The Ionian Islands
The Ionian islands sit off Greece's west coast. Corfu is the easiest first base, with the UNESCO Old Town and the north-east coast. Paxos works overnight, not as a rushed return boat. Kefalonia and Ithaca pair well; Lefkada is reached by road; Zakynthos needs a base away from Laganas.
Last reviewed July 2026
Euros, with cash once you’re off the main towns. Come late spring or September: less heat, fewer crowds. Fly, don’t ferry; base on Corfu first, then Paxos or Kefalonia, for the Venetian old towns, the Robola wine, Navagio. Budget €180–900 a day, doable at the low end. Don’t do all six; two or three is the number, and Kavos and Laganas, the party strips, aren’t on it.
The Ionian Islands are the Greek islands that don't look or feel Greek the way the Cyclades do. Off the west coast, looking across to Italy, under 400 years of Venetian rule (vs. Ottoman elsewhere in Greece), with the colonnaded squares, the cricket pitch on Corfu's Spianada, the Italianate cuisine (sofrito, pastitsada, bourdetto), the rain that misses the Aegean (so: green, cypress-and-olive, real running springs). The Lawrence-and-Gerald-Durrell island chain; the Captain-Corelli island chain; the chain you fly into when you want a softer Greek summer.
Fly direct from London / European hubs into Corfu (CFU), Kefalonia (EFL), Zakynthos (ZTH), or Preveza (PVK, for Lefkada). Paxos and Ithaca are ferry-only: 1 hr from Corfu, 35 min from Sami (Kefalonia). The chain is spread across 250 km of sea; don't try more than two islands in a week. The Northern-Ionian shape is Corfu (3–4 nights) + Paxos (2–3 nights); the Southern shape is Kefalonia (4 nights) + Ithaca (2).
Do two islands in a week, not six. Corfu + Paxos for the north; Kefalonia + Ithaca for the south.
The six main islands are spread out, and the ferry network is thinner than the map suggests. Corfu pairs naturally with Paxos, Kefalonia with Ithaca; Lefkada connects to the mainland by road, and Zakynthos works on its own. Two islands in a week is enough. Late May, June and September have warm water and open seasonal restaurants. August is the bottle-neck month: Corfu charter flights are chaotic, Paxos sells out, every Zakynthos beach has a 10 a.m. boat queue. Most small hotels close by the end of October. Book inter-island transfers before fixing non-refundable rooms.
Six islands to plan around
Spread across 250 km of sea, the chain breaks into a northern half (Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada) and a southern half (Kefalonia, Ithaca, Zakynthos). Pick a half; two islands a week.
Corfu Town (Kerkyra) is UNESCO World Heritage: Venetian fortresses, the colonnaded Liston (built under the French to mimic Paris's rue de Rivoli), and the cricket pitch on the Spianada. The north-east coast (Kassiopi, Kalami, Agni) was home to the British literary set for half a century, the Durrells (Lawrence and Gerald) and the Rothschild villa above Agni among them. Start here for three nights or more, then move north-east for Kalami, Agni and Kassiopi.
A 10-km-long olive-grove island reached by ferry or hydrofoil from Corfu. Three villages: Gaios is the main harbour, with the boutiques and the dining; Loggos and Lakka are the smaller bases, Lakka on a swimming bay. Antipaxos is a 15-min boat south, home to the Voutoumi and Vrika beaches the photographs are of. 1-hr hydrofoil from Corfu. Stay overnight so dinner is not tied to the return boat.
The only Ionian connected to the mainland (a 50-metre swing bridge from Aktion, near Preveza airport, so technically driveable). The west coast holds Porto Katsiki (open, via steep stairs), Egremni (boat-only since 2026 storm damage), and Kathisma. Base near Lefkada Town or on the south coast: Sivota for the small harbour, Vasiliki for the windsurf.
The biggest of the chain, and large enough to need a car: Fiscardo harbour (the Venetian fishing port the 1953 earthquake spared, now full of yachts), Myrtos beach (the white-pebble crescent in every Greek-islands brochure), the Melissani and Drogarati caves, Mount Ainos national park, and the Robola wine villages. Fly into Kefalonia (EFL) and base in Fiscardo for the north or Argostoli for the centre and south; the Robola villages sit inland.
Odysseus's island: small, quiet, the place the Odyssey ends. Vathy is the horseshoe-harbour capital and the main base; Kioni and Frikes are the smaller harbour stops; the School of Homer ruins are the Homeric site. 35-min ferry from Sami (Kefalonia); two nights, paired with Kefalonia.
The Navagio-and-blue-caves island, and the charter-flight bottleneck. Navagio (Shipwreck) Beach is currently closed to landings (2025–26) for rockfall risk; view it from the cliff platform or by boat (no landing). The Blue Caves at Cape Skinari are the morning boat. Laganas Bay is a protected loggerhead-turtle zone (Marathonisi, "Turtle Island"). Laganas is the package-and-nightlife strip; use Zante Town, Bohali or Tragaki for restaurants and access around the island.
What Venetian rule left
The Ionian islands were governed by Venice for centuries, followed by shorter French and British periods before they joined Greece in 1864. Corfu Old Town still has the clearest evidence: the Liston arcade, the fortresses, Italian-rooted dish names and a cricket pitch on the Spianada.
Four hundred years leaves a mark you can still order off a menu.A cricket pitch in Greece
Cricket has been played on the Spianada in Corfu Town since the British period. Matches still take place in the middle of the square.
Because the British ran the islands, 1815–1864.
A colonnade out of Paris
A colonnaded arcade beside the Spianada, built with Paris’s rue de Rivoli as a reference. Cafés fill the arches.
Because the French held Corfu under Napoleon.
“Greek” dishes, Italian names
Corfiot menus keep Italian names and Venetian roots: sofrito, pastitsada and bourdeto appear beside Greek island dishes.
Because 400 years of Venice rewrote the kitchen.
A bright-orange digestif
Kumquat liqueur is made across Corfu from a citrus fruit introduced during the British period. It is bright orange and usually served after dinner.
Because an English botanist planted the trees in the 1850s.
Cypress, olive, running springs
Corfu and Paxos have cypress, olive groves and more freshwater than the Cyclades. The interior stays green through much of summer.
Because the rain that misses the Aegean lands here.
Fortresses facing Italy
Corfu’s Old and New Fortresses face the channel toward the mainland and the Adriatic routes beyond it.
Because this was Venice’s frontier, never the Ottomans’.
The result is shade, freshwater and a wine list, on islands that spent four centuries pointed west rather than east.
You can read the whole history off a Corfu menu.
The table
The cooking on this side of Greece is Venetian-Italian-inflected — sofrito, pastitsada, bourdetto, the dishes that mark 400 years of Venetian rule. Twenty-five picks across the four islands worth basing on, with the heritage spots that survived (Rex since 1932, Papagiorgis since 1924, Sesoulas Bakery since 1890, Tassia since 1972). Book Etrusco, Tassia, Toula's and Prosilio a few days out. Note the seasonal closures Oct–April.
Corfu
Etrusco
€€€€€Kato Korakiana, 20 min north of Corfu Town: chef Ettore Botrini's flagship, in a converted family home with a garden. Botrini holds a Michelin star at his Athens restaurant. Modern Greek-Italian tasting menu; book 2+ weeks ahead in summer.
The Venetian Well
€€€€Kremasti Square in the Old Town, wrapped around the only 17th-century well still in its original position: fine dining in a tiny cobbled square, a tasting menu that reads Italian into Corfiot ingredients, and the sommelier list the city is built around. The Old Town splurge.
Pomo d'Oro
€€€Scaramanga Square, Corfu Old Town: chef Aristotelis Megoulas, modern Greek from an Italian-trained kitchen, the room where Old-Town residents bring their out-of-town guests. The pasta is made in-house, and the seafood orzotto is the dish to get.
Klimataria N. Bellos
€€Benitses, across from the marina south of Corfu Town: the Bellos family fish taverna since 1997, the textbook for bourdetto (the Corfiot spicy fish stew) and bianco (the white-wine fish version). Quiet, off the tourist circuit, right on the harbour. Cab from the Old Town, 20 min.
Taverna Agni
€€Agni Bay, north-east Corfu: one of three waterfront tavernas in the cove (Toula's and Nikolas the other two), and the longest-running of them. The catch grilled on charcoal, the salads from the gardens above. Arrive by boat from Kassiopi or Kalami.
Nautilus · Aharavi
€€€€North coast, in the Aharavi/Roda area: chef Ekaterini Nikolakopoulou's fine-dining room. A tight modern-Greek tasting menu, and an easier booking than Etrusco.
Rex
€€€Kapodistriou Street, just behind the Liston in the Corfu Old Town: operating since 1932 under the Katsaros family, the textbook for Corfiot classics done well. The sofrito (veal slow-fried in white wine with garlic), the pastitsada, the bourdetto: the dishes the island invented, cooked by the room that's been at them for almost a century.
Toula's Seaside
€€€Agni Bay, NE coast: the second of the three Agni-Bay waterfront tavernas, in a converted 1890 olive press, run by Toula since 1981. The lobster is the house specialty (€90, served simply with oil, lemon and steamed vegetables); this is the slow-Sunday-lunch stop on the boat day.
Papagiorgis
€Nikiforou Theotoki 32, Corfu Old Town: the third-generation Dafnis-family patisserie since 1924. The bitter-chocolate desserts are the work the city talks about; the house-made kumquat and wild-strawberry gelato (from a single local Corfiot dairy) is the summer order.
Starenio Bakery
€Gilford 59, Corfu Old Town: the morning institution for spanakopita (€2.50, the homemade phyllo is the giveaway) and the legendary shakerato coffee. Stand at the counter, eat one, walk on.
La Grotta
€€Paleokastritsa: the cliffside-cove bar reached by about 140 steps down from the road into a hidden cove. A day swim and cliff-jumping, sunset cocktails at night, drinks and light snacks only. Not a meal, but the most atmospheric drink in Corfu.
Paxos
Erimitis
€€€The clifftop bar-and-restaurant on the wild Erimitis cliffs of north-west Paxos: Go before sunset for a glass of Robola above the cliffs, then stay for dinner under the stars.
Carnayo
€€€150 m from the Gaios main square: a garden restaurant with a small, daily-changing menu of Paxos cooking pushed half a notch up. Its own olive oil, local fish first, and an unfussy wine list.
Vassilis
€€Loggos harbour: the family-run waterfront taverna the Loggos regulars book. Grilled fish, the local strapatsada (eggs and tomato), and olive oil from the family grove.
Kefalonia & Ithaca
Tassia · Fiscardo
€€€The Fiscardo institution since 1972: Tassia Dendrinou's harbourfront kitchen, the Kefalonian fish-stew the photographers come for, an excellent Robola-led wine list. Yacht crews book ahead, and so should you.
Tselenti's · Fiscardo
€€€Plateia Kavadia, in a Tselentis-family building since 1893: the more Italian-leaning Fiscardo classic, pasta and seafood, and slow harbour-side lunches.
Vasso's · Fiscardo
€€The third Fiscardo harbour-front classic: the easiest walk-in of the three, the wider mezze platter, the long-lunch room.
Trehantiri · Ithaca
€€Behind the central square in Vathy, Ithaca: open 40+ years, the quiet favourite of the local-and-yacht crowd, the goat kleftiko, slow-baked in paper, is the dish to order.
Sirines · Ithaca
€€€Vathy: chef Nikos Kostopoulos's modern-Greek and seafood restaurant. Seasonal · May 1 – October 15.
Sesoulas Bakery
€Argostoli, Kefalonia: the Patsi family bakery since 1890, now in its fourth generation. The famous mandoles (red candied almonds) are still made by the original post-WWII baking-pan method, and the tsoureki (Easter bread) is the textbook. A morning stop on the Robola wine drive.
Kastro Café
€€In the St. George's Castle grounds near Peratata, central Kefalonia: Spiros and his English wife Nicky's hilltop café. The homemade cheesecake is the dish, and the terrace looks across to Argostoli.
Picnic
€€Magganos village, 2 miles outside Fiscardo on the road to Assos and Myrtos: mother-and-daughter run, the Anglo-twist brunch the Fiscardo yacht crowd drives up for. The Sunday Eggs Benedict is the order; they also pack proper beach hampers to take away.
Il Borgo
€€€Travliata, 15 minutes south of Argostoli below St. George's Castle: chef Angeliki Spyratou took over in 2014, the vine-shaded terrace looks across to Zakynthos, and the Kefalonian wine list (Robola-heavy) is the deepest on the island. Pair it with a Kastro-Café afternoon for a full hilltop day.
Zakynthos & Lefkada
Prosilio · Zakynthos Town
€€€€By Solomos Square in Zante Town: chef Krystallia Karageorgou's modern-Greek fine-dining room (FNL / Toques d'Or recognition), the most precise kitchen on the island, and worth basing in town for at least a night.
The Heart Rock · Bohali
€€€The hilltop terrace at Bohali above Zakynthos Town: a view dinner, fresh fish, the sunset that frames the bay and the Peloponnese in the distance. View first, food second, in that order.
Captain's Corner · Sivota
€€Sivota harbour on Lefkada's south coast: the long-running waterfront fish taverna on the bay. Pick the catch off the ice and eat it slowly.
Porto Limnionas Tavern
€€Above the fjord-like inlet at Aghios Leon on Zakynthos's west coast: a pine-shaded terrace looking down into the cove, grilled fish, sardines, squid. The lunch that justifies the cross-island drive from Tragaki or Tsilivi.
The stay
Three flavours of stay across the chain: Old-Town boutiques inside Venetian buildings (Bella Venezia, Cavalieri in Corfu), all-inclusive ultra-luxury (Ikos Odisia, Lesante Blu), and the small-island stay with the personality of the owner stamped on it (Erimitis Paxos, Emelisse Kefalonia). Thirteen picks across three tiers — most of them seasonal, mostly closed Nov–April.
A 19th-century neoclassical townhouse in the Corfu Old Town, three minutes' walk from the Liston: 31 rooms, garden breakfast, a small Old-Town hotel that hands you the city rather than charging you for the view of it. Where to spend the Old-Town nights at the start of a trip.
A 17th-century Venetian palazzo directly on the Liston: the rooftop bar is the city's casual drink with a view, the rooms are plain, and the address does the arguing. The historic Old-Town choice.
A 35-room hotel on the Sivota harbour in southern Lefkada, so family-run they'll book your boat to the Captain's Corner dinner before you think to ask. The base for Lefkada's south-coast loop (Porto Katsiki, Egremni by boat, Vasiliki).
On the former Onassis-era Miramare estate on the Corfu south coast: adults-only, Marriott Luxury Collection, and bungalows in mature gardens.
A small boutique on Corfu's north-east coast at San Stefano (Sinies): eight rooms, a restaurant directly on the beach, the small-hotel pick for the Durrell stretch of the island. Walk to Kassiopi for the Old-Port dinners.
A family-run hotel with fewer than 20 rooms on the Lakka side of Paxos, connected to the Erimitis cliff-top bar and restaurant on the west coast.
An adults-only wellness boutique on the Kefalonian south coast at Lourdata: yoga pavilion, a plant-based menu option, the bay below for the morning swim. Come here for a quiet, programme-led Kefalonia rather than the Fiscardo yacht scene.
A small adults-only sea-view hotel above Petani Bay on Kefalonia's quieter west coast, directly over one of the island's prettiest beaches. A single-base Kefalonia stay: hotel-pool morning, beach afternoon.
An adults-only all-suite hotel at Tsilivi, north of Zante Town: calmer than the Laganas strip, modern Cycladic-aesthetic rooms, a good pool. The mid-tier Zakynthos base for anyone who doesn't want the Lesante or Domes Aulus splurge.
Banyan Tree group's first European resort, opened June 2021 on a coastal hillside south of Corfu Town at Benitses: colonnaded pavilions cascading down to a private beach, the Asian-spa standard the brand is built on, a full spa-and-wellness programme. Book it as the Corfu top tier when you want one address for a full week.
The Ikos group's newest Corfu property (opened 2023) on Dassia bay: adults-mostly, all-inclusive ultra-luxury run at the top of the category. Multiple restaurants, Michelin-direction dining in the rate, a Rolls-Royce-equipped concierge fleet. Ikos is the all-inclusive the Greeks are proud of.
Kefalonia's top-tier flagship: a cluster of stone-and-pine villas and rooms set into a private cove just outside Fiscardo, the Ionian directly below. SLH-tier, and they still walk you to your villa on arrival. The Kefalonia top-end stay.
A Leading Hotels of the World adults-only property at Tragaki on Zakynthos's east coast: sea-view suites with private pools. Book a Prosilio dinner in Zante Town one night.
Grecotel's flagship Corfu property: 30 acres on its own peninsula at Kommeno, four Blue Flag beaches, gardens fifty years in the ground, the established resort scale most of the chain can't match. Reopens for the 2026 season on April 24. The mid-tier-luxury alternative to Ikos that isn't selling you novelty.
Adults-only (15+) cluster-style boutique at Mousata, above Trapezaki Beach on Kefalonia's south coast: 21 suites, each with its own private plunge pool, terraced down the hillside.
What to do
Twelve things, four categories. The Corfu Old Town and the Durrell-coast walk are the cultural mornings. The Paxos and Antipaxos boat day is the headline. Kefalonia's caves and the Robola wine villages are the inland day. Zakynthos is mostly view-and-boat at this point.
Corfu Old Town walk
Corfu Town
The UNESCO World Heritage Old Town in one slow morning: the Liston (the French-era colonnaded arcade), the Spianada (the largest square in Greece, with the only cricket pitch in the country), the Old Fortress (Venetian, the long view back to the city), and the lanes of the Kambielo behind it. End at Pomo d'Oro for lunch.
Achilleion Palace
Gastouri · south Corfu
Empress Sisi of Austria's 1890 cliff-top neoclassical pile, 10 km south of Corfu Town: gardens of marble statues (the dying Achilles takes the lead), and the long view down to Kanoni and the Pontikonisi islet. 90 minutes; pair it with a Benitses bourdetto lunch at Klimataria afterwards.
Old Perithia & Mt. Pantokrator
North Corfu · mountain interior
The abandoned Venetian-era mountain village on Pantokrator's flank in north Corfu, slowly being restored, with two small tavernas (Foros and To Liotrivi) and the eerie air of a 14th-century settlement the modern world walked past. Drive up for lunch. Add the Pantokrator summit for the long-view top of Corfu.
Paxos + Antipaxos boat day
From Gaios · Paxos
From Gaios harbour on Paxos: a small-boat day around the blue caves on the Paxos west coast, then south to Antipaxos for a long lunch swim at Voutoumi or Vrika. Half a day with a hired RIB, a full day with a small caïque charter. The day Paxos is built around.
Melissani & Drogarati Caves
Kefalonia · Sami area
The two Kefalonia caves in one easy morning. Melissani is an open-roofed underground lake; you cross it in a rowed skiff, and the noon sun turns the water electric-blue. Drogarati is the dry stalactite chamber up the road, used as a small concert venue. Follow it with a Robola-wine lunch afterwards.
Zakynthos blue caves + Navagio view
Cape Skinari · Zakynthos
From Cape Skinari at the north tip of Zakynthos: a small-boat tour through the blue caves (water-light interior arches, swim-stops), then around to the Navagio Shipwreck for the view from the sea. The beach itself is closed to landings in 2026 due to rockfall risk; boats can approach to about 40 m but can't drop you ashore. The cliff-top viewing platform is open.
Myrtos Beach · Kefalonia
Kefalonia · west coast
The white-pebble crescent in every Greek-islands brochure: the long view down from the Assos road is the photograph, and the swim itself involves a steep downhill drive and a sharp-pebble entry. Go for the photograph and a 30-minute swim, then lunch up at Assos (the village two coves over).
Porto Katsiki · Lefkada
Lefkada · west coast
Lefkada's most photographed beach: pale-cliff backdrop, turquoise water, a 100-step staircase down. Open and accessible; arrive before 11 a.m. or after 5 p.m., or you'll join the day-bus crowd. Egremni, the famous neighbour, is boat-only for now (Feb 2026 storm damage to the stairs).
Agni Bay swim + lunch
Corfu · NE coast
Corfu's NE coast: three tavernas around a pebble cove, easy water, the boat-taxi from Kalami or Kassiopi the way to arrive. Swim, take a long lunch at Taverna Agni or Toula's, then walk the headland back to your starting cove. The defining day on the Corfu Durrell coast.
Robola wine villages · Kefalonia
Omala · central Kefalonia
Kefalonia's PDO white grape, grown on the limestone slopes around Omala and the Robola Cooperative cellar: tour the co-op, taste through the producer list (Sclavos, Gentilini, Petrakopoulos), and have lunch at one of the village tavernas afterward. A real Kefalonian afternoon rather than a hotel-pool one.
The Durrell coast walk
Corfu · NE coast
The 4-km walk along the Corfu NE-coast headlands from Kalami (Lawrence Durrell's White House, now a taverna and rentable holiday home) up to Kouloura (the small horseshoe-harbour everyone photographs from above). Go mid-morning, before the heat; lunch at Kouloura's single taverna.
Ithaca · Vathy harbour + School of Homer
Ithaca
The Odyssey half-day on Ithaca: walk the horseshoe Vathy harbour, visit the small Archaeological Museum, then drive 30 minutes north to the so-called School of Homer ruins (a Mycenaean-era complex on the Stavros plateau, the most likely site of "Odysseus's palace"). Pair it with Trehantiri for lunch.
Seven nights, the Northern Ionian
Four nights on Corfu (Old Town plus the Durrell coast), three on Paxos (Gaios harbour plus the Antipaxos boat day), then back to Corfu to fly home. The most coherent Ionian week for first-timers. The alternative "Southern" week, Kefalonia (4) + Ithaca (2) + fly out, sits in Worth Knowing.
Land at Corfu (CFU)
direct from London or the European hubs, or a 50-min connection from Athens. Collect the rental car at the airport.
Check in to Bella Venezia or Cavalieri
in the Corfu Old Town: drop bags, find your feet.
First walk: the Liston + Spianada
an easy intro to the Old Town. Coffee on the Liston.
Sunset on the Old Fortress walls
€6 entry; the long view back to the city is the photograph.
Dinner at Pomo d'Oro
an easy first dinner on Scaramanga Square, which you should book ahead.
Old Town walk
the Kambielo lanes, the New Fortress, the Antivouniotissa Museum (an icon collection in a 15th-c. church). 2 hours, ending at the Liston.
Lunch on the Liston
Aegli or any of the colonnade cafés. Coffee, a salad, a glass of Vertzami (the Lefkadan red).
Slow afternoon
boutique-shopping on Kapodistriou (the kumquat-liqueur shops, the Ionian-art galleries), then rooftop drinks at Cavalieri.
Dinner at The Venetian Well
book it. The tasting menu, the sommelier list, the cobbled-square setting.
Drive to the NE coast
45 minutes to Kalami (Lawrence Durrell's White House).
Walk the Durrell coast
Kalami → Kouloura → Agni headland, 4 km, two hours, no shade after 11.
Lunch at Taverna Agni or Toula's
book ahead; boat in if you've left the rental car at Kalami.
Swim at Agni
the cove is gentle; water shoes for the pebbles.
Drive back to Corfu Town
via Kassiopi for a sunset drink.
Light dinner in town
Klimataria N. Bellos in Benitses if you want bourdetto tonight (30 min drive), or any of the Old-Town tavernas.
Drive to Achilleion Palace
15 minutes south. Empress Sisi's neoclassical gardens; 90 minutes.
Lunch at Klimataria Bellos (Benitses)
the bourdetto / bianco lunch you put off on Day 3, which you should book ahead.
Slow afternoon
beach at Glyfada or Issos on the south coast, or the pool back at the hotel.
Dinner at Etrusco
booked 2 weeks ago. 20-min cab to Kato Korakiana. Tasting menu; do not rush.
Return rental car, transfer to Corfu port
the Paxos hydrofoil leaves from the Corfu Old Port.
Hydrofoil to Paxos
60–80 minutes to Gaios harbour. Book this ahead; high-season sailings sell out.
Check in: Erimitis Boutique or your Lakka/Gaios pick
.
Lunch at Vassilis (Loggos)
take the boat-taxi from Gaios.
Walk Loggos harbour
afternoon coffee, a sea-bath.
Dinner at Carnayo (Gaios)
book ahead.
Hire a RIB or caïque from Gaios
half-day (RIB, €120–180) or full-day (caïque with skipper, €350–600). Pre-book in season.
Blue caves of the Paxos west coast
swim-stops, a photograph, slow.
Lunch swim at Voutoumi or Vrika (Antipaxos)
the small taverna on the headland for the food, the water for the rest.
Back to Gaios
shower, nap.
Sunset at Erimitis
drive to the west-coast cliffs; one drink before dinner.
Dinner at Erimitis
under the stars. Booked ahead.
Slow morning swim
Lakka or Mongonissi.
Hydrofoil back to Corfu
60–80 minutes to the Old Port.
Lunch in Corfu Town
before the airport.
Fly home from CFU
direct routes back to most European hubs.
The Ionian table
Four hundred years of Venetian rule shows up at the table. Order these and you've eaten the Ionian.
A few things
Six things that change the trip.
The Ionian chain is spread across 250 km of sea, and the inter-island ferries are sparse. The shape that works is Corfu + Paxos (the Northern week) or Kefalonia + Ithaca (the Southern week). Trying to chain Corfu → Lefkada → Kefalonia → Zakynthos in a week is the classic mistake.
The famous shipwreck beach on Zakynthos is view-only for the 2025–26 seasons because of ongoing rockfall risk. Boats can come within about 40 m of shore but can't land. The cliff-top viewing platform is open (a second viewpoint opened in 2025). Don't book a boat that promises a beach landing.
Lefkada's other famous beach reopened with new stairs in 2021 after the 2015 earthquake, then Feb 2026 heavy-rain rockfall took out the lower section again. For now, boat from Vasiliki is the reliable access, and the staircase may or may not be repaired by mid-summer. Porto Katsiki next door is open.
Paxos is an easy hydrofoil from Corfu, but the useful version includes a night. The day boats leave in the early evening, which gives you time for dinner in Gaios, Loggos or Lakka without checking the return schedule.
The Ionian has an indigenous wine story most travellers walk past. Robola (Kefalonia, PDO) is the white to order anywhere in the chain; Vertzami (Lefkada) is the under-known native red. The Kefalonia Robola Cooperative tasting is the afternoon to plan around.
Corfu has Kavos in the south-east, Zakynthos has Laganas on the south coast, and both are British-charter party strips with the prices and atmosphere to match. Stay at the opposite end of the island: on Corfu, the NE coast (Kassiopi, Agni, Kalami) or the Old Town; on Zakynthos, Tragaki or Bohali.
Want it built around you?
Tell us when you're going to the Ionian, for how long, and what kind of trip you want: the Northern week (Corfu + Paxos), the Southern week (Kefalonia + Ithaca), the Zakynthos-only Lesante Blu base, or a single-island deep dive on Corfu. We'll send a custom itinerary in 72 hours: hotels, restaurants (Etrusco and Tassia booked), the right airport, the ferry-or-charter routing, the right beaches given Navagio's 2026 closure. two revision rounds included until it's right.
$85, one time.
Build my Ionian tripDelivered in 72 hours · two revision rounds included