In July my husband and I spent a few relaxing days on a secluded beach with stunning views to the town of Gythio and the sea of the Laconian gulf.
We had been looking to rent a seafront bungalow far away from the crowds to detox and revitalize when a friend suggested we check out the Niriides Bungalow Complex that consists of 11 individual white-clean bungalows for 2 – 5 persons a few steps away from the Selinitsa beach in Laconia, also known for being dotted with Caretta- Caretta turtle nests, and the area’s clean and invigorating ocean!
We were lucky to get a charming sea-front fully equipped bungalow with a private veranda that allowed us to enjoy the unique surroundings while savoring the view and some simple tasty meals.
Our days started with early morning swims and long walks on the seemingly endless beach . . . followed by delicious breakfasts that started with the early arrival of breakfast baskets filled with fresh bread, cheese-pies, homemade preserves, orange marmalade and other local goodies!
The price of the bungalow included everything you needed to make a really nice breakfast. In the kitchen area I found plenty of fresh oranges and apricots, various types of coffee and teas, crackers, sweets and in the refrigerator eggs, butter, milk, juice and bottled water that was replenished daily upon request.
For other meals on the bungalow’s veranda we resorted to the delivery of unpretentious Greek dishes from a local tavern called “O Nikos” which actually turned out to be the best foodie experience of the trip.
Unfortunately, and contrary to what I had expected, we didn’t find any innovative heavy hitters of the Greek cuisine in the area. Instead, lots of mediocre taverns with no clear sense of purpose and a talent for botching up the cooking of the impeccably fresh fish and other fine ingredients available in the area!
Nikos brought us outstanding simply prepared Greek food and I got hooked on his steamed Horta and baby zucchini, fresh from his garden and steamed to perfection. We also enjoyed outstanding small crispy fried fish and the grilled spicy sausages, flavored with cumin and orange zest and lots of herbs were also truly outstanding!
The food in Gythio may not have thrilled us but some of the sweets did! We found a great shop selling a variety of scrumptious spoon sweets, fruit preserves and superb quality honey.
We also really loved the gorgeous Diples (fried & honey drenched pastry) that Jenny, the ever vigilant, pleasant and very helpful Niriides manager had included in our welcoming basket upon our arrival.
And, if that wasn’t enough, more tempting goodies & sweets kept turning up in our early morning breakfast baskets . . . to ensure a great start to our days!
Apart from being a great place to relax, the location of the Niriides Bungalow Complex is also a great base for those of you that may want to make some lovely excursions to Mani, Mistras and Monemvasia . . . to mention a few!
With or without excursions, if you are looking for a stress free environment for a "real" Greek seaside experience you might want to keep this place in mind!
We really enjoyed it!
Address:
Selinitsa, 23200 Gythion
Tel: +30 2733024497
Mob: +30 6944836770
e-mail: info@niriidesvillas.gr