Travel

Laconia and the Mani: notes on the quiet south of the Peloponnese

1 October 2026 · 3 min

In the south of the Peloponnese you can stay on a working farm in Laconia, among olive trees, vines and vegetable beds. When to go, what staying at Eumelia is like and what to ask before you book.

Most people planning a trip to Laconia and the Mani start with beaches and harbour towns. Our suggestion begins a little further inland: near Gouves in Laconia lies Eumelia, a working farm where you can also stay the night. An olive grove, vines and a vegetable garden frame its four guest houses.

So far Eumelia is the only house we have chosen in this part of Greece. This piece therefore sticks to what we can confirm about the farm and its setting, rather than offering a generic list of sights.

Living room of a guest house with a timber ceiling, fireplace, sofa and rug. Photo: Eumelia

Where to stay: a house on the farm

The four houses are called Grape Vine, Lavender, Almond Tree and Sunflower. Each comes with a bedroom, a living room with fireplace, a dining area and a kitchen, and private verandas and gardens open them up to the landscape. It feels more like a small holiday cottage than a hotel room.

The houses are designed with both summer and winter in mind, and the farm's current website states plainly that it welcomes guests all year round.

What to do: from the grove to the table

At Eumelia the farm is the main event. Olive oil tastings and cooking classes bring its produce into the stay, alongside natural wine tastings and guided walks around the land. The kitchen works with seasonal ingredients from the garden and the surrounding region.

According to the farm, the olive varieties grown here are Myrtolia, Koroneiki and Agrelia, alongside vines, vegetables and herbs that run as far as saffron. It describes its methods as biodynamic and based on permaculture principles, without naming any certification, and it presents itself as a farm recognised by Slow Food.

Which meals are available on your dates is best agreed with the house in advance.

Olive oil tasting with blue and yellow tasting glasses. Photo: Eumelia

A cooking class in a red-walled room, with participants and the cook at the table. Photo: Eumelia

Olive harvest beneath an old olive tree, with nets spread on the ground. Photo: Eumelia

When to go: plan around the season

The farm welcomes guests all year according to its website, but the season shapes what you will find there. In autumn Eumelia offers stays built around the olive harvest, and it also runs culinary and yoga retreats.

If one particular activity is the reason for your trip, check its dates and availability. A harvest programme is a separate offering and not automatically part of every stay, and the same goes for cooking classes.

Getting there and what lies nearby

On its website the farm names Sparta as the nearest town, and lists Monemvasia, Gythio and Neapoli among the harbour towns of the area. We have deliberately left out distances and driving times because we cannot confirm them; the best way to plan the journey is to ask the house when you book.

For days on the coast, then, the farm works as a base rather than a beach hotel. If the sea is your priority, plan trips out to it and come back to the countryside in the evening.

Two lit guest houses with wooden walkways through the meadow at blue hour. Photo: Eumelia

Picking peppers from a raised bed in the vegetable garden. Photo: Eumelia

What to ask before you book

Occupancy: the pages we checked do not say how many guests each house sleeps. Tell the farm who is travelling when you enquire.

Meals: what is served depends on your dates, so agree on it in advance.

Activities: the olive harvest, cooking classes and retreats are separate and partly seasonal offerings. Ask about dates early if your trip is built around one of them.

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