Lefkada or Lefkas is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, connected to the mainland by dikes and a pontoon bridge. It has a lot to offer, mainly stunning blue beaches, cosy towns and great food.
We arrived in Vasiliki, all the way south of the island and I was surprised at how picturesque it was, because I hadn’t read about it before. Even Ernest Hemmingway spent some time here. From here we would later take the ferry to Kefalonia, there is a boat transfer to the beautiful Agiofili Beach or you can rent your own little boat or you can simply enjoy some souvenir shopping in the cozy shops.
We arrived in Vasiliki, all the way south of the island and I was surprised at how picturesque it was, because I hadn’t read about it before. Even Ernest Hemmingway spent some time here. From here we would later take the ferry to Kefalonia, there is a boat transfer to the beautiful Agiofili Beach or you can rent your own little boat or you can simply enjoy some souvenir shopping in the cozy shops.
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Lefkada is the main city on the island and has a big port. We've seen many kite surfers here as well. Nikiana and Agios Nikitas are rather beach towns.
Next stop: the Southern cape of Lefkada. As soon as we reached the Western coast of the island, we were blown away by the color of the water. We stopped at Panorama Nucului. We continued to the best viewpoints of the island, here’s an overview. The first one looked out on Egremni Beach, Cafe Panorama was the next one, a great place for a pit stop. Lastly we arrived at Porto Katsiki, which aside from being extremely beautiful, is also extremely busy in high season and the parking might be an issue for you.
We left the beaches for the day and continued to our last stop of the day: the Nydri waterfalls. Since it’s the hottest time of the year we were worried that the waterfalls would be dried up, but took a chance on it anyway. Some water was running along the path, so we thought we got lucky! However it quickly seemed like the water was being pumped up to the top of the waterfall. You can swim in the blue water, but expect not to be alone, since there was a constant stream of visitors.
Unearth the legend of Cape Lefkada When you get here, the legendary energy sweeps you off your feet. At the spot where a lighthouse now stands, 60m above sea level, was the Temple of Lefkata Apollona, where sacrifices were made to the gods in ancient times. Sacrifices to the gods were eventually replaced by the sacrifices of desperate lovers. The poet Sappho was allegedly the first to jump in 570 BC and the dramatic white cliff is named Sappho’s Leap after her. It has also been called Kavos tis Kyras (Lady’s Cape), after the love-struck girls who also threw themselves to their deaths here.
From the is also Panorama Nucului you have a great view over the lighthouse, the cliffs along the West Coast and the Red Desert.
Set sail to the islets around Lefkada At Nydri, row upon row of masts sway to the rhythm of the wind, always poised to cast off. Untie those ropes and set sail in the Ionian’s azure waters for delightful hideaways like Pringiponisa, Meganisi, Kalamos and Kastos.
We were worried that the waterfalls would be dried up, but took a chance on it anyway. Some water was running along the path, so we thought we got lucky! However it quickly seemed like the water was being pumped up to the top of the waterfall. You can swim in the blue water, but expect not to be alone in the high season, since there was a constant stream of visitors.
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Best Restaurants
We celebrated our arrival with a fancy dinner at Taverna "O Minas". The most popular restaurants for sunset are the Amente & Rachi restaurants; the latter is known for the Fly Me bar where the paragliding starts. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to experience the paragliding or the restaurants. We ended up lunching at Taverna Kabos, where we used to go on our holiday 23 years ago. It’s still amazing!
By far our favorite restaurant, on the list of best ones in Greece, is Pavlos! Pavlos is a traditional grill restaurant where we each tried a different kind of spit or grilled meat. It was incredible! Obviously I had to go for the lamb on the spit, it melts in your mouth!
Amente is a brand new Restaurant & Cocktail Bar that will definitely amaze you. Come here to enjoy a fine dining experience with tasty and unique dishes, signature cocktails and unobstructed panoramic sea views.
Sunset! High up on the mountain top the restaurant “Rachi” makes its presence in absolute harmony with the surroundings, built and decorated in a tasteful manner reflecting its simplistic style. The pleasantly cool balcony welcoming the visitor is an unquestionable asset. The blue horizon offering an exquisite view of the Ionian Sea is really enticing to those who actually wish to drink their coffee, savour their homemade delicacies from the traditional wood-fired oven, their freshly gathered vegetables from their garden, taste their local meat and enjoy their wine. Next to the mountainous paragliding site of the slope which fly you to the wonderful West coasts, the All Day café-bar “FLY ME” opens its wings and welcomes you with a big hug.
By far our favorite restaurant, on the list of best ones in Greece, is Pavlos! Pavlos is a traditional grill restaurant where we each tried a different kind of spit or grilled meat. It was incredible! Obviously I had to go for the lamb on the spit, it melts in your mouth!
The traditional, family tavern par excellence. Ionio tavern in Lefkada epitomizes authentic home cuisine and its menu appeases, for many years now, gourmands coming from all over the world. Here, you will enjoy this unique view and the delicacies offered. Mrs Dina and her family will pamper you and offer you Lefkadian dishes, prepared with care and skill with local ingredients. Grilled pelagic fish, rustic rooster with pasta, rabbit stew, goat with oil and oregano, Vergado (braised wild goat), Lefkadean pies; these are only a few of the dishes you will find here, at the Ionio taverna!
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Wondering where to stay? We stayed at the Vergina Star Hotel and really enjoyed our stay here. There was a pool and another amazing breakfast was included. They only got better and better and we enjoyed it with a great view before setting off to explore the island.
I'm a solo female backpacker exploring the world on a budget. I have been travelling full-time for the past 2 years across all of Mexico, Central America, Southern Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe. As the journey continues you can follow along over on my Youtube channel and more guides will become available.
