Insider’s Guide to Greece’s Ionian Islands: Historic, Authentic, and So Close to Italy

The insider advice on this page is from one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Expert for Greece: Mina Agnos of Travelive.

Trusted Travel Expert

Mina Agnos

Mina has been visiting Greece since childhood and is particularly keen to help travelers when it’s their first trip to the country (or sometimes, to Europe). These days she divides her time between Athens and Florida, regularly road-testing an array of islands, experiences, and accommodations so she can help you see the country’s iconic sites while navigating its tricky logistics. Her knowledge of reliably good places to stay extends to rental villas, yacht charters, and an organic agritourism farm in the Peloponnese where you can pick olives, stomp grapes, and make pastries with the village ladies. Mina has two teens, so she is especially helpful to families who are new to Greece.

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Expect trips orchestrated by Mina to start at $600 per day for two travelers from October through mid-June, or $800 from mid-June through September.

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Island Intel

The Cycladic Islands may steal the spotlight with their stark cliffs and whitewashed villages, but the Ionian Islands tell a different story. Here, green hills tumble down to white-sand beaches and turquoise seas. Influenced by Venetian history, music, and food traditions, the islands feel distinctly their own. In Corfu’s Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, elegant arcades and winding alleys bring past centuries of history to life. Across the islands, music and art spill into village squares, and life moves more slowly, with plenty of time to eat, swim, and savor the views.

Corfu is characterized by elegant historic arcades and winding alleys. Photo: Shutterstock

What to See and Do

Hidden gems
Head into Corfu’s mountains to Old Peritheia, a semi-abandoned village where time feels like it has stopped. On Kefalonia, take a boat to Fteri Beach, a hidden cove with chalk-white cliffs and waters so clear you can see your shadow on the sandy bottom.

Kefalonia’s Fteri Beach has a concealed cove under chalk-white cliffs. Photo: Travelive

Don’t miss
Climb up to Angelokastro on Corfu for views that will make you glad you brought an extra memory card for your phone. This Byzantine fortress sits on a cliff above Palaiokastritsa and rewards every step with one of the island’s most dramatic lookouts.

Angelokastro Castle guards the cliffs above Palaiokastritsa. Photo: Travelive

Most underrated experience
Zakynthos is often associated with mass tourism, but most of the island remains untouched. Step into villages that look and feel like they did generations ago, with stone houses, family-run tavernas, and quiet squares.

Don’t bother
That said, unless your idea of fun is vodka shots and sticky dance floors, skip Zakynthos’s Laganas Strip. It is loud, crowded, and mainly for the college set.

Bragging rights
Paxos and Antipaxos are the islands you whisper about to friends who already “know Greece.” With Venetian-style villages, quiet beaches, and water that looks Photoshopped, they have long been hideouts for writers, artists, and in-the-know travelers. Mina can arrange a private boat to circle the islands, with stops at hidden coves and the dazzling Blue Caves for swimming and snorkeling.

Antipaxos is the inside scoop known by artists and savvy travelers. Photo: Travelive

Cheap thrills
Ionian beaches are famous for their deep blue and turquoise waters, their dramatic rock formations, and the verdant greenery that surrounds them. Mina’s shortlist includes Porto Timoni and Issos on Corfu; Antisamos, Petani, and Xi in Kefalonia; Porto Vromi on Zakynthos; and Lefkada’s famous Porto Katsiki. Wildlife enthusiasts should also visit the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, home to loggerhead sea turtles and monk seals.

Pick one of the many hiking trails that have crisscrossed the islands since ancient times: Walk the Battery Trail in Kefalonia, the path to the Nyidri Waterfalls on Lefkada, the climb up Mount Ainos in Kefalonia, or the loop around Corfu’s Korission Lagoon, where flamingos sometimes drop by.

Best spot to see and be seen
On Corfu’s southern coast, Tayo Beach Bar sits between a cedar forest and Korission Lagoon. Order a smoothie by day, switch to cocktails by sunset, and stay for the DJ sets as the beach shifts into party mode.

Biggest rookie mistake
Springing for an all-inclusive resort package. If you’ve prepaid for everything at the resort, you might be tempted never to leave it. But you will gain a much better understanding of the authentic island lifestyle if you leave your hotel to wander the cobbled, vibrant streets of Corfu or Kefalonia, stroll through the laiki (farmers’ market), or just while away the hours in an old-fashioned kafenio (café).

Where to Stay and What to Eat

Best-value splurge hotels
If you want total seclusion, Porto Zante Villas & Spa in Zakynthos is the one to know. It often shows up on lists of the world’s best resorts, and for good reasons: private beachfront villas with their own pools, a quiet stretch of sand all to yourself, and a spa where the sea is your backdrop.

The Corfu Imperial is a classic. It sits on its own peninsula with three sandy beaches, feels timelessly glamorous, and has one of those little touches travelers love: a private boat that whisks you straight from the hotel pier into the center of Corfu Town.

A private boat takes guests from the Corfu Imperial’s own pier to the center of town. Photo: Travelive

For something more intimate, Domes Miramare is a favorite. Once the summer residence of the Onassis family, it is now an adults-only sanctuary featuring a private beach, a palm-fringed pool, and a spa that encourages you to slow down and linger.

Mina also points to Lesante Cape on Zakynthos, Eliamos Villas Hotel & Spa in Kefalonia, and Ikos Dassia in Corfu as trusted favorites she returns to again and again.

The Ikos Dassia is one of several alluring hotels on Corfu. Photo: Ikos Resorts

Restaurants the locals love
On Corfu, Ambelonas feels like a secret hideaway, a vineyard and culinary estate where you sit under olive trees with a glass of house wine while dishes made from the freshest ingredients of the day arrive at the table.

In Kefalonia, Il Borgo combines a hillside setting with sweeping views of the sea and the warmth of an old-school taverna. It is the kind of place where you order too much, stay too long, and never regret it.

ERGON Lefkada is part restaurant, part gourmet shop. You can pick your own cut of fish or steak for dinner, browse the shelves for small-batch olive oil or honey, and have your favorites shipped back home.

Dishes to try
Every island has its own signature dish, but in Corfu it has to be pastitsada. This hearty braised meat dish in a spiced tomato sauce with rigatoni has dozens of family variations, but Mina swears the version at Porta Remounda in Corfu Town gets it just right.

Pastitsada—braised meat in spiced tomato sauce with rigatoni—is Corfu’s “it” meal. Photo: Shutterstock

For something lighter, aubergines skordostoumbi is a Zakynthiot specialty worth seeking out. Eggplant, potatoes, and carrots melt together in a tomato base rich with garlic, paprika, and vinegar. The version at Agnadi in Zakynthos is Mina’s favorite, rustic and garlicky, and the kind of dish you end up talking about long after you leave.

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