"Yialova in Western Peloponnese" a Yialova Travel Page by nickandchris

Our Greek holiday 2007 has been and gone. A fortnight in the small seaside village of Gialova in the south western Peloponnese hardly seemed like a week, let alone 14 days.

We holidayed with Simply Greece, staying in Hetty's Houses and flying with Mytravel. We didn't get off to a good start at Manchester Airport, having to queue solidly for well over two hours for check in and security. It was simply appalling. Well, we thought, it will only be the same at the other end, Kalamata, where a long wait for baggage reclaim is usually the norm. What a pleasant suprise, we had our luggage and hire-car within half an hour and we were on the road. Fantastic! Our holiday had really begun.

Our hire car upgrade was an Opel Corsa, a great little 4 door car. Gialova is approximately an hour's drive from Kalamata airport but we found we could do it in 50 mins taking the short cut via Pila, a pretty country route which cut out some of the final bends on the main Pilos road.

We finally found our accommodation, Hetty's Houses, after collecting a few vital supplies - beer and ice-cream! Wow, these houses were superb!! Ideally located not far from the village with colourful gardens and such luxurious interiors! We had never stayed in anything as upmarket before.

After a quick unpack, we were off out to suss out the village and have a quick dip. The temperature was about 26c so the sea was reasonaly warm. Amazing, we were stuck in a queue in Manchester airport this morning cursing and here we were, a few hours later swimming in Navarino Bay. Marvellous.

Gialova is about 6kms. north of the larger town of Pilos, on Navarino Bay in the south western Peloponnese. It has a main street (which is one way but watch the Greeks!) leading down to the jetty. This street has a bar, three restaurants including a swish Italian, a mini-market and some gift shops. To the left of the jetty the road runs along the seafront, where there are a few more tavernas and a bar. From the jetty there are great views out over the bay to Pilos.Turn right at the jetty and the road finishes just past a couple of tavernas and Hotel Zoe.

Gialova is a strange mixture of abandoned factories and modern villas. It used to produce large quantities of wine which was shipped out by sea but now, tourism is swiftly taking over, with new buildings appearing alarmingly quickly. Many of the holiday accommodatin is built on the surrounding hillsides, offering wonderful views over the bay.There are also two campsites.

If you are looking for a small, non-too commercialised holiday village by the sea, you won't do much better than here. English is spoken everywhere and restaurants are of a good quality. The beach is a mixture of sand, shingle and pebble with shade under the tamarisk trees.

There is no bank, ATM or Post Office in Gialova but travellers cheques can be changed at the mini market in the village. Stamps can also be purchased here and you can even pay for whatever you buy with a credit card.

There is no baker but the mini markets sell fresh bread, pies and pastries daily.

I must mention that development is taking place at a rapid rate, with two huge golf complexes being built. One is a few miles north, well on it's way already, with the second being just outside Gialova, enroute to Pilos. I have no idea what impact these places will have on the local villages, nor the holiday makers. Some are for and some against. Feeling is none of the people using these complexes will need to venture beyond their gates as everything will be laid on for them. One plus is it is bringing back work for the locals, both in the construction and the running of. That can only be a huge bonus, saving people leaving for the cities.