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Turn your back on the island crowds and explore Greece's spectacular mainland peninsulas instead, says Chris AldenBeen there?
Share your tips on Greece and its islands with other readers
Tuesday June 20, 2006
The real hidden Greece... Fakistra Beach in Pelion. Photograph: Sakis Papadopoulos/Getty.
Here is a description of a mystery place in Greece. It's the land of mythical centaurs, flanked by forests and olive groves, with sandy beaches and perfectly restored mountain villages. It's the place Greeks almost universally agree is the most fertile and beautiful in the country. No mass tourism here; it seems untouched by the passing of time, yet offers a high standard of tourist accommodation.
When a Greek relative recently asked a local where he came from, he replied: "I come from paradise." The place is called Pelion.
If you haven't heard of it, there are two reasons. First, understandably, Greeks want to keep Pelion to themselves. Second, and more importantly, Pelion is not an island. It's a peninsula. And because "peninsula" is not as marketable as "island", Pelion receives nowhere near the number of visitors it deserves.
And it is not alone. All over Greece, there are scores of accessible, unspoiled places which - by virtue of being attached to the mainland - have no ferry service, and are ignored by the island-hopping hordes. Yet these peninsulas of Greece - long, sandy fingers stretching out into the Aegean and the Mediterranean - offer some of the quietest beaches, the best walking, and the most atmospheric ancient sites in the country.
Here are six of the best:
Pelion
Why go? Classical scholars will know Pelion as the land of the centaurs - the mythical beasts with the torso of a man but the hindquarters of a horse - but Greeks know it as the place to go in summer to escape the heat and the tourists. Jutting out into the Aegean in the shape of a claw, the peninsula has chestnut forests and sandy beaches on its northern slopes, a narrow-gauge steam railway on its southern slopes, and picture-postcard villages on the heights.
In the mountains, each village has several archontika - stone mansions with overhanging upper stories converted for tourism and, unusually in this car-worshipping land, a network of kalderimia - cobbled donkey paths - with some of the best walking in Greece. Buy the excellent Road Editions 1:50,000 Pilion map from Stanfords and you're away.
How to get there: Charter airline Excel Airways flies to nearby Volos, an hour's drive from central Pelion, once a week, mostly carrying tourists who have booked through Greek specialists Sunvil or walking specialists InnTravel.
Where to stay: If you're travelling independently, try to stay in a traditional archontiko such as Archontiko Michopoulou in Vyzitsa (+30 24230 86861).
Mani
Why go? Immortalised by travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor, this Peloponnesian peninsula is famous for its square "clan towers" which, up until the 19th century, feuding Greek families built to assert their superiority over each other. To win the feud, you had to destroy the opposing clan's tower, and for maximum kudos, smash in its roof. These days, many towers have been converted into accommodation for Greek tourists, who come to enjoy the stark landscape - strangely reminiscent of Scotland - and to visit Pyrgos Dhirou, Greece's most famous network of caves. Cape Tenaro, the southern tip of mainland Greece, has an end-of-the-world feel. On the exterior of the Mani, Kardamyli is an urbane resort among beachside olive groves.
How to get there: Fly to Kalamata, the centre of olive-oil production in Greece, with Thomsonfly. Walking specialists InnTravel also hosts tours in Mani, as do Greek specialists Filoxenia. Spirit of Life Holidays offers holistic breaks in the peninsula.
Where to stay: If you want to stay in a converted "tower hotel", Hotel Tsitsiris Castle in the village of Stavri offers unforgettable views of the mountains that run down the Mani's central spine (+30 27330 56297), with doubles from 65-90 euros .
Monemvasia
Why go? This rock, connected to mainland Greece by a causeway, is the ancient port of the Byzantine city of Mystras - and conceals two medieval villages on its seaward side. A restored, lower village offers several upmarket hotels, bohemian late-night bars, and attractive restaurants in shaded courtyards. A ruined, upper village offers the opportunity to explore sprawling ramparts while enjoying a timeless Aegean view.
How to get there: Fly to Kalamata with Thomsonfly. Or you could visit Monemvasia as part of a Byzantine history tour of the Peloponnese, with Martin Randall Tours.
Where to stay: The two best hotels in Monemvasia are the Malvasia and the Byzantino, which offer attractively restored upmarket rooms with sea view for around 100-120 euros.
MessiniaWhy go? Thanks to its once-strategic position on the southwest tip of the Peloponnese, the Messinian peninsula is attractively fortified by Venetian castles at the towns of Koroni and Methoni, and a medieval fort at Pylos.
How to get there: Fly to Kalamata with Thomsonfly and drive over the winding mountain road. Or go with Greek specialists Sunvil to Chrani, a village with spectacular views to Mani.
Where to stay: The Achilles Hotel in Methoni is a neoclassical building with large balconies and attractive rooms (doubles 45-65 euros, breakfast extra).
Mount Athos
Why go? Mount Athos is Greece's "holy mountain" - a strange, semi-autocratic republic inhabited and run only by Orthodox monks. Sadly, it's inaccessible to all women and to most overseas tourists - but get past the border post, and you'll find yourself staying in medieval monasteries linked only by ancient footpaths and the occasional boat. A typical Athonite day might involve getting up at five in the morning to hear Matins sung as the sun rises, eating a vegetarian breakfast, and then spending the day walking in the hot sun from one monastery to the next, among paddy fields tended by monks in black cloaks. Arriving in the next monastery, you'll attend Vespers, eat a vegetarian meal in silence, then retire early to your cell with its view of the sea. From late spring, you can also walk to the summit of Mount Athos itself.
How to get there: With patience and perseverance: it's not called a pilgrimage for nothing. As an overseas (male) visitor, you'll need to apply by phone to an office in Thessaloniki - and, as even Orthodox visitors have a complex paper trail to follow, it's best to start the process a few months in advance. For details, see Wikitravel.
Where to stay: In a monastery. Some of the most beautiful are Ayios Dhionyisios, Osios Georgios, Simopetra and Ayios Pavlos - each perched on the dramatic west coast of the peninsula. You only pay once for the permit (around 35 euros).
Sithonia
Why go? The next finger along the three-pronged Halkidiki from Athos, Sithonia is a fertile, pine-covered peninsula with outstanding beaches at its southern reaches, and views of the holy mountain rising out of the sea. Its forested slopes are popular with both Germans as well as Greeks - but if you can't visit Athos directly, it's the next best thing.
How to get there: Fly British Airways, Olympic or Thomsonfly to Thessaloniki. Thomsonfly also go to Kavala.
Where to stay: Kelyfos Hotel near Porto Carras, offers comfortable rooms and studios with views of sea and mountains (doubles 60-100 euros) while Pension Parthenon in Parthenonas is a mountain retreat (60-70 euros, +30 23750 72225).
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