Many Methoni Visitors arrive by flights to Athens or kalamata or Ferry to Patras, completing their journey by a combination of bus, rail, taxi or hired car. Some arrive by sea of course!
The Capital of Messinia is Kalamata and the Peloponnesian railway from Athens, via Korinthos and Tripolis, extends this far with a light railway runniong between Kalamata and the town of Messini.
Methoni is an hour and a half further by bus and if you arrive this way you will be set down at the Road junction.
Take either road and walk straight along to find the castle. Methoni castle is the main attraction in Methoni for tourists.
Coaches arrive daily bringing visitors, though many go on to other locations to stop over
night. Although this might mean less trade for Methoni restaurants, many residents
are pleased that Methoni remains essentially a traditional working environment, with more hardware and
grocery stores then souvenir shops; but for how much longer?
Who's who and who does what!
Useful phone numbers and other information
The main road to Foinikounda actually by-passes Methoni, so accidental visitors are less likely to arrive. The town can still get very busy though as local people shop, bank and attend to business at the post office, dentist, estate agents and other services. There is a special atmosphere here; people of many nationalities stop to chat in the street or for a break at local cafes; but most are not not sightseeing, rather on the business or personal errands of daily life.
Pylos is a larger town, about eleven kilometres away. It has an attractive town square dominated by a huge ancient plane tree, and the town is built on a steep hillside. The port is busy with a harbour deep enough to accomodate large vessels; military as well as commercial and cruise ships dock there. At Pylos, there are official buildings - tax and insurance offices, the telphone company, police station and a small hospital. The view of Navarino bay as the bus descends into Pylos on its journey from Kalamata, is stunning. Pylos is a town of steps though and can be a little difficult for walking and parking.
Beyond Pylos are beautiful bays and the Bird Sanctuary at Gialova. Coming new to this area, is a massive Golf Tourism development, with hotels and other amenities which will drastically change the local community. At first it was a shock to learn of this development, but people are gradually getting used to it and property price increases have provided a welcome windfall for some.
As new highways have made travel throughout the Peloponnese easier, there is no need to restrict your holiday to the immediate area. Although it is easier to explore by car, there are regular bus services via Pylos and kalamata enabling exploration of natural and man-made sites including the Corinth Canal at Isthmus and Ancient Olympia.