Dragon Drascombe

Lugger Sailing in the Greek Ionian

Relax

Rob & Nicky

We had a great week with Phil in the last week of September, staying in Geni Garden apartments, with the additional benefit of three days’ tuition from Phil to get us going as it had been a good few years since we’d done any sailing.

Geni Garden apartments are very convenient and comfortable and Franz and his wife and daughter look after everything including providing croissants and other bakery items for the next day’s breakfast. The boats are moored at the bottom of their big garden on a pontoon which is very convenient for starting out each day at a time to suit yourselves. And they have a lovely swimming pool and garden if you’re not heading out for the day.

We concentrated on rediscovering sailing and learning about the Lugger, which is a super boat, perfect for local conditions, and hope to be back to sail further afield next year as well as enjoying some walking and more of the local tavernas.

The boats are all top notch, in excellent condition, thanks to all Phil’s hard work and dedication in setting them up. I’ve now read the whole of his blog and would recommend it to anyone interested in sailing and travel that wants to know what it takes to set up an operation like Dragon Drascombe with all the potential it offers for such a great holiday there.

Valerie, Steve, Suzanne & George

A very welcome cold beer and Meza on the Iris pool bar patio

Sad to be back in a cold UK after a great holiday.

The Geni apartments and the Lugger were ideal for us. It really ticked all of our boxes. Good accommodation, glorious views and good sailing with excellent weather. The islands, the beaches and the tavernas met all our expectations.

Thank you for all of your assistance and for making all of the arrangements. It all went perfectly. We look forward to repeating the experience next September.

Landing on the Hotel Iris beach at the end of the day

Elspeth

The four of us joined the fun at Dragon Drascombe this September and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We stayed at the Gialos Taverna where we were warmly welcomed. The views from our rooms were lovely with our Drascombe Lugger moored to the taverna’s pontoon, just waiting for us.

Phil took great care to familiarise us with the boat and engine and provided all that we could have wished for. The sailing in this area is sublime, whether being adventurous and island hopping or beaching the boat outside a taverna for lunch or in a lovely isolated cove.

I hope that we can get back next season.

Elaine Johnston

The delightful Villa Eleanor for your stay in the South Ionian Sea

We had such an enjoyable holiday – a really good celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary. We had lots of fun in the Drascombe Luggers, and having two of them worked out very well for the five of us. Lazy days in the lovely villa Eleanor, filled with swimming and reading and sailing in the afternoons – a perfect holiday. Thoroughly recommended!

Hilsden Family

From the South Ionian Sea to the Pindos mountains of northern Greece

The smile on our daughter’s face as she helms Katrina says it all! Like many Heather, Jessie, and I had been anticipating this holiday for over two years – it lived up to all of our expectations.

Our arrival was seamless – a friendly taxi transfer, a warm welcome from Phil at Gialos Taverna with a wonderful mezze lunch, before being delivered by boat to Geni Garden Apartments. Here, Sandra and her family could not have been more helpful and friendly, and we cannot speak highly enough of the freshly baked goodies delivered to our terrace table each morning! Or being able to tumble into the pool after a day at sea!

We had a splendid week of sailing to beautiful bays, swimming, snorkelling, lazing on beaches, picnics, tavernas and ice creams galore!

There were any number of larger, more expensive, and swankier yachts about, but, I think it is fair to say that we had the most fun on the smallest boat, and as has been noted in many previous reviews, others went out of their way to pay their compliments as to how pretty Katrina was. (Take a bow Phil!)

The highlight of the week was the final day’s circumnavigation of Meganisi. We left a little later than planned, courtesy of a lovely dinner at Gialos Taverna the night before, and had an idyllic run down the Strait of Meganisi, sailing along the southern coast taking in the sight of Papa Nicolis’ cave, and distant views of Ithaca. We anchored in a small bay, and ate lunch gently bobbing on a sparkling, aquamarine sea set against the dazzling white cliffs, feeling pretty pleased with ourselves.

However, that all changed when we rounded the tail of Meganisi, by now the wind had piped up from the north, along with the sea. Now Katrina showed what a Drascombe is capable of, she handled the conditions, and looked after us, admirably – although I did lose my hat to the wind! Tired, bedraggled, and wiser we made it back.

We were sorry to say goodbye to Katrina, but were cheered by the thought of a further week in Greece. Hiring a car we headed north to the Pindos Mountains and the village of Konitsa. Here we stayed in a delightful hotel by the banks of the river where it flows out of the Aoos Gorge and under the iconic stone arched bridge, to spill out onto the plains. This was to be our base for the next few days as we explored this stunningly beautiful area.

The mountain roads are not for the fainthearted, but the reward of picturesque remote villages, herdsmen and their dogs tending their flocks of goat and sheep, vertigo-inducing views down into the spectacular Vikos Gorge, hidden monasteries, peaceful forest walks, and mouth watering menus at roadside tavernas made it all worthwhile.

We broke our journey to and from Konitsa with a stop at the ancient city of Ioannina, situated on the shores of Lake Pamvotis. Here we enjoyed exploring the ancient citadel and learning the tales of Ali Pasha, strolling by the lakeside, indulging in baklava, and descending into the majestic Perama Cave.

During all of our holiday Jessie, (and mum and dad!), enjoyed, what to us, was the novelty of geo caching, it certainly added a different dimension to our sightseeing, and must have amused others no end, as we spent an age rooting around in undergrowth/poking around in walls/pacing to and fro as we sought the elusive treasure!

All in all, I cannot recommend Phil’s Dragon Drascombe highly enough, we hope to return… Thank you!

Nick & Anne

Holiday time, like life, is precious and all too often you return to somewhere you have lovely memories of to find things have changed for the worse, so we very rarely ever return to the same area let alone the exact same place. Yet here we are again, admittedly three years later due to the intervention of Covid, back in exactly the same spot although a different month, in Geni with another Drascombe Lugger Ellie, courtesy of Phil.

Yes there were changes, no Phil to greet us at the airport, but there was a taxi waiting for us. We were dropped off at Gialos Taverna and there was Phil having organised a lovely lunch before he took us off in the boat to Geni Gardens.

Being ‘old hands’ and previous Lugger owners we knew what to do and where we wanted to go so weren’t dashing here, there and everywhere but taking things in a more leisurely way. We took Ellie (or did she take us?) to little bays where we swam in wonderfully clear warm water amongst fish, and dried off on the beach or even back on board. One morning Nick suggested we walk to Desimi rather than sail, a bit further than we anticipated but really interesting; for future reference do take swimming costumes with you! Somehow we came back on a different route which afforded us a refreshment stop at a quaint little cafe, and at one turn on the road could see both Desimi and Vhilo bay, such stunning views.

We were shown a little place near the Iris hotel across the bay from Geni Gardens to tie up the boat and walk into Nydri. Well worth exploring with some beautiful bars and restaurants. There is a smart new well-lit pavement all the way to the centre. One long trip took us to Port Atheni on Meganisi where we had a delicious lunch at a beachside taverna before I swam back to to Ellie. The return home was interesting as the weather turned a little more windy than expected – I think we were possibly the only small boat out on the water – but it was great fun and I felt quite safe.

Were our memories safe? Totally, so much so that we intend bringing our family here next year to help celebrate a milestone birthday. We discovered different places, were more adventurous and more relaxed, the only downside was that we couldn’t fit in two weeks.

Thanks Phil, you gave us the means for another wonderful holiday with great memories and we look forward to making more memories with our children and grandchildren next year.