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Greece......questions about the Ionian Islands in April

Greece......questions about the Ionian Islands in April

Old May 14th, 2013, 04:07 AM
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Greece......questions about the Ionian Islands in April

A friend suggested visiting the Ionian Islands in April (the time can't be changed) and basing ourselves in just one or two places and then taking the fast ferries to see some of the other islands as day trips. We have about 10 days in Greece in mid-April.
Does this sound feasible? Will the ferries be running from island to island?
Thanks, as always, for your help.
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Old May 14th, 2013, 04:40 AM
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The Ionians aren't as easy for island-hopping as Cyclades or Dodecanese, and I don't know of any fast ferries that operate there at all, much less in April. Greek Easter is on 20th April in 2014, and that would be an interesting time to visit. If you are set on the Ionians it would be best to pick one of the larger ones, and do your day trips around that one island.
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Old May 14th, 2013, 05:30 AM
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There are no fast ferries connecting the Ionian Islands..
From Corfu you can visit Paxi, but not the other islands.

Zakynthos is connected with Kefalonia, and Kefalonia with Ithaki.
From Kefalonia you could reach Lefkas ( but i thik this is not a daily connection).
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 03:54 AM
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I know it's been a while since this post and we still have a lot of planning to do.
But I'm thinking that maybe we will base ourselves in Corfu for a few days and then Kefalonia for a few days and hope that we can visit several places from there.
As always, I appreciate your feedback!
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 04:24 AM
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Okay, see what you can find, but you will probably have to take the ferry from Corfu to Igoumenitsa, then travel overland to another port that serves Kefalonia. That could mean travelling as far as Patras. There are also ferries to Kefalonia from Vassaliki on Lefkada, but I'm not sure what overland connections you will need to get there. More than likely you will have to spend a night en route somewhere on the mainland.

If you have the time, and want to see what the ferry connections were in April this year, go to www.openseas.gr and use the calendar function to backtrack to various days in April. You may have to enter the name of the port rather than island in some cases.

Honestly, I don't think it will be worth the effort for only a few days on each island. If you were going to the Cyclades and wanted to spend 3 days each on (for example) Naxos and Santorini, that would be easy, as they are only 2 hours apart by ferry.
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 07:34 AM
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It is refreshing for me to read posts concerning other islands besides the Cyclades!
We have vistited the Ionions often, and on one trip we enjoyed Kefalonia,Corfu and Parga quite easily. Granted we had at least two and half weeks and traveled by car from Athens, so this may not work for you. Also, it was about ten years ago, so I imagine the ferry connections are different now. From Patra we ferried to Kefalonia, took a short ferry ride to Lefkas where we crossed a bridge to the mainland. From there we drove to Parga where we spent a few delightful days. Drove to Igomenitsa where we ferried again to Corfu. None of these ferry rides were on fast ferries, and I doubt it could be done without a car. I also realize that ferry fares are much higher now, and taking a car could be prohibitive price wise. The couple we took on this trip wanted to follow Homer's travels. The ferry did stop at Ithaki for a few minutes which allowed out friends to go on land for a few minutes!
Also, a wonderful compromise would be to fly to Corfu or Kefalonia, and work your way to Parga by ferry and bus, and then return to Athens by bus. Parga is a charming beachfront town with an island feel.
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Old Jun 14th, 2013, 09:26 AM
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Hi gogogreece,

Good post, and I agree it is refreshing to see questions about islands other than the Cyclades.

Your post pretty much confirms what I have been trying to say. You had a car and 2½ weeks to travel, which makes just about anything possible. Without those advantages, the easiest way to spend a few days each on both Corfu and Kefalonia would probably be by connecting flights via Athens.
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 07:39 AM
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wow, this is more complicated than I thought it would be.
My last two trips to Greece have included Crete and Santorini. One trip also included Napflio.
The planning for those trips were so easy!
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 07:57 AM
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Bettina
Islands are connected to each other for a reason...
Usually to serve locals and not for touristic reasons.

The Ionian Islands, even though they belong to the same geographical group,they are far apart from each other.

Zakynthos and Kefalonia are close to Patras, while Corfu close to Igoumenitsa.

Having only 10 days, i think it would be better to focus on Corfu and the amazing mainland opposite to Corfu, Epirus.
Epirus is one of the unspoiled regions of Greece with very much to do and see.

You would need a car, but then you would visit beautiful places like Sivota, Parga, the Acheron Springs, the Oracle of Dodoni, Ioannina - a beautiful city located on Pamvotis lake-, Metsovo and the famous Zagorochoria, a group of mountainous villages about 40 km away from Ioannina.

You can combine Kefalonia during another trip, together with the Peloponnese, or visit Zakynthos and Kefalonia.
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Old Jun 15th, 2013, 08:38 AM
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Clausar has an excellent suggestion! If you fly to Corfu and take the ferry to Igoumenitsa, you can hire a car there and visit one of the most beautiful parts of Greece. In fact, were it me I wouldn't be spending much time on Corfu, never mind trying to make my way to Kefalonia.
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