GREECE as a holiday destination suffers from a design fault and a product recall looks to be imminent as travellers discover there is more to the country’s appeal than the islands that dot the Aegean Sea. On the western seaboard of the Greek mainland, in the southwest of the Peloponnese, you’ll find the same ethereal beauty suggesting eternal summers that characterize the isles of Greece far away to the east. Aegean Airlines flies daily to Athens and Costa Navarino is three-and-a-half hours away on a highway for most of the way.
The Bay of Navarino, the small town of Pylos and the resort of Costa Navarino – all basking under blue skies that melt into the blue of the Ionian Sea – are the places to remember. The bay is almost landlocked, with the island of Sphacteria making it seem like an enormous lagoon, while Pylos itself is postcard Greek: a town square where locals sit at wobbly tables under an ancient plane tree that was planted by the mayor in the 1880s. Meze, fruit drinks, ouzo and beers make for a laid-back repast in the shade after a visit to the impressive castle that commands poetic views and houses a neat little museum of genuine interest.
The town of Pylos
Costa Navarino has developed from the vision of a local man. He masterminded the resort’s construction when the area had a very low-key profile for travellers; it now employs around a thousand people from the area, managing the accommodation, the facilities and the extensive grounds. Less than 10% of the site has been built on, the rest being verdant and fruitful: olive, lemon and pomegranate trees, Mediterranean plants and flowers, sand dunes and two golf courses.
Two hotels provide accommodation at what is called Navarino Dunes. The Westin Resort Costa Navarino, with a variety of low-rise villas from ones with garden views to those nearer the beach and with their own small pools. The other hotel, more palatial and private, is The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort. The space between them, aptly named the Agora, has coffee shops and small eateries and close by is the Anazoe Spa where frazzled bodies are soothed by olive-oil massages and other treatments.
Pool view from a room in The Westin Resort Costa Navarino
With a score of bars and restaurants, dining experiences can vary from day to day but my wager is you’ll find yourself returning to beachside Barbouni. Built on a wooden platform, under an animated canopy formed by hanging fabric sheets that sway in the wind, time drifts by watching kite surfers out at sea. Their silent aquatic ballet, segueing into aerial leaps when least expected, may prove more entertaining than the large-screen display at Da Luigi, the Italian restaurant, featuring Tony Bennett or opera from New York’s Central Park.
For casual eating and aperitifs, 1827 (the year of a battle in the Bay of Navarino that heralded Greek independence) is hard to beat when sitting outside under mulberry trees. Dressing up for an evening meal is best reserved for Flame restaurant, views of rolling green courtesy this time of a golf course, with grills and subtle salads being the highlights of the menu.
Flame Restaurant
A roll-call of the resort’s activities may sound exhausting: biking, bowling, squash, hiking, sailing, golf. Walking maps are available and you can set off at your own pace and for a distance that is suitable. Gentler pursuits include philosophy and nature walks, wine-tasting tours and cooking classes; super-active me enjoyed a botanical walk that opened my eyes to the mastic tree, carob, jujube, strawberry tree and white jasmine.
Olive Trees being transplanted back to Costa Navarino after its construction
Two excursions are worthy of special mention. Gialova lagoon is 10km away, ten minutes by car or 60-90 minutes if you hire a bike for the day. The beach here, Voidokilia, is picture perfect and Gialova is a birdwatcher’s paradise in spring – flamingos gather here in May – but bring binoculars and Collins Bird Guide (2nd edition by Svensson and Mullarney).
Hiking is one of the activities at Costa Navarino
The Palace of Nestor is even closer, an archaeological site of huge importance, the site of a Mycenaean complex dating back some three and a half thousand years. It is, quite possibly, the palace that Odysseus’ son visits in the search for his father, as recounted in Homer’s Odysssey, and the bath there is remarkably well preserved. If this appeals, you’ll also need to pack a copy of the just published Greece: A Literary Guide for Travellers by Michael Carroll.
Givlova laggon in spring time is a birdwatcher’s heaven
The physical quality of the light in Greece, the silver-green olive groves, the fresh food – it all makes attractive the idea of owning a villa in the Peloponnese. Navarino Residences offers the possibility of bringing the good life a lot closer; on the journey home I checked my bank balance. Ah … maybe next year.
by Sean Sheehan
Costa Navarino, Navarino Dunes, Costa Navarino, 24001 Messinia, Greece
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