Sokrates Apartments Reviews

We chose Tolon for its geographical position,rather than for the resort itself.We have just returned having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but we would not return to Tolon purely because it is a ";one street resort"; and we have seen everything we wanted to having used it as a very convenient base.

We would describe Tolon as an old fashioned Greek resort with extremely friendly local people. The Sokrates Apartments are centrally situated on a street off the main road just 5 minutes away from the Kosmar office. We had a large bedroom and separate kitchen area as well as the usual small shower room and loo.The apartment was generally well equipped but there was NO KETTLE so if you want to make a hot drink make sure you allow 20 minutes for the water to heat up! Otherwise take a travel kettle. As mentioned in the Kosmar brochure( in the useful information section) the only towels provided are hand towel size so make sure you have a bath towel with you. Hot water was plentiful and air conditioning (at 6 euros per day payable to the owner)was very efficient and necessary.
There was an excellent range of trips, so much so that we decided not to hire a car,and there was a good discount if you booked more than one at the welcome party. They cost the same through Kosmar as they would booking direct and we chose those going to Athens,Naplion by sea at night and the cruise down the Corinth Canal after visiting Epidavros.We were lucky to have an excellent guide on both the Athens and Corinth Canal trips. His name is Aposteles and he is quite a character, speaks excellent English and is very knowledgable. These trips made our holiday and didn't include any stops at ceramics factories or suchlike . They were some of the best trips we have ever taken on any holiday.

The Kosmar reps were very friendly and competent and the lending library that they have in the office is excellent. As for food and drink, we felt that the 2 outstanding restaurants were ";Chez Gilles"; and ";Marias";as they both offer the usual Greek menus with extras. At Chez Gilles we had Seafood risotto which was one of the best meals we have ever had (and we eat out a lot). The Duck with cherries was also superb as was the Beef Stroganoff. At Marias, the chocolate pudding was ";to die for";. Caramel Creperie was also excellent and as we used the sandy beach with Angelos sunbeds, the Europa bar, near the Esperia Hotel, was our lunchtime favourite. To be fair, we didn't have a bad meal all the time we were in Tolon. The Nafsika bar was our favourite for drinks - Sula and Nicos are a smashing couple who make you feel very welcome. The bus to Naplion at 1 euro each way was excellent value and we were foolish enough to climb to the top of the Paramidi all 999 steps - the views are superb but beware of the several sheer drops if you take children there.

A very enjoyable holiday but Tolon is not as pretty as Parga or as cosmopolitan as Skiathos or as advanced as Crete. However it has a charm of its own and its position for visiting ancient sites made it well worth it.