To celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary, we planned a trip to the Ionian Islands.
A chance to return to where we holidayed together before we had children and visit a few islands we'd not yet managed to visit. Eight islands in five weeks - Zakynthos, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Meganisi, Lefkada, Parga, Paxos, ending on the island of Corfu.
The island we first holidayed together in 1993 xx
ZAKYNTHOS
Our time on Zakynthos was short and sweet. Due to the Lefkada Palace ferry not getting a license this year to sail, we had had to leave Zakynthos a day earlier than originally intended. Our main reason for starting our adventures in Zakynthos was due to there being a flight from Bristol and it also gave us a chance to return to Laganas, which we went to in 1994!! It was as bad as we remembered, if not worse!! Party central, full of teenagers, quad bikes, beach bars, clubs and fast food places along the strip!! And it's one redeeming feature, the turtle beach and nesting sites. We headed up to the north of the island by bus to catch our ferryand that part looked worthy of a return visit one day. We're glad we went but Zakynthos remains low on our list of Greek islands to return to.
ITHACA
Ithaca, a new island to us! And the only island where we had a hire car due to it's lack of public transport! We had 4 lovely days exploring the beautiful island of Ithaca....Sarakiniko Beach, Kioni, Frikes, the Monastery of Katharon, and Filiatro beach. A beautiful place and worthy of a return visit.
KEFALONIA
We spent four days on Kefalonia, basing ourselves in beautiful Fiskardo, enjoying the fabulous Foki and Emplysi Beach. We visited Kefalonia in 2022, so not that long ago, so didn't feel the need to massively explore the whole island.
LEFKADA
Our next island was Lefkada. We enjoyed our last holiday there in 1998, before Sophie arrived the following year. So we decided to stay in Vasiliki, where we stayed 28 years ago. It has been a wonderful trip down memory lane. We were reminded of why we fell in love with it all those years ago and we will be back to give it our full attention. Four days was nowhere near long enough x
MEGANISI
Meganisi was a new island to us, which we reached via a ferry from the port on Nidri. We spent four fabulous days there. A much quieter island, with little to no public transport, so lots of walking. Had the luxury of a pool and more importantly, the use of a washing machine
We loved our time there but it's not an island we would return to for now. As I said, public transport is limited and therefore lots of walking up steep hills, as we were staying up in the Chora. We loved that the island is quiet and not incredibly touristy but it was hard to get around on foot.
PARGA
Next up Parga, on the mainland. Our stay in Parga was never even meant to happen, so we're thankful it did. Due to the Lefkada Palace ferry not getting a liscence, another route had to be re-jigged, as we could no longer get to Paxos from Meganisi/Lefkada direct. So instead, we had to get the ferry from Meganisi to Nidri on Lefkada. From there we got the bus from Nidri to Lefkada Town. Due to bus timings not aligning, we got a taxi from Lefkada Town to Preveza bus station, and then from there a bus to Parga!! It cost an additional €50 and a lot of hassle but it meant we get to go to Parga which we last visited in 1995.
Although initially we thought we'd made a mistake returning after 31 years, in just a day and a half, we were reminded of why we fell in love with it all those years ago.
It has been a victim of its own success. Because it's such a beautiful place, everyone wants to visit and we were genuinely shocked by how busy it was.
So Parga was a place of two halves. If you can get away from crowds, it was lovely and like the Parga we fell in love with all those years ago. When we revisit, and we will, it would have to be early or late in the season to avoid the crowds.
PAXOS
The island of Paxos was new to us. We had been there before, twice, on day trips from Corfu and Parga, but we had never stayed there. We spent 5 days exploring the beautiful island. It is such a chilled, relaxed, beautiful, quiet island but more expensive. We explored the towns of Lakka and Gaios but also spent much of our time in our resort - Loggos and on Marmari beach.
CORFU
Our final island of the trip was Corfu. The island where we first holidayed together in 1993. An island we have visited together three times before, in 1993, 1997 and 2021 and where Sophie and I went last September.
We broke this up into two camps, starting our week basing ourselves in Corfu Town, revisiting the places we first went to in 1993!! Paleokastrista, far too busy to enjoy! Roda, exactly as we remembered, flat, sandy, shallow sea, not much there and Sidari, much busier and developed than we remembered. We also went to Pontikonisi and Mouse Island, new to us and on Corfu's flight path, so a Jeff highlight.
The second half of the week was a return to Kalami, a quiet bay in the North East of the island, where we stayed for a few days back in 2021. The perfect place to relax, end our Ionian adventure and celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. (the inspiration for our trip)
We travel with rucksacks. It makes it much easier to get around, although I still need to drop a kilo or two! I can get everything I need in, it's just still a bit on the heavy side. So I need to remember this next year and really consolidate what I take!!
A few pics we tried to re-capture!!
Roda and Sidari 1993
Parga 1995
Lefkada 1998
Whilst we were away, easyJet set live there summer 2027 flights,
so we're already booked up for next years adventure!!
