Skorpios Lefkas

island report and Skorpios map

Skorpios island Lefkas

SKORPIOS is one of the most famous private islands in the world, it once being owned by the former billionaire Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.
It being a private island, visitors are not allowed to land and armed guards can sometimes be seen on the island which is still privately owned by the Onassis family.
Skorpios is located in the Ionian Sea between Lefkas and Meganissi and can easily be seen from the main Lefkas resort of Nidri.
It is about 4km offshore and a very popular sail-by destination for Lefkas island tour boats. Visitors are allowed to swim off designated beaches around the island.
Skorpios is just one of 10 small islets off the Lefkas coastline. The others are Meganisi, Kalamos, Kastos, Madouri, Skorpidi, Thilia, Petalou and Kythros. Skorpios is thickly carpeted in woods and the Onassis mansion is not visible from the sea.
When Aristotle Onassis was alive the island hosted many famous celebrities of the time. Maria Callas, the Kennedy family, Greta Garbo and many others stayed there.
Skorpios island was also the site of Onassis's wedding to former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968.
Although Skorpios is still the main home of the Onassis family, the most recent census reports only two people living there. Nowadays Onassis’ granddaughter Athena makes an occasional visit to Skorpios.