Like most of the Ionian chain of islands the best Lefkas beaches are found on the gently sloping east side. The west coast of Lefkas is mostly sheer cliff although there are notable beaches on the south-west at Porto Kasiki and a clutch to the north-west around Agios Nikolas. The main Lefkas beach resorts are at Nidri on the east coast and the noted windsurfing beach at Vassiliki to the south. The waters on the eastern shoreline are very sheltered and the deep bays are a popular stop for yacht flotillas. Increasingly popular are the islets that lie of the southern coast of Lefkas such as Meganissi.
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The island capital LEFKAS TOWN, at the north-east tip of Lefkas, has been hit by three major earthquakes since 1948 and today the town is a quaint, if odd, architectural mix of brightly painted houses, many of them topped with wood and corrugated iron to mitigate any future damage from seismic shocks. The narrow lanes and its small size help to give Lefkas Town a village atmosphere, although the richly decorated Venetian churches, packed with fine works of art, add a cosmopolitan touch.
The main Lefkas Town square is an attractive spot that splits the traffic-free shopping street in two. There are cafes and tavernas around the square which can become lively at night as the street sellers set up their stalls. More bars and tavernas are found in the harbour area with views across to mainland Greece.
Ostensibly a port, there is little to be seen of the sea. Lefkas Town lies alongside a huge and sombre lagoon where a newly-built marina with about 650 berths is worth a stroll around. A series of fortresses along the causeway approach to Lefkas Town testify to the island's strategic importance in the past. The main fortress at SANTA MAVRA was erected in the 13th century and was extensively rebuilt by Venetians, Turks and, most of all, by earthquakes. An explosion in 1888 reduced many of its buildings to rubble.
Lefkas Town has four museums, the oddest being the Lefkas Phonograph Museum's collection of old gramophones. Other sights include the 17th century Faneromeni Monastery set in pine woods on the hills above and offering great views. For its size, Lefkas Town boasts a wide variety of cultural events and festivals including cycle and speedboat racing. It also has its own philharmonic orchestra.
There is no beach but a 4km pebble strand across the lagoon at YIRA or GYRA, with some tavernas and bars, is very popular with windsurfers. Daily buses leave for all the main island resorts.
With some fine beaches, good roads and attractive offshore islets, the east coast of Lefkas has lured the big package tour operators, with the area around Nidri the main target of tourist development. Despite an idyllic setting, Nidri has bowed to the demands of cut-price tourism and it will not be everyone's favourite Greek island resort. Fast food outlets, numbing neon and thumping music bars are the order of the day.
Much of the east coast of Lefkas is very sheltered and, as a result, several of the holiday resort ports are favourite stopover port of call for yacht flotillas. Between the larger east coast resorts can be found numerous small pebble beaches.
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Life goes at a slower pace in LYGIA or LIGIA, around 5km south of Lefkas Town but a world away from its busy neighbour. Lygia is a very quiet and relaxed resort. There is a single main street with a few tavernas and bars along it and there are more to be found on the waterfront. The main road through Lygia can get very busy with passing traffic as this is the main route south.
Visitors complain of a lack of choice in Lygia, both of tavernas and their menus, which seem to be based mainly on chips. Many tavernas in Lygia stay closed outside the high season of June to August and visitors will head off to Lefkas Town in the evenings where the nightlife is a little more lively. There is a decent bus service but a taxi may be a better option for going out at night.
The Lygia beaches aren't great either - mostly small patches of shingle - but there are several of them and they are all very sheltered and uncrowded, with fine views across to the mainland and Agios Giorgios castle in the distance.
There are many good walks to be had in the pine woods and olive groves surrounding Lygia, notably in the Paradisos area and the enticingly named Valley of Love (Kilada tou Erota).
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Inland from Lygia and about 15km southwest of Lefkas Town is the working mountain village of KARYA. There is a central square with taverna tables laid out in the shade beneath a huge and inviting plane tree where the locals gather.
As well as being pleasant outing, Karya is worth a visit to see the local Karysaniki embroidery which was once a vital part of the island national dress. You might still see some of the women of Karya village wearing it, although that is more unlikely these days, but you can still buy some in the local shops.
There are displays of Lefkan embroidery, along with other household artifacts, at the Museum of Folklore on the edge of Karya village and there are more examples at the Museum of Folk Art in Lefkas Town.
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The hill village of LAZARATA has recently attracted the attentions of a few holiday firms. The traditional hill village is found just north-east of Kyra and is surrounded by craggy cliffs, olive groves, towering cypress and lush mountain scenery.
The village at Lazarata has a traditional shady square with tavernas and cafes and the two notable churches of Agios Dionissios and Agios Spiridonas, the latter with an impressive tower and an 18th century belfry.
Lazarata is a fine area for walking and every turn seems to offer a breathtaking view of whitewashed houses, neat vineyards, olive groves and lush woodland. Lazarata is an ideal spot for those looking for traditional rural Greek holiday.
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South of Lygia is the tiny fishing village of NIKIANA which spreads out along the coast road with hills rising behind and located about 9km to the south of Lefkas Town.
There is a string of sand and pebble beaches beyond the small Nikiana harbour, none too notable but all pleasant enough, with olive draped foothills behind and mountains rising beyond them.
Waterfront tavernas around the small Nikiana harbour serve good food and, although you can't watch the sunset in this east-facing resort you can at least see the mainland hills redden in the evening.
Nikiana has a mini-market and a few shops. The resort is very popular with Italians who turn up in droves from June onwards and can crowd the beaches. Like neighbouring Lygia there are some good walks to be had in the surrounding countryside and in the hills behind.
Regular buses head north and south, although they tend to get crowded with tourists travelling between Nidri and Lefkas Town. Excursion boats also leave daily from Nikiana to visit the offshore islets such as Skorpios and Meganissi.
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NIDRI on the island's east coast, is about 17km south of Lefkas Town and is the island's biggest holiday resort. It has a lovely setting at the mouth of the long inlet of Vlycho bay. Once the playground preserve of billionaire Aristotle Onassis, Nidri remained undeveloped until his death in 1975 after which the locals made up for lost time.
Now noisy tavernas line the Nidri seafront and a large section of the beach has been used to build a new quay. New hotels have sprung up on the flat, marshy ground behind the resort. There are still delightful corners to the found around Nidri village centre but most of it is geared to the demands of cut-price tourism with English breakfasts, karaoke and big TV screens. Several music bars and a couple of nightclubs will open in the summer.
Views can be spoiled by docking cruisers, traffic noise, flashing neon and the fast-food seediness of the surroundings. Nidri resort is also popular for school outings and can be swamped by hordes of young children whose buses park in a huge car park on the edge of town.
Beaches are found to the north of Nidri. They have great settings and terrific views but are a little disappointing - long, narrow, crowded and mostly rough pebble, although lorry loads of sand have been dumped here and there. The large number of boats ensure sea is not the cleanest but it is shallow and calm. Noisy jet skis and screaming teenagers won't make for a quiet holiday.
Nidri is a major yachting centre and boats always seem to fill the bay, with the annual Ionian Regatta in late September one of the highlights of the Mediterranean year. Ferries leave Nidri daily for tours of the local islets and to the many secluded bays that lie along this part of the coast. There are also early-morning boats to Ithaca and Kefalonia.
Inland from Nidri the countryside is fairly flat and cycle rides through the olive groves are popular, with several good walking paths in the nearby hills. A trip to the Vafkeri waterfall is worth a visit in April or May, later the water turns to a trickle. The waterfalls, about 4km from Nidri, get more spectacular the higher you climb but the going can be difficult and the stepping stones slippy.
German archaeologist Wilhelm Dorpfeld was virtually alone in claiming Nidri, not Ithaca, as the site of Odysseus' palace. He lived and died in Nidri and a statue was erected in his honour on the Nidri quayside.
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The seaside village of VLICHO or VLYCHO gives its name to the large bay that has Nidri to the north and the heavily wooded Geni peninsula curving around to the south.
Vlycho village a pleasant string of shops and tavernas and is handy for the pebble beach at DESSIMI which can be found down a rough dirt track from the village.
There is a large and popular campsite near to Dessimi beach so it can get a bit crowded in the high season but it is still a pleasant beach overlooked by pine trees and citrus groves.
Tavernas, bars and a minimarket help cater for the camping crowds and cruise boats often include Dessimi beach on their island tours.
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Enclosing Vlycho bay is the long arm of the Geni peninsula, a tranquil and 'exclusive' area of dense hilly woodland and olive groves. As it wraps around the bay it faces the busy resort of Nidri to the west and the popular offshore islet of Meganissi to the east.
This is a popular escape area for those who find the resort of Nidri a bit too noisy as it is only 5 min by boat and 10 min by car.
The Geni peninsula has also become very popular with upmarket UK holiday companies offering several select villas overlooking the pretty bay. The village at Geni that gives its name to the peninsula is a friendly traditional fishing village with several waterfront tavernas.
The south coast of Lefkas is a jigsaw of long inlets and sheltered harbours and beaches nestling beneath the pine carpeted hills. To the east is Sivota, a favourite port of call for yachting flotillas and, in the west Vassiliki, host to the world windsurfing championships. Beyond Vassiliki is the wild, windswept peninsula that ends at Cape Lefkas. A good road runs down the east coat to provide easy access but the south-west resorts are more tricky as the roads get steadily worse as you head south.
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The village of POROS is full of narrow alleys and beautiful traditional houses built on steep wooded slopes and overlooking the attractive Rouda Bay, with the islet of Arkoudi to the south
It is about 25km south of Lefkas Town and has a population of around 300. The nearby church of Analipsi has some remarkable icons, in particular one of the Virgin Mary dating from the 17th century.
In the nearby village of Pirgi are ruins of an ancient olive mill and also the remains of a Venetian castle. But most visitors come here for a look around before heading for the popular beach at nearby Mikris Gialos.
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A few years ago the pretty sand and pebble beach at MIKROS GIALOS or MICROS YIALOS, below the hillside village Poros, was a joy to visit with peace and quiet guaranteed.
Times change. The once deserted hideaway, tucked away at the end of Rouda Bay now houses a huge restaurant cum beach bar complex that opens up for the summer visitors who pack in by the hundreds.
Strings of duckboards cross-cross a Mikros Gialos beach that is chock-a-block with sunbeds while music blares from the beach bars. Mikiris Gialos is still a beach to enjoy if you don't mind the crowds and the beach is mostly sand and pebble both in and out of the water.
Mikris Gialos beach is dominated by the Rouda Bay Hotel beach complex with apartments and studios, tavernas, snack bars, sun beds, children's playground, umbrellas and watersports.
There is a small campsite near the beach which has a pool, parking and restaurant. There are plenty of other good tavernas nearby.
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At the head of the next deep inlet is the sheltered anchorage at SIVOTA or SYVOTA, a firm favourite with the boating set. The resort at Sivota boasts a bevy of fish tavernas to satisfy the needs of the yachting crowds - most of them lining the long quayside on the west side of the bay.
Nestled in a picturesque wooded valley about 33km south of Lefkas Town, Sivota has a small scruffy pebble beach at the end of the harbour that virtually no one uses. It is much quieter in Sivota by day than it is at night when the sailing set comes out to play.
Tavernas overlook Sivota harbour to take advantage of the fine views along Sivota Bay, with olive groves and wooded hills behind. They liven up at night and at weekends thanks to the regular arrivals of summer yacht flotillas.
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The island's highest peak at Mt Stavrotas (1145m) has been greedily eaten away by quarry firms and now looks badly scarred but below is VASSILIKI or VASSILIKOS, about 38km from Lefkas Town and the island's main watersports resort.
Huge numbers of windsurfers take advantage of Vassiliki Bay during high summer which, thanks to local geography, is often calm in the mornings and windy in the afternoons.
The long beach at Vassilikos is gently shelving but stony and rough, and ideal for surfers as the sea is just thigh deep for many metres out. The busiest months are July and August when the bay is packed with windsurfers. There are windsurfing clubs and rental outfits and plenty of boats and catamarans for hire.
Vassiliki resort has a pleasant harbour area and a ring of quayside tavernas serving good food and recently even a disco to appeal to the windsurfing youngsters.
There is a campsite nearby and hotels along the Vassilikos beachfront. There are daily cruises from the port to Ithaca and Kefalonia as well as day trips to Lefkas beaches and local islets.
Pleasant walks await along the coast and cycle rides are to be had in the surrounding countryside, which is relatively flat. Vassiliki village is on the east side of the bay, the west side is known as PONTI.
A short walk south along the coastal path brings you to a small and attractive beach at AGIOFILI which has no facilities but is a regular port of call for day trip boats, so it can get intermittently busy.
Wilder and windier than the east, the west coast has the island's best beaches, though many are relatively difficult to find and some require a steep climb down the cliffs to reach them. Much tamer in the north-west, they get progressively wilder as you head south. The reward for those that tackle the narrow hairpins of the west coast road of Lefkas are staggering views from the cliffs and breathtaking beaches below that many rank as among some of the best in the Mediterranean.
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The road west out of Lefkas Town takes you through TSOUKALADES, a pleasant but unremarkable village with a small and equally unremarkable beach at KAMINIA and eventually reaches AGIOS NIKITAS, one the most attractive resorts on the north west coast of Lefkas and just 12km from Lefkas Town.
The main road through Agios Nikitas runs down to the beach and is flanked by tavernas and shops. It is traffic-free though, so you must leave your car at the top of the hill and there's not a lot of parking space if you arrive late in the day, especially in the tourist months of July and August and at weekends throughout the summer.
There is then quite a long walk to Agios Nikitas beach down the main village street and past all the cars parked at the side of the road, presumably illegally.
Several small alleys lead off the main street and it's worth taking a detour to admire the attractive Agios Nikitas houses. Surrounding hills are covered in olive groves and pine forest and several small apartments dot the landscape.
The main Agios Nikitas beach of sharp white sand and pebble is flanked by hotels and tavernas and seems far less attractive than the village itself. It is quite small and soon gets busy, although you can find quieter spots if you are prepared to clamber over rocks to the north.
Boats leave Agios Nikitas daily for surrounding beaches throughout the summer - notably to Milos beach which is considered one of the best on the island.
A little further north still is PEFKOULIA beach, a long wide strip of coarse sand backed by shady pine trees that has the advantage of being much less busy. It can be reached by car but you must park on the main road. There is a beach bar, taverna and sun beds and it can also be called, confusingly, Agios Nikitas.
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Just over the hill south of Agios Nikitas is the coarse sand and pebble beach of MILOS, one of a trio along with Agios Nikitas and Kathisma to the south that form one of the finest stretches of sand on Lefkas.
Access is from a dirt track from Agios Nikitas, sometimes slippery and steep and with rocks to climb but the 20 min walk is worth it.
At the top of the path at Milos beach is a stone windmill, built in 1741 and now converted into a café and bar and more recently some wooden stairs that lead down to the beach to give easier access.
There are spectacular views from Milos beach over the bay. The easy alternative is a taxi boat from Agios Nikitas - if you can find a parking space in that busy village.
Milos beach is long and deep with coarse sand and pebble. It slopes quite steeply and can get quite choppy if there is an offshore breeze. The southern end, where there are some good caves, is much favoured by naturist bathers.
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The sands at KATHISMA are some of the most popular on Lefkas, wide, and deep for more than a kilometre with pebbles and sand on the shore and sand underfoot out to sea.
Not blessed with much shade it nevertheless has interesting rock promontories and caves to explore and a couple of large rocks in the sea at the southern end where nudists tend to congregate.
Kathisma beach often makes it into the top ten in votes on the Med's most beautiful beaches and it's easy to see why with its long, deep, flat sands and attractive rock formations. The sand can be steeply shelving though, so children must be watched.
On the main section of Kathisma beach there are tavernas and bars behind the beach with swimming pools in the bars. West facing, many will linger in the bars and tavernas to enjoy the sunsets.
There are plenty of beach umbrellas and beds and the Kathisma beach has a young and lively feel, with volleyball and tennis courts. In the summer and there is paragliding from the cliffs.
There is a regular bus service from Lefkas Town and plenty of parking behind Kathisma beach. Parking is in great demand at weekends when visitors arrive in droves. Fortunately, the beach is big enough for it rarely to feel too crowded.
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South of Kathisma are several beaches that can be reached by walking south along the shoreline. All of them are relatively remote and without facilities but make a fine route for walkers.
Of note are tiny coves at GIADOROS and THEOTOKOS, a mixture of sand and shingle shaded by pine trees, and the beach at STOUS PILOUS where several small coves are linked in a chain of beaches that are normally deserted.
The highlight along this stretch of coast is the village of KALAMITSI where attractive stone houses are surrounded by almond and olive groves.
Along with neighbouring DRIMONAS Kalamitsi was once a much larger settlement and many homes are now empty, though both villages have a taverna and kafenion.
There are 13 old stone windmills nearby and as many chapels in the surrounding hills. There is also a small and attractive beach about 3km from Kalamitsi village down a dirt track. The sharp sand beach is noted for the large rocks along the shoreline and there is a cantina and a few sunbeds in high summer.
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The west coat of Lefkas is mostly rock and cliffs down the east coast until you reach GIALOS BEACH near the village of ATHANI.
You drop down out of the village along a steep and narrow road with several death defying hairpin bends. It ends at a car park and a couple of seasonal cantinas selling basic supplies.
The long beach of Gialos is of pebble and shingle stretching south. There are a few sunbeds near the cantinas but little else. Another cantina can sometime be found tucked away on a dirt track to the north.
Gialos beach is in shadow until noon and the pebbles, like many beaches along the west coast, dip very sharply into the sea.
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Just below Gialos is the popular beach of EGREMNI. A 3km dirt track drops off the road south of ATHANI village through a series of very sharp hairpin bends to a small car park that appears to have been blasted out of the hillside.
If the car park is full, or if you don't want to pay, you can park by the side of the track about 250m back up the hill, but take care of the many rocks that line the side of the narrow road.
To get down to Egremni beach you must negotiate more than 300 steps down a long wooden staircase that starts outside the clifftop taverna. Egremni beach is long and deep, indeed it appears to stretch for miles.
There are sunbeds at the bottom of the staircase and, astonishingly, a makeshift cantina in the summer - how do they get the stuff down here?
For even more secluded spots you can head north or south, though the southern end has the greater number of coves. Egremni itself is never crowded as people are probably put off by the steep climb.
Egremni is a beach for those seeking solitude and a good alternative to the more popular Porto Katsiki, although it's not recommended for children - there are those steps, the sea gets deep very quickly and there can be very strong undercurrents along this part of the coast.
The water at Egremni beach also tends to be cloudy, so it's not all that great for snorkeling.
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The spectacular white beach at PORTO KATSIKI is an astonishingly beautiful sight and one of the most attractive beaches on Lefkas.
Access has improved with a recently asphalted road to the top of the cliff where a car park and snack bar cantinas await. Prepare for a long drive to reach Porto Katsiki beach. It's 40km from Lefkas Town and in high summer you can expect major traffic jams on the narrow road that leads down to the resort, especially around noon when parked roadside cars increase the traffic problems. A good alternative to the long drive is to take cruise boat from Nidri or Vassiliki.
You can leave your car in the large car park above Porto Katsiki and negotiate a tight staircase of wooden steps that have been built into the side of the white limestone cliff - around 100 of them. Below is a narrow strip of white pebbles and sand, shaded by overhanging rocks in the morning, and the sea so clear that the shadows of anchored boats darken the sea bed.
A landslide in 1999 caused a section of the soft limestone cliff at Porto Katsiki to collapse on the beach, but it is now considered quite safe. Since recent road improvements the beach has become 'discovered', very popular and very crowded in the high summer.
There are problems for families getting down the narrow Porto Katsiki staircase and there are no toilet facilities on the crowded beach when you get there, so crowded in fact that late arrivals will struggle to find a spot.
Porto Katsiki beach is also a heat trap in the afternoon, with little or no shade. There are other small coves along this stretch of coast but they are unsignposted, difficult to reach on foot, and there are no facilities.
If you keep heading south you eventually arrive at the bleak, barren CAPE LEFKAS where cliffs drop abruptly 70 odd metres into the sea. It was from Cape Lefkas that the poet Sappho leapt into the water to cure herself of unrequited love - the original Lover's Leap so to speak.
Locals call it Lady's Cape in her honour and lunatics and criminals were once thrown from the cliffs to cure them of their evil ways - often with live birds attached to slow their descent. Followers of local cults also made sea plunges from the spot. It's a weird world.
Cape Lefkas is still quite a drive from Porto Katsiki on a road that gets progressively worse as you head south. The lighthouse is the prize at the end of the journey and from the headland you can see Kefalonia in the distance om a clear day.
But you may wonder, as you set back, whether Cape Lefkas was worth all the effort when there are just as many spectacular views to be had without making such a tiring trip.
