Visiting Paxos in October

You might feel hesitant about an Ionian holiday in October. Will the weather be ok? Will sufficient ferries be operating? Will tavernas and shops be open?

A few of us from the office travel to the Ionian in October in order to see property owners, take new photos, find out what changes are planned for the following year and then to check the local cuisine, sample new wines and gauge sea temperatures!

This year we spent the second week of October on Paxos.

A few wispy clouds on the last day but otherwise clear blue skies and temperatures in the late 20’s. We stayed on the west coast – hypnotically vibrant sunsets.

With the good weather, nearly all of Paxos’ tavernas and café bars planned to stay open until the end of October. Supermarkets and shops were well stocked. Fruit aplenty: fresh canary melons, peaches, nectarines, grapes, pineapples, kiwi fruits, bananas – to name a few.

Sea temperature seemed warmer than August and we tested it every day – such is our dedication to getting our facts right!

Morning temperatures of early 20’s make for perfect walking conditions. The sides of roads and donkey paths bordered by swathes of wild cyclamen and crocus. Branches of olive trees starting to droop with the weight of ripening olives. Black olive nets ready to catch the winter crop.

Village cats basking in the afternoon sun. Local islanders enjoying the peace and quiet of a waterfront cafenion. Hire boats being taken out of the water to leave village waterfronts with colourful wooden fishing boats. Gaios fish market selling an abundance of freshly caught fish. The opportunity to commandeer deserted beaches. The beautiful blues of the sea within sheltered coves below hillsides of olive and cypress trees.

And then, all too soon, the wake-up call to leave and return to colder, greyer shores.

Corfu airport comparatively busy but a recently opened airside lounge offers a peaceful escape with comfy seating, complimentary snacks and drinks and even a porter to escort you to the lounge via a fast track security check. Ask us for details!

Try an October break to the Ionian – the perfect tonic to prepare for winter back home.

Ionian Escapes May Half Term 2023

Have you thought about switching your July and August Summer holiday for a Spring holiday? We like to visit the Ionian every May with our family and here’s why we think it is the perfect time to visit….

  • In May the islands and mainland Ionian coast are usually less crowded, flights can be cheaper, and villas tend to have good availability.
  • The islands begin to come to life with tavernas and shops opening after Greek Easter and there is a nice energy in the air for the new season ahead.
  • Day temperatures sit between 20 – 25 degrees, with evenings slightly cooler and night-time around 14 degrees; perfect for families like ours with young children.
  • The Ionian is usually a blaze with spring colours and the cooler temperatures can allow for a more active day of walking, running, yoga and cycling.
  • Sea temperatures are just about warm enough to take a dip and you often find you have the beach all to yourselves!!

If this appeals to you, we still have some fantastic properties available this May half term…

Paxos:

Elissa 27/5 – 5/6 (9-nights)

Simeoni 27/5 – 3/6 (7-nights)

Jupiter 29/5 – 5/6 (7-nights)

Ithaca:

The Loutsa Retreat 27/5 – 3/6 (7-nights)

Tzika House 27/5 – 3/6 (7-nights)

Lefkas:

Antonella 28/5 – 4/6 (7-nights)

Koumaria 28/5 – 4/6 (7-nights)

Mandarini 28/5 – 4/6 (7-nights)

Kefalonia:

Persephone 28/5 – 4/6 (7-nights)

Verikoko 28/5 – 4/6 (7-nights)

Paxos

Jupiter 29/5 – 5/6 (7-nights)

Elissa 27/5 – 5/6 (9-nights)

Simeoni 27/5 – 3/6 (7-nights)

Ithaca

Tzika House 27/5 – 3/6 (7-nights)

The Loutsa Retreat 27/5 – 3/6 (7-nights)

Lefkas

Antonella 28/5 – 4/6 (7-nights)

Koumaria 28/5 – 4/6 (7-nights)

Mandarini 28/5 – 4/6 (7-nights)

Kefalonia

Persephone 28/5 – 4/6 (7 nights)

Verikoko 28/5 – 4/6 (7 nights)

If you are interested in booking any of the villas above or would like to know about other available properties, please contact Alex and Samantha for prices and special offers enquiries@ionian-villas.co.uk

Catherine x

Our Winter Newsletter: All things new…

We hope that you have enjoyed a relaxed and “forget all the doom & gloom” Christmas and that you are looking forward to a positive new year. Difficult when there is so much uncertainty and grief in the world but important to face 2023 with a determined spirit. In the hope that thoughts of holidays in the sun can bring some colour to your mid-winter, we’d like to tell you about what is new for Ionian Villas in 2023.
Within the next few weeks we will be announcing our new villa programme in Epirus, on the Ionian coastline of the Greek mainland.


Sivota and Paleros are small ports on the mainland. Sivota is opposite the south-eastern tip of Corfu and Paleros is opposite the north-east coast of Lefkas. Both seaside villages are excellent locations for those who look for more exploration and choice of activities than offered on the islands. Wild and untouched inland and a coastline of deserted beaches, only reachable by boat.


Paleros is a 30 minute drive from Lefkas and Sivota is a 1-hour drive from Lefkas. Good choices for a 2-centre holiday combining Lefkas with the mainland.

On a hillside above Sivota, Villa Infinity looks out across the sea to Paxos and Corfu.

Our Touch of Luxury programme now includes some stunning villas on Corfu. Villa Callisto sleeps up to 12 and is just a few steps away from Agia Triada beach, near Paliokastritsa.

A new Greek TV series, called “Maestro in Blue”, will appear on Netflix in the new year (dates to be confirmed). The series was filmed on Paxos in 2022 and tells the story of a music festival being organised during the Covid-19 pandemic.  “In the nine episodes, director Christoforos Papakaliatis narrates a story of passion and conflict.”

Our Paxos manager, Dimitris, and his parents (who had walk-on roles) and actress Kleilia Andriolatou.
Dimitris, his dogs and actor Christoforos Papakaliatis

Filming on Paxos’ west coast

In the Spring 2023 we will be introducing our new website – bigger pictures and more user-friendly.
For 2023 we have added new villas on each island. Here is a selection according to villa size:

  • Chiara on Lefkas is a spacious retreat for up to 20 people with a special west coast location for sunsets and sandy beaches.
  • Contessa Sara on Corfu sleeps up to 12 and is a perfect spot for those wanting to be within close distance of beaches, watersports, tavernas and shops.
  • Yannisatika House on Paxos, sleeping up to 10, is a well kept secret – one of the most beautiful properties on the island
  • Fortouna on Corfu, sleeps up to 8 and is just 35 steps away from the sea.
  • Salto on Kefalonia is a sumptuous villa just above the sea for up to 6 people.
  • Lucie, sleeping up to 4, is a 10 minute walk through olive groves to Lakka port on Paxos.
  • Apaggio on Ithaca is a one-bedroom cottage with panoramic views over Vathy Bay and across the sea to Atokos island and the Greek mainland.

New to our West Sussex team is Natalie Verrall. Natalie wears an Administration and Social Media Manager cap.

Finally, we have joined forces with the Ionian Environment Foundation in a venture to support various projects to protect the Ionian’s environment. Watch this space!



We hope to see you in the Ionian in 2023.

Our best wishes,

New Year Newsletter 2017

Our newsletter brings you Warm Wishes and a Few Things New for the New Year.

Our office has some new family faces. Alex’s wife, Catherine, has joined our team. Catherine (Cat) has spent three years on Paxos as a Representative for Ionian Villas and Scott Williams. She has visited the other Ionian islands and will be revisiting in May.

Catherine Watrous
Cat Watrous

Alex and Cat’s son, Archie, was born last September and will be on the May familiarisation trip to the islands!

Archie Ionian Villas
Archie at the Office

For us, 2017 was the busiest and also the longest season – May and October in the Ionian are becoming more popular for warm weather escapes from more temperamental northern European climates.

May and October are possibly the best months to explore the islands on foot. Sea water and swimming pool water can, however, be bracing in May so a stay in a private apartment (with a good sea view) on the outskirts of a port or village, is fun and economical. For example:

Mermaid Cottage on Paxos has Loggos waterfront as a doorstep and in May is £570 per week.

Mermaid Cottage Paxos
Mermaid Cottage

Katy’s Apartment on Kefalonia has Fiscardo as a doorstep and is £500 per week in May.

We have added some new Ionian properties to our 2018 programme:

On Paxos

Avra for up to 5 people.

Elpitha for up to 5 people – and its sister villa Simeoni.

Kolomboki for up to 6 people.

Korpithi for up to 4 people – and its sister villa Loula.

The Levrecchio Villas – 3 adjacent villas each for up to 4 people.

Petrino Spiti for up to 10 people.

Polimnia for up to 6 people.

Valentina for up to 4 people.

Zoe for up to 6 people.

Villa Zoe Paxos
Villa Zoe

On Ithaca

Areti for up to 7 people.

Limonia for up to 8 people.

The Loutsa Retreat for up to 8 people.

On Kefalonia

Frappa for up to 8 people.

Frappa Cottage for up to 3 people.

Grace for up to 6 people).

Paradiso for up to 7 people.

Rea for up to 4 people.

Sea Breeze for up to 12 people.

On Lefkas

Sonata for up to 6 people.

On Corfu

Perivoli for up to 10 people.

Perivoli Corfu
Perivoli

Ionian Island Hopping

Inter-island communications are improving. For 2018 there is talk of the seaplane returning to link Corfu and Paxos and possibly the other more southern Ionian islands. We have also heard that a new ferry is being operated between Corfu, Lefkas, Kefalonia and Zakynthos. Sky Express already operate a flight linking Corfu, Preveza (for Lefkas), Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Athens. Apart from the regular inter-island hydrofoil and ferry services it is now possible to charter a private speedboat.

Ionian Seaplane

We understand that an island hopping holiday may not appeal to families wanting to limit overall travel but with this new choice of transferring from one island to another it can be seen as an exciting alternative.

And if you are a couple with more flexible time on your hands – let us know if you would like us to tailor-make an Ionian Island Hopping trip for you.

Talking about flights – there’s a new BA flight from Heathrow to Kefalonia starting mid May 2018 – Tuesday and Saturday departures.

New Greek wines

In October last year we went to the London Greek Wine Festival at the West Handyside Canopy in Kings Cross and sampled many of the 130 distinctively delicious and diverse Greek wines being showcased. The Festival, organised by The Greek Larder will happen again next October so check their websites for dates.

The Greek Wine Festival

For many of us it is difficult to know what wines to sample when on holiday in Greece. The ubiquitous and often bland “house wine” poured from taverna boxes will not show off what Greece is now producing.

On Paxos there is now an opportunity to explore the tastes of the grapes, regions and wineries of Greece from the comfort of your holiday villa. Andreas stocks some excellent wines from wineries he has selected from his annual research trips (someone’s got to do it!). He has his wine shop in Lakka but with a few days notice he can bring a selection of wines to your Paxos villa. He will give you an interesting history to the making of each wine. Best to give him a few likes & dislikes so he can tailor the selection for you.  Then – when you return to Paxos for your next holiday you can arrange for Andreas to deliver your favourite wines for your arrival!

We came across an interesting blog about some of the Greek grapes

New hideaway bar in Corfu Town

The Palace and gardens of Mon Repos, surrounded by hillsides of pine forest, stand above the sea on the outskirts of Corfu Town.

Mon Repos Palace was built as a summer residence for the British Lord High Commissioner of the United States of the Ionian Islands in 1828. When the Ionian islands were ceded back to Greece in 1864, the Palace became the residence of Greece’s King George 1. The Greek royal family used it as a summer residence up until King Constantine II fled the country in 1967 and the Palace was repossessed by the Greek State.

Several royal births have taken place at the villa, including those of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 10 June 1921, and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark on 10 July 1965.

The Palace and its gardens are now being used as an archaeological museum.

At the foot of the Palace’s forested hillside a sheltered beach, once the bathing spot for the Greek royal family, is now open to the public and has an excellent café bar and restaurant. “The Royal Baths” is close to Garitsa waterfront but its walled gardens (bordered by around 50 old-school, wooden changing huts) are a peaceful escape from the world outside – well worth a visit if you have time on Corfu.

The Royal Baths

Royal Baths’ changing huts

If you feel like a return to the Ionian this year and need some ideas – call us!

If you have time – add us as a friend on Facebook and give us a Like or follow us on Instagram for some Ionian holiday inspiration!

We wish you all the very best for 2018 – may all your dreams come true!

David, Vivienne, Alex, Cat & Archie.

Winter Weather on Ithaca

This Blog was written by our Ionian Villas manager on Ithaca, Sue White.

Sue lived on Kefalonia for 18 years and has now been living on Ithaca for 5 years.

Sue is a taxi driver on Ithaca – one of twelve drivers.

Sue looks after our clients and is able to give a valuable, personal insight into the history, culture and lifestyles of Ithaca.

Sue has her own website: Ithaca Travel Services

“A lot of people who visit Greece in the summer are under the impression that there is wall to wall sunshine year-round. In my taxi, apart from being asked the usual list of questions as to how I ended up being an English lady taxi driver on a small Greek island, the conversation then switches to ‘the weather’.

It’s not only tourists who have an interest in the weather. The locals here on Ithaca also have a very healthy interest on the subject, and of course they are all experts! From fishermen, shepherds and even the all-knowing γιαγιαδες (grand matriachs), I hear conflicting predictions about the weather but this last summer they all seemed to agree with each other. In August temperatures of 40 Degrees the talk was of a ‘βαρύ Χειμώνας’ (a heavy winter) – and they were right.

After a reasonably mild November and December, the New Year kicked off with freezing cold temperatures and snow, swiftly followed by days of torrential rain. For the first time in 10 years the snow settled all over the island – not just the mountain villages but also on the beaches!

January snow on an Ithaca olive tree

When the snow was washed away by days of relentless rain, the mountain streams flowed down the valleys to resemble a Lake District landscape (apart from the olive trees!). Ithaca, an island rich in pasture land and olive groves, is now super lush and green.

Snowy Stavros village

One of the effects of the snow, say the fishermen, shepherds and γιαγιαδες, is that invasive bugs have been frozen and they are now predicting a good olive harvest next October.”

Post snow streams

Ionian Villas Celebrates 5 Years of Success

Ionian Villas is coming up to its 5th birthday. With a big thank you to our guests over these 5 years, our Ionian programme has grown to feature over 200 properties.

We continue to visit all the properties each year.

Our new properties for 2017 are:

1-bedroom properties: Olitsi Apartment on PaxosLydia on Kefalonia; Fassoulou’s on Ithaca.

2-bedroom properties: Angelika on Paxos; Bougarini on Paxos; Delia on Paxos.

3-bedroom properties: Agni Bay on Corfu; Anetta on Corfu.

4-bedroom properties: Chiara on Paxos; Beach Villa on Kefalonia.

6-bedroom properties: Athanasia on Paxos.

7-bedroom properties: Marina on Paxos.

Kythira. In the earlier days of Greek Islands Club, before it became part of a larger corporate image, we started a small programme on the southernmost Ionian island: Kythira.

Village of Agnondas, Kythira
Village of Avlemonas, Kythira

We returned to Kythira in October this year to meet up with old friends. We were delighted to see that little, if anything, had changed in the past 25 years.

We will be introducing our Kythira programme in the new year. Kythira is not for the package holidaymaker or the lover of swimming pools and will appeal to the more intrepid Grecophile.

Have a look at Andrew Bostock’s piece on Kythira in the Guardian

Holiday Snaps. We are keen to add your holiday photos to our website. If you have any images, which you would like to share – please send them to us in an email.

What is happening in Greece today? The UK’s media coverage of life in Greece is often scant. Very few of us know and understand how austerity measures are affecting the Greeks. Greek Crisis is a blog dedicated to the understanding of the current Greek (but also European) economic, political and institutional crisis. It was created by Prof. Aristides Hatzis of the University of Athens, after many requests by his students seeking a source of reliable analysis on the Greek current affairs. Its aim is to post commentary and reports published mainly in the major U.S., European and Greek media and to encourage a rigorous discussion.

Walking on Paxos. Before roads were built on the islands, communication between island hamlets and villages was via a network of pathways. Many of these paths have become overgrown or the stone walls on either side have collapsed, making access difficult.

Paxos
Paxos path clearing

On Paxos, a hard working group of locals are clearing these paths so that eventually all parts of the island can be reached on foot. Come to Paxos in May and explore olive groves coloured by a profusion of wild flowers. 2 people staying at Olitsi Apartment 8th to 15th May would pay £225 per person for the apartment and an Easyjet flight for around £150 each.

We hope to see you again on one of the Ionian islands – do get in touch if you would like us to search for a special island escape.

Vivienne, Alex and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas.greece-olive-snow

Discover the Real Ithaca

Ithaca is an island which will appeal to those wanting to escape a busy, noisy lifestyle. But will there be enough to occupy the wound-up mind, which sometimes needs more than a week to jettison unwanted pressures and can refuse to sit happily with simple and peaceful island distractions?

Recharging batteries is important and the small ports of Kioni and Frikes are perfect sleepy venues to do little but gaze at fishermen cleaning their nets. Island exploration however, will introduce many more natural delights to help the mind forget home based anxieties.

Hiring a boat (with outboard engine) is a great way to find a deserted beach and explore a beautiful coastline with just the company of seabirds. Pack a picnic or moor up alongside one of Kioni or Frikes’ waterfront tavernas for lunch.

Hiring a car will provide easy access to many parts of Ithaca but the more hidden parts are more difficult to find.

Katrina Parsey is our Ionian Villas agent on Ithaca. Katrina is a poet, storyteller and walker. With a few winter breaks back in UK as an actress, theatre director, writer and teacher, Katrina has spent the last 12 years on Ithaca. Over these years she has discovered a variety of walking trails and now leads daily walks (when the weather is not too hot) to introduce Ithaca’s more inquisitive visitor to the island’s people, history, mythology, flora, fauna and hidden landscapes.

Katrina says “Join me on a cultural walk exploring the sites and stories of Odysseus and Penelope. Or come along to the Folklore Walk, taste local wine, cheese, oil and olives on an ancient land. See the old olive press and wheat mill at Agrotiri. Walk along shepherds’ trails and discover the past and present of Ithaca’s farming culture.”

Leave your worries on the doorstep and discover an island which many have heard of but few visited.

© 2018 Ionian Villas Limited

Call us on: +44 (0) 1243 820928    ..or email enquiries@ionian-villas.co.uk

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