5/5 - Excellent
Elizabeth
If you want to visit the monasteries without the crowds of tour buses, get up early and be ready before the scheduled opening time. Some like Grand Metora have quite a few stairs to climb, so you will be in place when the doors open, but ahead of the masses. You can also visit some later in the afternoon when the tours have left. I had St. Nicholas practically to myself and able to get nice photos. I also recommend those hours for good photos of the surrounding peaks, no buses and little traffic.