We stayed at the Christina appartments two years ago and are returning this summer. They are not right in the centre of Mastihari, but you can cut through the sand dunes to get to the beach, so you don't have to go right down into the village. It is very peaceful there with nice views across the countryside. We were in the older block of the two, and found it to be fine. The newer block was even nicer. Owners very friendly too.

We liked eating at El Greco...............right on the beach. Food was delicious and staff friendly but without being right in your face. Also liked Seaside further along the beach.

This is a message for Laz Allen. We are off to revisit Mastihari in a couple of weeks and are staying at the Christina. I am somewhat concerned about your comments re the building that is going on. Can you tell me how bad it is please and were you really disturbed by it?
Thanks a lot.

Just returned from a week in Mastihari staying at the Christina apartments. We love the location, not far from the centre, but away from any hustle and bustle (if you can really say that about such a quiet place!). We had no problems at all with the rooms. They were cleaned regularly (except weekends). You can hire a fan from the owners for 1 Euro a day to keep cool at night. This was a godsend. We shall be returning next year!

This taverna is set back from the beach on the right hand fork of the main road (the Aplo bar is just round the corner). It hasn't got a particularly nice outlook, being on the road, but we went on recommendation from this site. The owner was very welcoming. We had a delicious meal. The saganaki was wonderful, and the souvlakis were also very tasty. They also do a takeaway service.

This is a very popular taverna on the beach. We ate there both at lunch time and in the evening and never had a bad meal. It is run by a Greek man and his English wife. The menu is very comprehensive, if just slightly geared towards tourists. Try the 'Loukaniko El Greco' (village sausage) and the gyros - mouthwatering! Staff friendly.

This taverna is on the opposite corner to El Greco. The menu isn't as extensive as some of the tavernas. Whilst we quite enjoyed the meal, we weren't made to feel very welcome. We went there twice and won't be going back a third time!

This taverna is on the beach towards the harbour. We were always made to feel very welcome here, greeted like old friends with homemade liquer. The menu is quite comprehensive. We particularly enjoyed the stifado and youvetsi.

This taverna is down by the beach just behind the children's playground. We went on recommendation from this site, and we were so glad that we did. The meals we had there were by far the best of the holiday. All the produce comes from the owners' organic farm. Portions are very generous. The mother does all the cooking and you really feel that you are eating traditional homecooked food, just like they would eat themselves. Local people were eating there too which is always a good sign! We tried stifado, moussaka, sousoukakia (meat balls) and salads amongst other things. They were truly mouthwatering! Prices very reasonable. You must try this taverna!

This bar has a nice setting, next to El Greco and the music is great - 60's, 70's and 80's. Also has air conditioning. However we found the drinks to be quite expensive.

This bar is situated inland on the intersection of some of the smaller roads between the Seaside taverna and the Tasty Palace. You will recognise it because of the bamboo furniture outside. We were always made to feel very welcome by the girl serving. Great selection of cocktails, reasonably priced. Music playing in background.

We have travelled to Greece with Manos several times with no real complaints. However this year's rep in Mastihari, Stephan, is not very efficient. He spent the coach journey from the airport trying to be funny, instead of passing on useful information. When we tried to see him to check on something he wasn't where he was supposed to be, and we ended up wasting our time. He never showed up! Coach journey back to airport was of similar standard........he was useless getting people into the right queues. Hope he isn't there again next year. We might try the Greycat company who specialise in holidays to Mastihari.

Hi! There is a place where you can hire wind surfers, and I think I have seen a couple of pedaloes, but there aren't lots of places to hire dinghies. If you just want a small inflatable, you may be able to get one from a local supermarket.

We visited Mastihari this October and were surprised by the number of stray cats and kittens. There seemed a lot more than when we had been in July. Ira and Pia (who run some lovely gift shops) do a great deal to help the animals over the winter, providing food for them, and are always grateful for donations of tinned or dried cat and dog food. This can be dropped off in one of their shops. We even had a little cat who came to visit us on the beach and paddled, and another one who clambered over roof tops and balconies to see us!

We have been going to Mastihari since 2002, our last visit being in October last year. There are no banks or ATMs there. Plenty of places to change money/traveller's cheques, and many shops and tavernas take debit or credit cards. We have never found it a problem not being able to get cash from a cashpoint. Hope this helps!

The biggest supermarket (Constantinos) on the main road in to the village certainly takes credit and debit cards, and many of the tavernas also have visa sign etc displayed, so I wouldn't have thought it would be a problem. If you were desperate for cash, you could always catch the bus into Kos town for the day and use a cash machine there.