An active week in the Peloponnese

We meet you at Athens Airport at your arrival time. The private vehicle then takes the road south-west to Kardamyli, about 3 hours with a break on the way.

The first swim of the week is in the Messinian Gulf below the village, with Taygetos standing behind the shore. Dinner is the welcome table in Kardamyli, hosted by our team, where we go through the week ahead. Keep your swim kit in your hand luggage: the welcome dinner is booked for the evening, so the swim comes first.

Sea kayaking comes first. We launch from Kardamyli and follow the Outer Mani shore with a certified guide. No experience is needed, and there is a gentler line if you want one. Lunch is a picnic on a beach along the way. The afternoon is spent among the pyrgospita, the stone tower-houses of old Kardamyli, built in the 18th century when the Mani’s families defended themselves rather than their fields. The evening is free. Bring a hat and suncream; all the paddling equipment is ours.

Taygetos reaches 2,407 m at Profitis Ilias, and the Ridomo gorge cuts into its western side above Kardamyli. A certified guide leads the hike. The grade is moderate, and there is a gentler line for anyone who wants a shorter day. Lunch is a picnic inside the canyon, eaten among the walls of the gorge. Back in Kardamyli, the evening is free. Dinner tonight is your choice: tell us by the afternoon and we book the table.

The road leaves Kardamyli for the north-west, and Ancient Messene is the morning’s stop on the way to the Pylos side. A licensed guide walks the site with you. Messene was founded in 369 BC, and its theatre and stadium are still laid out in stone. In the afternoon the e-bikes take over, on lanes through groves of koroneiki, the small olive behind most Messinian oil. Dinner is hosted at a harbour table in Pylos. Wear closed shoes, because the ground at the site is uneven and the bikes come straight after.

Kayaks go in on Navarino Bay, where the British, French and Russian fleets sank the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet in 1827. The paddle runs beneath Paleokastro, the 13th-century Frankish castle on the headland, led by a certified guide at a moderate pace. Lunch is included and the afternoon is free. Late in the day we go to Voidokilia, the half-moon of sand below the castle hill, for golden hour. The evening after that is yours. Pack swim kit and a layer for when the sun drops.

Our certified guides run the canyoning at the Neda waterfalls on a route chosen for first-timers. No experience is needed and all equipment is included. If the water looks like more than you want, ask for the gentler line. The drive goes there and back from the Pylos side, and lunch is included. Tonight is the farewell dinner, hosted by our team. Leave your phone and anything that must stay dry in the vehicle.

Breakfast is the only fixed point of the morning on the Pylos side, and there is no activity today. After it, the private vehicle takes the road east across the Peloponnese. We have you in Athens by early afternoon, the second road day of the week and the last part of the plan. Bags are packed for the second and final time. Book a flight that leaves later in the day so the road does not have to be rushed.