Greece - Korina Miller [566]
Lefkada’s mountains rise to over 1000m, and olive groves, vineyards, and pine forests cover huge areas of the landscape. There are 10 satellite islets off the heavily developed east coast, and the less populated west coast boasts spectacular beaches.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Lefkada has no airport, but the airport near Preveza (Aktion) on the mainland, with flights to Athens and Corfu, is about 20km away. For details Island Hopping.
Also, from May to September there are charter flights from northern Europe and the UK to Preveza.
BOAT
Four Islands Ferries ( 210 412 2530) runs a daily ferry service that sails to an ever-changing schedule (and with ever-changing prices) between Nydri and Frikes on Ithaki (€6.40, one hour 30 minutes), Vasiliki on Lefkada and Frikes (€8, two hours) and Vasiliki and Fiskardo on Kefallonia (€6.90, one hour). You can bring a car across to either port on Lefkada – it costs €30 from Fiskardo and €28 from Frikes. For more information on departing from Lefkada, Island Hopping.
Information and tickets can be obtained from Borsalino Travel ( 26450 92528; borsalin@otenet.gr) in Nydri and from Samba Tours ( 26450 31520; www.sambatours.gr) in Vasiliki.
BUS
Lefkada Town’s new KTEL bus station ( 26450 22364; Ant Tzeveleki) is located about 1km from the centre opposite the new marina complex. Head down Golemi to the busy road junction and go left for 750m. Buses head to Athens (€30.50, 5½ hours, four or five daily), Patra (€14.50, three hours, two to three weekly), Thessaloniki (€39.10, eight hours, one to two weekly and more in high season), Preveza (€2.70, 30 minutes, six to seven daily) and Igoumenitsa (€11, two hours, daily).
Getting Around
There’s no reliable bus connection between Lefkada and Preveza’s Aktion airport. Taxis are relatively expensive (around €35); a cheaper option is to take a taxi to Preveza and then a bus to Lefkada
From Lefkada Town, frequent buses ply the east coast, with up to 20 services daily to Nydri (€1.40, 30 minutes) and Vlyho (€1.60, 40 minutes) in high season, and four daily to Vasiliki (€3, one hour). There are regular buses to Agios Nikitas (€1.40, 30 minutes). Around six daily services head to the inland village of Karya (€1.40, 30 minutes). One or two buses serve other villages daily. Sunday services are reduced.
Car hire starts at €40 per day, depending on season and model. Cars can be hired from reliable Europcar ( 26450 23581; Panagou 16, Lefkada Town) or next door at Budget ( 26450 25274; Lefkada Town). Rent a bike or moped, starting at €15 per day, from Santas ( 26450 25250; Lefkada Town), next to the Ionian Star Hotel. There are countless car-and bike-hire companies in Nydri and several in Vasiliki.
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LEFKADA TOWN
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The island’s engaging main town is built on a promontory at the southeastern corner of a salty lagoon. Earthquakes are a constant threat here and the town was devastated by one in 1948 (but unaffected in 1953), only to be rebuilt in a distinctively quake-proof and attractive style with the upper storey facades of some buildings in brightly painted corrugated iron.
The town has a relaxed feel, with a vibrant main thoroughfare, a pleasant plaza and handsome churches with separate ironwork bell towers, like small oil rigs, to withstand seismic activity.
Orientation & Information
The town’s vibrant main pedestrian strip, Dorpfeld, starts south of the causeway. The street is named after 19th-century archaeologist Wilhelm Dorpfeld, who postulated that Lefkada, not Ithaki, was the home of Odysseus. Dorpfeld leads to Plateia Agiou Spyridonos, the main square, and continues as Ioannou Mela, which