ONE WEEK SAILING CRUISE IN THE IONIAN ISLANDS

Day 2: Meganissi - Ithaca (15 nm)

The morning sun offered a wonderful colour to the sea and to the trees around our yacht. We enjoyed breakfast and set sail to Ithaca, a 2-3 hours sailing trip. First, we made a stop for swimming at the southern cape of Meganissi and in the afternoon we continued to Ithaca. We had a swim at the beach of Gidaki and then anchored in the bay of Kioni. It is a lovely bay, with a small village; the dock is too small to fit the number of visiting yachts, which anchor at the rocks around the bay. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the seaside of the picturesque village.

Note: When preparing to anchor, have in mind that the Northwestern wind comes strong in the bay, increasing the difficulty.

Another factor to take into account is the high depth in the bay. In many cases,it requires to anchor at 20 meters depth, which is not the safest scenario when anchoring. 

Later in the afternoon, the northwestern wind started blowing in the bay, and small waves were created. It was time to lift the anchor and head north to the port of Gaios, in Paxos island. The port combines the natural beauty of the Ionian Sea with a picturesque town built around it. Houses are colourful and nicely built, adding to the charm of Gaios port. 

Berthing is difficult because of the high number of yachts trying to berth there. Because of its beauty, Gaios is one of the ports gathering the highest number of sailing yachts in the Ionian, 

We entered the port from its northern entry, as the southern entry is too shallow, and we were lucky to find a berth without a lot of effort. We enjoyed a nice walk in the town and dined in a restaurant (without being impressed by food quality that we tried).

Late in the afternoon, we felt the same northwestern breeze, so it was time to complete our route around Paxos coast.

For the night, we returned to the islet of Antipaxos, to protect from the northwestern wind. The bays are also crystal, with amazing natural beauty. We anchored in a bay just northern of Voutoumi, the "port" of Antipaxos, where we spent the night. 

Note: If you prefer to spend the night in the port, options include either Gaios, Lakka, or the bay of Mongonissi, at the southern part of Paxos. 

After few hours of relaxing, we sailed to the bay of Fiscardo, at  the northern coast of Kefalonia island.

Again, we found one of the last spots in the port, since it's full with yachts. If we could not berth inside the port of Fiscardo, we would moor by the rocky coastline around it.

Many spots in the small port are kept clear during the day for berthing of the tourist ships. But in the evening these spots are available, till early next morning. Fiscardo is very beautiful and picturesque place, so we spent the rest of the evening on the shops around the port for coffee, dinner and later drinks.

Day 7: Return to Lefkas port (28nm)

It was the day to complete the sailing trip to Lefkas island, where we had started.In spite of the amazing places that we had visited, we were feeling that time passed so fast in our trip. We headed  east toward Meganissi, and made a stop in Atokos islet and an amazing cove for a swim and lunch. Swimming there was wonderful, similar to the bays that we visited already. We realized that the beauty of the Ionian islands is shared in every rock; every small islet composed a unique sailing destination.

Soon, as our time was limited, we left Atokos and headed to the port of Lefkas; our wonderful sailing tour in the Ionian islands had come to an end.

We spent the last night in the vivid port of Lefkas and disembarked the yacht early on the next day.