On 7 September, the day after our Mount Taygetos hike, our Peloponnese road trip moved on from the mountains to Kalamata. It was meant to be a quiet day. It started with a flat tyre.
A flat tyre – and fast roadside assistance
When we got back to the car, it had lost tyre pressure – we had a flat.
We had rented the car through Enterprise, so we called Enterprise Road Assistance. It worked really well. About 20 minutes later a tow truck arrived and picked up the car, and we rode with the driver down to Sparta, where the car was taken to a mechanic.
We didn't pay anything for the roadside assistance or for transporting the car. At the mechanic, though, we ended up paying around €40 to repair two tyres. A little annoying – but the assistance itself was fast and efficient.
Tip: save your rental company's roadside number
Before you set off on mountain roads, save the roadside assistance number from your rental agreement in your phone. In our case, help arrived within about 20 minutes.
The mountain road from Sparta to Kalamata
From Sparta we took the mountain road to Kalamata – National Road 82, which crosses the Taygetos range through the Langada Pass. It's a beautiful drive, with winding roads, overhanging cliffs and great views over the landscape.
The crossing took us around an hour or a little more. Route planners put the trip at roughly 55–60 km and about 1 hour 20–30 minutes; the faster alternative is the motorway, which loops around the mountains.
Where we stayed: Eleon Apartments
On the way into Kalamata we stopped at a supermarket (a Lidl) to stock up, then drove out to Eleon Apartments, which we had booked through Booking.com.
The apartment lies a little north of Kalamata itself, and it turned out to be a really good choice: spacious, well furnished and with a genuinely good kitchen – perfect for us, because we like cooking our own food. We spent some time relaxing, eating and recovering from the long day in the mountains before heading into the city later.
Kalamata Castle
Later we drove into Kalamata and found a public car park close to Kalamata Castle, then walked up.
The castle stands on a low hill at the northern edge of the old town. It was built by the Frankish knight Geoffroy de Villehardouin in the early 13th century on an older Byzantine site, and later passed through Venetian and Ottoman hands.
We spent about 45 minutes there. The castle isn't huge, but there are some interesting remains of the fortress – and above all, a great view over the city and the surrounding area. It's not something we'd drive a long way for on its own, but if you're in Kalamata anyway, we think it's well worth the time.
We remember paying a small entrance fee of around €5, but sources disagree – some list the castle as free. Check the current situation locally.
The harbour promenade – and two superyachts
After the castle we drove down to the harbour, parked right by the water and walked along the promenade.
When we were there, two enormous superyachts were moored in the marina – quite a sight. One of them carried the name Blue on its hull: a 160-metre yacht delivered by the German shipyard Lürssen in 2022.
Our verdict on Kalamata
The promenade was pleasant, but Kalamata was bigger and livelier than we'd expected – more city life and tourism than we usually look for when we travel. So we were actually happy we only had one night here.
Kalamata isn't a place we felt we needed more days in. But if you're on a road trip through the area, it's worth a short stop for the castle and a walk along the harbour – and above all, it worked really well as a practical base between Taygetos and Polylimnio.
Continue the journey
The next morning we drove half an hour west for the Polylimnio Waterfalls hike before continuing to Pylos.