This luxury spot proves that travelers who head straight to Greece’s islands are missing out

(CNN) — Tell someone you’re going to Greece, and you’ll probably be asked “which Island are you visiting?” It’s an understandable knee-jerk response since many travelers spend little or no time on the mainland. But tourists with eyes only for the Aegean islands are missing out.

Specifically, on Costa Navarino, a far-reaching luxury development with four resorts (including the first Mandarin Oriental in Greece), golf courses, shopping, dining and spas, all located in the Messinia region about a three-hour drive from Athens.

Once known chiefly for its rustic landscape, Kalamata olives, ancient temples and a historic naval battle, this area of the southwest Peloponnese peninsula, anchored by Costa Navarino, is now on its way to becoming a global tourist destination that boasts deep history, unspoiled villages and miles of pristine beaches in addition to its growing luxury offerings.

Multi-resort and residence development Costa Navarino includes The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort, a W and a Westin — spread out over the 1,000 hectare complex.  There’s even a town square called Navarino Agora: a vibrant waterfront shopping, dining and culture center that hosts everything from wine tastings to concerts that are open and free to the public.

Costa Navarino is making its way onto the jet-set itinerary in the same league as St. Tropez, Capri and Ibiza, but without the crowds.

An ambitious vision

It’s all part of the vision of one man, Captain Vassilis Constantakopoulos.

Constantakopoulos, founder of the largest independent private cargo shipping company in the world, grew up in the village of Diavolitsi in Messinia and eventually dedicated his life to reviving his birthplace. His goal was to turn Costa Navarino into a premier luxury travel spot with an eye toward sustainability.

The vision for the area, which includes an emphasis on creating opportunities for locals to remain in the region, was born in the mid-1980s. In 1997, having already acquired most of the land for the Costa Navarino project, Constantakopoulos founded development company TEMES and implementation of the project followed. Constantakopoulos passed away in 2011.

“He wanted to bring people back to Messinia,” said Giota Spiliotopoulou, communications manager of Athens-based TEMES. Costa Navarino is TEMES Group’s flagship project, and the company has so far invested more than 1.25 billion euros (about $1.4 billion) in the development.

Constantakopoulos’ vision has been turned into a place that caters to everyone from families to golfers, offering accommodations ranging from the adult-focused W hotel to the Mandarin, which opened in August 2023.

The destination is competing with other glamorous spots in the Mediterranean, but unlike many of those well-established hot spots, Costa Navarino was constructed with a sustainable ethos and approach.

“Captain Vassilis was a keen environmentalist. We moved 7,000 olive trees, 9,000 other kinds of trees and one million endemic plants during construction and then we put them back. Only 10 or 15 olive trees didn’t make it,” Spiliotopoulou explained.

There is no single-use plastic anywhere in the complex, and three reservoirs were constructed to use and recycle water in a more environmentally sound way. Costa Navarino has a partnership with the University of Stockholm on an on-site environmental observatory that measures the impact of climate change.

It seems that if you build it responsibly, they will come. Spiliotopoulou cites an increasing number of visitors from the UK, Germany and France who are discovering the southwest Peloponnese and selecting it over more well-trodden destinations such as Mallorca in Spain or the Algarve in Portugal.

And Costa Navarino has not joined other Southern Mediterranean destinations in reaching Capri-level prices.  Some of the hotels have rates that are still in the three-figures.

For instance, rooms at The Romanos start at 345 euros (about $385) for 2024 with August high-season rates starting at 700 euros (about $770). At the ultra-private Mandarin Oriental, located on the tranquil Navarino Bay, low-season rates start at 1,000 euros (about $1,115) for suites.

The culinary options are seemingly endless with more than 40 restaurants, cafes and bars to choose from.

There’s Greek fine dining at the Mandarin Oriental’s Oliviera, which takes its olive oil — Messinia has some of the best in the world — as seriously as its wine, offering a world-class tasting of local varieties. Much of the food for all the resort’s restaurants is sourced from a nearby farm that turns up on plates in the form of bright orange eggs with tomatoes (a dish called kayana), along with Greek pies made with flour from the property’s own stone mill.

At The Romanos, there’s the canopied beachfront Barbouni, a laid-back yet elegant lunch spot called “the most beautiful restaurant in Greece” by Instagram influencer voyage_provacateur.

Navarino Bay, the stretch of coast on which the Mandarin and W Hotel are located, is an ideal boating spot for nature enthusiasts and history buffs. Drop anchor at Chrisi Ammos Beach on the quiet far side of Gialova for a shallow dip in azure waters or lounging on the tranquil natural beach. Scattered like buried treasure across three rugged, uninhabited islands, the bay hosts four serene war monuments – one each to the British, French, Russian and Italian navies – honoring the forces that assisted Greece in its 1820s bid for independence by ambushing the unsuspecting Ottoman forces in Navarino Bay.

If there is a scene developing in the off-property environs, you’d have to squint to see it. What you will find, about a five-minute drive from Costa Navarino, is the village of Gialova. While Gialova is quiet and quaint, the waterfront restaurant Kochili is a buzzy eatery known for fresh fish that you can select yourself.  But in keeping with the vibe of the area, it’s so casual that shoes are practically optional.

Steeped in history

Costa Navarino is set against the larger panorama of the southwest Peloponnese, which is steeped in 4,500 years of history. The area is filled with villages like Pylos that feel frozen in time, unspoiled beaches, uninhabited islands and a bucolic landscape dotted with groves of olive trees.

A few minutes from Costa Navarino is the must-visit Voidokilia Beach, which is shaped like a horseshoe (or omega).  The spot is one of the most iconic and pristine beaches in Greece and is considered a top place for snorkeling. Above the dunes of Voidokilia is a tomb that is said to belong to Thrasymedes, son of mythical King Nestor (of Homer’s Odyssey fame.) The ruins of the ancient Temple of Nestor, a short trip by car into the hills, is one of the region’s best-known historical landmarks.

The region’s capital Kalamata, which gives its name to the eponymous olive, hosts an international dance festival and has a well-connected airport. Practically dormant two decades ago, Kalamata International Airport now has a growing number of flights to and from major European hubs.

There is much to explore, whether by bicycle (for rent at Navarino Agora), rental car, taxi, boat or on foot. Presiding atop a cliff overlooking the namesake town and Navarino Bay is Pylos Castle, a fortress with many eras of history that makes the perfect sunset panorama.

The town of Pylos, which is visible from the hotels set along Navarino Bay, is steeped in Old World charm but also is home to the contemporary Aerides jewelry store, an artisan workshop where Katerina Karampela and Constantinos Diamandis sell their handmade pieces, along with many other charming small-town shops and restaurants lining the bayfront central square.

The region hosts numerous waterfalls nestled like hidden gems in the forested hills beyond the coastal settlements. Kalamaris Waterfall, about three miles’ journey by bike or car from Gialova along a dusty, hilly back-country road followed by a brief but brambly trail hike, offers a refreshing swim as reward for reaching it.

Many pristine stretches of coastline, where the beach chairs are free (for now) or nonexistent, can be accessed by any form of locomotion from any of the Costa Navarino properties. Longer boat trips can take you farther out into the Ionian Sea.

And for those visitors still hankering for a Greek island, a 20-minute drive from Costa Navarino puts you in Methoni, where you can hire a private boat for around 50 euros for the seven-minute ride to Sapienza.

There you’ll find uninhabited enclaves with crystalline waters where you might see dolphins and flamingos migrating from North Africa in September. What you won’t find: beach clubs like those in Mykonos renting chairs for 200 euros a day.

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