Water sports galore in Greece,

Lazing in the sun or diving under the sea, the choice is yours at this dreamy resort

OnCe upon a time, a young boy called Vassilis Constantakopoulos went off to sea. it was a hard life, but he stuck at it and many years later he became a shipping magnate — and bought a great swathe of land around navarino Bay in the ancient Messinia region, which runs down to the ionian Sea in south-west Greece.

it’s an area of low verdant hills, sheer valleys, vineyards and olive trees by the million. He went on to build two neighbouring hotels in the bay, and a statue of the Captain — who died in 2011 — stands proudly near the entrance to the golf club which serves them both.

it is a fitting tribute because the Westin Resort, where we stay, is chic, modern and l uxurious. The scent of rosemary and lavender wafts through the gardens and the staff invariably have smiles on their faces.

This is no budget destination — but there’s oodles to do. There are endless pools, restaurants, and quiet corners in which to doze and read. You could quite easily spend the week cocooned in the resort, but to understand why the Captain loved this territory so much, you need to venture out.

The ancient past is writ large — literally — on the walls of Proti island just a short drive along the coast, where Spartan troops scrawled warnings to new arrivals. They roughly translate as: ‘ Beware any who come here, there is danger.’

PRoTi is the end point for an exhilarating bike excursion that starts on a plateau inland, and then plunges down like a Tour de France descent before winding through olives groves to the sea. There are four of us on this holiday — my wife and me, our son, Mike, 11, and daughter Alice, eight. While the girls stay at the pool, Mike and i decide to play Chris Froome for a couple of hours.

Halfway through the ride, our mohican-sporting mountain bike guide stops for a drink in the shade of a gnarled olive tree and explains that the Kalamata olives are famous for their size and flavour. They’re still harvested by hand using wooden poles to shake them loose, before the green olives are cold-pressed to produce the glorious extra virgin oil. Frankly, i’d pour it on my Weetabix given half the chance.

The bike ride (€85 per person) ends with a boat trip across to Proti, where we slip into a deliciously clear sea off the tiny beach at Vourlia. But if you really want to explore, you need to get beneath the waves — and that means scuba or snorkelling.

Snorkelling costs €40 for a four-hour excursion, and it’s like a holiday within a holiday, transporting you to a silent world of wonders.

We get a close up of the rusting wreck of a merchant ship sunk by an italian warplane. it now sits in about 20 ft of water, with a little octopus sheltering under the serrated edges of the deck. There are all manner of other activities. We enjoy the kayaking, but while Mike is rhythmically paddling away with his mother, Alice i s more i nterested in standing up and plunging into the sea, where she bobs around like a grinning cork.

For sheer exhilaration, nothing beats the Aqua Park, which makes even adults behave like whooping children. With two l ong, straight slides, and a helter-skelter, it is irresistible.

in contrast, t here’s t he astronomy night. This involves lying on our backs on the roof of the golf course clubhouse (‘it’s like the Hogwarts’ astronomy tower’, says Mike) and gazing up at the riot of stars the Greek ancients once studied.

We love the resort’s Souvlakerie, an informal spot just off the ‘village’ square, where a groan-