Golf Guides · 11 June 2026
Costa Navarino golf holidays: the complete guide
Greece By The Golf Planet Holidays Team · Golf-travel specialists since 1981 · Published 11 June 2026 At a glance How many golf courses does Costa Navarino have? Four 18 hole courses. The Dunes course (Bernhard Langer, 2010) and the Bay course (Robert Trent Jones Jr, 2011) came first; the Hills course and the International […]
Costa Navarino sits on a 3,500 acre estate in Messinia, in the southwest corner of the Greek Peloponnese, about 45 minutes by road from Kalamata airport. Since 2022 it has had four 18 hole courses, which makes it the only place in Greece where you can play a different course every day for most of a week without repacking a suitcase. Golf holidays in Greece used to mean one course and a long drive. This estate changed that.
Golf Planet Holidays has been building tailor-made golf trips since 1981, and Costa Navarino is the centrepiece of our Greece programme. This guide covers the four courses and who designed them, the three hotels we book and which suits whom, how to get there from the UK, and the months that actually suit golf. Everything named here is something we sell.
The Dunes and the Bay: where to start
Play the Dunes course first. Bernhard Langer designed it with European Golf Design and it opened in 2010 as the first signature course in Greece, a par 71 of just over 6,000 metres routed through dunes and old olive groves, with the Ionian in view on the better holes. It is still the course the resort is judged by, and the one your group will be arguing about at dinner.
The Bay course is the gentler day. Robert Trent Jones Jr laid it out in 2011, another par 71 but shorter and friendlier off the tee, with two holes running along the historic Bay of Navarino itself. There are proper elevation changes here, so take a buggy on the Bay even if you walk the Dunes.
The Hills and the International Olympic Academy course
The 2022 expansion doubled the golf. Jose Maria Olazabal designed both new layouts on the Navarino Hills site above the bay: the International Olympic Academy course, a 6,366 metre par 72 and the first course anywhere to carry the International Olympic Academy name, and the Hills course beside it, a 6,280 metre par 72. Both look down over the Bay of Navarino and the Ionian Sea, and both are built to examine better players more than the two originals do. A 60 bay driving range sits up here too, and a free shuttle links the estate hotels with all four courses, so nobody in the group needs a hire car.
Where our specialists would stay in Greece
The Romanos, the Westin or the W: which hotel suits you
Three hotels, three different trips. The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort is the quiet one, low rise and close to the beach, and it is our pick for couples and for anyone marking an occasion. The Westin Resort Costa Navarino sits on the same part of the estate at Navarino Dunes and runs livelier, with more restaurants and bars on the doorstep; for a golf group it is the sensible default, and families settle in easily. W Costa Navarino is the newest and most style led of the three, pitched at a younger crowd, and works for groups who want the evenings to carry on after the golf does.
Pushed for a single answer: a four ball takes the Westin, a couple takes the Romanos.
Flights to Kalamata and the transfer
Kalamata is your airport, around 45 minutes from the resort by private transfer, which we include. British Airways, easyJet and Jet2 all fly direct from the UK in season, with London Gatwick and Manchester among the departure points and a flight time of roughly 3 hours 45 minutes.
One honest caveat. Those direct flights are seasonal, running broadly from late spring to October, and outside the summer schedules you connect through Athens and then face a drive of about three hours or a short onward hop. Winter golf at Costa Navarino is possible, but from the UK it is rarely worth the faff. Flights are never part of our packages; we arrange them as an optional extra with ATOL protection (ATOL 9046) when you want us to.
When to go: September is peak, May and October are the value
The courses stay open all year. September books up first, and for good reason: daytime highs around 28 degrees, the sea at its warmest and the tee sheets full of returning groups. May and October are the sweet spots, a touch cooler, greener underfoot in May, quieter in October, and easier for rooms across all three hotels.
July and August work less well. Messinian afternoons regularly push into the low thirties, so high summer golf means an 8am tee time and a long lunch by the pool. If school holidays fix your dates, that rhythm still makes for a good week.
Costa Navarino green fees and how the packages work
Searches for Costa Navarino green fees usually end in frustration, because the resort does not publish one simple public tariff. Rates move with the season and the course, and they differ again depending on where you are staying on the estate. Buggies typically cost 30 to 40 euros per round.
This is where a package earns its place. We build Costa Navarino trips with the hotel, the rounds, reserved tee times and private transfers costed as one agreed figure before you fly, typically around 7 nights with 5 rounds, or 5 nights with 4 rounds, with early booking advantages for 2027 on request. It is not a cheap destination and we will not pretend otherwise, but agreeing the golf in advance beats paying for rounds piecemeal once you arrive. Golf Planet Holidays has built tailor-made golf holidays since 1981 and is a member of PTS (5087) and IATA; packages cover the ground arrangements only. Start with our golf holidays in Greece page, or just send us your dates.
Where our specialists would stay at Costa Navarino
What our golfers say
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Frequently asked questions
How do you get to Costa Navarino from the UK?
Fly to Kalamata, then it is about 45 minutes by road to the resort. British Airways, easyJet and Jet2 operate seasonal direct flights from airports including London Gatwick and Manchester, taking roughly 3 hours 45 minutes. In winter you connect via Athens. Our packages include private transfers from Kalamata.
What is the best month for golf at Costa Navarino?
September, if you can get it: warm sea, daytime highs around 28 degrees and the busiest tee sheets of the year. May and October give you nearly the same weather with better availability. The four courses are open year round, but UK direct flights only operate in the summer season.
Is there a handicap requirement at Costa Navarino?
Handicap certificates are not normally required on the four resort courses, though sensible pace of play is expected and the Hills and International Olympic Academy layouts will test higher handicaps. Bring proof of handicap if you have it; if a course asks for anything, we flag it when we confirm your tee times.
What is included in a Costa Navarino package?
The ground arrangements: your hotel, your rounds with tee times reserved in advance, and private transfers between Kalamata airport and the resort. Flights are not included; we arrange them as an optional extra with ATOL protection (ATOL 9046). Buggies, usually 30 to 40 euros per round, are costed in if you want them. Most trips are built around 7 nights with 5 rounds or 5 nights with 4 rounds, with early booking advantages for 2027 on request.
Can non-golfers enjoy Costa Navarino?
Easily. The estate has beaches, pools, a large spa, tennis and watersports, and the surrounding Messinia coast is worth the trip on its own. Voidokilia beach is one of the most photographed in Greece, and the castle town of Pylos is a short drive away. Plenty of our Greece bookings pair a golfer with a partner who never touches a club.
Come and play with us
Wherever you're travelling from, you're welcome on a Golf Planet hosted tour — a small group, a host with you from the first tee to the last, and every round, transfer and dinner taken care of. You just bring the clubs.
