AMV

Greetings. I've been a more frequent poster on other boards but DH and I have decided to devote a week to the Pelion this spring. We would like to split our time between east, west and south coasts and are seeking lodgings with fantastic views. Any and all suggestions are truly appreciated. Also wisdom on sites and sights not to be missed are most welcome.
Thanks all,
Winnie

AMV

ttt

Odin

We preferred east Pelion since this area had the most dramatic scenery and prettiest villages. The cliffs seem to plunge straight into the sea, the beaches are stunning.

Can't suggest specific properties, since we stayed in a hotel in Ayios Ioannis which did have sea views and was rather noisy (being next to a disco), we moved slightly inland to Mouressi and stayed at the Old Silk House which was lovely (owned by a lovely English lady.) The views are wonderful from this village.

I'd say the villages with the best views would be Portaria and Makrinitsa for views over Volos and towards the west, Vyzitsa and Tsangarada for the east. The lodgings that we liked the most were the Archontika, which are merchants (mansion) houses converted to small hotels or guest houses.

We thought the best beaches were on the east esp Milopotamos, Papa Nero and the small hamlet of Damouchari. On the west, Kala Nera is a lovely village by the sea with some restaurants/bars and couple modest hotels.

Spring would be a good time for walking holidays, since there are many old trails that were used by donkeys.

AMV

Thank you so very much. This is exactly the type of information we are hungry for. Would you recommend basing oneself in one place and making day trips throughout the Pelion over the course of a week or would be better off hopping about to different towns? Also, do you know if Meteora is a feasible day trip from a Pelion base? Thanks so much!

Odin

Meteora is too far for a day trip. We went there after a week in Pelion, where we based ourselves in Mouressi. We drove to Pelion from Athens, it took about 3 hours to arrive in Volos, which is a pleasant town with some seaside restaurants. I suppose if we were to visit southern Pelion it would be better to have 2 bases, since it is very mountainous and time consuming to travel around. If I remember correctly, just to get to Ayios Ioannis from Volos took a good hour. Ayios Ioannis is a place that only opens in the summer, whereas villages like Mouressi, Zagora, Milies etc are real working villages where people live all year round.

Pelion is absolutely beautiful, I imagine in spring with all the flowers it would be glorious.

AMV

Thank you. Guess we'll plan on an overnight for the Meteora area. Now I am trying to recover from the sticker shock of flights to Athens!

Maria_H

We stayed in Kalamos on the west coast of the Pelion, a few years ago and toured the Pelion from there. I've always said we'd like to return and do a fly-drive to see more of the lovely mountain villages and beaches. We came across this company after searching for "The Lost Unicorn" which we saw in the lovely village of Tsangarada and liked the look of:

http://www.pelion.co.uk/

Others have mentioned some beaches and villages, all of which are good. We also like the look of Platanias at the south of the penisula which had 2 sandy bays and a handful of tavernas. Kalamos itself was nice but very quiet and a bit our of the way. It took 15 minutes up a winding, pot-holed road to get to the main road before travelling anywhere else. Due to the winding nature of the roads, staying in a few different places would be best to see more of this beautiful area, in my opinion.

We did visit Meteora for the day from there. The drive took about 3 and ahalf hours from Kalamos but was quite straighforward, easy driving. It made a long day but was do-able. Overnight night be better to make the most of that spectacular area, especially if you are touring anyway.

Odin

That reminds me of a hotel that we visited, Santikos Mansion in Vizitsa, which might fit the bill for views. Sunvil also have information about Pelion.

www.sunvil.co.uk

AMV

Wow. Great web sites -- new to me Thanks so much.