Pretty Parga

I've sent many customers to beautiful Parga on the Greek Mainland. All have come back saying how lovely and traditional it was. I looked at all inclusive hotels elsewhere in Greece with slides and football for my 15 and 11 year old sons but the holidays were so expensive and didn't justify that amount of money.

So we decided to compromise on the slides and football and opted for something with a pool and close to the town and beach.

Our accommodation Villa Antonis was perfect, small and friendly and a short walk from the harbour where all of the bars and restaurants are located. We were also lucky enough to have a fantastic restaurant next door called Victoria and the food was amazing. There was also a brilliant bakery called The Green Bakery a few more doors down, the fresh bread and beautiful pastries were to die for!!

Our room was perfect for the 3 of us, a double bed and single bed, cooking hob, fridge and lovely balcony, much needed air conditioning was included at no extra charge.

I'd done a bit of research on the beaches of Parga before we arrived so knew that we wanted to go to Valtos Beach, to the left of the town as you look from the sea. Luckily there were regular boats to the beach from the harbour, for a few euros per person return. There was a walking route too but when we arrived temperatures were in the 40's so we simply couldn't manage it in the heat. Later in our 10 night holiday temperatures returned to normal early to mid 30's so my youngest son and I walked most mornings, it was a challenging walk up steep cobbled streets but the sweat was worth it when we saw the views and beach. There is also a town beach which is quite stoney but you can swim out to a tiny island in the bay, there is also Lichnos Beach too.

Valtos is a stunning sandy beach, lots of beds and parasols. We opted for Tango beach right by where the boat drops you, it cost 20 euros per day for our beds and parasol. They have a supermarket too and lovely restaurant with clean toilets. The beach itself has plenty of waterports like pedalos, paragliding, banana rides and paddle boards.

In the evenings the harbour is where the action is, people seem to venture out later than usual. Our first couple of nights we found various restaurants but then once we found Piatto Open Cuisine, we never ate anywhere else. Such a lovely family, very welcoming every night. The greek salads were so beautiful it was a shame to eat them and the moussaka was the best I have ever had, I ended up having it most evenings!!

I could not fault this holiday, I really enjoyed it because there were not any British bars or restaurants, it was real Greece!! We will definitely return to Parga!