Costa Navarino
Four golf courses and four resorts on the Ionian shore of Messinia, a bay named for the sea battle of 1827, a Mycenaean palace up the road, and Kalamata's runway forty-five minutes away.
- Arrival
- Kalamata International · KLX
- To the resort
- About 45 minutes by car to Navarino Dunes
- Private jets
- Kalamata, 2,703 m runway; helipad on site
- Best time
- May to September
The city
Dunes, bay and hills.
Costa Navarino is the south-west corner of the Peloponnese, where Messinia meets the Ionian. The resort is spread over several sites: Navarino Dunes on the beach, Navarino Bay facing the water that Pylos looks onto, and Navarino Hills above it. Four eighteen-hole courses, The Dunes, The Bay, The Hills and the International Olympic Academy course, run between them, and the sea stays warm from June into October.
Nestor's Palace, from the thirteenth century BC and named in the Iliad and the Odyssey, is a short drive away under its roof and walkways. At Pylos, on the far side of Navarino Bay, Three Admirals Square keeps the memory of the Battle of Navarino of 1827 among old Venetian and Ottoman cannon; two castles guard the town and the coast. North of Gialova, Voidokilia beach curves into the shape of an omega between the dunes and the sea.
Arriving
Kalamata, then west across Messinia.
Kalamata International Airport is 45 kilometres from Navarino Dunes, about 45 minutes by car, and 40 from Navarino Bay and Navarino Hills. Athens is 280 kilometres by road.
- Istanbul 1 h 20
- Rome 1 h 35
- Zurich 2 h 25
- Marrakech 3 h 55
- Bangkok 10 h 50 long-range jet
When to go
May to September.
A Mediterranean year with a sharp divide. From May to September the highs run from 23 to 30 °C and the rain all but stops, 9 mm in July; the sea is 25 to 26 °C from July to September. October is still mild at 22 °C but the first storms arrive, and the winter months are wet. Figures are for Kalamata, 45 kilometres east.
- 13° J 118 16°
- 13° F 91 15°
- 15° M 70 15°
- 18° A 46 16°
- 23° M 25 19°
- 27° J 12 22°
- 30° J 9 25°
- 30° A 10 26°
- 27° S 26 25°
- 22° O 89 23°
- 18° N 119 21°
- 14° D 145 18°
What to see and do
Days in and around Costa Navarino.
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Landmark
Voidokilia
A beach in the shape of an omega, sand dunes behind, just north of Gialova.
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Landmark
Pylos
The town on the bay, the Neokastro at its centre, the Paleokastro up the coast, and the monument to the battle of 1827.
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Landmark
Nestor's Palace
One of the best-preserved Mycenaean palaces, four buildings from the thirteenth century BC, a short drive inland.
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Wildlife
Gialova Lagoon
More than 270 bird species have been recorded in this Natura 2000 wetland, the southernmost major one in Greece, with guided walks and bike tours.
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Golf
The Dunes Course
Bernhard Langer designed this course with European Golf Design, and it opened in 2010 beside Navarino Dunes.
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Culture
Methoni Castle
Venetian walls enclose the whole Agios Nikolaos peninsula, entered over a stone bridge of 14 arches, with the octagonal Bourtzi tower out at sea.
Official site -
Culture
Ancient Messene
Founded by the Theban general Epaminondas in 369 BC at the foot of Mount Ithome, the city keeps its stadium, gymnasium and theatre, with a museum by the entrance.
Official site -
Nature
Polylimnio waterfalls
From the village of Charavgi a walk of about an hour and a half follows a chain of cascades and green pools.
Where to stay
Four resorts, one estate.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino Set into the slope above Navarino Bay, in the MICHELIN hotel selection.
- W Costa Navarino The lively one, also in the MICHELIN selection: beachfront villas and swim-up rooms, Parelia on the sand, the AWAY Spa, and a season that opens in early April.
- The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort One of the two Dunes hotels, opened in 2010, with an infinity pool to the sea, a wide sandy beach, and a kitchen led by Alexandros Tsiotinis.
- The Westin Resort Costa Navarino Next door to The Romanos and sharing its beach, golf and the Agora of restaurants and shops, with a lagoon pool that children take over.
Where to dine
The best tables on the resort.
No MICHELIN Guide covers the Peloponnese. These are the chef-led restaurants of Costa Navarino and its Mandarin Oriental, as the resort describes them.
- Paráfrasi by CTC Signature restaurant, Costa Navarino Modern Greek Navarino Dunes
- Armyra by Papaioannou Signature restaurant, Costa Navarino Fish and seafood Navarino Dunes
- Onuki Signature restaurant, Costa Navarino Japanese Navarino Dunes
- Oliviera Signature restaurant, Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino Contemporary Greek Mandarin Oriental, Navarino Bay
- The Private Kitchen Counter & Lounge Signature restaurant, Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino Chef’s counter Mandarin Oriental, Navarino Bay
Elsewhere in Greece
More reasons to come.
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Athens
The Parthenon, the Plaka, and the seaside hotels of Vouliagmeni.
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Mykonos
Windmills, beach clubs, and a runway that takes private jets.
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Santorini
Villages on the rim of a sunken volcano.
- Corfu A Venetian old town and the green coves of the Ionian.
- Elounda Resorts on the Gulf of Mirabello, in the east of Crete.
- Rhodes The medieval town of the Knights, inside its walls.
Flying to Costa Navarino?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.