Are you visiting the Pelion region in Greece and are you looking for nice things to do? I’ve got you covered! There are many nice things that can be done in this Greek region between Athens and Thessaloniki. On this page I’m sharing all my favorite activities in Pelion, Greece.
From wine-tasting to horseback riding and from hiking to biking.
Train Ride
You can take a ride on the oldest train track of Pelion! This old train rides from Ano Lechonia to Milies. It’s a beautiful track and the train crosses several bridges and a tunnel. It rides every weekend and in the summer it runs daily. It departs at Ano Lechonia at 10am and from Milies at 3pm. The ride takes about 90 minutes and there’s a 15 minute stop at Ano Gatzea.
Bike Rides
The company Bike or Hike offers, you’ve guessed it, bike and hike tours. They have all kinds of tours; from ‘hike and meditation’ to ‘bike and sail’. So there’s something for everyone. They’ve got high quality bikes and even e-bikes for your bike adventures in Pelion. Their office is in Portaria but they can arrange tours all over Pelion.
Horseback Riding
It’s great to go horseback riding in Pelion. The area has nice trails with great views. You can book your experience with Apostolia from Tours with Horses. There are several tours that you can do. We started in the town of Milies where we went for a ride next to the train tracks of the old train. It was a very easy path and the horses listened very well. This made the ride also very suitable for non-experienced riders.
Cooking Workshop
I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like the Greek kitchen. It has some great dishes for both meat lovers as vegetarians. If you want to learn more about the Greek cuisine, there’s no better way than with a cooking workshop at Karaiskos farm in Portaria. The incredible friendly family that runs the farm offers all kinds of cooking workshops. When the weather is nice in their outdoor kitchen and when it rains in their cozy indoor kitchen. You start your workshop with a walk on the farm where you pick the herbs and vegetables that you’ll need for the meal from their garden. You can pet the cow and collect some fresh eggs from the chicken too.
I’ve learned to make a grilled eggplant and paprika salad and a Spanakopita, the typical Greek pie with spinach and feta cheese.
Wine Tasting
A great place for wine tasting in Pelion in Greece is Patistis. For over 35 years the Patistis family has been making wines. Their wines are all organic and most of them are bio-dynamic. On the vineyards around the house the family cultivates several kinds of grapes making white, rose, red and even orange wines. The wines aren’t only very tasty and original, the view is amazing too. You can find the vineyard right next to the town Argalasti.
Nature Experience
Nature Experience offers hikes for groups and families where you learn more about local herbs and plants. After your hike you’ll get a healthy lunch that is prepared with the herbs and plants you’ve learned about. Owner Maria has created a lovely outdoor setting for the lunch in the backyard of her home in the town Lafkos. We had a completely vegetarian lunch with so many dishes on the table. You sure won’t be leaving hungry after your meal with Maria.
Centaur Path
The Pelion region in Greece has a long mythical history. Close to Mount Olympus, Pelion was supposed to be the place where the Gods went to relax. The Centaur Path is a walking route, that used to be the walking path from East to West Pelion. Nowadays you can walk a part of it as an easy hike that is suitable for all ages. It’s a beautiful trail right next to a water stream. It’s especially nice to beat the heat in the summer as it’s covered with leaves for shade. But it makes a nice hike anytime of the year. Right next to the town Makrinitsa is a starting point where you can walk the trail uphill and walk back down via the village.
Watch the Sunset
As Pelion is a peninsula you can always either enjoy a beautiful sunrise on the East side or a beautiful sunset on the West side. I spend most of my time on the west side of Pelion, so I enjoyed a beautiful sunset every evening. Even from a big city like Volos, the sunset is still beautiful. You can enjoy it from one of the many waterside restaurants.
But I found the most beautiful place to watch the sunset to be the Elias church near Lafkos. You’ll have to take a sand road up to get there, but it’s really worth it. You’ll have a great view over the islands for the coast of Pelion and there are benches for your convenience.
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