(No availability) 6 Day Olive Harvest Retreat and Culinary Vacation in Laconia, Peloponnese
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Unique Olive Oil Immersion in Greece
Get ready for 6 days of a fully immersive, hands-on experience into the ancient tradition of olive harvesting in Greece and the Greek farm life with a wellness twist!
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- Farm to table Cooking Class
- Guided tour of Ancient Sparta and the Olive Oil Museum
- Olive harvest experience, olive mill tour, olive oil and table olive tasting
- 6 liters of Extra Virgin Olive Oil shipped to your home
- 5-night stay in eco houses amidst an ancient olive grove
- All organic, farm-to-table meals with natural Greek wines
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil massage
- Natural soap-making with olive oil
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
Kalamata International Airport (US$ 339 per person)
Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos Airport) (US$ 565 per person)
Accommodation
Eumelia, which means harmony, is a unique sustainable development agrotourism and ecotourism accommodation. Eumelia hosts yoga retreats, organic and weddings as well as workshops and events for wellbeing, wine, olive oil makers, wine and olive oil tastings, and cooking classes with organic farm-to-table gastronomy. Olive picking, grape harvest, and other agricultural activities will be provided. Eumelia’s organic farm is designed along the principles of hemodynamic / biodynamic / permaculture, and the accommodation facilities are created using entirely eco-friendly materials and technology, such as recycling, composting, geothermic heating / cooling, and water recycling. Located in the prefecture of Laconia near the village of Gouves, they welcome visitors from Greece and around the world to visit Eumelia throughout the year.
Private house
Built with elements from traditional Greek farmhouse architecture with modern elegance each of the houses has its own private garden and a large veranda with a great view of the ancient olive grove and the surrounding mountains.
Program
A transformative olive oil immersion tour in the Peloponnese
Eumelia Organic Agrotourism Farm provides the tools to become an excellent conscious plant-based cook while mastering the number one ingredient of Mediterranean nutrition: extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
Experience hands-on the transformation of the olive to a premium extra virgin olive oil from an ancient farm directly to the bottle.
Master three Greek olive oil varieties, learn all the secrets of food pairing and cooking with extra virgin olive oil, and let it be the star of your dishes.
As Hippocrates might have said, let nutraceutical EVOO be your medicine, and adopt healthy EVOO habits that will boost your immune system and protect your health forever.
Walk, reconnect with nature and meditate on current concerns of humanity and your relationship with Mother Earth. And since the Mediterranean is not only about nutrition, immerse yourself in the slow lifestyle of the Greeks:
- Let a rooster wake you up in your own eco-farm house
- Have endless dinner chats under the stars with the companion of a curated selection of natural Greek wines and like-minded people
- Meditate under a 2000-year-old olive tree and relax with a high phenolic EVOO massage
- Encounter the ancestors in ancient Sparta and get inspired by their lifestyle
- Visit picturesque locations
Extra bonus
Whatever Greeks build, lasts for life! Their wish is to build a lifelong friendship with you. We also wish that your family and friends will also taste what you harvested!
As a gift for your initiation into the Greek olive oil world, Eumelia Organic Agrotourism Farm will send you, right to your doorsteps, 6 bottles of the extra virgin olive oil that you harvested, tasted, and cooked!
And don’t forget to offer your loved ones an EVOO-tasting evening with Greek food, there is no better way to share with them your life-changing trip!
And let’s keep in touch. The following spring we will arrange a virtual gathering with more cooking! All participants will participate for free in a virtual gathering and cooking class for even more EVOO tips.
There is more. Recipes e-books, tempting discounts for you and your friends, exclusive early bird for our future events, and a global virtual community are also included in this retreat to make it last forever!
Itinerary
Day 1
- Arrival at eumelia farm
- Welcome farm-to-table dinner. The chef will prepare for you an organic and zero-kilometer meal. eumelia’s organic vegetables are combined with local delicacies to form a unique gastronomic experience
Day 2: The transformation begins
- Organic homemade handmade breakfast, including some of eumelia’s specialties such as seasonal pies, freshly handmade bread, and infusions with wild herbs from the farm
- Sustainability tour of the organic farm and hotel facilities, learn and come in contact with the Greek agricultural landscape. Their aim and wish is to establish a sustainable example of an ecotourism / agrotourism / education / culture space that receives, entertains, and educates visitors as well as the local population on issues such as environment, environmental technology, organic farming methods, alternative health, sustainability, self-sustainability, and progressive educational tools
- Olive picking, join their picking crew and learn how to prepare the harvest nets, pick the olive trees, and get the olives ready for the olive mill. Meet the perennial olive trees that age more than 2000 years – you can even hide in their trunks!
- Lunch
- Olive oil tasting: Why EVOO is the superior category of olive oil? Learn all the secrets of the green gold of Greece, how to distinguish a fresh extra virgin olive oil, and how to store your olive oil properly
- High phenolic EVOO massage (half of the group) – Free time: After a tiring day relax your muscles with a qualified physiotherapist and of course nourish your body with nutracutical EVOO infused with wild herbs from the farm
- Farm-to-table dinner and wine pairing from our curated list of natural wines from Greece
Day 3: Encounter the ancestors
- Organic healthy handmade breakfast
- Ancient Sparta: Guided tour to the ancient civilization world known for discipline, endurance, and minimalism
- Greek Olive Oil and Olive Museum: A tour of the Olive Oil Museum in Sparta, one of nine in the world, learn how ancient Greeks made olive oil and how it has evolved in the last 4-5 thousand years
- Lunch in En Hatipi: Taste the local slow food culture and try recipes that date back to antiquity
- Take a guided tour of the olive mill, witness the whole process of making olive oil, and taste fresh olive oil with toasted bread
- Farm-to-table dinner and wine pairing from our curated list of natural wines from Greece
Day 4: The Mediterranean living immersion
- Organic healthy handmade breakfast
- Olive oil tasting: Master 3 Greek varieties and how to pair them with food
- High Phenolic EVOO massage (half of the group) – Free time
- Lunch
- Farm-to-table cooking class and EVOO health tips: Local cuisine with a twist, healthy and conscious cooking with EVOO. Learn all the secrets of the local Laconic gastronomy with the guidance of the farm chef. Pick fresh eatable wild greens from the farm and learn to prepare filo dough and make the famous local pitas. – “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” - Hippocrates
Day 5: Nature’s goods last forever
- Organic healthy handmade breakfast
- Kalamata Olive Harvest – sorting and curing: The art of preserving the fruits of nature
- Picnic in the grove: enjoy a field worker’s lunch
- Olive oil soap making: Nourish your body with EVOO and make it last forever. Experience firsthand how to make your own natural soap. Select the herbs of your choice, combine them with organic extra virgin olive oil from the farm, and make your personal soap bar with the natural cold method
- Table olive tasting: The different varieties and styles of Greek table olives
- Farm-to-table dinner and wine pairing from a curated list of natural wines from Greece
- Outdoor cinema
Day 6
- Organic healthy handmade breakfast
- Departure
Instructors
Frangiskos Karelas
Frangiskos is a founder and President of Homeodynamic Development S.A. the parent company of Eumelia Organic Agrotourism Farm and Guesthouse. Permaculture diploma with more than 13 years of experience in sustainability, agrotourism, and ecotourism, he has trained thousands of people from around the world. Certified olive oil and olive sommelier.
Marilena Karadima
Marilena is MA in International Economics Panteon University, Head of European Funding Programs Laconia Chamber of Commerce, Project Manager European Vocational Training Programs. Head of tasting seminars and organic agricultural product development for Eumelia Organic Farm and Guesthouse. Certified wine sommelier WSET Diploma (Level 3), certified olive oil and olive sommelier Kalamata Olive Oil Taste Laboratory T.E.I. Peloponnese. Speaks English, French, Spanish, and Greek.
Location
Laconia is a diverse destination in the Peloponnese in southern Greece that includes a vast range of ancient sites, cultural and historical monuments, museums, beaches, and picturesque villages on the mountains or by the seaside. The Laconic Gulf between the two mountain ranges of Taygetos and Parnonas provides the area with an amazing variety of experiences from local cuisine, architecture, nature, and scenery with alternating horizons and backgrounds.
There are several activities that you can enjoy in this magnificent part of the world, cave exploration in Diros, visiting a petrified forest in Cape Maleas, going to the end of the world as it was known in ancient Greece in Cape Taineron and the southernmost tip of the Balkan peninsula. Surf, scuba dive, mountain bike, hike up on the mountain ranges of Taygetos & Parnonas, visit the ancient port of Sparta near Gytheio, and walk around the medieval castle town of Monemvasia.
Walk along the monasteries and churches in Mystras home to the last Byzantine Emperor, and experience the rugged beauty of the stone home fortresses of the Mani region. Walk around the delta of the river of Evrotas, a Natura-protected natural habitat. Live in ancient Sparta, and feel the mighty strength of this ancient Greek state.
Features
General
- Café
- Dining area
- Environmentally friendly
- Fireplace
- Garden
- Lobby
- Lounge
- Multilingual staff
- Picnic area
- Restaurant
- Smoke-free property
- Terrace
- Yoga deck
- Patio
Services
- Free bicycle
- Free parking
- Free Wi-Fi
- Internet access
- Ironing / ironing board
- Laundry
- Library
- Parking lot
- Tour assistance
- Wedding
- Wireless internet
Food
This holiday includes Greek slow food culinary and gastronomic experience, three meals per day (organic breakfast made from Eumelia’s organic products, lunch, and dinner). They take great care and choose carefully the taverns and restaurants based on their atmosphere and quality of the local and regional cuisine. All meals after breakfast include wine.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Alcoholic beverages
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Organic
- Other dietary requirements on request
Things to do (optional)
- Agritourism activities
- Massage
- Mountain bikes
- Nature walks
- Yoga
What's included
- Olive picking, olive oil, and olive tasting
- Farm-to-table cooking class
- Natural soap making with olive oil
- Visit an olive mill, tour the olive oil museum, tour the organic farm
- 5 nights’ accommodation
- 3 meals per day (organic breakfast made from eumelia's organic products, lunch, and dinner)
What's not included
- Airfare and transportation to and from the retreat
- Travel insurance
- Personal expenses and souvenirs
- Optional excursions and activities not listed in the itinerary
- Alcoholic beverages beyond the included natural wines
- Gratuities for staff and guides
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Kalamata International Airport
64 km
Transfer not provided
Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos Airport)
155 km
Transfer not provided
Arrival by airplane
The closest airport is Kalamata International Airport. Transfers are provided for 150 EUR each way. Transfers from and to Athens International Airport are 300 EUR one way or 500 EUR both ways.
Driving directions from Athens
- From Athens, take the national highway Α8 / E94 towards Corinth
- Then take highway Α7 / Ε65 to Tripoli and from there you continue towards Kalamata on the Α7/Ε65
- Take exit 14 Lefktro towards Sparta on the A71 and then take the exit to Sparti
- Take the direction to Gytheio on the E961 and you turn right at the sign post with direction to the town of Monemvasia
- Go through the town of Skala then you head towards the village of Vlachioti
- After passing through the village of Vlachioti, turn left at the sign post Gouves and head towards the village of Gouves
Arrival by bus
You can take the bus to Vlachiotis town bus station. From there, it is a 15-minute taxi ride to Eumelia.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 100% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
