Campsite Chrissa

...Delphi and stayed in a campsite I am now reviewing.

*Location*

There are actually three campsites in the immediate vicinity of Delphi, all of them located on the Delphi-Itea road and all easily accessible both by car and bus: this one is the furthest (7 km), located on the border of village of Krisso, which actually in the ancient times ruled Delphi sacred perceint and only after a series of 'Sacred Wars' its hegemony ...
...time of our visit the campsite was only about 20% full, with mostly Northern European (that doesn`t include Brits) camper vans and caravans, though we also met a Romanian and Afghani families there!

*Facilities*

The facilities that Chrissa offers are very good and that is despite merciful lack of `added value` holiday camp experiences like regular entertainment and other atrocities.

The bathrooms verge ... more

We spend several weeks in May and June 2005 camping in Greece, mainly in Peloponessus, but we also strayed onto the mainland to visit the shrine of Delphi and stayed in a campsite I am now reviewing.

*Location*

There are actually three campsites in the immediate vicinity of Delphi, all of them located on the Delphi-Itea road and all easily accessible both by car and bus: this one is the furthest (7 km), located on the border of village of Krisso, which actually in the ancient times ruled Delphi sacred perceint and only after a series of 'Sacred Wars' its hegemony has been overruled. But enough history.

*Environment*

Camping Chrissa is generally more of a caravan/camper place: gravelled areas dominate and there is virtually no proper tenting turf, apart from a few patches near the swimming pool or close to a steep hillside, which don`t seem to be "proper" pitches and are exposed to sun and directly by the access road.

But from what I know other Delphi campsites are similar and it is actually perfectly possible to pitch there with an aid of a mallet or a rock, and assuming you have some mats for the floor and something to sit on you would be all right in a tent.

Apart from the lack of grassy pitches, there is plenty of greenery: trees (pines and olives dominate but I noticed mimosas and mulberries too) and flowering bushes, additional shading is provided by straw/twig awnings over the pitches, so virtually all of them have some shade.

The reception and other facilities are located in a two-storey building in the middle of the site, and the bungalows (which look like Caribbean straw huts) are very near, while the pitches lay on a series of terraces on a hillside. This means wonderful views of the Amfissa olive grove, Itea bay and the mountains, but also a lot of climbing up and down to the shop, bathrooms and the pool if you locate yourself too high up.

At the time of our visit the campsite was only about 20% full, with mostly Northern European (that doesn`t include Brits) camper vans and caravans, though we also met a Romanian and Afghani families there!

*Facilities*

The facilities that Chrissa offers are very good and that is despite merciful lack of `added value` holiday camp experiences like regular entertainment and other atrocities.

The bathrooms verge on opulent: newly tiled, light and airy shower/toilet area with solid wooden doors, as well as couple of larger cubicles containing a toilet as well as hand-held showers (excellent for washing and rinsing 4-year old`s hair without her screaming!). There is a large room for dish and clothes washing, as well as washing machines (5 euro) available. All the bathroom areas seemed spotlessly clean and hot water is available all day, and even when it`s not sunny.

We have not used them, but electricity hook-ups for caravans/campers are available, as well as a chemical toilet disposal facility.

The campsite shop is reasonably well stocked and open virtually all day, they even sell excellent local olive oil from a barrel. Prices are - as expected - bit inflated, but nothing untoward.

The restaurant offers a selection of standard Greek dishes (souvlaki, stuffed peppers, grilled fish etc.) which are prepared on the premises, tasty and reasonably priced - we paid about 25 euro for a simple meal for three including some house wine and a fabulous pink sunset over mountains.

The campsite boasts a spacious, clean pool (plus a toddler paddling pool) and swimming in it in the late afternoon - with the mountains towering above and the palms giving shade - was one of the nicer experiences of the holiday. I have not seen deckchairs/sun loungers by the pool though, there was a few straw/palm leaf parasols shading area of grass as well as some plastic chairs and a bench. We didn`t mind as we are not particularly keen on lying in the sun.

*Prices*

It`s not a cheap campsite - a standard price for our family (2 adults, preschooler and a tent, low season) would be 17.70 euro. For a more typical family of three with a car/tent, a car/caravan combination or a camper van the cost (with electricity) would be about 25 euro, 10-20% more in the high season.

We had the immense luck of phoning beforehand and being quoted a *wrong* price of 14 euro by Katarina (daughter of the proprietor who seems to take on roles of the administrator, waitress and shop assistant). She kept to her word and thus we happily stayed for three days!

*Verdict*

I heartily recommend Chrissa, especially if you have your own transport: the location and views is stunning, the people who run it friendly (especially the lovely Katarina), facilities good and standards high. Local village of Krisso is within a walking distance (we enjoyed a meal in taverna Basanos at the other end), Delphi 1 euro by bus or 10 euro by taxi as is Itea if you had compulsion to be at the very seaside, and you avoid being in the main crush of tourists, though I am sure it gets much busier in the high season.

Price is the main disadvantage, but then other campsites in the area seem similar, in fact I think it`s slightly cheaper than the campsites located nearer to the Delphi village.

Please check out their website and look for yourself:

http://www.chrissacamping.gr 

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