8834 - (Sleeps 2)
This property is set back from the little village street and is just a minute’s walk away from the waterfront. The apartment...
7670 - (Sleeps 2)
The village of Exoghi hides away at the very top of a hill overlooking Afales Bay on Ithaca’s north coast. Up to...
16505 - (Sleeps 2)
Did Odysseus land in secret at this stunningly beautiful bay, and then conceal his plundered treasure in the Nymph’s Cave on the...
16506 - (Sleeps 2)
Did Odysseus land in secret at this stunningly beautiful bay, and then conceal his plundered treasure in the Nymph’s Cave on the...
20813 - (Sleeps 3)
Being on the hillside above Kioni, the Agnandio boasts spectacular views. This pair of top (first) floor apartments provides good modern standards...
21521 - (Sleeps 4)
From Vathy a road winds its way south through a beautiful, natural, undulating landscape with only a very few houses and dramatic...
7662 - (Sleeps 4)
This house is one of the traditional village houses, which line the Kioni waterfront and enjoy superb and unobstructed views across the...
21524 - (Sleeps 4)
From Vathy a road winds its way south through a beautiful, natural, undulating landscape with only a very few houses and dramatic...
20251 - (Sleeps 4)
This 7 acre estate overlooks Afales Bay at the northern tip of Ithaca. Hillsides of olive groves and cypress forest hide 4...
11307 - (Sleeps 4)
This House is in the hilltop hamlet of Rachi above Kioni and has one of the best vantage positions with magnificent views...
20536 - (Sleeps 4)
The little road leaving Vathy on the eastern side passes a few fine neo-classical houses, narrows to follow the edge of the...
10818 - (Sleeps 4)
Close to Vathy town in an unspoilt rural area stands the beautiful traditional stone house Mega Skinos. This house is the ultimate...
17011 - (Sleeps 4)
This mountainous island boasts some of the Ionian's most dramatic views and it is the view which takes the breath away when...
14036 - (Sleeps 4)
The views from the Bay House encapsulate all that is best about this beautiful island: hillsides covered in wild thyme, olive and...
21527 - (Sleeps 4) Descriptio
Kioni has one of the prettiest and smallest ports in the Ionian and remains unspoilt, quiet and beautiful. July and August sees...
7668 - (Sleeps 4)
These Villas are a short distance to a beautiful beach and with stunning views across the sea.
A small road leads down from...
21077 - (Sleeps 4)
As you head gently up the hillside and turn into the sweeping driveway you arrive at these three charming houses one can’t...
16504 - (Sleeps 4)
The present occupier of that other White House may never get an opportunity to stay in this superbly appointed villa, which is...
20245 - (Sleeps 4)
This villa is set back from the coastal road in the hilltop hamlet of Rachi above Kioni. Views from the stone terraces...
13617 - (Sleeps 5)
This is one of only two holiday homes within easy walking distance of Kioni waterfront to have a private swimming pool.
This villa...
7667 - (Sleeps 5) Desription
Reached by a small country lane, which cuts through the valley of olive groves behind the little port of Frikes, Petrino House...
20248 - (Sleeps 5)
The local word “apaggio” means a peaceful recluse. From Vathy a road winds its way seven kilometres south to the site of...
20249 - (Sleeps 5)
Travelling south from the port of Vathy one soon discovers a beautiful, undulating landscape with only a very few houses and dramatic...
21522 - (Sleeps 6)
From Vathy a road winds its way south through a beautiful, natural, undulating landscape with only a very few houses and dramatic...
7661 - (Sleeps 6)
A flight of one hundred steps leads from the Kioni waterfront to this House, set in a private, hillside position above the...
21523 - (Sleeps 6)
From Vathy a road winds its way south through a beautiful, natural, undulating landscape with only a very few houses and dramatic...
7663 - (Sleeps 6)
The ten to fifteen minute walk from Kioni waterfront to this House is steep in parts but will reward the escapist. This...
14633 - (Sleeps 6)
This is a large, traditional island house which has been converted with care to produce a beautiful private home. From its hillside...
21526 - (Sleeps 6)
From Vathy a road winds its way south through a beautiful, natural, undulating landscape with only a very few houses and dramatic...
20804 - (Sleeps 6)
On Ithaka everything has its place. Even mighty Odysseus has to take his turn in everyday life! Kioni is a perfect example....
10750 - (Sleeps 6)
Set on a mountainside of verdant greenery is the small village of Perahori. This charming rural hamlet is one of only a...
20864 - (Sleeps 6)
On Ithaka everything has its place. Even mighty Odysseus has to take his turn in everyday life! Kioni is a perfect...
8836 - (Sleeps 6)
This villa is set on a hillside of olive trees overlooking Vathy Bay. A private driveway leads from the road, which connects...
21525 - (Sleeps 8)
From Vathy a road winds its way south through a beautiful, natural, undulating landscape with only a very few houses and dramatic...
16574 - (Sleeps 8)
The narrow road leading through an avenue of eucalyptus trees out of the capital, Vathy, arrives at one of Ithaca's many charming...
Ithaca Resort Description Ithaca represents timeless, quintessential Greece - the Greece of haphazardly painted blue doors and rough walls lost under numerous layers of whitewash, of olive trees weighed down by the burden of their fruit and cocks crowing at dawn. The Greece where men play backgammon in the cafés, donkeys bear the crops from the fields and widows dress in black; the Greece where sunsets are beautiful, days are tranquil and life is at its simplest.
There can be no more timeless way to arrive at a Greek island than by boat - the only way in fact to reach Ithaca. As the ferry from Fiskardo on neighbouring Cephalonia chugs its way around the northern tip of Ithaca to the tiny port of Frikes, even the most world-weary traveller on board marvels at the sight of the seemingly virgin green hillsides tumbling down to a string of glorious deserted coves.
You cannot escape from the sea in Ithaca - and when it’s such a dazzling blue, you wouldn’t want to. There’s scarcely a moment along any Ithacan road when the ocean is not visible in one, two, or even three directions. For a truly stupendous view of the three seas you should wind up through the village of Exoghi, from where the views are already breathtaking, to the deserted monastery of the Holy Virgin on Pernarakia, from where the panorama of the three seas and numerous islands, is simply sublime.
Such stupendous views bring to mind the epic voyage of Odysseus, for Homer described his hero’s home as having a view of three seas and you can check for yourself how this description tallies with one of the suggested sites of Odysseus’ palace near the central village of Stavros. When he finally reached the island he had striven to reach for so long, Odysseus was laid asleep, in the little bay of Dexia, or Fourkinos, on the shores of the gulf leading to the capital, Vathy.
Untamed, magical and mythical Ithaca is all sea and mountain, an island formed by two miniature mountain ranges linked by a narrow wasp waist, along which a skeletal system of roads high above the coast gives tantalising glimpses of beaches lapped by water so clear.
The colours are so intense that they glisten brilliantly like jewels - jade, turquoise, opal and emerald. Some of Ithaca’s lovely, white, pebbly beaches can only be reached by sea - if you hire a little boat from Vathy, Kioni or Frikes you may find yourselves, in the spring and autumn at least, sharing a gorgeous cove only with a fisherman slowly and rhythmically dipping his oars in the water, or a solitary yacht swinging at anchor.Ithaca’s connections to the encircling sea are strong for the small island boasts no less than four hundred sea captains.
The Ithacans are adept at creating their own entertainment and hold tremendous festivals in the summer, which are based on the religious calendar but are really just an excuse to drink, dance and generally make merry, as well as to provide an outlet for the single local band. Everyone seems to gather at these events, for driving distances are short (if you were staying in Stavros, for instance, you could decide on the spur of the moment to go and dine in Vathy or Kioni), yet Ithaca is large and wild enough to have plenty to explore.
Inland Ithaca is as alluring as the sea, especially in the spring when crocus, anemone, gladiolus and hundreds of other flowers create a colourful oriental carpet over the hillsides, or in the autumn when the leaves are turning to gold.
In these seasons walking in the island is an immense pleasure, particularly when you stumble over such hidden delights as the ruined church of Paleochora with its Byzantine frescoes open to the heavens. Ithaca is compact but complete - when you’re there everything conspires to make you want to stay and when you leave the island’s image will haunt you, as it did Odysseus, until you return.
The Holiday Group, Registered in England and Wales (Number 3947716)
Registered Office of The Holiday Group – 55 Kentish Town Rd. London . NW1 8NX, England.
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