The islands are well known for their beautiful sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, charming villages and stunning scenic countryside.Each Ionian island has a distinct character and between them they offer everything you could wish for from a Greek Island holiday.
What To Eat and Enjoy
Firstly, and maybe surprisingly, fish tends to be expensive. Prices are usually per kilo not per portion. When looking at the menu, do not assume that everything listed will be available! The golden rule - if the price has been removed then it is not on. Most Greek establishments work on a 'seasonal availability' basis, as most produce is local. In some of the more traditional places, it is usual (and fun) to go into the kitchen to be shown what is available; great for those who can never decide from looking at menu. Greek menus by law have to be in Greek and English. Some of the translations may cause you some amusement. As a guide, you will be offered:
Taramosalata: A fish roe dip made with garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, olive oil and lemon juice. Homemade versions are light salmon in colour and a delight. If you are offered an artificial bright pink sludge, then it has been bought in; drink up and find somewhere else to eat!
Tzatziki: The famous yoghurt, cucumber and garlic dip. Scooped up with fresh bread, it makes a refreshing snack.
Feta Cheese: many locals enjoy a thick slice of feta with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of paprika.
Dolmades: Vine leaves stuffed with rice or meat - normally served cold. Fresh ones are only available early in the season (May, June) when the vine leaves are fresh.
Tiropitta: Filo pastry pies stuffed with feta cheese - they are a delight. Also look out for Spanakopitta - which are the same but with a little spinach added - one of our favourites in the Agni Travel office!
Saganaki: A hard Greek cheese which is battered and shallow fried. Served with a large chunk of lemon
Scorthalia: The Greeks love dips and this one is a very garlicky potato based one. Served cold but it is yummy
Gigantes: Large butter type beans, baked in a thick seasoned tomato, onion and garlic sauce.
Keftethes: Fried meatballs with garlic and herbs.
Loukaniko: Spicy local sausages - usually grilled.
Mousaka: (Notice there is no 'r' in the correct pronunciation and the accent is on the last 'a'.) Layers of fried aubergine and minced meat (usually beef) topped with a creamy béchamel sauce.
Stifado: A meaty red wine stew with baby onions and tomato. The meaty chunks are soft and tender and the baby onions go soft and sweet - to be eaten with lots of bread.
Sofrito: Tender beef steak cooked in a garlic and wine sauce
Yemista: Stuffed vegetables, usually tomatoes and green peppers. The filling is usually a vegetable and rice mix with a little cheese. Sometimes beef mince is added.
Kelftiko: Lamb slowly baked in the oven until it is so tender it just falls from the bone. Served with Greek roasted potatoes.
Kalamari: Baby squid, usually fried with a dusting of flour, but better grilled. Fresh ones are normally only available when there is no moon - as they are caught with a powerful 'gas lamp'. The light attracts them to the surface. Watching dozens of 'lit-up' fishing boats on a dark summer night, dotted along the coast is quite magical.
Marithes: Sardine sized fish which are fried and yummy. Incidentally, sardines and (many other fish which are also caught at night) are not available when there is a full moon. The reason is that the fish can 'see' the nets and simply avoid them.
Kakavia: Fish soup - often this will include vegetables, bones and heads! But it is always excellent.
Oxtapothi: is often boiled and served in what the locals call a 'salad'. Actually these are small pieces in olive oil - with no salad in sight! It is though very tasty ( a little bit like chicken). Grilled is also excellent - but often quite expensive as it shrinks to a tiny size when cooked. The octopus is caught using a long pole with a few leaves attached to the end - plus a liberal sprinkling of hooks! The pole is prodded around the rocks to tempt the octopus to grab the leaves - a time consuming task.
Corfu
Corfu is the second largest island in the group of Ionian Islands, after Kefalonia and was the first to open itself up to tourism with plenty to offer its visitors.Corfu is known as Kerkyra in Greek and takes its name from a variation of the Nymph Korkira, daughter of the Greek river god Aesopos in mythology
The beautiful and rich land all this is due to the green hills, towering mountains, clear blue seas, pure white sands, endless olive groves and colourful wild flowers.
Corfu is full of variety from its traditional fishing villages to its large modern resorts, coupled with its amazing wildlife, over six hundred types of wild flowers and numerous exotic birds including pelicans, bee eaters, hoopoes and golden orioles; this island has something for everyone
Things to do in Corfu
Corfu town is a beautiful area, split into old and the new parts. It is flush with elegant mansions and beautiful palaces from its colonial days being owned by France and Britain. It appears less a Greek town and more an Italian one along the lines of Sorrento or Naples. A great place to get a feel of the town is the square of the Esplanade, also known as Spianada which was planned by the French and is surrounded by beautiful buildings an old Venetian fortress and dotted with trees. If you get the chance, visit the Liston building built during the French occupation and modelled on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Inside it has fabulous restaurants and cafes, some say the best in Greece.
One of Corfu’s most famous locations Paleokastritsa is part beach resort and part monastic community which makes for a bizarre and unlikely combination. Tourism hasn’t really hit here so the area is relatively unspoilt. The main attraction here is Paleokastritsa’s clean sandy beach with incredibly clear, warm water, ideal for swimming. At each end of the beach are boats offering excursions to the nearby caves and grottos.
The long sandy beach of Glyfada, about 12 km from Liapades, the beach Mirtiotissa and a large sandy beach known as a nudist beach.
Aqualand
You need to know about Aqualand because if you don’t and your children find out first you could be in trouble! It’s considered as one of the best water parks in Europe and is situated 7km outside of Corfu Town but is easy to reach from anywhere on the island. The park is huge and covers an area of over 70,000 square metres with free parking. The slides are innovative and range from the gentle to the downright petrifying.
Zante
The most southerly of the Ionian Islands has a varied landscape, the west is characterised by striking mountain scenery and is largely uninhabited and the east is packed with fertile plains, picturesque bays and long sandy beaches. Zante is a beautiful island, with many varieties of pretty colourful flowers that seem to blossom all year round. The island captured the hearts of the Venetians who ruled here for many years and
who nicknamed Zante ‘Flower of the East.
Zakynthos has the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean. Coupled with glorious landscapes, Zakynthos is wrapped in wild flowers and fauna. From sweeping pine forests, to rocky peaks and caves in Zante, from rustic villages in the North and South of Zakynthos, to a mixture of chic and traditional everyday life in Zante Town, the mood in Zante is always magic.
Ithaca
Ithaca is the second smallest of the inhabited Ionian Islands. It is 29 km in length and 6.5 km wide and has a coast line of 100 km. It consists of 2 peninsulas that are almost equal in size and they are joined by the isthmus of Aetos (or Eagle bay). The island is long and narrow and is almost divided in half by the sweeping bay of Molos. Ithaca is 2 nautical miles west of Kefalonia and as the island does not have its own airport, most visitors reach Ithaca by ferry boat from Kefalonia. The highest mountain peak on Ithaca is Mount Neritos, which is 800 m high. Vathy is Ithaca’s capital town, and has been since the Venetian times and is located in the south east of the island. Vathy is one of the world’s largest natural harbours.
The largest of the seven Ionian islands (700 sq km2 about). It's highest peak is Ancient Mount Aenos, 1628 m (5341feet) In Greece's west coast, Cephalonia has only 32,000 resident islanders. With Lefkas to the north and Zakynthos to the south the island is firmly on a tourist trail and grows each year as more accommodation becomes available and big tour operators move in. Despite the annual influx of visitors, mainly Italians, the island is so big it is still possible to get away to places where you are unlikely to meet a soul for days. Vast tracts of forest cloak the rugged limestone landscape, with ten peaks topping 5,000 feet.
Paxos is the smallest of the Ionian Islands, lying just 11 km from the southernmost tip of Corfu. Many visitors return year after year to Paxos to experience the intimacy of this peaceful haven, the genuine friendliness of the locals, and the captivating scenery. Paxos is covered in many olive groves with ancient gnarled and twisted olive trees, some of them hundreds of years old, which shelter numerous species of wild flowers and small vineyards. This serene and unspoiled landscape is what makes a holiday to the island of Paxos truly memorable.
Gaios is south of the island and is the largest town but it's still very much a working fishing port with caiques tied up in the harbour. When you approach Gaios from the north you enter a very beautiful inlet passing the islands of Panayia and St Nicholas.
Lakka is the second largest and is situated at the north end of the island. The bay is spectacular and it is very popular for boat owners who wish to stay a day or so.
Loggos is a very charming village with a harbour fronted by Tavernas and small bars. It's a great place to peacefully while away the time and is a great favourite with many visitors.
Lefkada
Lefcas, or Lefkada as the Greeks call it, is a very popular summer resort, where there is something for everyone. Young visitor’s party all night, windsurfers have some excellent spots, there are quiet places for those who just want to relax, and there is a lot to see. The people on the island are known for their hospitality, and many of them manage to live off the tourism in the summer. Others are involved with farming, fishing and stockbreeding. The island's name means white, and refers to the white cliffs in the south part that are characteristic for Lefcas. It is a green, mountainous island, and it is connected to the mainland by a bridge. The island measures 290 sqkm and has a population of approx 24,000.
The whole island is a miracle of nature, full of beautiful seaside resorts and picturesque villages, built between the mountains. The majority of the mountainous areas are safe shelters, ideal for the survival and reproduction of many diverse species, and in many cases endangered ones: plants, birds and animals. The visitors are also highly likely to find plenty of caves, waterfalls and natural watertaps.
The island of Lefkada has a great number of really beautiful beaches, whose main characteristic is the clean, blue-green waters, a feature that makes them popular all over the world and accounts for them being considered as the most beautiful coasts, not only in Greece but also in the whole Mediterranean. On the west coasts of the island, lies the famous beach Porto Katsiki, which has been nominated by the international Press, as the best beach in the Mediterranean.
The island's economy is dependent on tourism, oil production, viticulture and fishery. The island is known for its great needleworks and textile fabrics, that constitute real pieces of art and are made by traditional weavers, especially women who live in Karia, a small village in Lefkada. The traditional dishes, served in most restaurants and tavernas in the island, are 'bourdeto', 'bianco' codfish, 'fry-pie', 'frugadeli' and a variety of pies.
Porto Katsiki, the best known beach, is today considered one of the most outstanding in the whole of Europe. This is a beach of exceptional beauty
Tsoukalades is a small village with a couple of hotels with stunning sunset views of the Ionian sea is about 15 minutes drive from Lefkada Town
SivotaWithin a small cove of unique beauty, and just 15km from Nidri, a landscape of hills surrounds the pretty harbour of Sivota
Kythira
Kythira or Tsirigo is the name of the island conquered by the Venetians and is one of the Ionian Islands, but due to its geographical position it officially belongs to Attica. Its location is between the Peloponnese and Crete, in Spartan bay.
Kythira is known as the island of Aphrodite, since according to the legend of Isiodos it was where the most beautiful goddess of Olympus was born. The island was dominated by the Spartans, the Athenians and the Macedonians and later the Russians. The name of the island comes from the Kythiro, the leader of the Phoenicians who were the first people to live on the island.
The island has stunning landscapes of natural beauty, beaches, and different villages, each with unique beauty. The island’s ambience is that of romance, created from the traditional style of most buildings on the island, Byzantine churches and Venetian castle. Each summer several festivals are arranged with local products celebrating the history of the island, keeping the tradition alive.
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