School trip to the Varco Athinaion multi-purpose space
This year's trip of the Nafplio 2nd Primary School was planned for Varco Athinaion. We went in June with my children aged 8½ and 10½ students of the second and fifth grades respectively and in this article I will describe my impressions as a parent and what the children did.
Varco Athinaion. On the left is the go-kart track, in the middle is the basketball court and on the right the zip line
Let's first look at some general information about Varco. It is located just before Megalopolis at the Athinaion exit of the New Highway Tripoli - Kalamata. We arrived from Nafplio by bus in 1 hour and 15 minutes, from Athens I saw on Google Maps that it is less than 2 hours away.
This is a multi-purpose space that is not intended exclusively for children as it organizes concerts and festivals too. It is also aimed at adults as I saw that the pool is a popular destination for locals to swim.
Varco's amenities include: a restaurant, swimming pool, playground, zip line, go-kart track, football and basketball court, trampoline, indoor tent with toys (like a circus tent) for children to play without being exposed to the weather conditions. I have posted several photos in the article.
The zip line
The go-kart track
As soon as we arrived the children headed to the games, most parents sat in the restaurant and some, like me, went to the playground. There are few trees so a hat for both children and adults is essential.
The playground has slides, swings and a space with sand. It is small and not the size I would expect for such a property. In addition the swings are not fixed to the ground so they need to be shaken gently because otherwise they move from their places.
Next is a separate area where there is a football field with grass, a basketball court with a concrete floor without lines, the zip line and a go-kart track. The zip line at the starting point is made up of straw and pallets which does not seem very safe. The trampoline at that time at least had no supervisor resulting in many children entering and jumping at the same time with the risk of an accident.
I should emphasize that while the children are playing they are exposed to the sun, so if it is very hot, they will not be able to play much. Only the sand area has sufficient shade but this is aimed at younger ages.
The swimming pool is suitable for children with sun loungers and umbrellas so you can bring your swimsuit to enjoy your swim. I do not know if there is an extra charge.
The swimming pool and the restaurant
Now let's talk about the food. The restaurant is spotlessly clean with plenty of tables both inside and outside under trees. It offers ice cream, milkshakes and cocktails. The children's menu which was prepared for the school included chicken nuggets, pizza, a piece of toasted club sandwich and french fries, more than enough to fill them up. I ordered chicken with mustard sauce which unfortunately the chicken was awful, I left most of it. It also offers drinks made of forest fruits which I really liked.
The restaurant
Overall we had a good time but it's not for the whole day because there aren't many games and the kids get bored quickly. The food obviously disappointed me but I hope that's a mistake.
