My summer holidays in Pelion.
It was my first time I was visiting Pelion and I couldn’t wait to arrive in this small paradise. Pelion is a famous destination all year round. And if you have seen the film, Mamma Mia, they have shot some of the scenes here.
Pelion is one of the most beautiful mountains in Greece (a green wonderland). It is located in central Greece to the east side of Volos city. The Pelion peninsula, is matching perfectly the sea and the mountain in a unique scenery.
The trip to Pelion was by car (around 4 and a half hours) from Athens. It was difficult for me as I didn’t take any anti-nausea pills. Once we arrived on the mount Pelion, the road had many curves (for about an hour). So the first thing I did when we arrived, was to visit a pharmacy and buy some anti-nausea pills. I was taking them every day for our destinations by car.
We stayed at Sofokles Hotel which was located on Agios Ioannis beach. All the taverns and the restaurants were on the same road. About an hour after our arrival, we decided to visit the first beach. It was literally 10 minutes’ walk from our hotel.
Plaka beach was heavenly beautiful! I fell in love with the exotic colours of the waters. The fine pebble and the dense vegetation of the mountain that reaches the sea was creating an idyllic landscape! I was very lucky that this little paradise was so close to our hotel.
We dined at Galeos, a nice fishing tavern at Agios Ioannis. We then we went for a drink in the beautiful Paralos bar.
The next day, we visited Mylopotamos beach. We had to drive through a small part of the mountain to reach this beach (about 30 minutes by car). Mylopotamos beach is amongst the most famous beaches in the area! The only negative was that we visited the beach during peak season. In the afternoon, we visited the beautiful village of Tsagarada. We had a coffee in the main square of Agia Paraskevi. I also climbed up to one of the oldest Platanus trees in Greece and maybe in Europe. According to foresters, it is 1000 years old and the perimeter of its trunk is 15 meters. We wanted to take our lunch to the beautiful restaurant “The Lost Unicorn” but unfortunately, we could only dine there. So, we asked the locals where we could have a nice lunch. They suggested the Agnanti tavern that also offers a great mountain view. Among the dishes we ordered one of Pelion’s specialties “Spetsofai”. It’s a dish made of stewed pork sausages and peppers) I don’t eat red meat but my partner said it was really good.
After our lunch, we made a small stop at Damouchari port. If you have seen Mamma Mia the movie, some scenes of the film have been shot there!
During the night, we ate crepes at Boiler Crepe in Agios Ioannis. Then we had a drink at the terrace of the wonderful Bar 13.
Next day, we drove to the breathtaking scenery of Agioi Saranta beach. This beach is also famous with crystal clear waters and with dense vegetation that comes from the rock called Kalogeros on the south end of the beach.
On our last day in the morning, I visited Papa Nero beach. This beach was within a walking distance from Agios Ioannis. I don’t know if it was because I was there at 08:00 in the morning and this made it so dreamy, but I just wanted to stay there all day!
On our way back, we had a small stop in the Portaria village in the mountain of Pelion.
On the cons, I would say that during peak season (August) you cannot easily find a parking spot. One day we had to park about 40 minutes’ walk from Agios Ioannis beach.
My thoughts about my summer holidays in Pelion? I loved this place!
All the beaches we visited, were so beautiful (even though my personal favourite was Plaka beach). I liked the unique maintained traditional architecture and the narrow streets in the beautiful mountain villages while all the locals were really helpful and friendly.
Until next time ♥
