- Getting here: flights to Preveza, the drive from Athens and getting around the island.
- Lefkada with children: calm beaches, shade and days out that work with small children.
- Seven days on Lefkada and Meganisi
- The south-east coast: Poros, Mikros Gialos and Sivota, and how they fit together.
- Sivota: the harbour, where to swim and eating by the boats.
- Mikros Gialos: the bay, its small coves and the sea cave.
- Poros: the village above the bay that most people pass by.
- Beaches: the sheltered bays near Poros and the big west-coast beaches, compared.
- Things to do in the south of the island
- Villa or hotel? An honest comparison.
Lefkada guide
A guide to Lefkada
The west coast: cliffs, beaches and sunsets
The west coast faces the open Ionian and takes the maistros, the north-westerly wind, head-on. This is where the famous beaches are: Kathisma with its long sand below Kalamitsi, Porto Katsiki under its high cliff near Athani, and Egremni, whose access has been damaged by earthquakes and landslides over the years. Agios Nikitas, a small village at the end of the coast road, has its own beach, with Milos beach next door. The water is a pale, bright turquoise and the sun sets straight into the sea. On a windy afternoon, though, the waves make swimming hard work, so the time to swim here is the morning.
The east and south: sheltered bays
The east coast looks across to Meganisi, the smaller islands and the mainland mountains. The main road runs down it through Lygia and Nidri, the busiest town on this side and the place the boats leave from for Meganisi. Further south, past the turning for Poros, the coast grows quieter: Mikros Gialos, the pebble bay below Poros that is also called Rouda Bay; Sivota, a narrow inlet of yachts and fish tavernas; and Vasiliki, the seaside village on a wide bay where windsurfers set sail in the afternoon breeze. The mountains in the middle of the island break the maistros before it reaches the east, so the bays there are often glassy in the morning and good for a swim even in the evening.
Where to start
A few things worth knowing
Book a hire car early
The coves, the hill villages and the tavernas at the end of a lane are easiest to reach by car. In July and August, book it early.
Many beaches are pebble
Water shoes are the most useful thing you can pack.
Check the wind
If the maistros is blowing, swim on the sheltered east side and keep the west coast for a calmer morning.
June and September
Mean warm water, long afternoons and quiet coves.
Staying on Lefkada
We look after villas on Lefkada, each with its own pool, and new areas of the island join every season. See the villas
Almanac
Today on Lefkada
Where to swim today
Wind from the west? Swim east.
Our rule of thumb. The summer wind, the maistros, blows from the north-west and brings the waves to the west coast, while the bays of the east stay calm. When the wind turns east or south, the west beaches are the better side.
- Sea
- –°C
- at the surface
- Waves
- – m
- in open water
- Wind
- – km/h
- Air
- –°C
- by the sea
The sun today
- Sunrise
- Sunset
- Daylight
- –
A rule of thumb, not a forecast: winds change from bay to bay, so look at the water before you swim.
