Sail the Ionian
Islands of Greece
The suggested itinerary is intended to give you an idea of
the places we could visit on the cruise. For more information
on the area read About the Ionian Suggested Itinerary
Sailing cruises in the Ionian Islands start and finish at
our base on the Island of Levkas. Transfers to Levkas from
Athens are by road and we can arrange a comfortable minibus
and driver for your journey to join the yacht in the marina
in Levkas town. During the transfer there is a wonderful opportunity
to visit the spectacular ancient site of Delphi in the Gulf
of Corinth en route.
A 12 Day Cruise gives the opportunity
to comfortably sail the whole of the Ionian Island group.
The Ionian
The Ionian islands are the western most part of Greece. They
are traditionally called Eptanisa, the Seven Islands, but
there are also many smaller islands in the group. Settled by the
Greeks as early as 1200BC, the Ionian has been ruled by the
Macedon, Byzantine and Russo-ottoman Empires as well as coming under the
rule of the Venetians, French and British before becoming part of Greece in 1830. Corfu (Kerkyra) described by Homer as the Emerald Isle,
or the Garden of Eden. A beautiful island of
lush green hills,
towering mountains, clear blue seas, pure white sands, endless
olive groves and colourful wild flowers. Ithaca is the second smallest
of the inhabited Ionian Islands. Ithaca was possibly named
after Ithacis, the son of a Kefalonian King. There have been
archaeological finds that date back to 4000- 3000 BC on Ithaca.
Ithaca is most famous for being Odysseus’s homeland.
Ithaca boasts a local red wine known as Ithaca Black due to its deep colour.
Kefalonia is the largest of
the Ionian islands as well as the greenest and lushest . There
are many olive groves and vineyards and Kefalonia boasts some
of the best wine in Greece. Most recently the island was made
famous by the book and film Captain Corelli's Mandolin by
Loius de Bernieres, but the villages of Kefalonia also captivated
Lord Byron with their beauty. Levkas (Lefkada ) means white,
and refers to the white cliffs in the south of the island.
Levkas is joined to the mainland by an opening road bridge
across the Levkas Canal. The island was separated from the
mainland when the islanders dug the Levkas Canal in 700BC.
Just east of Nidri is the private Onassis island.
Paxos is the
smallest of the 7 islands and famous for the crystal clear blue water.
The island is covered in olive
groves and the high quality olive oil is
also used in the production of soap and shampoo.
