Private Messinia Coastal Tour

Messinia is the south-western corner of the Peloponnese — a region of pale sand beaches, small Venetian fortress towns, olive groves running down to the sea, and a coastline that has been protected from over-development by its distance from Athens (four to five hours by road). It is where Greeks who can choose any beach in the country come for two weeks in August.

The destination's signature is Voidokilia Beach — a perfect crescent of white sand enclosing a turquoise lagoon, sometimes described as the most beautiful beach in Europe and certainly the most photographed in mainland Greece. Above it sits the Bronze Age site of the Palace of Nestor (one of the best-preserved Mycenaean palaces) and the medieval Frankish castle of Old Navarino. The combination of beach, archaeology and quiet inland villages is unusual even by Greek standards.

Further south along the coast are the twin Venetian fortress towns of Methoni and Koroni — both built in the 13th century to control the maritime route to the Levant, both surrounded by sea on three sides, both still inhabited and elegant in a way that nothing has tried hard to change. We give each of them an unhurried morning. Inland, the Mani-style stone villages of the Messinian highlands offer slow lunches under plane trees.

From €4,300 for five to six days, the journey includes the private vehicle and driver throughout, all nights in pre-selected boutique seaside or village properties with breakfast, on-board Wi-Fi and water, and a small Greek farewell gift. Messinia is the right choice for guests who want the Greek coast at its most refined — without the noise of the islands, without the crowds of the eastern Peloponnese.