After planning this trip for a year, we finally embarked on our Greece sailing trip at the end of June.
I had been dying to get back to Greece and the stunning waters that surround the more than 6,000 islands that make up the country. And while Mykonos, Santorini and other islands in the Aegean Sea are ideal vacation spots, I wanted to spend the majority of our trip on the water and started looking into catamaran charters. We initially booked with The Moorings and planned to depart from their main port in Corfu, located on the west side of Greece in the Ionian Sea.
A week before our trip, we were alerted that our boat was no longer in service after a “catastrophic” mechanical issue. We had a few options to fall back on and Susan and Emily from The Moorings were absolutely incredible at helping us re-route and re-plan the trip. We ended up with their sister company, Sunsail, and planned to depart from their port in Lefkada. This allowed us to see islands we would have never been able to travel to, and the trip ended up better than we had expected.
Right off the bat, want to give a huge shoutout to my brother, Bates, who I forced to buy a drone before this trip, which allowed us to really capture the beauty and surrounding waters of the Ionian islands. He was crushing the content all week long.
Here’s the route we took:
Day 1: Corfu
Given we were supposed to embark on our trip from Corfu, we had already booked our travel to arrive in the northernmost Ionian island. Corfu is absolutely stunning, so we kept our itinerary to explore a little bit.
We had the following morning to explore before our scheduled transfer to the island of Lefkas in the afternoon, so we opted to rent a car and see a few places in Corfu. We rented our car from GreenMotion and outside of a few hiccups, the process was fairly easy.
Vic’s Tip on Rental Cars: If you’re planning to rent a car in Europe, make sure you have an International Driver’s License (something you can have added to your current license). Additionally, you’ll be charged a hefty insurance deposit which will have you sweating around all the small turns. And lastly, and most embarrassingly, most European rental cars are manual, and they will laugh at you if you don’t know how to drive them.
The ladies at GreenMotion near the Marina were a treat, and even attempted to teach Kevin how to drive stick, but unfortunately were unsuccessful. So, we grabbed a drink next door, while my mom came to our rescue (she too laughed at us).
We stayed at an Airbnb attached to Takis Taverna, which just so happened to be one of the best restaurants in the area. After a long travel day, we were excited for an authentic Greek meal and Takis was delightful. The spit-roast lamb, smoked trout dip, saganaki (fried cheese) and carafe of local wine made up a perfect welcome dinner.
Day 2: Corfu / Lefkada
We took off early Saturday morning, heading to the town of Afionas to catch a glimpse of Porto Timoni, a two-sided beach that can only be accessed by a long hike (or by boat). Given timing, we didn’t have time to hike down to the beach, so we used our drone to view the beach and capture some incredible imagery.
Vic’s Tip on Porto Timoni: Porto Timoni can only be viewed after a long hike as there are no quickly accessible viewpoints. If you plan to make the hike to the beach, make sure you bring tennis shoes or soled water-shoes as it’s not a completely clear path. At 9 am, the beach was empty and the views were beautiful. Had we spent more time on the island, I would’ve loved to spend the morning at the beach.
Next, we made the drive down to Paleokastritsa and La Grotta Beach. Corfu is a mountainous island, so travel from one location to the next was not easy. Tons of winding roads, switchbacks, roads that should be one-way but they’re two-lane.
La Grotta is a tiny “beach” with a small beach club and diving board. Stunning from above and below (there are stairs that lead down to it).
Afterwards, we stumbled upon Tango Café and Bar, a spot across the street from La Grotta and had our first taste of Greek coffee – freddo espresso – and a full breakfast with smoothies and the best mini donuts I’ve ever eaten.
Ideally, we would have been heading to board our charter in Corfu, but needed to transfer to Lefkada instead. Emily from The Moorings had our transfers set up after we changed our itinerary, and we took the ferry to Igoumenitsa (on the mainland) and met our driver for the 1.5 hour drive down the coast to Lefkada, Lefkas.
After checking in with Sunsail at their main port in Lefkada, we realized it would be too late to leave the dock that evening and decided to load up on groceries, get unpacked and plan out our itinerary for the week.
We were given an incredible skipper, Efthimios, who was able to guide our initial itinerary with where to stop and swim, where to dock, where to eat, etc. I had initially pulled together an (extremely) aggressive itinerary, but wasn’t aware the winds on the west side of the islands were too dangerous for smaller boats. (Of course, the majority of my recommended stops were on that side.) Luckily, we pulled together a solid itinerary and couldn’t wait to get started.
Our catamaran had four “suites” – each complete with a bed, ample storage space (surprisingly!) and a small bathroom. Upstairs, the boat had a small living/dining room and kitchen with a fridge, freezer, oven and stove, as well as two outdoor areas and the front area of the catamaran with a large net. Overall, it was the perfect size for our group of six + our skipper, who took the fourth cabin.
Lefkada town was filled with supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants and shops, so it was nice to explore before heading out on our charter. While you wouldn’t know it from the marina, Lefkada has a bustling “downtown” area, just a few blocks from the waterfront. Most of the restaurants and shops are open until midnight, so we took a late-night stroll to check it out. Lefkos was my favorite shop and I grabbed two linen dresses and a hat that I lived in all trip.
Vic’s Tip on Lefkas Charters: If you’re heading to a charter out of Lefkas, check out the supermarket on the main street instead of the Marina deli, which was overpriced and understocked due to charters all heading out on the same day.
Day 3: Spartakhori, Meganisi
We were extremely eager to get the trip started (and ignore the jet lag settling in our bones) and woke up at 5 am the day we were to embark, watching the sunrise and heading into town to grab yet another freddo espresso and pastries – which would become a tradition every morning. Taste + Coffee in Lefkada had one of the best ham and cheese croissants we ate the entire week… and we ate a LOT of them.
One of the best parts of chartering a catamaran was stopping in small bays and beaches to go swimming and paddle boarding. Kevin was also able to practice his dives throughout the trip… jury is still out on whether we made any progress.
We first stopped at Nikiana Beach for a quick swim and then made our way to Nydri to eat lunch on their waterfront. I had seen Maraboo Beach on a travel blog while planning this trip and couldn’t wait to check it out.
While we were excited to dive into the Greek culture and avoid Americanized food, the boys said their burgers from Maraboo were some of the best they’ve ever had. My club sandwich was big enough to feed me for three lunches.
Desperate for another swim before docking for the evening, we stopped at Thilia Beach and then sailed to Spartakhori, located on the northwestern side of Meganisi.
Vic’s Tip on Charters: When sailing through the Ionian islands (and I’m sure a lot of other locations), you have to be docked or anchored at least two hours before sunset. A lot of port towns are filled by charters, so the earlier you arrive, the better chance you have at a spot in the marina.
Another intricacy – some of the docks/ports are controlled by the owners of local restaurants/grocery stores. This one happened to be managed by the owner of Porto Spilia, so we were “required” to eat at that restaurant if we wanted access to the dock (and power).
Porto Spilia was beautiful, located right on the water, serving authentic Greek cuisine. Instead of ordering off of a menu, they had all of the fresh fish, octopus, squid and other specialties on display and you picked what you wanted for them to cook. Each restaurant had different starters, but we’d order the Greek salad, fried cheese and octopus or prawns at almost all of them to share in addition to our mains.
Vic’s Tip on Fish in Greece: In this area, fish was sold by the kilo, without any mention of what that price was. One night, the guys picked the biggest grouper they saw and found out later it was over $200, which was double what the rest of our meal cost.
Near Porto Spilia is a staircase and path to the main town of Spartakhori, which was beautiful for sunset. There were plenty of restaurants and shops in town as well.
Day Four: Fiskardo, Kefalonia
We had a long day of sailing ahead to arrive in Fiskardo, a popular fishing village, early enough to snag a spot in the harbor.
On our way south, we stopped for a quick swim and exploration of Cave Papanikolis, on the western edge of Meganisi.
Once we arrived in Fiskardo, we put our anchor down in the bay and enjoyed having a private swimming area as we tied our catamaran to the trees outside of the main harbor area. For dinner, we made our way to the main dock via our dinghy and walked around the shops, grabbed drinks and settled in at Tassia for dinner. This restaurant was highly recommended by Efthimios and he made a reservation for us. (It took us a while to adjust to the late dinner time in Europe, so we were often the first ones seated at restaurants…)
Tassia was my favorite restaurant of the entire trip because of one dish – cuttlefish ink risotto. I still have dreams about it. (I was in such bliss that I forgot to take a picture of it before inhaling it.)
Vic’s Tip on Wine in Greece: IT IS SO CHEAP. I’m talking $4 for a bottle for great quality wine and $7 for a carafe at a restaurant. We keep kicking ourselves for not bringing back bottles of a rosé made at a small winery in Lefkas called Vertzamo. Kevin even e-mailed them once we got home to see if they’d ship to the U.S.…
Day Five: Agia Effimia
After filling up on coffee and pastries in Fiskardo, we made our way further south to Agia Effimia, stopping near Giagana Beach for an afternoon swim.
In between all of our stops, we had a couple hours of sailing each day, in which we’d break out some rosé or make gin and grapefruit sodas and relax on the front net of the catamaran. These were some of my favorite moments, whether lost in a book or soaking in the pure bliss of not having a damn thing to stress about.
Our fearless captain, Efthimios was great about teaching us how to drive the catamaran, and I was always in charge of dropping and bringing up the anchor in the front – a job I took very seriously all week.
Agia Effimia was extremely laid back and again, had an excellent waterfront with tons of restaurants and shops. We secured gelato from Spathis before eating dinner on the boat, grabbed a drink at Carena and ended up at Spiros to watch the USWNT semi-final against England. Given the proximity to the UK, we were completely outnumbered in the restaurant.
Day Six: Sivota, Lefkas
Coffee. Pastries. Depart.
Before the long journey back up to Lefkas, we took a quick swim off the coast of Ithaca, near Polis Beach, and explored the area on paddleboards and Greek beers in hand. The color changes in the water continued to surprise us and this area was stunning and so relaxing (for Kevin, as I paddled him around).
As it was a long, choppy journey back to Lefkas, we made sure to fill the fridge with Vertzamo.
Our dock for the evening was attached to Taverna Delfinia, one of the first restaurants in a long waterfront (again) full of them. Efthimios had previously told us about his favorite food of the area, Lamb Kleftiko, so when we saw it on the menu, we knew we had to get it. Lamb Kleftiko is a combination of lamb and potatoes, cooked in a foil packet in a buttery cream sauce. It was magical and rivaled the cuttlefish risotto.
Day Seven: Palairos, Greece
The Sivota waterfront was one of our favorites, and we settled in early at the Sivota Bakery for our morning freddo espresso and pastries, in addition to a couple juices from their extensive, bright menu.
We enjoyed a morning swim in near Mikros Gialos Beach before another long sailing day to Palairos on the mainland. On our journey, we passed by Skorpios, Greece’s most famous private island, once owned by Aristotle Onassis.
Palairos was another calm waterfront filled with dinner options, and Efthimios guided us to the last restaurant on the row, Anna, where we had the perfect waterfront table to watch the sunset. Yet again, the lamb was a standout.
Day Eight: Lefkada, Lefkas
On the Friday of our charter, we slowly sailed our way back to the main port in Lefkada for our final checks and preparation to disembark the following morning.
Efthimios’ favorite restaurant in Lefkada, La Vinaria, was able to fit us in for dinner after a little persuasion and we sat outside for our final dinner of the trip as a group. La Vinaria focused on the local specialties, so we all shared moussaka, prawns, squid and Greek salad.
Day Nine: Lefkas & Corfu
Given our travel accommodations were through Corfu, The Moorings set us up with our transfer back. Luckily, we had plenty of time given our flights were later in the evening. The rest of the family was heading home through London, while Kevin and I continued our trip with a stop in Positano, Italy.
Tips for Chartering a Boat in the Ionian Sea:
The Moorings & Sunsail: We could not recommend the Moorings and Sunsail more, given their customer service in securing us a new boat and managing our complicated transfers.
How to Get There: There are flights from the US to Corfu through London and Athens. We personally flew through London and it was an easy flight on British Airways. To arrive in Lefkada, there are flights to Preveza (a short drive from the Lefkada port) from London and Vienna.
What to Bring vs. What to Buy: Bring beach towels and plenty of sunscreen (leave your hair tools and makeup at home) and stock up on waters, snacks and drinks at grocery stores in each port. Check out what you have available on board before heading to the grocery store, as we stocked up on toilet paper, paper towels and hand soap for all of the bathrooms. Greek pharmacies are also incredible if you need to buy shampoo, beauty products, or deodorant because yours is confiscated by London TSA…
Safety & Itinerary: Keep an open mind regarding itineraries and stops; your skipper will be an expert in travel time, intricacies about the area and weather patterns to captain the trip safely.
Meals: While we had planned to eat meals on board, all of our port locations had incredible restaurants and food was reasonably priced, so we ate out almost every night – highly recommended! Outside of the first day, we were always sailing or swimming during lunch, so we made sure to keep food for sandwiches, lunches on board.
Music: Download Spotify playlists (lots of them) if you don’t have an international plan. Otherwise, the area we sailed in had excellent service out at sea (which was unexpected) and we were able to connect to Spotify, Instagram, etc. the entire time.