Breakaway Greece
HOLIDAY INFO FOR OUR GUESTS
twelve great things to see and do on your holiday
1 See a play at the amphitheatre (July/August)
The Athens/Epidavros festival is on every July/August - with a different play performed every Friday and Saturday in the 12,000 amphitheatre, 9 miles away. Tickets and information here.
2 Go to the DISCO (july/August)
Capaki disco, about 10-15 minutes walk from the villa, is a brilliant 1970’s/80’s disco. No door charge, no bouncers - just walk in and straight onto the dance floor. Open every Friday and Saturday in July and August it often doesn’t really get going until about 2am.
3 Have lunch on the beach at one of our great seafront tavernas
We have three tavernas on the beach in front of the villa. if you walk down to the beach and along, the first one you come to is Hellas Beach Bar - mainly a good bar - it also does snack food, the second is Apollon hotel which has a full restaurant right on the beach and the third is Egialos - our favourite - great food and a place to hang out all day at the beach.
4 spend a day on Poros Island
A great 40km drive down the coast is Galatas and the 5-minute ferry over to Poros Island. The ferry runs every 30 minutes all day. Our favourite beach is Love Beach.
5 Visit Nafplio - the ‘romantic capital of Greece’
40km drive across to the other coast is Nafplio - the first capital of Greece and now known as the romantic capital of Greece. It has lovely lanes for boutique shopping and a hidden away cool beach bar and swim spot.
6 Have dinner on the water’s edge in the port in Epidavros
The two seafront restaurants are Poseidon and Mike’s. Mike’s is more of a taverna feeling and Posideon more of a restaurant. Both are great.
7 spend the day on Kalamaki beach
It is good to swim in front of the villa but this beach just the other side of the village stays in the sun for much longer and is really nice and secluded.
8 Do one of the local activities - kayaking, diving, hire a boat, hiking etc.
Do your favourite activity in Epidavrios - kayaking with George, diving with James and Vicky or hire a boat with Epidavros Boats.
9 Visit the little amphitheatre in town - and even see a production there.
We have the ‘small amphitheatre’ in Epidavros - a twenty-minute walk around the beach. Built 3,000 years ago, every Friday and Saturday during the summer there is a different production.
10 Visit the night market
During July and August, there is a night market in the port, selling the best local produce and products.
11 Swim over the sunken city.
Epidavros was sunk thousands of years ago by the Methana volcano erupting - you can swim over a villa that is still visible just under the water.
12 Visit our local olive press
We buy all our olive oil from Roula at Bekas Olive Mill and have a great coffee at Container Coffee, 200 metres away when we visit.
13 Visit Mycenae - the birthplace of civilisation in Europe.
See the best Greek archaeological site from around the 12th century BC with its acropolis, palace & tomb remains.
YIALASI AND EPIDAVROS AND THE BEACH!
More details about the best activities to do and places to visit in and around Epidavros is here. Including the large Epidavros amphitheatre, Nafplio - the first capital of Greece, the oldest standing bridge in the world, Poros - our nearest island and Methana - the beautiful volcano you can see out to your right from the villa.
Our favourite local restaurants.
Essentially our home by the sea - just in front of the villa.
The two sea-front restaurants in the port. Both as good and as touristy as it gets in Epidavros - perfect for lunch.
The most romantic restaurant in Epidavros.
Hidden away, amazing food and the best brothers in Epidavros running it - Emilio and Tony.
(easy to miss) We know the owner, Ageliki, well. Very friendly and helpful and she makes the cakes for most local restaurants.
We do know most people in town so if you need help at any point you can mention you are staying with Chris & Helen and I hope most people will be very helpful.
THE SURROUNDING PELOPONNESE
The Peloponnese is the authentic Greece - still largely undiscovered by mass tourism, even though it contains some of the best beaches, picture postcard villages and most important historical sites in the whole of Greece.
You could tie in your stay with us with any of the following…
Tour the Peloponnese
…and visit ancient remains, romantic islands and the sites of legendary stories - Olympia, Sparta, Monmevasa, Mycenae, Nemea, Messene, Mystras, Kalamata, Corinth canal.
Few areas in Greece are quite as geographically diverse and archaeologically rich as the Peloponnese. The southernmost part of mainland Greece, the Peloponnese is a self-contained peninsula separated from mainland Greece by the man-made Corinth Canal. For example, there are five UNESCO sites in the Peloponnese alone! - The Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns, the Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus, the Archaeological Site of Olympia, the Archaeological Site of Mystras, and the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae. A good starter guide
Tie in with an Island holiday
The Peloponnese is surrounded by famous and secret paradise islands, that you can drive to from our villa and then either take a car across the short ferry trip or leave in a safe car park while you spend time on the island.
Hydra / Spetses / Poros
The three amazing islands closest to the villa and that we often visit with guests – either by car or by bike. They all deserve longer stays than one day though.
Kythira
A secret paradise, Kythira is an island lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese. It is the island of celestial Venus and Love with the wonderful natural environment of beautiful beaches with blue water, authentic villages and impressive historical monuments.
Kefalonia
A ferry ride off the west side of the Peloponnese is the exotic Kefalonia island, the largest and one of the most beautiful Greek islands of the Ionian group. You’ve probably already seen Kefalonia island on pictures, postcards and in movies – so now it could be time to have a break there.
Walk Greece’s main Hiking trail.
The Menalon Trail - the first certified trail in Greece. 75km of nature and beauty are waiting for you to "spend" your time and "earn" unforgettable moments from one of the most highly rated trails of Europe. Visit the website to see and learn about the region, the villages and the flora and fauna of The Menalon Trail. We organise hikes of the trail twice a year - please see details.
Ski!
People don't believe us, but we actually have a great ski resort on the Peloponnese – Kalavrita. Based around Mount Helmos, which means snowy mountain, is a mountain range with the highest peak at 2,355m.
Visit Athens
Athens’ attractions are obvious and if you haven’t been or haven’t been since the start of an island-hopping adventure as a student, then it’s certainly worth another visit, on your way from/to the airport perhaps.
Visit any island from Athens
Piraeus is still the start point for island hopping. You can get there directly by boat from Poros (25 miles down the coast from us) and then head off to the likes of Mykonos, Santorini and Crete.
We have many UNESCO sites in the Peloponnese - The Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns, the Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus, the Archaeological Site of Olympia, the Archaeological Site of Mystras, and the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae. A good starter guide
The best guidebook
This is the best guidebook for Epidavros and the whole Peloponnese. We have one at the Villa but if you want to read up before you come – this is the book to get. On Amazon
GUESTS GALLERY
