Our suggestions for the area
What to taste
You have absolutely to try the excellent quality of extra virgin oil of the area and the honey. You have also to try the local specialties such as lalagia – which is a kind of fried dough-pasto – which is smoked pork- and diples – which is a traditional sweet with honey and nuts, just to mention some of them.
Beaches next to us
If you are looking for a sandy beach, then we suggest you to visit the Stoupa’s beach or Kalogria’s beach. These beaches are rather crowded. You can also visit the beach «Delphinia». There is a canteen there. You can find the beach« Kalamitsi » nearby, where there is the marvelous house of the writer Patrick Leigh Fermor. The beach « Foneas » is among the most beautiful beaches of the area and you can also find a canteen there. Finally, if you like rocky beaches, you should visit the beach «Katafigio or Plakes». The beauty of this beach is rather rare, but you have to be prepared that the access is not that easy, especially for children and elderly people.
Kardamyli
Wherever you may be, you can admire the stone built towers that testify the struggle of locals against pirates. You can actually visit the Troupakis fortified complex and museum at Kardamyli’s old city. Inside there you will find the church of Mourzinos’ family, Saint Spyridon.
There are many traditional little villages that worth a visit! You could start from Kardamyli, which is only 8 km away from Myrto Villas. It will take your breath away for sure! The bust of the world famous author Nikos Kazantzakis betrays his relation with the area. His novel «Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas» took place in Mani, where he owned a lignite mine and Zorbas was one of his employees. The book gained a lot of glory also because of the film of Michael Cacoyannis, entitled «Zorba the Greek». It’s not the first time that the area inspires the cinema. This is where the film «Before midnight» was shot.
Authors
Kazantzakis is not the only author whose name is connected with the area. The English author Patrick Leigh Fermor and his wife Joan built a house above the beach «Kalamitsi» near Kardamyli and decided to live there until the end of their life. Locals believe that their presence influenced the maintenance of traditional architecture of Kardamyli. Their house is between the most beautiful houses in Greece. Benaki Museum is in charge of its maintenance and management. The house has opened its doors to visitors from summer 2019. For more details you can visit the website of Benaki Museum: https://www.benaki.org/
Not only the visitors but also locals have many things to learn about the history, customs and traditions of the area from Patrick Leigh Fermor’s travel guide for Mani. He describes the life of locals with great sensitivity.
Monuments and picturesque villages
Other traditional village you can visit is the seaside village Sainte Nicholas. It’s going to charm you with its picturesque atmosphere. Trachila is another nice small village with a rocky landscape.
If you decide to drive outside the borders of Messinian Mani, you will find the beautiful village of Limeni. Areopolis is a more glamorous destination, where you can enjoy a drink an night. Vathia is a magic place, where you will feel lost in time. Weal so suggest you to visit Diros caverns (for more information you call at 30 2733 052222, entrance price 13 ευρώ, visiting hours 8:30 am – 15:45pm). Finally, you can gaze a beautiful sunset from Tainaro foreland!
Activities
If you drive towards the other side of the messinian golf, you can enjoy the marvelous beaches of the Messinian capital, Kalamata. If you like the archeological sites and museums, you should visit the Archaeological site of ancient Messene ( 30’away from Kalamata) and the Victoria Karelias Collection of Traditional Greek Costumes at Kalamata. For more information you can visit the site of the museum vgkareliascollection.com
If you like hiking, you can download the application topo guide, which has 25 routes for the area of Kardamyli. If you are interested at outdoors activities, you can visit the site bellow, http://www.climbup.gr.
Finally, if you like events about nature and art, you can visit page of “Nartura cultural association” on Facebook.
