Getting from Spetses to Kalamata

If you are heading to Kalamata from Spetses you are making your way from a car-free island in the Saronic Gulf to the capital of Messenia in the southern Peloponnese, on the opposite side of the Peloponnese. It has a renovated waterfront, good food and easy access to the Mani peninsula and the Byzantine ruins of Mystras.

Take the ferry

There is no direct ferry from Spetses to Kalamata. Getting there means either taking the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus and then driving or flying south to Kalamata, or taking the short ferry from Spetses to the mainland port of Kosta and driving southwest through the Peloponnese to Kalamata, which takes around 2.5 to 3 hours and avoids Piraeus entirely.

Getting there by air

Kalamata has an international airport with connections from Athens. Spetses has no airport. The nearest airport is Athens. Taking the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus and flying from Athens to Kalamata takes around 55 minutes on the second leg. Total journey time is around 4 to 5 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Take the short ferry from Spetses to the mainland port of Kosta and drive southwest through the Peloponnese to Kalamata. At around 2.5 to 3 hours from Kosta it avoids Piraeus entirely and is the most direct approach. Alternatively take the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus and fly from Athens to Kalamata. Note that Spetses is car-free so if you are traveling with a car it would already be at Kosta, from where the drive to Kalamata is the most natural connection.