Great Things to Do Near Dapia
Take a drive to the village of Koroni for a fish lunch
Koroni is a delightful seaside village with a very imposing Venetian castle standing guard over it’s pretty bay. It has a lovely street with some interesting locally made ceramics. Down on the harbour there are some excellent waterfront tavernas serving freshly caught fish, often unloaded directly from the small fishing boats that come in regularly throughout the day.
Go for a swim to Voidhokilia beach
Voted by many as one of the the best beaches in Greece. Beautiful golden sand, very few people and rich in history. Unbelievable that such a gem is less than a 5km drive away from Gialova.
Go to the beach!
The Peloponnese is famous for its beaches and one of the most popular is Finikounda, which is a short drive away. With the superb beach and the delightful little harbour village alongside, you won’t need to leave here for the rest of the day as it has everything you could want.
Eat olives on the terrace
Kalamata olives are famous all over the world. Now you can enjoy this delicacy in their home environment. Why not wash them down with a nice glass of chilled Retsina.
Play a round of golf
There are a small selection of golf courses in the vicinity, two of these being the Bay Course, (tel 2723 090 200, www.costanavarino.com/golf-resort/baycourse) at Costa Navarino and Dunes Course, (tel 2723 096 000, www.costanavarino.com/golf-resort/dunescourse) also at Costa Navarino.
Spend a day (and maybe a night) in Nafplion
A must do on most peoples list on visiting the Peloponnese. Nafplion is often regarded amongst most Greeks as one of the most beautiful towns in Greece. This is thanks to the Venetians, who have created a delightful town with many cobbled streets, beautiful buildings and wonderful squares that are now fringed with cafes, boutiques and fine restaurants and first class hotels.
Sit under the very old plane tree in Pylos square (Platia)
As in most Greek towns and villages, the hub of the place is in the platia (square), so called after the Platanos tree (plane tree) planted in all the squares to provide shade from the heat and sun. It is a real honour to sit under some of these grand old specimens and the huge tree in Pylos square is over 200 years old. An excellent place to enjoy your morning or late afternoon coffee.
Diros caves
Take a drive over to the Mani to see the stalagmites and stalactites in these wonderful caves. Some prehistoric finds in these caves have made them one of the most important archaeological sites in the whole of Greece. Surprisingly though, you’ll never have to wait in a queue to visit these wonders, so remote are they and the surrounding area so unspoilt.
Taygetos Mountains
There are some excellent and challenging walking trails in these beautiful mountains. As well as the walks, the scenery is amazing, and from these high vantage points you can select the beach of your choice for your rewarding swim on your return back down the mountainside.
Go for a boat trip
Drive into Pylos harbour, and take one of the excursion boats over to the “arched” Sfaktiria rock. You may well have seen this beautiful rock on many posters and postcards, but the only way to see it is by these excursion boats. It’s well worth the trip, and the commentary from the captain is very interesting as he will tell you all about the sunken ships in the bay, casualties of the battle of Navirone.
Spend a day at ancient Olympia
You’ll find ancient Olympia on the road heading north towards the market town of Pyrgos that will be well signposted along the way. Spend an amazing day here visiting all the nooks and crannies of the original Olympic stadium.
Go snorkelling
The best places for snorkelling are along the rocky shore at the end of the sandy Golden beach. There are huge numbers of fish along here, as well as many varieties of shellfish, so it will be a great experience as the water is crystal clear
The Nemea winery
Drive to the town of Nemea in the northern region of the Peloponnese and visit the vast number of wineries there. Nemea wine is one of the most popular in Greece, and you will find varieties of it in all the shops
Visit the Polilimnio waterfalls
These can be reached via the road from Pylos to Kalamata. There are about 15 fresh-water lakes and waterfalls, accessed by a rough track, so sturdy shoes are required. The gorge is about 3 kilometres long and there are no facilities, so remember to take sufficient food and drink. You will be rewarded by some stunning scenery and cool lakes to swim in.
Go for a scenic drive
Get lost in Messinia. Take a map, and head for Filiatra, then Kiparisia and then take the inland route back through the villages of Aristomenis and Vlachopoulos. When you get lost, don’t worry, you won’t be lost for long, as the next village is only a couple of kilometres way, and you’ll want to stop in all of them, as they are so pretty, so traditional and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll come across any other tourists throughout the entire day.
Nestors Palace
This is an extremely interesting ancient site, and it’s only a 20 minute drive from Gialova on the way to the village of Chora.
Bird watching
Ornithologists will know about the bird watching area at the Gialova lagoon, where you can see several different species of migrating wading birds, as well as the day to day hunters feeding off the plentiful supply of fish in this shallow lagoon.
Visit the Byzantine capital of Greece, Mystras
An extremely interesting place to visit, and not that far away either. On the road leaving from Kalamata to Sparti, this wonderful town that was the Byzantine capital of Greece has many beautiful churches and a lovely castle for you to explore
Bicycle hire
Bicycles can be hired at Martin’s shop in Gialova. The shop is open daily from 07.30-22.00.
There are a number of dedicated cycle trails around the coastline of Messinia to explore.
Take a trip to the delightful mountain top village of Vitina
The scenery along the way makes this trip worthwhile on it’s own. However, you are greeted by one of the loveliest mountain top villages in the whole of Greece here. Prepare yourself to stock up with loads of traditionally produced delicacies and to add to your photo library.
