Dream Destination: Lefkada

It’s almost one month since I was preparing my luggage for a new summer destination: Lefkada. It’s the third time I am choosing Greece for my summer vacation and I am sure I will do it again many times! For some, choosing the same country may be boring, but believe me this doesn’t apply to the beautiful Balkan country! Having more than 1000 islands, you can imagine the variety of options one can have when deciding to visit Greece. Like most of the tourists, my first destination was on the mainland(Katerini) and I wasn’t really pleased with what I have found there. After a detailed research when I got back, we decided to give it another try the following year and our next destination (mine and my boyfriend’s) was, this time, one of the biggest Greek islands, Corfu(the third biggest island). The time spent there proved me that Greece is exactly the Paradise I was dreaming of and convinced me to come back and visit the one destination that blew me away, the amazing Lefkada!

Porto Katsiki Beach, Lefkada

After a 14 hours road trip we finally got to the destination! The great advantage you have when travelling to Lefkada is the fact that you don’t need to take the ferry to get to the island. Instead, the island is connected to the mainland through-out a bridge! The first settlement you’ll see is the capital of the island, Lefkada Town(Lefkas), a place full of bars, places to buy souvenirs, tavernas and so on. I was impressed by this place and the variety of bars, especially the ones decorated in the vintage style that I personally adore!

Found on: Pinterest

We were staying in a 3* hotel in Agios Ioannis, one of the closest village to Lefkada town, located in the north-west part of the island. I recommend you to choose the accommodation on the west part of the island, since the beaches are broad and the water is fantastic! Among the most popular beaches are: Kathisma, Kalamitsi, Milos, Egremni, Porto Katsiki and Agiofili.

In what’s next, I will describe the beaches I visited and some tips if you are planning to go there!

Agios Ioannis Beach was the first beach we visited since we were staying in that village! I cannot say I liked it very much. The disadvantage of this beach is that is quite narrow and rocky. All the beaches in Lefkada are rocky, but this one is full of big rocks. The water though, is amazing! This beach is well-known for wind sports that can be practiced here and I recommend it for snorkeling!

Agios Ioannis Beach

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WHERE TO EAT: We ate only once here and I wasn’t thrilled! I cannot remember the name of the place, which was exactly on the beach. The prices are affordable, for a Greek salad paying around 6 euros.

Kathisma Beach is among the most popular beaches here due to its broadness and the multitude of sunbeds and umbrellas. This beach is also rocky, but a lot more easy to handle! On the extremities there are big cliffs and the access to the beach is really easy, with signs all over after crossing Agios Nikitas village. The water here is incredible, but a big disappointment was the fact that it’s not that clear as in Agios Ioannis, so it isn’t good for snorkeling! Wind sports are also practiced here!

Kathisma Beach

WHERE TO EAT: We’ve been here two times and both times we ate at Monato Restaurant. It is a nice restaurant on the beach, having a pretty diversified menu. I chose both times to eat salads: the first time with sea food and the second time with dried fruits and I liked it a lot. Prices are really good, from 7 to 10 euros/ salad.

Egremni Beach- Welcome to Paradise! This was by far my favorite beach in on the Ionian Island. Even-though Porto Katsiki seesm to be the most popular, Egremni is my dream beach! It is a 2 km long beach, pretty broad and with fine rocks. The only disadvantage is that for getting there the road is really narrow and you have to leave your car up and go down 300 stairs. The clear water is heavenly and I could practice snorkeling here! I suggest you to go in the morning, around 9 pm, cause at the lunch time can get very crowded! You can also rent sunbeds here.

Egremni Beach

WHERE TO EAT: There is only one beach bar there and they do not serve food, but the ice frappe is awesome!

Kalamitsi Beach is a narrow beach and the least populated from the ones we visited! I loved the wildness of it, but in the same time it was the most difficult to access. It is small and the waves are big between the two huge rocks standing in the water. It can be dangerous swimming there when it gets so wavy. The amazing part was discovering another beach(it doesn’t have any name, or at least we don’t know it) very close to Kalamitsi. This beach is accessible only by climbing some rocks, but it’s worth the effort. I call it mini Egremni because it’s long, with tiny, tiny rock and broad like my favorite!

Kalamitsi Beach

Wild beach, close to Klamaitsi

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WHERE TO EAT: There is only a beach bar and you have only a few options in what concerns food: tzatsiki, greek salad, etc. I’ve tried only the ice coffee, which is tasteful!

Porto Katsiki Beach is by far the most popular and iconic beach in Lefkada! The view from the cliff is amazing(you can see it in the first picture) and the water is breath-taking! There are lots of cruises going there from all the island’s corners, which makes the medium-size beach quite crowded. We got there around 9 pm and it was perfect! If you are planning to go there(and you should!), take into consideration that there aren’t any sunbeds on the shore, which can be a little uncomfortable and the beach is narrow and long!

Porto Katsiki Beach

WHERE TO EAT: If you want to drink or eat something, there are a couple of restaurants/bars up on the mountain(there are 50 stairs to come down to get to the beach). Also, on the beach, 2 or 3 restaurants’ employees are taking orders in order to bring you food and beverages down.