I would recommend staying at Kastraki as it is a nicer small village about 1km past Kalambaka. Kalambaka is quite a big town which we drove through a few times and whilst it is nice I thought it seemed a bit busy.

We have stayed at Petrino which was nice, a bit pricy at 80 euros per night but it was in a nice location, we have also stayed at Plakias, which I personally preferred, in the town of Kastraki just below the square. Plakias is above a taverna (with the same name) where we ate several times and really enjoyed ourselves and the food.

I suppose it would be possible to explore on foot but it we did the exploration by car. I think you need to rely on others for information for exploring on foot.

If you are visiting the monasteries (and female) I would suggest that you take a wrap and long sleeved blouse otherwise you have to wear the ‘skirts' handed out by the monasteries. Shorts and trousers are frowned upon.

Thanks for your help - I was getting bogged down in the hotels in the area, so I will act on your advice to start with. Also thanks for the advice about a long skirt ......... I had hoped to get away with trousers, but will start looking for a long skirt (I'm rather short and round as a pound!).

Will I need to get into shape to climb up the steps to the monasteries, or is there one with an adjacent car park and a relatively short and gentle climb up?

I really appreciate your help. Thanks x

I only visited one monastery and that did have a lot of steps. Not sure about all the others as we only looked at them from a distance.

I didn't buy a skirt I just used the wrap that you can use on the beach over your cossie.

We stayed in Kalambaka in the Hotel Orfeas. The hotels here tend to be geared up for 1 or 2 night stays and we had a great view of the monastries, which are floodlit at night, from our balcony. The town was very busy at night, really buzzing with young people and a great atmosphere. Easy enough to walk from here but start early. By midday there were probably 25 coaches and long queues to access the monastries. Most of these were daytrips from the Pelion or Epirus regions. With an overnight stay you get the chance to appreciate this fantastic place without too much hassle.

Thanks to you all for all this helpful advice. I have contacted several guesthouses in the Meteora area and am delighted that they are offering me approx 60€ a night for a double and breakfast for early October ........ their websites had quoted MUCH higher!!

I suppose I'm just not fit enough to do 400 steps ......... I suppose there are none with adjacent car parks or even .. lifts or hunky monks doing sedan chair entrances?!!

But I'll let OH do the interiors and I'll just enjoy the views!! (I presume there are some cafés near by?)

The road where the cars and busses park is high up and we dont recall the steps being a problem. The heat was a problem but in October that will be OK. Not all the Monastries are up this no. of steps, just take your time, this is an area of Greece not to be missed. Not far from here is a huge lake at high altitude known as Plasitaras, spellings vary. Its like an alpine landscape and very different from the plain below. There are a few tavernas around the lake and its hard to believe you're in Greece. You need a car for this area and I've not seen it in any guide books. A Google search might tell you more.