Katakolon, Greece for Olympia

We visit Katakolon, Greece, for Olympia. We were on a cruise, on the Norwegian Jade, out of Rome, to Ports in Greece and Turkey.  Katakolon was our first port, on Day 3 of the cruise.  Day 2 was a sea day.

2 Minute Summary Video


Prior to this cruise, the ignorant me was unaware that suck a port existed. Now that I have been there, I know that it is the gateway to the ancient city of Olympia. Fascinating!

Some interesting facts from http://www.katakolon.org/history.html. A small Greek town, with a population that is just over 600, Katakolon overlooks the Ionian Sea and is located on a peninsula on the western IIia in Pyrgos.

 Katakolon's glory days were in the end of the 19th to the mid 20th Century. The port was constructed to facilitate the transportation of goods to other major European ports.

Ancient Olympic site - Part 1


Modern Olympia and Cafe - Part 2

Kremasti Monastery and Return to Ship - Part 3


Some photos
Picture of the NCL Jade ship in the morning. The sun was still trying to rise.   

Boarding the van. See how close it was to the ship.

Theo, from Mamousis Private Taxis.

Ticket Booth at Ancient Olympia

Useful signages


Ancient Olympia Stadium and track.


Weather held up.  Sun started to come out, which was nice.


More tourists now, many from the ship.




Museum was a 5 minute walk away.

Nice walk along this path.


This is what the combined ticket looks like.

The courtyard, leading to the entrance of the Archaeological museum.


Visiting the museum together with the ancient ruins site was a good idea. This plaque was a description of the west pediment of the temple of Zeus.



Take a look at these statues, for example. The centerpiece was supposed to be Zeus, the King of Gods who oversaw the universe. Unfortunately, his head was missing.

After a toilet break, our driver guided us to walk to the modern village of Olympia, an easy walk of about 10 minutes. The modern village of Olympia wasn't very big. Just one major street, with some hotels, eateries and shops.

We decided that we needed a break and walked past several cafes, but none looked enticing enough. Until we found this cafe which was at the end of a side street. I don't know the Greek alphabet, so is this Cafe Pogo or Cafe Podo or something else?

This was the Margarita pizza we had.  Enough for everybody.  We just needed a quick bite. 


After the rest stop, our last destination before returning to the cruise ship was a monastery called Kremasti Monastery. At first we thought there would be monks, but it turned out that the Monastery housed nuns, in the Greek Orthodox tradition. The monastery was located about 15km away from Olympia, up on a hill, with gorgeous views.

We spent about an hour here, viewing the place and taking in the views. Soon it was time to head back to the ship. Overall, it was a great day in port for us.

Our guide for the day, Mr Theo, did a great job.  Here is a video clip of him giving us a rundown on the sad state of the Greek economy.


Thanks for reading!

Back to landing page for the NCL 10N Greece and Turkey cruise.