Ionian Islands

Typical afternoon wind

3–4 Beaufort · Maistro

Passage lengths

1–3 hours between anchorages

Suits

First charter

Season

May–October

Short sheltered hops between green islands, with a reliable afternoon breeze that dies away by evening. The classic first charter.

The Ionian sits in the lee of mainland Greece and misses the Meltemi almost entirely. What you get instead is the Maistro, a north-westerly thermal that fills in around midday, holds at 10 to 15 knots through the afternoon and fades at sunset. Islands are close enough that you rarely sail more than three hours, and there is almost always a bail-out anchorage within reach. That combination is why most Greek charter fleets keep their beginner boats here.

A typical week

1. Day 1 Lefkas or Preveza to Nidri and Vlicho Bay
2. Day 2 Meganisi: Spartochori, Vathi and the deep inlets
3. Day 3 Ithaca: Kioni or Frikes
4. Day 4 Kefalonia: Fiskardo
5. Day 5 Ithaca: Vathi
6. Day 6 Kalamos or Kastos for a quiet last night
7. Day 7 Back to base

Roughly 70 to 90 nautical miles over the week

Worth the detour

• Meganisi's fjord-like inlets
• Ithaca and the Odyssey harbours
• Lefkada's west-coast beaches, reachable only by sea
• Fiskardo and Kioni for evening berths

Watch out for

• Berths in Fiskardo and Kioni fill by late afternoon in August
• The afternoon breeze funnels hard through the Meganisi channel
• Lefkas canal opens on the hour, plan the last leg around it

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