Sailing itineraries Ionian

There are various excellent 1-week sailing routes or itineraries between SE Kerkira and the mainland of Greece and even the circumnavigation of Corfu island is feasible in one week.
Similarly for the South Ionian (lefkas), see further down.

But, note that in two [2] weeks you will see three [3] times as much as in one [1] week:

• Sail around the Paxos and Antipaxos islands from Gouvia,
  or around Ithaca and the east coast of Kefalonia from Lefkas.
• The possibility of onshore excursions.
• Comfortably reach the Diapontia, Palaiokastritsa, Agios Georgios and Kassiopi, or from Lefkas reach Olympia and the Peloponnese south coasts.
• A good opportunity to steer clear of the overabundance of flotilla fleets that sail milk runs, really avoid the milk runs.

The following table gives the characteristics of the Ionian Sea (North + South), and you might also want to compare the other Greek regions with the Lefkas + Corfu yacht charter areas. More stars mean that a statement is more true.

Ionian winds

• The winds in the Ionian are remarkably consistent in the sailing season. From late May to the end of September the Maistro wind blows down onto the Ionian Islands from the NW.
• Generally it arrives in the early afternoon, blows between 3 – 6 Bft and dies down again in the evening.
  The winds are channelled and funnelled by the significant mountainous land masses in its way so it can vary in strength and direction quite quickly.
• Also blowing from the NW are the Meltemi winds, but fortunately these are much less severe than in the Aegean Sea.
• Name origin: the Maistro / Maestro is the greek equivalent of the Mistral – the (in)famous northwesterly Mediterranean wind – derived from the Italian term for the Mistral.
  In Greek, it is generally known as maïstros - μαΐστρος.
• Meteorology: the Maistro is an anabatic sea-breeze wind which blows in the summer when the east Adriatic coast gets warmer than the sea, often in connection with a low pressure system over the Balkans.
  Therefore the Maistro is a mild sea-to-coast wind, unlike the actual Mistral.
  In contrast the strong katabatic winds in the area are the north-eastern Bora in the Adriatic (and North Ionian) and the north-eastern Gregali in whole of the Ionian.

Unsorted tips

• Corfu (Gouvia) Lefkas is the only sensible oneway within the Ionian Sea. Note that this direction is greatly preferred, otherwise you would be sailing against the prevailing winds.
• Lefkas Athens oneway connects several cruising areas, either via:
  • the Gulf of Patras, Corinthian Gulf and the Corinth Canal, which can be sailed in both directions in roughly 1 or 2 weeks;
  • the South promontories of the Peloponnese should realy be sailed in 2 or ideally 3 weeks, from west to east to take advantage of the prevailing winds.
• The island of Zakynthos is overrated – compared to the other Ionian islands – and very touristy. Although before 1 May you are allowed to enter, sail and anchor in the Marine Park.
• Besides the main charter bases of Lefkas marina and Gouvia marina on Corfu island, there are often options to charter a yacht out of Sami, Kefalonia or for instance out of Preveza.
• In the 2 or 3-weeks itineraries it is possible to have two or more rest days/stopovers/onshore excursions.
  Var­ious inland sites (see Corfu town, Sagiada, Parga, Palairos and Frikes) are well worth visiting.
  Moreover, several islands, notably Paxos, Meganisi, Kastos, Kalamos and Ithaca deserve more than a single stop.
• To steer clear of the Ionian charter milk runs it helps to charter for more than just 1 week. Also beneficial is knowing that the flotilla charter fleets usually sail a mixture of routes A, B or G, H.
• My favourites anchorages:
  • Fyki bay on Othonoi
  • SW coast of Antipaxos: e.g. Kalamitsa
  • Cape Kefali on Meganisi
  • Schinas on Kalamos
  • Vathy Vali on Kastos
  • Atheras on Kefalonia
  • Sarakiniko on Ithaca
  • Ag Nikolaos (Marmagkas) on Ithaca
  • Vromis on Zakynthos

Read more articles in my yachting guide.