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General Information

In this section of our Website you'll find the further information regarding your choice.

Highlights
Climate Information
Additional Information
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Highlights

Map of Ithaca

Places of Interest

Kathara Monastery - situated on Mount Neritos. It is the highest mountain on Ithaca with a summit of over 900 metres with spectacular views.
Satanic Settlement - a German settlement situated near to the capital Vathi. Germans bought an area of land in 1972 and it became a self sufficient community.
Dexia Bay - Odysseus landed on this bay after all of his travels.
Caves of the Nymphs, situated just above Dexia Bay - a cave, where Odysseus reportedly hid all of his treasures on his return journey from Troy.
Stavros Museum - Located in Stavros village, the museum holds a collection of the various finds from Northern Ithaca, dating back to the times of Odysseus. The museum was built in 1933. Open everyday from 8.30am to 15.00 pm (close on Monday). Free entry.
The church of Agios Gerogios, the cathedral and the church of Taxiarchis with the icon of Christ, which are believed to be painted by El Greco.

Beaches

Agios Ioannis - Sand beach. Just below the main road on the west coast of Ithaca is this small beach with beautiful sand.
Dexa - This bay has a Sand/Pebble beach and is located in the Gulf of Skinos on east coast of the island. There is decent swimming and it is not far from the Cave of Nymphs.
Bay of Polis - Pebble beach
Southwest of Stavros is a bay with the ancient name of Polis that has a beautiful beach. A cave on the north side of the bay is thought to have been a centre of worship for the early Greek civilisation.

Activities

Water sports
Hiking through the rugged and beautiful hills is recommended. There is a decent hike to the Spring of Aretousa, where Odysseus met his swineherd in the Odyssey. One kilometre from Vathi is the Cave of the Nymphs.
Horse riding
In August, there is a cultural festival with artists and orchestras from all over the world.

Things to Buy

Handmade costume
Jewellery
Art works and antiques

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Climate

The climate in Ithaca is similar to the climate in the other Ionian Islands: it is a mild and Mediterranean climate, consisting in dry and hot summers and rainy and mild winters, with temperatures rarely falling below 0 degrees.

Max Temp C	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
Ithaca	20	24	27	29	29	26	21
London	13	16	20	22	21	19	13

Sunshine Hours	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
Ithaca	8	10	12	14	13	10	7
London	5	6	7	6	6	5	3

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Additional Information

Great Excursions

Due to there being no representative service in Ithaca, we cannot sell any excursions. Those excursions below are suggestions only. However the hotel there does boat hire where you can go out for a few hours and discover the smaller beaches and coves.

Paleohora

A walk through the ruins of the old medieval capital of Ithaca will bring back the memory of the past, when the city was full of life, before its inhabitants abandoned it to move towards the coasts of the island.
The vestiges of old houses fortified against the pirate raids can be admired, as well as some ruined Byzantine churches which still have some very beautiful frescoes.

Aretousa Spring

5 kilometres south of Vathy, Ithaca's capital, on the most south-east corner of the island is the Spring of Aretousa, which is supposed to be the spring described by Homer in the Odyssey, where Eumaeus, Odysseus? swineherd, brought his pigs to drink and where Odysseus met him on his return, following the directions of the goddess Athena.
The path leading to the spring is shade less and surrounded by ravines in some spots, so one has to be careful and not afraid of the highs.

To get there:

Ithaca doesn't have an airport, but you can fly from the UK airports to Kefalonia, and then take a boat transfer. The journey by boat takes 1 hour.

To get around:

By Bus: There is one bus connecting Vathy, Frikes and Kioni and runs twice daily, once very early in the morning and once in the afternoon.

By taxi: Taxis charge one euro per kilometre. As on most of the Ionian Islands, car hire is recommended.

By boat: There are three ports on Ithaca. The northern most port is Frikes and has a daily connection to Nidri on Lefkada as well as to Fiskardo on Kefalonia. The tiny port of Piso Aetos, on Ithaca's western coast, has a twice-daily service to Sami on Kefalonia. Vathi, by far the largest town on Ithaca, is also the main port and has twice daily connections to Sami on Kefalonia.

By car: Hire a car in Ithaca with Olympic Holidays.

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