Our first family trip for Summer 2019 found us at one of our favorite locations in Greece: mount Pelion. We stayed at a 2-story family villa with a garden, baby pool, great sea views and the best of Pelion Homes hospitality. If only we could spend 24 hours at every single Pelion Homes villa, they are astonishing – but the one we stayed at is also baby-proofed!
Pelion Homes
Pelion Homes is a group of luxury private villas, all with their own front yard, swimming pool, parking space and endless views to Pagasitikos Bay. They are located right next to Ai Giorgis village (Saint George), just 20 minutes drive from the famous Milies village.
Just follow the signs from the main road to Milies, to find yourselves at the rural road where all the villas are, forming a small village on their own. There’s a small gorge with running water, a bridge, wild nature all around, even a flock of sheep. Add the tranquility and you’ll easily feel you’re truly staying in your own private village with amazing view, privacy and spotless service, in a beautiful villa you can call home.
All Pelion Homes villas are built in the traditional architecture found in most villages of Pelion mountain, with rural but modern decor, comfort and state of the art equipment in the kitchen and bathrooms.
Let me be more specific…
Baby friendly Villa Dioni
We stayed at Villa Dioni, one of the most amazing Pelion Family Villas. Βaby friendly, because of its green front yard and the baby pool, which our twins really enjoyed! It’s also baby proofed, with safety doors at the staircase and safety bars on the beds. There are beach toys, armbands, as well as a trampoline and a toddler tee-pee in the garden, as well as a deuter for your hikes. We loved the beach bag complete with four beach towels, which we didn’t realized how much we’d use.
Villa Dioni Interiors
Villa Dioni is a 2-story villa with a ground floor and a first floor. The ground floor consists of a single space with a hall way (where we found the beach bag, deuter, beach toys and beach chairs) a sitting area with tv, sound system, books, board games and a fireplace, a small dining table, a fully (FULLY) equipped kitchen and a wc.
The kitchen is equipped with a big fridge, an oven, a dish washer (and everything you’ll need to wash anything), a toaster, a Nespresso machine with capsules and a boiler. You’ll also find an pan you’ll need to cook and all kinds of cutlery, glasses, cups and silverware, even plastic ones for kids.
On the top floor, the two bedrooms are found, each with its own bathroom. The master bedroom features a separate space for the washing machine! Both bathrooms feature Apivita cosmetics, which always bring a smile to my face, as they’re perfect for my hair and smell lovely.
The master bedroom has a queen bed and great views to the bay and the sunset. There’s a closet and drawers, as well as two arm chairs. There’s a hair blower in its bathroom, a large shower and lots of storage space.
The kids room has two single rooms (which we brought together and added the safety bar, hence the twins never fell and we enjoyed quiet nights), two bed side tables, a very cute bathroom with a small shower.
Did I mention the towels, bathroom slippers and cuteness?
Click on all the pics to fully emerge…
Our Garden at Villa Dioni
So the kitchen door lead to the back yard, where there’s a lovely sitting area with built-in sofas and a hammock next to the pool. There’s also a marble sink and a hallway that leads to the back of the house, where the bbq is along with a dining table and stairways that lead you to the next villa (in case you’re here with friends). Turning left from the bbq, you’ll find the storage area along with a drying rack. Turning left again, you’ll find yourself in the main entrance and the front yard. Here is the green garden with the trampoline and the tee-pee, as well as two wonderful lounge chairs on the grass – right where the best view to the bay, the sunset and the starry sky can be enjoyed. Next to them on the left, there’s the outside dining table with great sea views. The swimming pool is right behind it, it has steps and it’s shallow, perfect for toddlers!
Meal Time at Villa Dioni
With three dining tables, a fully equipped kitchen and a bbq, one can easily understand that one we’ll enjoy every meal at Villa Dioni. There were tomatoes, cucumbers, beet chutney, butter, beers and white wine waiting for us in the fridge when we arrived, as well as fresh bread and a platter with olive oil, vinegar, black and green tea and sugar. We also found flour, pasta, salt and pepper, herbs and spices in the cup boards.
Apart from that, we had a gourmet breakfast basket delivered to our door step every morning, with fresh flowers, daily bread, eggs, fruits, milk and juice in a jug and jars with cherry tomatoes, olives, honey, homemade jam and granola (made by the owner), fresh yogurt and homemade local pie! In other words, anything we’d need for the perfect breakfast for four, as well as at least one more meal during the day!
Which means that your other meal of the day must be full of:
The Taste Of Pelion
We had lunch at the trout farm (amazing, the kids liked the chickens and hens in the farm more). We also ate at the central square at Milies village, where kids can play at the playground too. We of course tried the tavern at Palioviglia (very close to Pelion Homes), which is so remote, 4G is working.
You can of course ask Stathis (the owner) or consult his very detailed orientation email sent to you some days before your trip, for ideas on where to taste the best Pelion has to offer.
Day Trips from Pelion Homes
Stathis the owner, will send you useful information on all possible day trips you can take from Pelion Homes. It’s worth to mention that he has even made a a map for his visitors with notes on things to do and places to visit while at Pelion. There’s also an app made by Stathis which is really informative and will lead you to the best pathways and the most scenic road trips around the mountain and towards the best beaches (iPhone link, Google Play link).
Mountain Villages
Pelion Homes are situated right next to Ai Giorgis (Saint George), a quaint little village with the cutest little square for lunch. Right next to it, Pinakates village is very picturesque and with great sea views. Vizitsa village is next and right after it Milies is located, where the famous old train stops. We walked the small pathway to the DeChirico bridge with our twins in back carriers there. All four villages are very pretty and traditional and ideal for short trips or lunch.
Accessible Beaches
Pagasitikos Bay:
Kalifteri | pebble beach right before Afissos village. If you opt for the restaurant, you can enjoy the organized beach as well as food and drinks. But if you walk a bit further, it can be just you.
Abovos | right after Afissos. Not the best, but easily accessible and not very crowded usually.
Lefokastro | a bit further away, the beach right on the village is mediocre. But there are 2-3 small bays between Lefokastro and Afissos villages that are too cute. Mind your way if you drive from Lefokastro to Afissos – it’s dangerous.
Bufa (ΚΑΔΗ) | sandy and organized beach. Really nice.
RIVERA | beach bar under the trees. There’s no beach, but the view is overwhelming, the service is great and you can opt to just come here for lunch, as it’s just 20 minutes away from the villas.
Beaches on the Aegean
Potistika | Possibly the best beach (after Milopotamos and Fakistra). There’s also a bar here. It’s a 1 hour 15 minutes drive from Pelion Homes.
Papa Nero | 90 minutes drive, but worth to check out if you do come all the way here.
Kalamaki | This one is not easily accessible (stairs). But it’s the one closer to Pelion Homes on the Aegean side and there are also natural pools here.
What to do
There’s the old train that starts from Ano Lehonia (a seaside village) and stops at Milies (a mountain village). You can arrange for someone to come get you from your stop, so that you won’t need to go both ways.
If you stay at Pelion Homes long, it’s worth to drive around the mountain. Start from the villa and drive all the way to Tsagarada, go through Kissos village, enjoy your coffee at its quaint square. Continue to Hania and Pelion Ski center. Go all the way to Portartia and Makrinitsa, too. The pics are from our second winter trip with our twins, when they were 15 months old:
Υοu could also drive to Potistika beach from Argalasti village. If you find yourself at this part of Pelion (South side), do visit Lafkos village, which we had visited last spring with our twins:
Wherever you go to discover Pelion, whatever you do during your stay at Villa Dioni and Pelion Homes, a great time is pretty much guaranteed. Not just because your accommodation will be exquisite. But also because of the warm Pelion hospitatily, the amazing local food and the majestic scenery.
Did I mention that Pelion is the only place in Greece where you can be on the mountain and by the beach at the same time?