Spiti Maria's Reviews

Gialova is near Pylos in the south west Peloponese. The nearest airport is Kalamata, which operates between May and October. Outside this period one would have to fly to Athens and go by bus, car or train (that would be interesting)to Kalamata.

We flew to Kalamata by Astreus airlines booked through Freedom Flights. We were originally booked with Excel, and the change caused us some problems but Astreus was really good (more like a schedule flight).Complimentary meals, hot towels plenty of leg room and we took off on time.
Would certainly use them again.
Car hire should certainly be considered. We booked through Argus Rentals .com and they were there at the airport to meet us, unfortunately they leave the minimum amount of petrol in the tank which is a bit annoying.

The drive to Gialova takes about an hour (for a Greek, about 10 minutes) and is straight forward and quite picturesque. Beware of the roundabout at Messini. If you're not travelling on a Sunday, there's a Lidl supermarket at the aforementioned roundabout and this is the place to stock up with bottled water, fruit juice, red and white wine and feta cheese. Gialova is well signposted and so is Thanos village.

The accomodation. We booked a studio because we didn't plan on spending a lot of time indoors, although there are apartments and a villa, There was airconditioning, a fridge (a very quiet one),a couple of hot plates but no electric kettle. The pots and pans were a bit on the large side but who's going to do any serious cooking? The room was cleaned daily and the sheets and towels were changed six times during our two week stay. Olive oil is also provided, courtesy of Christos.

Having read the last paragraph it may give the impression of a large complex, this isn't the case. The studios (12 in all) and the apartments are separate, the latter being further up the hill. They both have lovely views of the lemon groves and Navarino bay and lovely swimming pools.
The owner, Christos Karalis and his family are extremely hospitable and each Sunday he invites the guests to have breakfast for which he cooks the most delicious bread. The other guests were friendly and of various nationalities, all looking for a peaceful holiday.

The resort. Gialova sort of straggles along the coast road without many signs of tourism. The tavernas are grouped together on the small harbour and they all served pretty good food at a reasonable price ( shared starter, two main courses and a litre of drinkable wine 17 to 20 euros).
The beaches. There are lots to choose from. At some the sea is shallow and perfect for children eg Voidikilia and Golden beach, some have sunshades and beds and small tavernas but not on a large scale. Be sure, you can find your own space.

Things to see. If you're into archeaology there'plenty of it. Nestors palace, ancient Messinia (fantastic), no end of Tholos tombs and Olympia if you fancy the drive. There are the castles at Methoni, Koroni and Pylos and beaches in between. Going through the small villages in the hills is fascinating. The Mani peninsular has stunning scenery, very different from Messinia. Kalamata is worth a visit but the traffic situation is not good, probably best to park away from the centre. alternatively you can lay on the beach and read about these places.
If anyone should want to stay in Gialova the web site for Thanos village is - appthanos com but there are other places to stay

We are familiar with the area and love it, so we will go back and we'll probably stay at Thanos.