The east coast of Messinia is a lovely place to base oneself for a day or two if you want to explore the area, or longer if you want to do bugger all! It’s within easy reach from Kalamata. Methoni, Pylos and Koroni are the probably the obvious choices for an overnight stay and I have a pages dedicated to them. However there are a couple of quiter towns and villages along the coast that are worth considering.

Petalidi

Petalidi is only about a half hour drive from Kalamata with the waterfalls at Polilimnio not far away. It’s a sleepy fishing town with no major attractions for the tourist which is the main reason that we visited! However it does have a fine square, a church and a few tavernas with a couple of beaches either side of the town.

We had a lovely lunch by the sea at Στη βρύση– Sti vrysi, which translates as at the tap, [and you also may find it called Zur Quelle which I think is German]. We also had a wonderful fish dinner at To Pareaki tis Argo. However, perhaps the best discovery [and the most bizarre] was to be found behind the fire station….

Agios Andreas

Agios Andreas lies fifteen minutes south of Petalidi, not far from Chrani [a pleasant popular tourist resort]. We chose to stay in Agios Andreas over Chrani as it had a certain charm about it that took our fancy. It has an attractive harbour with a few inviting tavernas and a beach to the south of the harbour arm. We stayed at Rooms Nancy, a well run hotel on the main road which was perfect for us and Nancy and her husband were very friendly. I loved how they had transformed the old petrol pumps at the front into an attractive flower garden. We chose to have dinner at To Filema tis Annas which was excellent.

North of Agios Andreas is Chelonaria [Turtle beach] which is a bit of a hidden gem, it’s just south of Kalamaki at the end of a narrow road. There are sunbeds attached to the basic beach cafe which only served toasties and drinks on our visit.

Quick links:

Peloponnese homepage

Messinia homepage