The main reason that I chose Greece for a summer vacation for the third time is the unprecedented visa generosity of this wonderful country. Last time it was an annual Schengen, and this time it is already a two-year one. We, travelers from the Russian Federation, can only dream of visa-free travel, so thank you Greece! The second reason is the sea.
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The main reason that I chose Greece for a summer vacation for the third time is the unprecedented visa generosity of this wonderful country. Last time it was an annual Schengen, and this time it is already a two-year one. We, travelers from the Russian Federation, can only dream of visa-free travel, so thank you Greece!
The second reason is the sea. I love the Aegean very much. It seems to me the cleanest and warmest. The hotel was chosen according to the principle - to find a balance for both the soul and the wallet. I chose the Calypso hotel on the Chalkidiki peninsula. Photos on the Internet were bright and colorful, and promised a wonderful holiday. Upon arrival at the place, some, to put it mildly, discrepancy between the viewed photos and "nature" immediately caught my eye. In general, the first shock - the hotel is not the same. It turns out that on the small peninsula of Kassandra, literally 10 km apart, there are two Calypso hotels - one in the village of Hanioti (the one that I looked at on the Internet) and in the village of Siviri (the one where they were actually brought). This is solely my oversight, but there was a disappointment. The hotel is small, the main contingent - Macedonians, Serbs and Moldovans, there were almost no Russian speakers. The staff speaks Russian, in particular - the hostess and the bartender. The room is spacious, with a wide balcony, refrigerator and air conditioning. The bathroom is small, with two annoying minuses - the shower is a 60x80 cm nook with a curtain that sticks to the body, which is very unpleasant - they took a shower without hanging a curtain and, of course, flooded everything around. The second disadvantage is poor ventilation. After taking a shower in the bathroom, the steam stays for several hours and it is impossible to stay in it. But these are all trifles. I liked the food at the hotel. Breakfast is standard - scrambled eggs, cold cuts, cheese, vegetables. For lunch - soup (each time very strange), several side dishes, well-cooked meat of several types, vegetables. And for dinner the same way - meat, side dishes, vegetables, one dessert - but consistently tasty. No frills, just what you need. We had All Inclusive food, drinks were taken at the bar - wine, beer, juices. A bit of harm from me - according to the rules of the hotel - you have to clean up the dishes yourself - take them to the kitchen, and glasses - to the bar. It's not difficult, no doubt, but I would still prefer it to be done by the staff. As well as how it would be worth at least sometimes to wipe the tables.
The second shock is the sea. Having reached it on the first day, and walking 800 meters, we saw the following picture - it is not just muddy. It is yellow, unpleasant in color, covered with a porridge of algae floating mixed with bags, bottles and other household waste. It turned out that before our arrival on the peninsula it had been pouring rain for 4 days. And in the village of Siviri, a small river flows into the sea. And then the showers provoked the injection of mud into the sea by the river. In itself, the fact of muddy water is half the trouble. The entire coastline, both in the water and on the shore, is strewn with cobblestones of various sizes, and if the water is muddy, then you simply don’t see that you are floating on a stone. And it is very traumatic. Let's not talk about sad things - on the third day all the turbidity settled and the water became, I apologize for the banality, clean as a tear.
It is necessary to say a few more words about the sea. The central part of the beach is ideal for families with children - the sea is very shallow. Those who like to swim for their own pleasure and dive at a depth should go left to the rocky cliffs, cross them, then go waist-deep in water to the bay, where there is a shadow, there are very few people (and in the early morning there is no one at all), there are practically no stones in the water and excellent depth.
The village of Siviri, although quite tiny, has some great restaurants, souvenir shops and a supermarket of the Masutis chain - which has everything your heart desires at low non-resort prices.
For the whole holiday we went on the only excursion - to Meteora. We traveled from Mouzenidis as part of a group of 72 people (on a double-decker bus). The cost of the tour is 70 euros. There are a lot of impressions, the only pity is that the road is long, and we spent only 1.5 hours in the monasteries (note to Mouzenidis - have a conscience !! ! A whole hour for a store with icons is a mockery of tourists! And the restaurant you bring to, with at prices of 19 euros for an inedible dish - a shame !!! )
We traveled on our own by bus to the neighboring village of Afytos - a pretty village with medieval streets and a gorgeous view of the sea (bus ticket - 2.8 euros) and to Thessaloniki - 10.8 euros. Shopping in Thessaloniki is excellent, just for the sake of it it’s already worth going.
I will definitely go to Greece again - as soon as the Schengen ends, but I will not return to Siviri.
P. S. here on the site there are already photos allegedly related to the Calypso Siviri hotel, but this is not so. Half of the photos are from Calypso Hanioti!
The second reason is the sea. I love the Aegean very much. It seems to me the cleanest and warmest. The hotel was chosen according to the principle - to find a balance for both the soul and the wallet. I chose the Calypso hotel on the Chalkidiki peninsula. Photos on the Internet were bright and colorful, and promised a wonderful holiday. Upon arrival at the place, some, to put it mildly, discrepancy between the viewed photos and "nature" immediately caught my eye. In general, the first shock - the hotel is not the same. It turns out that on the small peninsula of Kassandra, literally 10 km apart, there are two Calypso hotels - one in the village of Hanioti (the one that I looked at on the Internet) and in the village of Siviri (the one where they were actually brought). This is solely my oversight, but there was a disappointment. The hotel is small, the main contingent - Macedonians, Serbs and Moldovans, there were almost no Russian speakers. The staff speaks Russian, in particular - the hostess and the bartender. The room is spacious, with a wide balcony, refrigerator and air conditioning. The bathroom is small, with two annoying minuses - the shower is a 60x80 cm nook with a curtain that sticks to the body, which is very unpleasant - they took a shower without hanging a curtain and, of course, flooded everything around. The second disadvantage is poor ventilation. After taking a shower in the bathroom, the steam stays for several hours and it is impossible to stay in it. But these are all trifles. I liked the food at the hotel. Breakfast is standard - scrambled eggs, cold cuts, cheese, vegetables. For lunch - soup (each time very strange), several side dishes, well-cooked meat of several types, vegetables. And for dinner the same way - meat, side dishes, vegetables, one dessert - but consistently tasty. No frills, just what you need. We had All Inclusive food, drinks were taken at the bar - wine, beer, juices. A bit of harm from me - according to the rules of the hotel - you have to clean up the dishes yourself - take them to the kitchen, and glasses - to the bar. It's not difficult, no doubt, but I would still prefer it to be done by the staff. As well as how it would be worth at least sometimes to wipe the tables.
The second shock is the sea. Having reached it on the first day, and walking 800 meters, we saw the following picture - it is not just muddy. It is yellow, unpleasant in color, covered with a porridge of algae floating mixed with bags, bottles and other household waste. It turned out that before our arrival on the peninsula it had been pouring rain for 4 days. And in the village of Siviri, a small river flows into the sea. And then the showers provoked the injection of mud into the sea by the river. In itself, the fact of muddy water is half the trouble. The entire coastline, both in the water and on the shore, is strewn with cobblestones of various sizes, and if the water is muddy, then you simply don’t see that you are floating on a stone. And it is very traumatic. Let's not talk about sad things - on the third day all the turbidity settled and the water became, I apologize for the banality, clean as a tear.
It is necessary to say a few more words about the sea. The central part of the beach is ideal for families with children - the sea is very shallow. Those who like to swim for their own pleasure and dive at a depth should go left to the rocky cliffs, cross them, then go waist-deep in water to the bay, where there is a shadow, there are very few people (and in the early morning there is no one at all), there are practically no stones in the water and excellent depth.
The village of Siviri, although quite tiny, has some great restaurants, souvenir shops and a supermarket of the Masutis chain - which has everything your heart desires at low non-resort prices.
For the whole holiday we went on the only excursion - to Meteora. We traveled from Mouzenidis as part of a group of 72 people (on a double-decker bus). The cost of the tour is 70 euros. There are a lot of impressions, the only pity is that the road is long, and we spent only 1.5 hours in the monasteries (note to Mouzenidis - have a conscience !! ! A whole hour for a store with icons is a mockery of tourists! And the restaurant you bring to, with at prices of 19 euros for an inedible dish - a shame !!! )
We traveled on our own by bus to the neighboring village of Afytos - a pretty village with medieval streets and a gorgeous view of the sea (bus ticket - 2.8 euros) and to Thessaloniki - 10.8 euros. Shopping in Thessaloniki is excellent, just for the sake of it it’s already worth going.
I will definitely go to Greece again - as soon as the Schengen ends, but I will not return to Siviri.
P. S. here on the site there are already photos allegedly related to the Calypso Siviri hotel, but this is not so. Half of the photos are from Calypso Hanioti!
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If you have a limited budget, but you want to go to the sea and Greece - then in CALYPSO HOTEL SIVIRI 2 *. The previous negative reviews are all true. We have been to many places in Greece and Siviri turned out to be the most unattractive place even of those where we were. Greece is such a diverse and large country that you can relax in much more attractive resorts and beautiful good beaches.
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If you have a limited budget, but you want to go to the sea and Greece - then in CALYPSO HOTEL SIVIRI 2 *. The previous negative reviews are all true. We have been to many places in Greece and Siviri turned out to be the most unattractive place even of those where we were. Greece is such a diverse and large country that you can relax in much more attractive resorts and beautiful good beaches. The presence of a large number of tourists is explained simply - the economy of recreation and the proximity of the resort to Serbia, Macedonia. Most tourists from these countries come by car for a week.
The village itself is small, simple, not far from the hotel there is a small church and a supermarket. There is silence on the outskirts, in the evenings the embankment comes to life, music sounds in taverns. A narrow river flows into the sea, which divides the beach into two parts. Biological waste, musty smell, blooming water merge into this river! To the right of the ditch river, in Siviri itself, the beach is "overcrowded", there are more people than we have seen anywhere on the beaches of the entire Mediterranean, the water is dirty, a suspension of water and sand, feathers from ducks swim with the children! If you are with your own towels, then you will have nowhere to stay, everything is crowded with sunbeds, you have to go to the right, but you won’t go far - stones and rocks begin, and in the sea - stones and algae. At first we swam to the right for sun loungers, but then we went to explore the coastline. We walked along the entire beach and found a beautiful bay at the very end of the promenade. Rocks, pine trees hang over the beach, there is a smell of pine resin, swimming there is a pleasure! Few people, clean clear sea, sandy bottom. 30-40 minutes walk from the hotel. We walked a couple of times along the rocks further than this beach, it is not deep there, somewhere along the water just below the waist, somewhere along the stones, we reached a distant cape, where the next village is visible.
To the left of the river, the beach is narrower and longer; If you cross it (it’s inconvenient to swim across - it’s shallow and you shuffle along this plate with your stomach), then the bottom is good - sand and clean water. About the hotel. There is no reception at the hotel. The hotel is on the outskirts of Siviri, a small, family run business. The hotel itself, rooms, bar, location - more or less decent. . Dining room in the basement, broken steps, dark room, old furniture, sticky tables, dirty floors, poorly washed dishes, coffee at breakfast (as in a bar) is not coffee, but a heated surrogate. Food in pans is brought by car from the Alexandros tavern, so there is nothing hot, everything is warm. The food is hearty, but monotonous, everything is overcooked and cooked in a fatty tomato-vegetable sauce (gravy), no matter what you eat - the taste is the same! Sometimes it was not clear what it was - chicken or pork. But we must pay tribute to the cook: the meat was always soft and tasty, only a couple of times there was a tough rubber liver. There were also a couple of times cutlets a la Soviet public catering. For lunch, soup and watermelon were served, but if you didn’t come in the front rows, you won’t get it. There were always fresh vegetables - tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, not always green salad. A roll in different variations for every taste - chopped (that's right), crackers and fried))) You won't stay hungry, you can always choose something, but I repeat - this tomato-vegetable sauce spoils everything! Once in all the time there was cauliflower, and they managed to boil it and spoil it with this sauce. What the tourists did not eat at lunch, it will be for dinner. There are very few Russians in the hotel, apparently, the previous negative reviews played a role. Tourists mainly come for a week by car from Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova.
About the guide of the host Beleon Tours. Ellie showed up once only to check return tickets and sell tours. The excursion to Olympus was postponed for a week, but Ellie did not call, did not confirm if this excursion was canceled again. Ellie also didn't tell us what time the transfer back to the airport was, the "hostess" told us at 6 am, the bus came at 6-25! The accompanying guide Demis was surprised, he has a completely different time according to the schedule! It is better to buy fruits from cars, both cheaper and better. At the end of the vacation, brown jellyfish appeared, the last three days the sea was restless, in the evenings - thunderstorms, it rained at night, flew away in the rain. The first time we left without regret, although we love Greece very much. Despite the negative points, nothing can spoil the impressions of Greece, the sea and the sun! But still, it is better to take a better hotel, even if only for breakfast and in another place.
The village itself is small, simple, not far from the hotel there is a small church and a supermarket. There is silence on the outskirts, in the evenings the embankment comes to life, music sounds in taverns. A narrow river flows into the sea, which divides the beach into two parts. Biological waste, musty smell, blooming water merge into this river! To the right of the ditch river, in Siviri itself, the beach is "overcrowded", there are more people than we have seen anywhere on the beaches of the entire Mediterranean, the water is dirty, a suspension of water and sand, feathers from ducks swim with the children! If you are with your own towels, then you will have nowhere to stay, everything is crowded with sunbeds, you have to go to the right, but you won’t go far - stones and rocks begin, and in the sea - stones and algae. At first we swam to the right for sun loungers, but then we went to explore the coastline. We walked along the entire beach and found a beautiful bay at the very end of the promenade. Rocks, pine trees hang over the beach, there is a smell of pine resin, swimming there is a pleasure! Few people, clean clear sea, sandy bottom. 30-40 minutes walk from the hotel. We walked a couple of times along the rocks further than this beach, it is not deep there, somewhere along the water just below the waist, somewhere along the stones, we reached a distant cape, where the next village is visible.
To the left of the river, the beach is narrower and longer; If you cross it (it’s inconvenient to swim across - it’s shallow and you shuffle along this plate with your stomach), then the bottom is good - sand and clean water. About the hotel. There is no reception at the hotel. The hotel is on the outskirts of Siviri, a small, family run business. The hotel itself, rooms, bar, location - more or less decent. . Dining room in the basement, broken steps, dark room, old furniture, sticky tables, dirty floors, poorly washed dishes, coffee at breakfast (as in a bar) is not coffee, but a heated surrogate. Food in pans is brought by car from the Alexandros tavern, so there is nothing hot, everything is warm. The food is hearty, but monotonous, everything is overcooked and cooked in a fatty tomato-vegetable sauce (gravy), no matter what you eat - the taste is the same! Sometimes it was not clear what it was - chicken or pork. But we must pay tribute to the cook: the meat was always soft and tasty, only a couple of times there was a tough rubber liver. There were also a couple of times cutlets a la Soviet public catering. For lunch, soup and watermelon were served, but if you didn’t come in the front rows, you won’t get it. There were always fresh vegetables - tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, not always green salad. A roll in different variations for every taste - chopped (that's right), crackers and fried))) You won't stay hungry, you can always choose something, but I repeat - this tomato-vegetable sauce spoils everything! Once in all the time there was cauliflower, and they managed to boil it and spoil it with this sauce. What the tourists did not eat at lunch, it will be for dinner. There are very few Russians in the hotel, apparently, the previous negative reviews played a role. Tourists mainly come for a week by car from Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova.
About the guide of the host Beleon Tours. Ellie showed up once only to check return tickets and sell tours. The excursion to Olympus was postponed for a week, but Ellie did not call, did not confirm if this excursion was canceled again. Ellie also didn't tell us what time the transfer back to the airport was, the "hostess" told us at 6 am, the bus came at 6-25! The accompanying guide Demis was surprised, he has a completely different time according to the schedule! It is better to buy fruits from cars, both cheaper and better. At the end of the vacation, brown jellyfish appeared, the last three days the sea was restless, in the evenings - thunderstorms, it rained at night, flew away in the rain. The first time we left without regret, although we love Greece very much. Despite the negative points, nothing can spoil the impressions of Greece, the sea and the sun! But still, it is better to take a better hotel, even if only for breakfast and in another place.
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