Coast along the blue

How to plan a gently paced coastal road trip along the Ionian Sea, from Kalamata in the southern Peloponnese to Parga in Epirus.

- Words: Kerry Walker

Day one

Start in Kalamata in the southern Peloponnese, where Greece dips its toes into the gulf linking the Ionian and Aegean Seas.

Clamber up to the 13th-century kastro (castle) for a view over the city, then take a coast-skimming drive west past mellow towns and one enticing beach after the next, including crescent-shaped Agia Triada and gold-sand Zaga. Stop at the whitewashed town of Koroni and climb up to its clifftop Venetian castle, before heading to the medieval sea fortress at Methoni. The road then detours inland to the Mycenaean palace of Nestor in Pylos, described in Homer's Odyssey. End your first day with sunset drinks in the hilltop old town of Kyparissia.

Day two