across to Poros, around to Methana and back—was completed using KTEL buses and ferries. The Peloponnese remains accessible to those willing to travel slowly.

The Route at a Glance

Route: Athens → Patras (volunteering) → Ancient Corinth → Kalloni → Poros → Methana → Athens
Duration: Approximately 4 weeks (June 2017)
Transport: KTEL buses throughout, small ferries between Saronic destinations
Best Time: Late spring/early summer for comfortable temperatures. Avoid peak summer heat if volunteering involves physical work.
Who It’s For: Those seeking meaningful travel beyond tourism, volunteers wanting to combine service with exploration, travellers interested in Greece’s contemporary challenges alongside its ancient treasures, anyone considering a career break or life reassessment

Throughout this post, you’ll find links to excerpts from my travel diary. Feel free to click through and follow the journey exactly as it unfolded.

The Destination-by-Destination Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Athens

This was Sorrell’s first time in Athens—I wished we had more time to explore, but Patras called. We squeezed in a whistle-stop tour: Monastiraki Square, the winding streets of Plaka, the Evzones at Syntagma Square, a stroll through the National Gardens. Evening brought dinner in Plaka and drinks on the rooftop terrace of the Attalos Hotel, the Acropolis glowing above us. One night in Athens before the journey that would change everything.

Getting There: Flight to Athens International Airport. Metro or bus to central Athens.
Getting Around: Walking for central sights. Metro for longer distances.
Don’t Miss: The Evzones changing of the guard at Syntagma Square, evening views from any rooftop bar with Acropolis views, Plaka’s atmospheric streets.
Onward Travel Connection: Bus 501 to Kifissos Bus Station, then KTEL bus to Patras (€24 per person, approximately 3 hours on express service).

Days 2-16: Patras – Volunteering with FoodKind

The express bus flew over the Corinth Canal so quickly we barely saw it—note to self, take the regular service if you want photos. The journey followed the northern Peloponnese coastline, the Corinthian Gulf glittering on our right, until the Rio-Antirrio Bridge announced Patras was near.

Patras is Greece’s third-largest city, a major port for ferries to Italy—and, in 2017, a gathering point for displaced people hoping to reach Western Europe. Two abandoned factories near the port housed approximately 200 people: Afghans, Pakistanis, Algerians, Moroccans. Several were unaccompanied minors. Smugglers controlled who came and which factory they stayed in. This was the reality we’d come to help with.

FoodKind’s operation was beautifully simple: two meals a day, every day. Breakfast was Nutella sandwiches and oranges, distributed from trestle tables inside the factories. Evening meals were vegetarian one-pot dishes—onion, garlic, tomato base with pasta or rice—prepared in the volunteer flat’s “Room of Bondage” (named for the hours spent peeling garlic). Doc Mobile provided medical care, treating injuries from brutal journeys through Serbia and beyond.

The work was physically demanding but emotionally transformative. I’d worried about being seen as a “do-gooder”—a fear that evaporated the moment a young Afghan man asked my name. “Sorrell’s mum,” I became, and that identity suited me perfectly. Greece was enduring a heatwave and a refuse collectors’ strike simultaneously. The air in the factories was thick. But the gratitude from those we served—for such meagre offerings of sandwiches and soup—humbled us daily.

Our volunteer team was eclectic: an English GP, a French nurse, students from Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Norway. The coordinator stayed six months; the rest of us rotated. One afternoon/evening off per week. Downtime in the afternoon once duties were completed. A rhythm developed—exhausting, purposeful, unforgettable.

Getting Around: Walking between the volunteer flat, hotel, and port. The volunteer car for factory runs.
Where to Stay – My Personal Recommendation: Hotel Delfini – Budget hotel near the port, €45/night including breakfast. Mainly used by travellers heading to Italy by ferry. Clean, air-conditioned (essential during the heatwave), and conveniently located for the volunteer flat.
Volunteer Accommodation: Shared volunteer flat available at €5/night (less than one month) or €3/night (longer stays). Communal living with fellow volunteers.
How to Volunteer: In 2017, we applied through greecevol.info. Note: FoodKind has since ceased operations—check current opportunities through the same website if you wish to support displaced people in Greece.
The Reality Check: This is demanding work—physically, emotionally, psychologically. You will witness hardship. You will feel inadequate. You will also experience profound human connection and gratitude that stays with you forever. The smugglers were real, the challenges were real, but so was the solidarity.
Onward Travel Connection: KTEL bus from Patras to Corinth.

→ Greek Travels of a Different Kind – Volunteering With a Refugee Charity in Patras (Part 1)