9 Fun & Unique Things to Do in Kalamata, Greece

From exploring ancient Greek historic sites and tasting freshly produced olive oil to discovering stunning waterfalls nearby, Kalamata offers much more than just relaxing by the beach – although there should be some time for that too! 😉

In this post, we’ve listed out some of our favourite activities from our time spent in Kalamata!

#1 Try out local pastries and a Freddo Cappuccino

I’ll be honest and say we are completely addicted to Freddo Cappuccinos! If you know us you know we love to try out every cute coffee shop we see – and as soon as we figured out about these drinks here in Greece we were hooked.

But even if you don’t like anything coffee-related, the places we recommend below also serve delicious pastries, cakes, and goodies so you can try those too. It’s not just the food in Greece that’s absolutely delicious – the coffee and sweets are great too!

#2 Hike to Polylimnio Waterfall near Kalamata

This is one of our favourite hikes in the Peloponnese and it makes for the perfect day trip from Kalamata if you’re looking to get out and explore nature. We’ve been to Polylimnio Waterfall twice now and definitely recommend making the trip out there!

It’s roughly a 45-minute drive from Kalamata to get to the trailhead of the Polylimnio Waterfalls hike where you’ll find a little cafe that has some snacks and local goodies.

The hike itself isn’t that long but it’s still a nice little trek to this beautiful waterfall (depending on the season of course). If you’re feeling brave, you can go for a swim in the falls which is nice and refreshing! Make sure to bring your swimmers and a towel if you’re up for it. There’s also the option to go canyoning with a guide!

We’ve written a detailed guide on this adventure from how to get to the waterfall, the trail guide, and what to expect. You can read our Polylimnio Waterfalls guide here.

#3 Food tour in Kalamata

One of the highlights of our time in Kalamata was this food tour and olive oil tasting that we went on with a local tour guide. We find that food tours are such a great way to explore a city and learn from locals about the culture and their cuisine as well as a good way to try out unique foods you maybe wouldn’t otherwise.

We’ve been on some great food tours in the past, but I don’t think we’ve ever met anyone so passionate and engaging as Maria, the local guide and owner of Mama’s Flavours. She’s so knowledgeable and she takes you on a very cool journey through the city of Kalamata to some places you probably wouldn’t explore if you were just going around by yourself.

This tour is definitely one of the top things we can recommend to do in Kalama! We have a full blog post about our experience on the Kalamata Food Tour here. You can also check the availability and book the tour through this widget below.

#4 Check out the local food market 

#5 Visit the famous Ancient Messene

This is another day trip from Kalamata that is worth doing! This is probably one of the coolest and most historic places in the area – and it is less than an hour from the city. Greece is full of history but the Ancient Messene Archeological Site is something out of this world and a must-visit if you’re in Kalamata.

What we really liked about this site over some of the other ones we’ve visited (such as Olympia), is that this site isn’t really restricted or blocked off. You can actually sit on the amphitheatre like the Greeks did thousands of years ago. We absolutely loved that!

When we went, we did a guided tour of Ancient Messene and it’s 100% the way we would recommend doing it because you’ll actually see the site come to life with the stories and facts the guide has about the place. We went with a guide named Victoria who was really good. If you send us an email, we can give you her contact information.

If you’re not interested in a guided tour, though, you can easily drive up to Ancient Messene yourself and walk around the site at your own pace. It’s a huge archaeological site that you can easily spend a few hours exploring. You can find more information on Ancient Messene here!

If you decide to go there on your own, it costs €15 to get in (with various discounts available for students, kids, and during the off-season).

You will need a car to get there, so if you don’t have a rental already, we always use DiscoverCars to find the best price. It’s a car rental platform which compares prices and cars across all the car rental providers in the area. You can check out the rental rates from Kalamata here (we’ve seen prices as low as €8 a day during the slower season).

#6 Guided snorkelling tour near Kalamata

Did you know that there is a breeding ground for Loggerhead Sea Turtles near Kalamata? So if you’re lucky there’s a chance you can swim next to these beautiful creatures in the water!

On this tour, you’ll get a chance to explore the Ionian Sea right next to Kalamata and the local reef with a professional guide. This is a great few-hour trip to do right from Kalamata without having to drive anywhere.

A lot of people don’t actually know that you can snorkel in Kalamata, but there’s some really good snorkelling nearby! This guided snorkelling tour is a great option if you’re a small group that wants to go together! You can also check out the availability below:

#7 Sea Kayak trip from Kalamata

This is another fun adventure at sea you can do from Kalamata. This kayak trip is a full 4-5 hour activity that will take you out to sea and over to a cute little local beach for a picnic lunch near Kalamata. It’s a great activity to do in Kalamata if you’re looking for something a little sporty and outdoorsy!

You will get to paddle on some stunning turquoise water while also learning about the history of Messenia and the Peloponnese. We love that it mixes outdoor fun while you’ll also learn about Kalamata and ancient Greece. 

If this is something you want to do, we highly recommend booking this tour in advance in order to secure your spot! You’ll be able to find all the information about the sea kayaking tour including what to bring and where the tour starts on that page. Check out the prices & availability here.

#8 Try some local olives and olive oil

A lot of people hear about Kalamata Olives before they hear about the place where they grow which is actually quite funny. So it only makes sense to try some local olive oil and olives right from the source, right?

Driving around the Peloponnese, you’ll see olive trees literally everywhere! A fun fact about this region is that there are around 30 million olive trees in the entire Peloponnese. So why not try it straight from where it’s produced?

A great tour to check out is this private olive oil grove tour + tasting (cheapest option for 2 or more people) or this Olive Oil Routes Tour (cheapest option for 1 person) where you’ll get a real taste of the Messinia region in the Peloponnese and get to walk around olive groves before trying some locally sourced olive oil.

#9 Boat ride to Navarino Bay

Navarino Bay is one of the most beautiful bays in all of Greece and it is well worth the visit! There’s a famous hike up to the Old Navarino Castle where you can see how perfectly shaped the bay is which you can do if you go on your own by car.

But if you’re not planning to travel that far west in the Peloponesse (or don’t have a car), then a day trip by boat from Kalamata is the perfect way to see this bay.

One of the coolest parts about this tour is the fact that you get to swim and snorkel in the bay. It’s some of the cleanest water we’ve ever swam in and it’s truly one of the most beautiful places in this region of Greece!

Along with swimming in Navarino Bay, you’ll also stop by a coastal town where you’ll have some lunch, and enjoy the small Greek village vibe. We highly recommend this boat trip from Kalamata if you get the chance.

This is one of our favourite places in the Peloponesse and if there’s one thing not to miss while you’re in this part of Greece, it would be this tour!

Recap of the most fun things to do in Kalamata, Greece

As you can see, you’ll find a great combination of things to do In Kalamata – from trying out delicious local food to swimming with sea turtles in the sea in the beautiful turquoise water, there’s always something to do.

Kalamata is so well situated with tons of fun day trips as well such as visiting Polylimnio Waterfalls or driving up the mountains to Ancient Messene where you can learn about Ancient Greek while exploring the stunning archeological site. 

We’d love to hear about your experience in Kalamata and if you end up doing any of these things in the city. We absolutely love this region of Greece and hope you will too! Send us a DM on Instagram (@redwhiteadventures) or leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.