It is a strange location, seemingly way inland. The approach is up a 2 mile channel, to the top, where there is a sizeable bay with the public quay on the East and the new, growing marina on the West. All around is low lying land and huge open expanses of shallow water, and haven for wild life and birds.
The approach from the sea has to be done with some care as the shore is very low lying and there is no landmark to use to find the channel outer buoys. From either the West or East the best solution is to crank up your GPS and plot the entrance, and go for it, staying 1-2 miles offshore until to the South. Whatever you do, do not go round the outside of the channel buoys, it rapidly becomes very shallow.
[The Marina]
If you want to anchor in the bay at the top of the channel, do not block the approach to the fishing and commercial quay on the North side. Either stay just outside the marina outer breakwaters or go over near the public quay to the east. When you go ashore in the dinghy, go the Northeast corner as this is the shortest distance into the town.
The new marina is now open and lots of yachts have over-wintered here, both in and out of the water in 2009/10. It is still under development with new buildings and services going up. By the end of 2010 there will be cafes, restaurants, chandlers and other services. The management is very friendly and english is spoken fluently. One thing strange, so far they do not have a radio channel, and on approach you have to call up on a mobile phone number!
Marina details can be found at Mesolonghi Marina.
The town of Mesolonghi is entirely Greek, with little or no tourism. In fact the arrival of live a-boards this winter has been the first surprise they have had of foreign tourism, and they welcomed us in a very friendly way. It is university town and full of cafes and good tavernas well used by locals. Shopping is from lots of small shops and a few supermarkets, but don't expect to find a wide selection of luxury goods. If you are in the marina it is a good idea to have bicycles as it is a 10-15 minute ride into town for coffee every morning!
[Pedestrian street in the town]
Local bus services are good and cheap to nearby towns and to the city of Patras (across the newly constructed suspension bridge).
For trips back home you must go by bus to Athens, then by bus to the airport on the other side of town, this all takes 5-6 hours. But flights to most places are available from Athens. Busses run almost every hour to and from Athens. There are many small, good hotels in downtown Athens if you decide to break your journey and have a look around.
There are ferries from Patras to Italy, Brindisi or Venice.
So, come and visit or stay at the new Mesolinghi marina.
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