Agia Pelagia Trip Overview
Our tour of Kythira begins at the monastery of Our Lady Myrtidiotissa. The monastery is located to the west of Kythira, at the end of a wonderful journey that has a rich alternation between wild cliffs and green vegetation. Our tour will take in the grand monastery with it’s imposing steeple built of porous stone, which stands 25 metres high. Inside the monastery, you will see the 10 marble columns that support the roof of the church, which were found intact 200m away from the church during the period that it was being built, the Tourkalas (Turkish woman’s) wax candles, whose child was saved by the Virgin Mary, and most importantly the miraculous gold icon of Panagia Myrtidiotissa (the Virgin Mary). We will also have a chance to visit the small museum at the Monastery before returning to the coach.
Our trip will include villages Kalokerines and Drymonas, Chora, or Kythira, Kapsali, the port of Chora.
Additional Info
Duration: 5 hours
Starts: Agia Pelagia, Greece
Trip Category: Tours & Sightseeing >> Bus & Minivan Tours
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What to Expect When Visiting Agia Pelagia, Attica, Greece
Our tour of Kythira begins at the monastery of Our Lady Myrtidiotissa. The monastery is located to the west of Kythira, at the end of a wonderful journey that has a rich alternation between wild cliffs and green vegetation. Our tour will take in the grand monastery with it’s imposing steeple built of porous stone, which stands 25 metres high. Inside the monastery, you will see the 10 marble columns that support the roof of the church, which were found intact 200m away from the church during the period that it was being built, the Tourkalas (Turkish woman’s) wax candles, whose child was saved by the Virgin Mary, and most importantly the miraculous gold icon of Panagia Myrtidiotissa (the Virgin Mary). We will also have a chance to visit the small museum at the Monastery before returning to the coach.
Our trip will include villages Kalokerines and Drymonas, Chora, or Kythira, Kapsali, the port of Chora.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Mirtidia Monastery, Moni Mirtidion 801 00, Greece
Our tour of Kythira begins at the monastery of Our Lady Myrtidiotissa. The monastery is located to the west of Kythira, at the end of a wonderful journey that has a rich alternation between wild cliffs and green vegetation. Our tour will take in the grand monastery with it’s imposing steeple built of porous stone, which stands 25 metres high. Inside the monastery, you will see the 10 marble columns that support the roof of the church, which were found intact 200m away from the church during the period that it was being built, the Tourkalas (Turkish woman’s) wax candles, whose child was saved by the Virgin Mary, and most importantly the miraculous gold icon of Panagia Myrtidiotissa (the Virgin Mary). We will also have a chance to visit the small museum at the Monastery before returning to the coach.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Kythira, Kythira, Attica
From there we will head south and, after passing the villages Kalokerines and Drymonas, we will arrive at the town of “Livadi” where we will stop to sample some local delicacies. We suggest that you try the famous “ladopaximada” (Kythira-style oil rusks) from the famous bakery in the village and pick up some “Sempreviva”, the immortal yellow flower that only grows on Kythira. Also make sure you sample some “Fatourada”, the local liqueur that is made from tsipouro, cinnamon and clove, as well as the coarse salt that is collected directly from Kythira’s natural salt marshes. From here, we will continue our trip and make a quick photo-stop at the 13-arched stone bridge in Katouni. It is the largest stone bridge currently in operation in the Balkans and was built in 1823 by British Commissioner MacFell for the young local lady he had fallen in love with!
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Kythira Town, Kythira Town, Kythira, Attica
Our next stop on the tour will be the island’s capital known as Chora, or Kythira. Chora will definitely impress you as you stroll through its picturesque main strip with cafés, shops, houses and the church of “Stavromenou” (Church of the Crucified). Continuing on, we will arrive at the impressive 16th century Venetian Castle “Castro”, from where the view is simply breathtaking! We recommend you visit the castle museum and see the coats of arms (entrance €2/person). Here you will have some free time, where you can browse Chora’s eclectic mix of shops, or even sit down to enjoy a coffee and some local sweets. Also worth seeing is the “New Archeological Museum of Kythira”, which is recently opened after the old museum was damaged in the 2006 earthquake. Next, we will board the coach and continue down the steep, winding road to Kapsali, the port of Chora. Kapsali was the old port of Kythira, where ships moored when a northerly wind prevailed, however it is now only used as a port for tourist ships or yachts. It has a permanent population of 55 residents, but in the summer it buzzes with life as people swarm to the village for its magnificent beach and it’s busy promenade of cafés, bars and restaurants!
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Kapsali, Kapsali, Kythira, Attica
At Kapsali we will have plenty of free time, which we suggest you make the most of by having a swim, or relaxing in one of the cafés overlooking the beach and the castle of Chora. You can also hire a pedal boat and go to ‘Sparagariou’, the nearby isolated beach, or take a 2-hour mini tour (tickets not included) to Chytra on the glass-bottom tourist boat.
The above itinerary is indicative and may be subject to change without notice if deemed necessary, to improve our service, and to ensure customer satisfaction.
Duration: 1 hour
