Journey to the Ionian islands: stunning beaches, organized marinas and safe harbors will offer sailing enthusiasts unique moments.
"A different world, another Greece". Thus, we have described the
Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands. And indeed, coming with charter boat or
yacht from the Gulf of Patras, a new magical world is opened in front of you.
Ionian Sea, west of the land in Greece are the Ionian Islands, creating a
completely different landscape from the Aegean islands.
But let's start from the beginning:
Starting from the coast of Attica, we go
to the west, behind Salamis. We put
position at the entrance of the Isthmus. Fetching the southern coast from east
to west and after 24 nautical miles cruising from Salamis, we were in awe at
the entrance of the Isthmus with other motor yachts and sailing ships. We tied
to large pier to pay transit fees, and waited our turn. The submersible bridge
lost on the bottom and the vessel started to pass one after the other. The
passage of the canal is unique.
An imposing work of man. After 3.5 miles we were in the outer harbor of
seagrass and then opened the Corinthian Gulf. The high mountains to the north
and south, not infrequently, reserve surprises with strong wind and sometimes strong waves. After 55
miles northwest course, we arrived at Crickets ideal station for the night,
since it has a large marina, a few small restaurants, supermarkets and tourist
enough color. The Rio-Antirio bridge is 17 miles from there.
As shown striking the top bridge, the more it is passing underneath. Note that
before passing the bridge, we must decide if we're going Zakynthos or
Kefalonia, why should we go through the appropriate side to inform the Traffic
Rio. If we start our trip to Sea from south to north, we will go out of Patras,
where we can stop at the marina, towards the great port of Zakynthos.
Zakynthos: The whole island is a perfect environment for sailing: there are
several beaches that we can visit the island. The famous shipwreck that has
made Greece famous throughout the world, is one of them. Blue Caves is also a
unique place that is accessible only by boat. Beware of cold underwater
sources! On our way we watch very rare sea turtles Caretta caretta, which lay
their eggs in Zakynthos, especially the south, the Bay of Laganas.
Kefalonia: The distance between Zakynthos
and Kefalonia is not even 10 miles, however, from the port of Zakynthos until
Argostoli is about 40. The bay of Argostoli is one of the safest ports in the
world. Marina also has Lixouri opposite. Visit the beautiful Fiskardo, one of the internationally most
famous villages in the northern part of the island. Another beautiful part of
the island is suitable for boats St Euphemia, in the east.
Ithaca: Opposite from Kefalonia is Ithaca, the legendary island of Ulysses
king. Port Vathi is very safe and welcoming. Ithaca has unique natural beauty,
and is not particularly tourism. One stop
to coast Gidaki north of the island, is essential. Blue waters and dense
vegetation.
Lefkas Three small islands in the
area definitely worth visiting by boat is Kalamos, Kastos and Meganisi. Green,
fairly quiet and have facilities for vessels.
The eastern side of Lefkada is more interesting and safest to visit by
sailing boat. Vasiliki and Nidri are
offered for mooring, but also for docking. Travelling north we pass
through the canal of Lefkada with particular attention because of the boundary
of the channel depth. Before you go, we find the marina of Lefkada, one of the
most organized in Greece, with a capacity of over 600 sailing yachts,motor
boats, where you can hire one for one or more weeks. In Aktion,which is located
in Amvrakikos Gulf there are marina Cleopatra, near Preveza and just 1.5.
from the airport.
