Mani Peninsula stay

Posted by Cathy on 01/23/23 03:54 AM

I have been scouring the forum for some specific recommendations for the Mani Peninsula and have found some but many are from a few years ago. My sister and I are planning to be in the peninsula for just two days in late September. We will be arriving from Olympia. Where would be a good base to stay so that we could drive to Vathia. What beaches would you recommend? Also, have you done the tour of the Diros Caves? Looking for some specific recommendations for places to stay, restaurants, beaches and other things to do (in only two days!). Someone in a forum mentioned Limeni as a nice area. We're planning to drive to Monemvasia from the Mani. What stops would you recommend on the way to Monemvasia?

Also, looking for recommendations for a good road map/atlas (paper!) for Greece.

Thanks!

Posted by kmkwoo

Massachusetts, USA

01/23/23 04:35 AM

1700 posts

On your drive from Olympia to the Mani Peninsula, I highly recommend visiting the Byzantine ruins of Mystras in Sparta. They are beautiful and spectacular! I rarely re-visit a place, but if we return to Greece, I would love to re-visit Mystras.

For a paper map, I can recommend the Michelin map. That is what we used last May while in Greece.

I have not been to the Mani Peninsula yet so I can't recommend a place to stay. However, I know a lot of people recommend the village of Githio.

To help you plan your trip, I suggest buying a couple good guidebooks. We used the Michelin Green Guide and Lonely Planet. I don't rely solely on travel forums. I like the way guidebooks are organized, and they help me stay orderly and organized while planning and researching.

Posted by tommyk5

NH (USA)

01/23/23 03:05 PM

1222 posts

I spent 5 days in Gythio which is the largest town in the Mani.

It's a wonderful working class Greek Town not solely devoted to tourism. It was a perfect base to explore the Mani and equal distance between Monemvasia and Mystras.

I stayed at Studio Gellys just a short walk from the waterfront. Nice basic studio with large balcony with beautiful views of the Aegean.

I drove to Vathia from Gythio by heading west to Areopolis then south to Vathia. Areopolis would be closer to Vathia if it's is a must.

With just two days it doesn't leave much time to explore as driving anywhere in the Mani is time consuming. Beautiful scenery but slow going.

You can check out my 13 day trip this past Oct. to the Peloponnese including photos of Vathia, Gythio, Monemvasia and much more.

Open the first or any photo to enlarge it and get captions. Not all photos have captions.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2RwHoj4NAxBD7VcZA

If there is anyway you can spend more time it would be worth the wonderful scenery, mountains, villages, people, food, coastline, etc.

I would highly recommend the Cadogan Guide to the Peloponnese as it's the very best. More info than any other guide.

I used Google Maps for navigation as paper maps really are difficult to follow and tend to be cumbersome.

Posted by Cathy OP

01/23/23 07:17 PM

8 posts

Thank you for the helpful comments. The trip reports are great, and I will have to remember to do one for the forum after returning. The photos of the area are wonderful.