Sea kayaking Navarino Bay

Divari is a fifteen-minute drive from Pylos and about the same from Gialova. There’s no regular bus — a taxi from either village is the usual way in. If you’re staying in Pylos or Costa Navarino, tell us at booking and we’ll help arrange the transfer.

Sit-in Prijon kayaks with rudder and spray-deck, single or double. The spray-deck keeps you dry on the crossing and makes the boat easier to handle if the wind picks up on the return leg.

Most of our paddlers haven’t. The sit-on-top kayaks we use are wide and very stable — if you can swim and hold a paddle, you can do this trip. Before we leave the harbour, your guide spends fifteen minutes on technique and the safety brief. By the first headland you’ll have the basics.

Swimwear under quick-dry shorts and a t-shirt is the basic kit. Add a hat, sunglasses with a retainer strap, and reef-safe sunscreen. Skip running shoes and socks — they get soggy and cold. Sea shoes, sport sandals, or flip-flops are right. In April and October, bring a thin fleece or synthetic base layer; the water is colder than it looks. We provide dry bags for phones and wallets.

Yes — it’s one of the trips we run most often with families. The kayaks are stable enough for a parent and child to paddle as a tandem, and the route is sheltered and easy to break up with swim stops. Children eight and over can paddle their own single kayak; younger kids ride in the front of a tandem. We offer family rates on request.

Five years old, paddling tandem with a parent. Children eight and over can take their own single kayak. We pace family trips to suit the youngest paddler, with frequent swim and snack stops.

Local paddlers certified by British Canoeing as Sea Kayak Leaders, all carrying current first-aid certificates. They grew up on this coast — they read the wind and the swell before they read the forecast, and they know which cove the seals use in May.

Yes. Halfway through the paddle we land at a quiet beach for a picnic — freshly baked bread, organic vegetables and fruit from local gardens, our own olive oil, and Messinian cheese. It is a proper stop, not a snack on the kayak.

We watch the forecast for two days before each trip. If the wind or swell makes the coast unsafe, we either move the paddle to a different day in your stay, or refund in full — your choice. Light rain on flat water is not a problem; we still go.