Gythio is a small port town built like an amphitheatre on the edge of the Laconian Gulf, the gateway to the Mani peninsula in the southern Peloponnese. More about Gythion →
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Thousands of people in port, guests plus crew. Crowd level compared with a typical Gythion day.
The crowd calendar shows every ship and how busy the port is, hour by hour, plus the quietest and busiest days for the next 90 days.
Cruise ships anchor in the Laconian Gulf and bring passengers by tender to the harbour on the Gythio waterfront, in the centre of town. Marathonisi islet is about 1.1 km (15 minutes) on foot along the seafront and the ancient theatre about 1.3 km (19 minutes). Mystras is about 53 km away by road.
52.7 km · 55–65 min by car
Byzantine castle town on a hill above the Sparta plain.
Typical prices, approximate. Fares change with demand, traffic and time of day.
Typical prices, approximate. Fares change with demand, traffic and time of day.
Gythion is a port of call where ships anchor in the Laconian Gulf and bring passengers ashore by tender to the town waterfront. Marathonisi islet and the ancient theatre are within walking distance; Mystras, Sparta, the Diros Caves and Monemvasia need a taxi, a tour or the intercity bus. No shuttle is published.
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The harbour of Gythio on the Laconian Gulf, where cruise passengers come ashore by tender on the town waterfront. The cafes and tavernas of the seafront are next to the landing, and the causeway to Marathonisi islet starts about 1 km to the south.
Meal prices are approximate per-person ranges at waterfront tavernas and restaurants in town.
Seafront promenade towards Marathonisi lined with fish tavernas.
Harbour-front street in the centre of town with cafes and bars.
Grigoraki and Mavromichali streets with mezedopoleia and small tavernas.
Gythio is a small port town built like an amphitheatre on the edge of the Laconian Gulf, the gateway to the Mani peninsula in the southern Peloponnese. In antiquity it was the seaport of Sparta, and legend says Paris and Helen left from here for Troy. Colourful neoclassical houses climb the hill above a harbour full of fishing boats, and a causeway leads to Marathonisi islet with its stone lighthouse and tower. Cruise ships anchor in the gulf and bring passengers ashore by tender to the waterfront. In a day ashore, visitors can walk to the islet and the ancient theatre, or travel to Byzantine Mystras, Sparta, the Diros Caves or Monemvasia.
According to legend, Paris and Helen spent their first night here before sailing for Troy. Linked to the town by a causeway, the islet holds the stone Tzanetakis Tower, home to the Historical and Ethnological Museum of Mani, whose collection covers manuscripts, books and old maps of the routes of foreign travellers in Mani. At its far end stands a 22 m white marble lighthouse.
At the end of Archaiou Theatrou Street, on the edge of town, the ancient theatre was excavated by the archaeologist Andreas Skias. Its first six rows of marble seats, parts of the seventh and eighth rows and part of the orchestra survive. In summer it hosts the Marathoniseia town festival, with about a month of theatre, music and dance.
About 7 km north-west of Sparta, Mystras was the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of Morea for two centuries and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Paths lead from the lower town past the churches of Agios Dimitrios and Pantanassa, with their frescoes, and the Peribleptos monastery up to the Palace of the Despots and the castle at the top. Tickets EUR 20, reduced EUR 10.
On the west coast of Mani, the Vlychada Cave, known as the Diros Caves, is one of the most important cave systems in Europe. Most of the visit is by boat through a forest of stalactites and stalagmites, ending with a short walk on land. Tickets for the boat and land route EUR 12, reduced EUR 10.
Housed in a 19th-century building by the Danish architect Theophilus Hansen in the centre of Sparta, the museum shows finds from Laconia from the Neolithic age to late Roman times, with pride of place given to the finds from the great Spartan sanctuaries. Tickets EUR 10, reduced EUR 5.
A Byzantine castle town built on a huge rock rising from the sea, Monemvasia is linked to the mainland only by a narrow causeway, which gave it its name. The lived-in Lower Town has stone-paved lanes, tiled stone houses, arches and coats of arms, with shops and restaurants. The uninhabited Upper Town on top of the rock holds ruined mansions, Ottoman baths, Byzantine churches and old walls with wide sea views.