Kardamili can now be reached via a 40-minute taxi transfer from Kalamata instead of a 300km drive from Athens. Photograph: Jon Arnold Images/Getty

According to Guardian, EasyJet launches a new route from Gatwick to Kalamata next weekend, opening up one of Greece‘s most enigmatic and beautiful regions to UK travellers. Kalamata is the gateway to the Peloponnese, famed for its mountains, horse-shoe bays and the ancient site of Olympia. Stay in one of the beautiful villages on the Mani peninsula, which can now be reached via a 40-minute taxi transfer from Kalamata instead of a 300km drive from Athens. The Mani has no shortage of appealing family-run hotels, but the Liakoto apartments in Kardamili are hard to beat (anniska.gr). Twice-weekly flights start on 6 July, with one-way fares from £34.99 (easyjet.com