North Kynouria holiday lettings

we stayed in an apartment within a gated four-apartment complex, sitting right on the edge of a cliff overlooking an amazing private beach. The place was extremely well equipped, sparkling clean, spacious and comfortable, with a large table and parasol right outside, allowing us to have meals while watching the sea. The owners were wonderful, super friendly with the kids and ready to help with anything. There are three very different beaches minutes away by foot - two secluded ones and one ‘proper’ beach with a restaurant and beach beds. This was the last stay of our holiday and it made for a prefect ending to it. Highly recommended!

We spent a wonderful time in this lovely apartment, with its big balcony with a view of the sea. The owners were very friendly and helpful, especially on our first evening when we couldn't start our hire car! It is a studio apartment (kitchen, sitting area and bedroom all in one room, with a separate toilet/shower room); this wasn't completely clear from the description. Mind you, if it had been stated we might have been put off, and that would have been a shame. The apartment is very well-equipped; linens, towels and even beach towels are provided. The property is quite a long walk, but an easy drive, from the centre of Paralio Astros which offers many restaurants, an excellent bakery (Frantzoli), a lovely beach, a ruined medieval castle and a picturesque harbour. The town is on the absolutely beautiful North Kynouria coast, and a few minutes inland are switchback roads leading into the spectacular mountains. We went outside high season (in October), which has the advantage that the place isn't crowded, but also the drawback that some things are unavailable. We would have liked to do a boat trip to the islands of Spetses and Hydra, but we would have had to go to Tolo to catch the boat as it doesn't call at Paralio Astros out of season. Places worth visiting: the ancient cities of Corinth and Sparta, the Corinth Canal, the monasteries of Elonas and Malevi, and the drive along the coast to Leonidio. There is a really good market (agora in Greek) in Argos, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Another must is to swim in the sea, which is clean and clear. The beaches are pebbly rather than sandy, but on the beach at Paralio Astros the pebbles are quite small so it is not too bad to walk on. One thing we didn't quite realise is that even places that look quite close by on the map take a long time to drive to, because the terrain is mountainous and the roads winding. We would have liked to go to ancient Olympia but it would have been a four or five-hour round trip. All the people we met were really friendly and welcoming. The food is plentiful and delicious, and the local wines are ridiculously cheap and really tasty.

Spacious, well-appointed stone villa (3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms) with unusually large (approx 12x5m) and deep (approx. 2.5m) fresh-water swimming pool, at the heart of a small living Greek village, achingly beautiful, and just 2.5km (1.5miles) away from superb beaches. A slice of paradise. Unlike any other rented villa I ever stayed at, we had a change of linen and towels halfway through, which was very welcome. The proximity of 2 supermarkets and of a spate of local food shops providing exceptionally good (and surprisingly cheap) organic local produce (the tomatoes, the peppers, the bread and the cheeses were the best I have had in a long time) adds to the magic of the place. In Paralio Astros, the nearby beach resort, there are plenty of excellent restaurants and tavernas on the beach, serving a delicious fare of Greek foods, again remarkably good value (4 people eat 2 courses each for <50 Euros). The sea food was unbelievably good. We travelled extensively in the region, as distances to various points of interest are easily manageable as day trips: Nafplio, Tolo, Mycene, Corinth. This is a very good choice if you are not fastidious, go on holiday to relax rather than party, value your privacy and quiet and if you enjoy being away from tourist crowds, sampling what life is like for people who actually live where you go to forget about it all. We are a family of 4 with 2 teenage daughters, and we had an unforgettable time there. Exceptionally helpful and reliable, pleasant owner, who made us feel really welcome and was only a text message away. The Homeaway website though let us down. Although the search process was straightforward and very well supported, once I selected the dates and the property it kept throwing error messages (several times I got automated emails informing me that the booking had been cancelled, although I had not done that). I phoned the owner and she tried to overcome the malfunction but failed. 48h after paying for the rental I was still getting cancellation messages. I spoke to the helpline, and that was an irritating waste of time. The person at the other end of the line had no clue about the process involved, told me he has nothing to do with he booking and advised me to phone a different number. It sounded unfamiliar and asked specifically he added as an afterthought that it was an US number, and gave me the area code. Complete waste of time. Once they sold you the product they are a hindrance, not a help.