The island of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea of Greece has one of the most famously beautiful beaches in the world—Porto Katsiki. 
Literally, we were startled and speechless when we laid our eyes on it.
As I’ve written before about it, it was like a can of blue paint had poured out into the water. But it wasn’t just the blue water that made this beach so perfect—the sandy beach was glorious and the cove was fun to explore. The steep staircase of 300 steps or so built up the excitement of reaching this paradise.
Lefkada is unique because it is not a touristy island and it has interesting history due to its relationship with Aristotle Onassis’s development of the nearby islet of Skorpios which was Onassis’s private island. Two cruises I recommend are the Onassis Cruise and the Star Gazing cruise. The Onassis cruise explores 4 islets and explains the relationship between Lefkada’s resources and Onassis’s development of his private island. The Star Gazing Cruise is a night time cruise which takes passengers to a nearby uninhabited islet for a picnic on the beach and a star gazing lesson of the sky, complete with constellations, satellites, a space station and a view of Saturn from a telescope.
Odysseia Boat Tour (Nidri) : http://www.odysseia-lefkada.eu
Long walks and people-watching in the tiny town squares of each village are sometimes all you need to do on a Greek island, mixed in with beach time. Our villa, nestled high up in the mountain village of Vafkeri, was serene, hushed and tranquil which left our boisterous family sometimes unusually taciturn. Our remote and peaceful experience at the villa was broken up, purposefully, with my husband’s idea to initiate a water balloon fight outside on the pool between our three sons. This made for a great home video!
Things to do in Lefkada:
I recommend just relaxing and going on these two aforementioned cruises which cover a lot, anyway. But if you must be on the go, here are some excursions to check out:
- Nydri Waterfalls
- Bike Tours
- Lighthouse Doukato
- Karya Folklore Museum (Karya is the “embroidery capital” )
- Land of Lefkada Winery
- Surfing, Windsurfing, Kitesurfing
- Onassis cruise
- Stargazing cruise
This Ionian island was an idyllic retreat for us and I hope to return!
photos by Gina and Patrick
Villas to rent:
http://www.lefkada-villas.com/index.htm
the following photos from the Lefkada-Villas website:
More descriptions like this can be found in the book, A Magic Carpet Ride. Profits from this book will go to various charities.
www.amazon.com/dp/069271393X/ref=rdr_ext_tmb
Follow this lesson plan to build trip itineraries with your family:
contact me at greekmuse@cox.net for consultations in planning Greece itineraries.