THE HOUSE HANDBOOK

Important Telephone Numbers

All speak English:

Me: James (Alexander) (+49) 151 506 507 19

House-Helpers: Sue and Mark (+30) 697 8340161, 2736 034373

Electrican: Andreas (+30) 697 2166217

How to get to "Koumelouni"

Google Maps Link

About 4 minutes north of the main town of Potamos you drive past a big home on the right and a hundred meters after that you will there's a road to your right. In the map below the red arrow marks the turnoff.

The Road Down to Koumelouni

It is more than 1.5km down the road to the house, and the road isn't perfect, but lots of friends visit us with normal cars, so if you take it slowly you can get there. If there have been torrential rains it can get worse, so ask us before you visit. We've put up signs – which we take down in winter – but there are still a couple of forks in the road which are unmarked. If you just keep following the main dirt road and the black water pipe often visible at the side of the road, you'll find the house. Here's a video showing the way - the initial turnoff turns from the road FROM Karavas - going South from the North of the island.

Above: video coming from KARAVAS, not from Potamos.

Independent power system:

In early 2021 we installed a new solar system which provides more the enough power for daily use. You can use any appliances at any time, but our batteries will last a bit longer if you only use the dishwasher and washing machine after 9am in the morning and before 4pm in the afternoon when the sun is shining on the panels.

Gas:

There is a gas bottle to the right of the stove. It is safer if you turn it off when not in use. To turn it on you only have to twist it a half a turn ANTI-CLOCKWISE - don't unscrew it a lot! There is a new bottle of gas in the garage if you need to change it over, but I doubt that will be necessary. To turn off the gas bottle turn the tap CLOCK-WISE.

At Night:

Keep the doors closed as rodents come in at night if you give them the opportunity. If you have the fly-screens down they won't come in through the windows either.

House Instructions 2021 General

Oven, Dishwasher & Coffee Machine

If you've been invited to visit our house, this is where you'll find all the relevant information to make your stay enjoyable.

How to get there:

Once you get to Athens (for example with Easyjet from Berlin which costs between €150 and €330 return, depending upon season and holidays), you still of course have to get to the island. It takes about 35 minutes with Olympic Air from Athens to Kythera, and flies at least once a day and which you can book here. At the time of writing it cost about €120 return (Sept-June) and €180 return (July/August) for the Athens-Kythera-Athens flight.

You can also take a ferry from Piraeus, the port of Athens, to Kythera. That costs less than half as much as the plane, takes 8 or 9 hours, and is a wonderful, if long, journey. I think it sails twice a week in season but in the winter it is sometimes affected by bad weather. You can see the ferry timetable here.

If you can find a cheap flight to somewhere on the Peloponnese (Patras, Kalamata), it is sometimes cheaper to fly there and hire a car (4WD if you are staying at our place because of the road) and drive to Neapoli (see below) and take the ferry across. This is especially interesting if you want to see more of Greece anyway.

There is also a daily ferry from Neapoli, on the southern tip of the Peloponnese, to Kythera. In the summer it runs twice a day. So you could rent a car in athens, make the 6-10 hour drive down the Peloponnese, and take the ferry across. The crossing takes about 2 hours.

You can rent cars on Kythera from the port or from the airport directly from the friendly Drakakis Tours or Panayotis motor rent.

In July and August the island is pretty full of Australians returning to their ancestor's home island, so you might want to avoid it then if you want peace and quiet in the villages and beaches. On the other hand it is an exciting time to be on the island, as there are regular village dances and lots of friendly faces at the markets and in the restaurants.

For insiders the months of September and October are considered the nicest, as the bulk of the tourists are gone, the weather is perfect, the sea still warm and the restaurants still open.