Driving from Patras to Kalamata, Greece
 

Hi. We are flying into Patras, Greece to go to DH's conference in Kalamata in a few weeks. We are wondering if we should spend the night in Patras before attempting the drive down to Kalamata the next day. We are coming from else where in Europe so won't be lagged out and are arriving at 16:55, but according to Michelin even the freeway route is 3-1/2 hours of driving, so it will be dark before we are done for the night. How scarey is the road? Is it scenic enough that we should wait and do it in the light of day anyhow? We are used to driving in Cyprus, so it shouldn't be too much worse, correct? And if the answer is "stay in Patras", does anyone have hotel/restaurant recommendations? Thanks to any and all for your help!

I guess by "freeway route" you mean Patras to Korinthos, and then the motorway from there down to Kalamata. I've been on the motorway between Korinthos and Kalamata, and it's a great road. It's actually only about 2½ hours from Athens to Kalamata, so it's a shame you aren't flying there rather than Araxos, the Patras airport. By the time you get to Korinthos you will be most of the way to Athens anyway.

I think I would wait until the next day and take the coastal road to Kalamata. I've been on parts of it near Kalamata, and it's not a bad road, but would rather do it in daylight. If you have time you could stop off at Olympia, which isn't far out of the way.

Patras is not along the itinerary from Araxos to Kalamata and there isn't anything to see anyway. Drive directly from the airport to Pirgos or Olympia and sleep there.
Accommodation: http://www.booking.com

Good idea from nekervd!

Thanks for the advice.Sounds like a good idea to stay in Pirgos or Olympia. I'll start checking for hotels. And the coastal route sounds like a more scenic route, so we'll do that in the daylight. Someone else (guess who?) made the plane reservations.I thought Athens would have been the better choice, but oh well. It's always an adventure, right?

Araxos Airport: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araxos_Airport

As long as you don't mind the extra time it will take to get to Kalamata, it should be an interesting journey. Not everyone can say they have flown into a Hellenic Air Force base! You have a chance to see Olympia, which wouldn't have been possible on the Athens - Kalamata route. Which airport are you leaving Greece from?

Leaving from Patras, too. We'll have a few free days to explore the area. Looks so spectacular, I can hardly wait.

Here are a few photos of the Kalamata area: http://www.flickr.com/photos/heimdal...7627739427148/

Spectacular! Thanks for posting these.

The fastest way is through Pyrgos. It is 210km and it usually takes 2 and a half hours to drive it.
It is not an especially scenic route.

However there are plenty of scenic routes in Peloponnese and plenty of scenic destinations around Kalamata.

If you require any advice drop me a mail and let me know.

We find Olympia so beautiful that we've visited three times. Our fave accommodation has been Best Western Europa. It's family owned and their restaurant is fantastic. They serve locally sourced, mostly organic fare. In the summer, you can dine outside with lovely views of the countryside.

Thanks Discover. I'll be in touch. Any and all help much appreciated. Aggie, thanks for the recommend.My bro-in-law and nephew are both Aggies. Gotta love 'em!

Harriet, it's the normal practice to keep the discussion on Fodor's so that everyone will benefit from the advice. Few posters give out their email address (in the profile) unless they are hoping to benefit commercially. Maybe it's just a coincidence that there is a travel company called "Discover Greece". ;-)

Hmm. Yes. Thanks for the heads-up.

I agree heimdall and so glad you mentioned it...often those kinds of "offers" are pulled by the editors. It is not appropriate and is soliciting business which is not the point of Fodor's forums.

Actually it looks like Discover Greece is no longer posting under that name.

Discover_Greece was a new member, and posted several replies on the same day, all with the invitation to "drop me a mail". Had you replied, you would have been giving him <b>your</b> email address, which is clearly not a good idea. Fodor's apparently removed him as a member.

A Google search revealed a Greek travel company operating under the same name. It may have been a coincidence, but I doubt it. If they employ those tactics to solicit business I wouldn't care to deal with the company.

Wanted to add a brief note as to how things turned out for our trip. Due to scheduling reasons, we ended up driving down to Kalamata from Araxos on the day of arrival. The drive wasn't bad at all--about 3-1/2 hours, with only 1 hour in the dark. Greek highways seem to be pretty well sign-posted and there wasn't much traffic. Though I must say Araxos has all the charm of a minimum security facility, so don't expect a lovely airport. The coast around Patras is nothing to write home about, but the scenery just got better and better as we went south. Hope to explore it more some day. Kalamata is in a beautiful spot, and we enjoyed our stay at the Elite City Resort Hotel. It's a bit out of the city center, but well-connected by a frequent local bus. Oceanfront, so the views are wonderful. The city isn't a total Wow, but there is a charming old town neighborhood up near the castle that's enjoyable to visit. The Archeological Museum of Messenia is small but fabulous, go if you can. Of course, ancient Messini (only about 21 kms away) is lovely, evocative and not to be missed. (You will need a car to do so, as there is no bus service there.) From Kalamata we drove to Mystras via the mountain road--now there's a road NOT to drive in the dark. Besides, the scenery is fabulous, so you want to take your time and see it during the day. Mystras was wonderful--we arrived mid-afternoon, so had the place mostly to ourselves. While we would have liked a few more hours there, the lengthening shadows and lack of crowds made it a beautiful time to visit. Then up the E961 to Tripoli--another very good, scenic highway--and over to Nafplio. What a beautiful city! We had an enjoyable stay at the Ilion Hotel. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but we liked the friendly owner, the memorable decor, and the central location. (And the reasonable price!) After an great weekend, and a visit to ancient Mycenae, we drove west across the mountains to ancient Olympia and a night at the Best Western Europa. (Thank you, TexasAggie, for the recommendation.) Another beautiful and evocative archeological site--wow, Greece is just full of them. The Archeological Museum is another wow. Please leave yourself plenty of time to enjoy it when you visit. After that, it was just a quick (less than 2 hours) trip to Araxos and on to Cyprus. Thanks to all on this forum for the helpful hints, advice, trip reports and pictures. Heimdall, Stanbr,nanabee, neckervd, and anyone else I neglected to mention. It was a too-short, but wonderful trip, and your suggestions were truly helpful. Greece is overwhelmingly beautiful. I think it is underrated compared to some of the other European countries, but the scenery, history,and people are wonderful.
The weather was grand, and there were hardly any crowds, anywhere. What's not to like?

Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad you had an enjoyable trip. :-)