Yoga in the Ionian

The Ionian Islands have the most wonderful, magnetic energy… warm air, blue skies, turquoise waters, hillsides full of olive and cypress trees, fresh seasonal locally grown food and the sun to nourish the soul. A perfect escape for wellness and yoga practice.

If you are a yoga/pilates teacher looking to host a retreat we believe we have some of the best properties in the Ionian. Our partnerships with the retreat owners will allow you to create the most extraordinary experience for your guests.

How it works…. we can help you decide which island is best suited to you and give you an idea of the cost. We have a selection of properties specifically designed for retreats with a variety of group sizes. We will then put you in touch with the owner of the venue or our island manager so that they can help you plan everything.

There are some incredible yoga and pilates teachers who live on the Ionian islands. If you have booked a property with us and wish to practice whilst on holiday, we can put you in touch with a teacher for a private 1-1 class or small group classes.

Take a look at some of our favourite retreat properties….

Kefalonia

Villa Olivestone is a private, secluded and peaceful hideaway for those wanting a special escape from a busy world outside. The property lies in a 32-acre private estate above the sandy beaches of the south coast, in the foothills of Mount Aenos. The property sleeps up to 12 guests in comfortable accommodation; there are many areas for social gatherings or quiet spots for total relaxation.

The villa comes with a cook, Yolanda who will prepare wonderful fresh dishes for your retreat guests. Other activities such as massage therapies and skippered boat trips can be arranged as part a tailor-made programme.

Paxos

Paxos is lucky enough to have (in our opinion) one of the best Yoga teachers in Greece. German born Sandra has lived on the island for many years, she speaks a variety of languages including, German, English and Greek. She teaches a mix of Ashtanga, Hatha and Vinyasa flow, inspired by her practice in Berlin and India. Many of the Watrous family have attended her classes and we think she really is a special teacher!

Sandra also offers a range of other activities including dance, meditation, Pilates, body toning, hit, aqua fit and SUP yoga. Sandra does open classes and 1-1 private sessions either at your villa or in her own yoga studio.

Our suggestion would be to rent the fabulous Velianitatika Retreat, as this happens to be next door to Sandra’s studio, in the sleepy village of Velianitatika. Perfect for a group of yoga friends who want something more personalised and bespoke.

Lefkas

Vassiliki: Five spectacular villa; Icarus, Angeliki, Ismini, Grigoria and Villa Of Light sit perched high above the sea on the south coast looking down to the port of Vassiliki. The views across Vassiliki Bay and to the islands of Ithaca and Kefalonia are breathtaking. There are individual swimming pools for each villa, a large yoga studio and a retreat chef. The retreat can accommodate up to 25 guests (including teachers). The villas can be booked individually or all together depending on retreat size. Massage, Mediterranean cooking lessons, sporting activities, walks/hikes and day trips can also be arranged.

Geni: Surrounded by olive and pine trees and wild myrtle bushes, sit three beautifully designed villas; Antonella, Rosetta and Stefania. They have a special hilltop position with dramatic views from the pool terraces across Vlicho Bay. A variety of balconies and terraces cater for both sun and shade and each property has a private infinity pool. Above the villas amongst the olive groves overlooking Dessimi and Vlicho bay is a closed yoga studio surrounded by glass windows. Yoga can also be practiced in the open studio which overlooks the infinity pool and Vlicho bay, It is 70 sqm and crafted to host a group of 24 people.

Antonella, Rosetta, Stefania and Yoga Studio

Each villa sleeps 8 guests, so a retreat capacity of up to 24 (including teachers), the villas can be booked individually or all together. Adonis, a fellow yogi is the retreat chef, he cooks traditional Greek dishes or can cater to a vegan/health menu. Tavernas and Dessimi Beach are also within walking distance.

Ithaca

For a smaller group The Loutsa Retreat is perfect. The villa sleeps up to 8 guests and has total privacy and tranquility. Large terraces open out to beautiful gardens where it is possible to have sun or shade throughout the day. A curving swimming pool sweeps through a small olive grove, bordered by hedges of lavender.

A cook can be arranged for your retreat or if you would prefer to provide your guests with bed and breakfast only, the owner offers a complimentary organic breakfast delivered to your door each morning. The retreat is a 3-minute walk to Loutsa Beach and a 10-minute walk to a waterfront taverna and the port of Vathy.

The five Sunset Cottages are perched up high on Ithaca’s west coast, two kilometres south of Stavros village and just a five minute drive to Polis Bay beach. Each cottage sleeps 2 with a sea-facing terrace and a small garden of citrus and peach trees. The larger terraces are perfect to practice yoga and there is a swimming pool for all to enjoy. The cottages would be perfect for a smaller budget and retreat.

Zakynthos

Kalokeri is a beautifully elegant villa set within 4.5 acres of private land. It has dramatic views across the sea to Kefalonia and the Greek mainland. The property sleeps 12 and has an infinity pool, a stone Pool House, beautiful gardens and terraces for relaxing, activities including table tennis and now a fantastic new yoga deck! The deck looks out to sea with a spellbinding panorama. Sunrise meditation or early morning yoga is a truly magical experience at Kalokeri. Further activities including massage therapies and a retreat cook can be arranged.

Corfu

Morning yoga on the sand or amongst the olive trees is on offer at On the beach Alpha, Beta & Gamma. These three villas are less then 80 metres from the beach of Milou Bay. Villa Alpha sleeps 10, Beta and Gamma each sleep 12. All 3 villas have modern comforts inside and outside – the owners describe the overall design and décor as “boho-luxury”. Elements of the natural surroundings have been incorporated to create the feel of a countrified retreat by the sea.

If you are interested in booking any of the properties above for a future retreat and would like to know more – call or email us.

Namaste,

Catherine x

January 27, 2023

MISSING OUR TRAVEL FIX

We understand the continued anxiety that you will all be feeling about when your future plans can be realised. Not just holidays but a general return to a sense of normal life.

All six of us Watrous’ at Ionian Villas have flights booked during May as part of our early season island visits to meet our villa owners and look at prospective new properties. We wait to see if these visits will be possible.

We keep in regular contact with all our villa owners and we know that Greece is desperate to welcome you this year. Continued lockdown measures in Greece are still in place and a national rollout of vaccines (click here for details) are hoped to ensure a safe welcome for visitors this summer.

Our booking conditions ask for a final balance payment 8 weeks before the booking start date. In order to hold on to bookings and to show understanding and goodwill, nearly all of our villa owners are happy to be flexible on this so if you need to wait a bit longer for a confirmed green light to travel (fly) – please speak to us and we will let you know how flexible the villa owner can be.

Directors’ Lockdown meeting

Alex and Catherine’s children, Archie & Norah, are growing fast – no house is big enough for lockdown kids. Alex spends any free time on his passion for trail running. Catherine runs after Archie & Norah. Vivienne has a yoga & pilates routine and David waits for the garden to break into Spring mode.

Like you, we miss Greece passionately and we hope that travel will be possible so that all of us can heave a happy sigh of relief on a deserted Ionian island beach in the not too distant future.

February 8, 2021

25th March Celebrations on Ithaca

Greeks love to celebrate, be it their birthday or name day (γιορτη), religious holidays, bank holidays or national days. Whatever the celebration – Greek people celebrate to the full, throwing themselves into the spirit of the day!

25^th March in Greece is a national holiday – to celebrate the start of the Greek Uprising/the Greek Revolution/the Greek War of Independence in 1821. It also celebrates the Annunciation (Ευαγγελισμος): the day Archangel Gabriel paid a visit to Mary to inform her that she would be giving birth to the son of Christ on 25^th December.

In fact 25^th March is a day of three celebrations as it is also the “name day” of all those named Ευγγελος (boys) and Ευαγγελια (girls).

A day off work and school, church services in the morning to commemorate the occasion, followed by a parade through the streets of cities, towns and villages by the school children of all ages, either dressed in blue and white (national colours) or for the younger children the traditional costumes. A marching band often accompanies the parade and local characters will join in as well.

After the parade, people will make their way home to indulge in the traditional meal of Μπακαλιαπος (fried cod fish) and σκορδαλια (mashed potato and garlic). As this day also falls in the Lenten period where no meat or fish should be eaten the Orthodox church decreed an exception for the 25^th March allowing the salted cod fish to be eaten.

Vathy, Ithaca — Thanasis, a Vathy (Ithaca) fisherman and avid Olympiakos fan

ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ

April 5, 2017

Carnival Season

Carnival season in Greece (“Apokries”) starts 3 weeks before Easter.

Fancy dress processions through the streets, dancing groups and music bands. Bystanders throw confetti, streamers and sometimes firecrackers.

Vathy Carnival Procession

Clean Monday (“Katheri Leftera”) marks the beginning of Lent when meat, dairy and eggs are avoided by those who observe it.

If the sun shines on Clean Monday, families picnic outside with “lagana” (an unleavened flat bread), taramosalata, shellfish and salads, followed by sticky deserts. The skies are filled with colourful kites – another part of tradition

Our Clean Monday feast on Palikastritsa beach

March 14, 2017

Fiscardo Before the Sun Umbrella Invasion

Fiscardo is undoubtedly one of the most colourful and prettiest ports in the Ionian.

In 1953 an earthquake destroyed all Kefalonia buildings except those in Fiscardo and a few outlying villages.

In my early Greek Islands Club days we took on a small programme of village houses for those visitors wanting to spend lazy days people and boat watching on Fiscardo waterfront.

In the early 1980’s a coffee on Fiscardo waterfront would have cost around 25 cents in today’s money.

Many of the Greek islands still hold on to a simple lifestyle and do not let the demands of blinkered tourism dictate their future. But whereas an older island generation may not want change, the younger generation will naturally be aspirational: the BMW versus the donkey.

Running a travel business often leads one to hypocrisy. I always tried to offer holiday opportunities to those wanting to escape the crowds and to get to know and be part of a simple Greek island community. In 1990 the BBC Holiday Programme asked me if we would host a film crew in Fiscardo. I said yes. Holiday bookings to Fiscardo soared the following year and Fiscardo started to take on a more chic appearance.

A coffee on Fiscardo waterfront can now cost 4 Euros.

The following photos were taken in 1990 when my mum (Buz), my wife (Vivienne) and I introduced Lorraine Chase (as the Presenter), a BBC researcher plus a cameraman and sound man to the beautiful landscapes of northern Kefalonia and Fiscardo.

You will see that there were only a very few café bar tables and chairs and wooden fishing boats outnumbered fibreglass cruisers. There were also no waterfront sun umbrellas. Today’s waterfront wall of sun umbrellas provide welcoming shade but I still prefer the openness that existed pre-invasion and also the look of traditional, rickety cafenion chairs and chipped metal tables.

But life goes on and Fiscardo will still dazzle and delight.

Lorraine Chase in Fiscardo — Selfie with Lorraine!

Fiscardo waterfront Lorraine Chase — Lorraine & my mum!

May 16, 2016

Paxos in the 1970’s

Photo – Tzekos Supermarket 1970’s

My father first came to the little island of Paxos in the early 1960’s – sailing around the Ionian islands with my mother and two friends. They only spent a few days on the island but my father was taken with the friendliness of the islanders, the simple lifestyle (no electricity and no cars in those days) and the island’s unspoilt, natural beauty.

Soon after this he left the BBC and started a package holiday company called Greek Islands Club, intended as a means to spend time on Paxos.

In the 1960’s visitors to Paxos could stay at the few simple rooms of the San Giorgio Hotel in Gaios, three rooms in the Gaios house of beautiful Eleni and the Paxos Beach Hotel, which had only just stopped being a Club Med cluster of straw huts.

With the help of Panagiotis Protogeros, my father persuaded the owners of five very old and very unlived-in houses, close to the Gaios waterfront, to lease them to Greek Islands Club for five years. Panagiotis was the only plumber on the island – he installed bathrooms inside the houses (a revolutionary move for Paxos). My father, mother and I brought out furniture and fabrics from England (many Land Rover journeys) to prepare the houses for holidaymakers wanting an out of the ordinary escape from Med resorts.

By the early 1970’s our Greek Islands Club Paxos programme had grown to 20 houses. No pools, no pretentious trappings and a lot of hard work, not made easy by the dictating military junta.

Aged 18, I looked after our Paxos programme while my father and mother ran the London office above a Wimpy Bar on The Strand. I have many fond memories of Paxos in the 1970’s – some of these memories I captured on film but sadly a suitcase containing all my Paxos photographs disappeared on a flight back to England.

A friend, Laurie Collard, was a frequent visitor to Paxos in the 1970’s and he took many photos of the island and the islanders. Some of his photos have been made into prints and were exhibited at the Loggos gallery (the old customs house next door to Taxithi Bar) a few years ago. I hold the originals and will put them up on our Facebook page over the next few months, for those who are interested in a glimpse into a 1970’s Paxos.

The photo reproduced in this blog shows Nicos Kangas (Tzekos) outside his Loggos shop. Nicos was our Loggos “agent” and worked tirelessly to make sure that every visitor to his island was treated and looked after as a friend. In the doorway is Spiros Mastoras, who ran a hardware store which is now the kitchen for Stelios’ Aste Doue tavern. They are both very much alive and in good spirits.

February 5, 2014

A taste of the Ionian islands

I was once managing director of Greek Islands Club. When we had offices in Old Isleworth it meant a 2 hour drive from home in West Sussex and then a 2 hour drive back home. The M25 was my companion and pacemaker. I now look after Ionian Villas from our home in a little Dorset village and occasionally tune in to radio traffic reports to see how my companion of old is faring. Not too well by all accounts.

My wife and I travel round the Ionian islands for 3 weeks in April/May and 3 weeks in September/October. Refreshing perks of the job but also very important to give knowledgeable advice to prospective clients and to retain good personal links with all our property owners. A plate of grilled octopus by the sea beats the M25 snarl-up any day.

This May we spent Greek Easter on Paxos and then took the hydrofoil to Corfu and then a SkyExpress prop plane to Kefalonia – the ubiquitous grilled octopus at Sami port and then a 30-minute ferry to Ithaca, where we stayed at Dexa Beach House just a few steps away from the beach.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Dexa Beach – early morning

Ithaca hasn’t been tamed or compromised by tourism – it has a beautiful wild side, hidden hamlets, inquisitive locals – many with a lingering Australian or South African twang (many fled Ithaca during the civil war after the 2nd World War), a welcoming lack of coastal development and stunning views from mountain top monasteries.

Back to Kefalonia where we stayed at the superb Avra Suites – above sandy Makris Yalos beach. 5 Star accommodation with only the sound of the sea and the occasional sea bird. Memorable breakfasts procured from the owner’s garden of fruit trees, strawberry patch, vegetable garden and the magic touch of Eleni the creative chef.

Then another Sky Express plane hop of 15 minutes to Lefkas (via Preveza airport) where we stayed at Villa Yasmina – above the west coast with our own theatre of an orchestra pit of silver olives, a stage of Ionian sea and a backdrop of oooo – arrrrr sunsets.

On Lefkas’ east coast port of Nidri a ferry takes 25 minutes, passing Skorpios and other small islands, to reach the tiny island of Meganissi. We stayed at Villa Arenaria – a few paces away from a secluded beach. Vasco, the ever-smiling owner, is half Greek and half Florentine.

Sky Express then took us to Corfu where we met up with Jan Manessi, who owns The Manor House– possibly the most beautiful house in the Ionian.

June 14, 2013

Life’s a Greek Beach

Photo – Villa Arenia on Meganissi

Most people’s prerequisites for a relaxing Greek island holiday will include being close to a beach.

Fortunately there are ancient laws within Greece to restrict building close to the sea and “private” beaches do not exist. It is not easy therefore to find an island retreat above the sea, which is close enough to hear lapping waves from a private terrace.

There are however, a few in the Ionian Sea which will appeal to those wanting to dip a toe from their Greek holiday home:

On Paxos, Villa Skipper’s terraces extend to sea and look out to the mountains of the Greek mainland.

On Ithaca, Dexa Beach House nestles amongst olive trees just a few steps away from a beach where possibly the Phoenicians left Odysseus at the end of his journey.

On Corfu, flamboyant Villa Azzuro has a small cove just below its colourful gardens.

On Kefalonia, the The Avra Suites look down through tall pine trees to the soft sands of Makris Yalos beach.

On Meganissi, Villa Arenia sits just above a sheltered beach on an untouched coastline in a wilderness of olive groves.

If you are looking for a special holiday escape close to the Ionian sea – try Ionian Villas.

April 16, 2013

Traditional Greek Easter Celebrations in the Ionian

Spring has sprung in the Ionian – temperatures are nudging 20 degrees. Greek Easter is late this year, May 5th – Easyjet and Ryanair April and May flights provide the perfect opportunity to see how the Ionian islanders celebrate it. Easter in Greece or “Paska” is THE most important (and loudest) celebration of the year.

For Greek Orthodox Lent, those who so wish will abstain from eating meat and dairy products for seven weeks. On Palm Sunday churchgoers are given a cross made of palm leaves and the strrets leading to village churches are strewn with palm fronds and flowers. Holy Thursday is egg dyeing day. Good Friday is a holiday and most shops and businesses are closed and restaurants do not serve meat dishes. The procession of the bier of Christ is held on Good Friday evening. Led by a band or choir the bier is normally draped in a gold cloth and decorated with fresh flowers. The procession passes the local village churches.

On the Saturday night the festivities start in each village square – an occasion for all the family. It starts with the Resurrection mass where the Priest and the Church Elders form a procession and the ceremonial candles are lit. At midnight the intoning priest is drowned out by firecrackers and fireworks. Friends, family and strangers are embraced and greeted with the words “Christos Anesti” – “Christ has risen”. After this, everybody goes home for a meal of “margueritsa” (traditionally a lamb’s innards broth) – the fast is over. If their candles are still burning, a cross is made above the doorway with the soot from the wick, to protect the house for the coming year.

Easter Sunday is the official end of Lent and the fasting turns to serious feasting. Goats and lambs are turned on garden spits from early in the morning; the family wine is brought out and the dyed, hard-boiled eggs are cracked – a similar principle to conkers, where you hit the other person’s egg and the one that breaks is the loser.

March 25, 2013

Springtime in Paxos

Photo – East coast Paxos

The winter rainstorms in the Ionian are over and there is now an explosion of colour as the Spring sunshine turns warmer and warmer.

Olive grove terraces are filled with fresh bracken, wild gladioli, asparagus and freesias. Roadsides are lined with white convonvulus. Flowering myrtle bushes crowd ancient donkey paths. Inland walks unlock heady aromas of wild herbs crushed underfoot. The sea takes on a more inviting translucency.

Taverna and cafenion tables and chairs are slowly brought outside. Walls of peeling plaster are given a lick of whitewash. The first crop of oranges appear on the grocery shelves.

The photo was taken by Alex Watrous just a few days ago on a Paxos walk along the coast.

March 6, 2013

Category: Lifestyle