Vamvakou Santa School – Santa’s Lost Compass

The magical world of “Santa’s Lost Compass” comes alive, kicking off a series of fun missions in which every station hides a piece of the lost compass. An inflatable climbing wall invites you to conquer its peaks. A search maze hides secrets around every turn. Obstacle and balance courses put your agility and reflexes to the test. Target and precision games call for skill and a steady aim. Along the way, a giant snowball becomes the ultimate photobooth for souvenir photos. You can also drop off your letter to Santa, make lovely crafts, transform yourself with face painting, and treat yourself to the sweet surprises hidden inside the village school.

The programme is enriched with creative workshops for all ages and tastes. And what don’t we make in Vamvakou: from candles and soaps to wooden ornaments, badges, Christmas cookies and cards. We also take part in 3D painting, 3D printing and virtual reality experiences, along with all the other family activities that give us even more reasons to love the village on Mount Parnon.

The workshops and the school’s individual activities are run in collaboration with Happy Elephant.

Find the full program HERE!

The mission begins on November 28, and we’re sounding the signal for the start of the Christmas season in Vamvakou. Santa leaves his sleigh for a while, hops on the Powered Bike and, with the power of the pedals, changes the lights in the village by lighting the Christmas tree in its square.

The day’s musical coordinates chart a map full of sounds and unexpected rhythms, with a programme that travels down all kinds of paths: Byzantine hymns and carols from the Children’s and Byzantine Choir of the Holy Metropolis of Monemvasia and Sparta; a musical journey at the piano for four hands, “from the charm of summer to the magic of Christmas,” with Vasilis Gavvaris and Tatiana Nikolopoulou; and a meeting of four Music Schools of the Peloponnese in an unexpected concert of traditional music, through a unique collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). The fun, interactive performance “Baba and Kou Got Revived” face painting and the Christmas Green Screen Photobooth add colour and surprises, while the Christmas party with the Wedding Singers and an after-party DJ set give the day its most festive finale.

See the day’s full program HERE!

A compass that doesn’t point North, but the way to joy, kindness and the spirit of Christmas.

Every year, shortly before Christmas, Santa sets off on his great journey using a magic compass, a one-of-a-kind object that shows the way to joy and kindness. This year, however, as he was flying over Mount Parnon and the forests of Laconia, something went wrong. A powerful winter storm forced him to land near Vamvakou. There, someone seized the opportunity and stole the compass, hiding its pieces deep in the mountain. Without it, Santa cannot continue his journey.

So he invites everyone who visits Vamvakou Santa School to become his helpers, to work together and find the pieces of the lost compass that leads to Christmas and points the way to joy. In the end, the Magic Compass will show the way to love, kindness and the true spirit of Christmas, where beautiful memories are born and every moment is filled with colours, scents and emotions. On entering, visitors receive the compass map, a leaflet in which they collect pieces of the lost compass from every activity and workshop. By completing activities, games and missions, they gather all the pieces and put the magic compass back together.

Discover the child within you and let the spirit of Christmas sweep you away at Vamvakou Santa School!

28/11 – 22/12/2026, Weekends. Weekdays, upon request for schools and organised groups.

December 23, 2026 – January 6, 2027, every day.

General day ticket: €10 (with access to all the day’s activities).
Single workshop ticket: €5

*Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.