If I hadn’t have been a member of the Drascombe Association and read the Dan I would never have discovered this little Gem of a holiday…..
Uniquely put together by Phil, who has a wealth of experience in Drascombe’s and of the inner Ionian islands of Greece. Many UK Airlines from a variety of airports fly to Previso and Nidri is about an hours taxi drive away. My friend Mike and myself stayed at the Geni Garden apartments, a family run set up of about 9 apartments set in lovely gardens, there is a swimming pool, tables, chairs, sun loungers etc and flowering pot plants..
Our apartment consisted of one large room with basic kitchen facilities and a small shower room….the main plus factor was a large covered balcony overlooking the gardens with a wonderful view of the lagoon and Nydri town on the opposite side.
The even more main plus factor of course being the sight of our Drascombe, Clara, moored up at the garden pontoon. The balcony faces West on the quiet East side of the lagoon, in fact the sound of a car was a rare occurrence. The lagoon narrows as it passes Geni garden and the sight of boats passing by whilst we were having breakfast was delightful.
If ordered the day before breakfast could be delivered to ones apartment. We chose to have coffee and croissants on a daily basis and also ordered milk and bread when we needed it. There are 3 tavernas further into the lagoon just 10 mins walk away or easily accessed from the water.
Now for the boating !!!!!!
On the first day Phil got us up to speed with the Drascombe, both using the motor and rigging the sails etc all in the lagoon and when he felt happy with us we were encouraged to venture out into the open sea. The first time we followed him in his boat. We were provided with maps, a book on the area, the daily weather forecast, lots of advice on where to go, and Phil’s phone number, (he also liked to know roughly where we were going) the winds were light and at times we relied on the motor.
There are beaches to moor up at and tavernas on the nearby islands to eat and drink in.
After the day on the boat we were encouraged to meet up with the others staying at Geni Gardens at the Isis Hotel’s terrace bar ( “Phil’s office”) just 5 mins motor across the lagoon. Nearby was a supermarket and a short walk along the lagoon takes you to the busy part of Nidri where bars/restaurants/marinas/shops etc provide the bustling atmosphere of an island port.
We were there the third week of May when the area was quiet, the temperature in the 20’s, the winds light and the sun shone a lot of the time.
We met some lovely like minded souls, enjoyed the sailing and the area. If we had wanted to hire bikes, cars, paddle boards etc Phil could arrange it. We learnt a lot about Drascombe’s and came home with lots of tips on how to improve ours !!!!!!
Compared to some holidays a week with Dragon Drascombe might appear a bit on the expensive side but when everything was taken into consideration we thought it was extremely good value.
We found the Euro went a long way when eating out and were pleasantly surprised when presented with our bills…
Would we go again?…DEFINITELY and maybe even this September.