Located south of the holiday island of Lefkas, MEGANNISSI is considered by many to be the best, as well as the biggest and most interesting, of the offshore islets in this area of the Ionian Sea.
Meganissi lies about 6km south of the Lefkas port of Nidri and so attracts plenty of holiday day trippers. Many day visitors also arrive here fom the Greek mainland but Meganissi is also popular with long-stay visitors looking for a sleepy island holiday.
Meganissi is one of a cluster of islets between Lefkas and the Greece west coast that include Skorpios, once the private island of the Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis and now owned by the Italian billionaire fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who paid a reported $190m for it.
Paradoxically, Meganissi means “large island” in Greek and, although it is the largest of six little islands to the east of Lefkas, it still measures only 20sq km. The island population of around 1,200 mostly live in the three villages of Katomeri, Vathi and Spartohori.
Seen from above, Meganissi has an enticing lacework of coastline, with deep fjord-like inlets and coves, especially on the north side of the island and along the long and rugged west coast.
Most of Meganissi is covered in pine trees and a network of dirt tracks crosses the island. Most beaches are isolated and without facilities.
There are no sandy beaches on the island of Meganissi but there are several pebble or shingle coves and the waters are very clean and clear.
Although one of the smallest of the Ionian Islands, Meganissi is also one of the most attractive and the island is included in the brochures of several major UK tour operators..
The nearest airport to Meganissi is Preveza which lies on the Greek mainland to the north. To reach Meganissi, visitors usually make their way from Preveza to Lefkas and catch a ferry from there.
A recently made road skirts the coast around the island making some of the small bays more accessible to visitors. However, the most secluded beaches can only be reached by boat.
Considered by many to be a perfect 'away-from-it-all' holiday destination, Meganissi is a balmy Greek island with plenty of character and charm. Carpeted in pine trees and dotted with olive groves, what Meganissi lacks in sandy beaches is more than compensated for by the relazed atmoshere and the serene and tranqui landscape.
The small port of Vathi is the centre of Meganissi island life, what life there is anyway, with attractive houses, small tavernas and and a pictureque harbour. That is pretty much what you get at the other island port of Spartochori which totters atop a cliff overlooking harbour and beach. The remaining village of Katomeri - actually the island inland capital - is even more soporific and secluded.
Meganisi has several beaches but they are mostly pebble and some can only be reached by boat, although a coastal track has recently been carved out to give access overland to quite a few. Only a couple have facilities such as cantinas and sunbeds.
The proximity of the popular holiday island of Lefkas makes Meganissi an attractive destination for day trippers. Those who stay on the island can interweave an unruffled holiday break with the occasional excitement of easily accessible Lefkas resorts such as Nidri and Lefkada Town.
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VATHI may the largest settlement on the island of Meganissi but it is still very small. Vathi, or Vathy, lies on the north-east side of the island at the head of a long, narrow and sheltered inlet, with views to the islet of Skorpios, formerly owned by the Onassis famly and later by Italian designer Georgio Armarni.
Pastel-painted houses cluster around a picturesque bay against a curtain of heavily wooded hills where pines cascade down to the shore.
A few tavernas and a coule of chapels line the harbour, which is usually full of summer yachts that have sailed over from the neighbouring island of Lefkas or have laid up for a few hours on the flotilla route.
The busy looking bay, often crammed with every sort of yacht and fishing boast, belies the resort itself which seems pretty much immune to any sort of activity. Peaceful contemplation or simply snoozing over a cold beer seem to be the principal pursuits.
Day trippers from Lefkas can give Vathi a bit of a buzz, but when the visitors leave in the late afternoon Vathi drops into an even more soporific state until the evening tavernas start to fill. Relatively few tourists holiday in Vathi but there ar enough to keep a trio tavernas - Vathi, Stavros and The Rose Garden - in business.
In and around the harbour, a few small shops interleave the tavernas, providing basic provisions. There are several small pebble beaches within walking distance of Vathi, the most notable being the beaches of Pasoumaki and Abelaki.
PASOUMAKI is a small pebble cove within easy walking distance of the main Meganissi port of Vathi. This small cove contains a short strip of pebbles backed by plenty of greenery so, although there are no sunbeds, there is plenty of natual shade coming right down to the beach.
Pasoumaki beach is only a short distance from Vathi so it can be busier than mostbut there are rarely more than a dozen or so people here, even on the busiest summer days. The pebbles drop steeply into the sea and it is stony underfoot for some way out so bathers are advised to take some sort of protective footwear.
The water is very clear and the nearby rocks appear free of sea urchins so Pasoumaki is a good place to bathe and snorkel. There are no tourist facilities on Pasoumaki, beach not even a summer cantina, but it is only a short walk to the tavernas and cafes of Vathi.
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AMBELIKI or ABELAKI is found to the north-east of Vathi in the neighbouring inlet. There is a small string of pebble strands around the bay but none of them add up to much despite what many holiday brochures say.
There is no denying the beauty of Ambeliki Bay, however, which is usually dotted with yachts at anchor offshore and which is walkable from Vathi along narrow paths.
The sheltered horsehoe bay of Ambeliki is surrounded by low hills covered in pines that tumble right down to the shoreline. Olive groves, hemmed in by low stone walls, have been carved out of some of the less steeply inclined hillside slopes.
There is no beach as such, just a succession of pebble and rock strands, but the atttractions are the proximity of Vathi, the peaceful isolation, the crystal waters and the splendid views across the bay to the mountains of mainland Greece. A couple of shoreline cantinas may open in the summer.
Cantina
FANARI beach is one of the most popular on Meganissi and it's noted for the picturesque setting. Fanari is located north-east of Vathi on the east side of the neighbouring inlet to Ambeliki.
Where it was once accessible only by boat, Fanari can now be reached along a narrow dirt track. The beach is set in a small sheltered bay, north-east facing bay and backed by pine-clad hills.
The beach is mainly pebble and some fine grit, you might almost call it sandy, in places. It is rather scruffy with a line of scrub between the beach and the dirt road that runs behind.
There are enough visitors here in the high summer to warrant a beach cantina - a rare sight on Meganissi beaches.
Fanari beach sits in a very beautiful spot, hemmed in by lush greenery and edged with clear water. Although you can get here on foot from Vathi or Katomeri, many visitors arrive by boat and, although there is no jetty to tie to, the waters are very shallow.
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The village of SPARTOHORI or SPARTOCHORI, is perched high on the hills overlooking Spilia Bay - a long and deep inlet located to the west of the main port of Vathi.
The hilltop village has impressive views over the bay and Spartochori overlooks one of the best beaches on Meganissi, as wellas the small ferry port of Spilia.
Spartohori itself is a very pretty village with picturesque houses scattered all over the hillside, interwoven with whitewashed alleyways and splattered, almost permanently it seems, with bougainvillaea.
There are a couple of mini-markets, a few small shops and a scattering of tiny tavernas.
A precipitous, winding road leads down the hillside from village to seashore. Visitors branch left on the descent for the pretty Spilia port and right for the beach, variously called Spilia beach or Agios Yiannis beach.
The walk down to the beach takes about 10 minutes; the walk up takes rather longer. The port is a little nearer than the beach but the route is steeper, although there are some steps along the way.
The pretty harbour is usually packed with yachts and small boats. The ferry from Nidri, on Lefkas, usually arrives in the morning, despatches a few day visitors then goes to Vathi. It returns in the evening for the journey back to Lefkas.
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SPILIA beach, also known as AGIOS IOANNIS beach, is located at the far end of Spilia Bay about one kilometre from the harbour and directly below the hilltop village of Spartochori.
One of the best, and one of the prettiest beaches on Meganissi, Spilia has is a long deep, stretch of white pebble and shingle with a waterfront taverna at the far end.
The water is as crystal clear, as you would expect on a Meganissi beach, but the stones are steeply banked and it's a very sharp drop into the sea, so this is not a beach for unsupervised children.
Sunbeds and umbrellas come out in the summer searson and a line of tamarisks along the middle of the beach provide a little natural shade.
It is a steep walk up the hill to Spartochori so this is not a beach for those with walking difficulties: the advantage is that , as a result, it rarely gets too crowded.
Beyond the port at Spilia, a track follows the coast to a small north-facing beach on the headland of the inlet at HERNIADES. A straight and narrow stretch of pebble and shingle lines the shore for about 50 metres.
Narrow goat tracks drop down to the beach from the dirt track behind and pine trees come right down to the sea here, so there is plenty of natural shade, if little else.
This is a beach for purists who don't like the crowds. It is a very picturesque spot but there are no facilities here and it is rather isolated so, if you walk here, take plenty of water. Most visitors to Herniades beach arrive by boat.
The only other beach in this part of Meganissi island is AGIOS IOANNIS , a long pebble beach on the western coast of Meganisi and some distance from the resort village of Spartochori. It takes its name from the tiny chapel located near the beach.
Agios Ioannis can be reached along a dirt track from Spartochori or by boat. There is a small jetty to tie the boat up but little else, with no cantina or sunbeds to it's a good idea to take supplies when you visit.
Views across to Lefkas help make this a very attractive spot and there is plenty of greenery around to provide natural shade, with trees sweeping right down to the shore in places.
The pebble beach is rather narrow, but long, so there is ltlle chance of feeling crowded here. Around the headland is a small, shallow lagoon.
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Katomeri is an attractive hill village that lies about 1km inland, south of the main Meganissi port at Vathi. Inland does not really describe Katomeri as it is almost no distance to several beaches on the east coast of Meganissi.
Katomeri is a traditional, flower-decked, Greek island village with a popular taverna (George's), a bakery, a small shop (Cava Katopodis - also known as the bottle shop') and even a tiny petrol station.
The village is actually the island capital but its permanent residents number only about 500. Numbers swell in the summer, but not by much as Katomeri, away from the coast, is less popular than the port resorts of Vathi and Spartochori.
Nevertheless, the stone-built houses of Katomeri, with their red-tiled roofs, are particularly attractive and the setting of small fields and olive groves is delightful.
Being a little more isolated, Katomeri has managed to escape the demands of tourists in the other resorts (not that that amounts to much) and the place has a relaxing, other-world air.
The locals are famously friendly and seem to treat each visitor like long-lost family. Tracks snake down from Katomeri to beaches at Limonari and Elia, only a few minutes walk from the village.
The nearest decent beaches to Katomeri are the twin beaches of Megalo Limonari and Mikro Limonari. The names mean 'large' and 'small' although size is only relative here. Mikro Limonari is about half the length of Megalo and separated from it by a small rock outcrop.
Both beaches can be reached by dirt track heading south from from Katomeri, by motorbike or on foot. South-east facing, the narrow beach strips get plenty of sunshine and the sea here is a notable blue/green, probably due to the reflective white stones along the shoreline.
Pines come right down to the shore here so there is some natural shade but there are no facilities such as a cantina or sunbeds. The Limonari beaches are also notable on Meganissi for having some patches of sand amongst the pebbles but this doesn't mean that either can be described as a sandy beach.
Down a very steep road from Katomeri is the beach at ELIA, no more than a narrow strip of stone and shingle at the edge of a deep inlet on the eastern side of the island.
Apartments have sprung up here and the small bay swarms with visiting yachts in the summer, so it is not as secluded (or as quiet) as it may look on the map.
A low stone wall runs along the back of the beach, demarking the garden of the apartment block where a old car lay rusting the last time I looked. The beach is just a narrow, steep bank of shingle and stone.
Tso there is no natural shade here and the beach is very exposed. The nearest shop and taverna is at Katomeri, ony a short distance, but up a very steep hill.
ATHERINOS is the port for Katomeri and lies to the nort-east of the village at the end of a long sheltered inlet. Atherinos is nothing like the ports at Vathi and Spartochori as there are no tavernas or other tourist facilities to be found here.
Atherinos is a pleasant enough place to visit though, with colourful fishing boats tied up to the long concrete promenade and fishing nets spread out to dry along the quayside.
A small road snakes right around the bay so there are plenty of pictureque views to be had. If it's a beach you want, you will have to head up the west side of the bay to Fanari.
BARBAREZOU is a long cove on the eastern side of Meganisi island, just 5km north-east of Katomeri village. It is also known as Cape Akoni and it is one of the least frequented beaches in Meganisi, perfect therefore to enjoy some privacy
Although there is a track leading to it, many people go by boat, looking for private coves to anchor in. Barbarezou beach is edged with pine trees and has crystal water.
The shoreline has steeply banked stone and pebble with some small cliffs at one end of the beach.
Meganissi (literally 'big island') is located to the south-east of the island of Lefkas in the Ionian island group off the west coast of mainland Greece.
The population of Meganissi was 1,092 in the 2001 census but probably now numbers about 1,200, most living in the island capital of Katomeri.
Meganissi has a highly indented coastline with many long and deep bay providing sheltered anchorage for boats.
The rocks are predominantly limestone and so the island is known for its many caves, particularly along the unihabited southern arm of the island where there are several large and notable sea caves.
Apart from tourism the main occupations are fishing and farming, with olives and citrus the main crops and a little livestock farming, mainly sheep and goats.
Boat tours of Meganissi island will almost certainly include the impressive sea caves that have carved their way into the soft white limestone along the west coast of Meganissi.
The biggest, and by far the most famous of these, is the Papanikolis Cave which is said to be the second largest sea cave in Greece. Papanikolis Cave has a huge chamber about 120 metres long and 60 meters wide.
There is an estimated 40,000 square feet of water surface in the cave chamber and the roof is about 30 metres above the water at the highest point. There is plenty of room to get a boat inside and island caiques usually venture inside. There is even a sandy crescent at the deepest point of the cave.
Papanikolis Cave is thought to have been used as a hiding place for German submarines in World War II, but I've yet to have this confirmed.
Stalactites drop down from the roof and cavern walls at this and several other caves along this part of the coast. Another nearby cave ,called the Alabaster Cave, has even more impressive stalactites than Papanikolis. Other well-known caves in the region are those of Yiovani and Demona, accessible only by boat.
A couple of islets lie to the east of Meganissi and they are a popular destination for day trips by boat. KALAMOS is the biggest at 20 sq km and the islet has four hamlets at Kalamos, Episkopi, Kastro and Kefali. The pretty harbour of Katamos lies is a crescent bay beneath Mt Vouni (750m) on the east side of the island.
The traditional stone houses are packed around the harbour front, each separated from the other by the narrowest of cobbled alleyways. There are only about 600 permanent residents here but visiting yachts help keep a couple of waterfront tavernas busy in high summer.
A coast road snakes north-east out of Kalamos, through the dense pine woods, to the tiny port at Episkopi which has a few summer apartments and a small quay for fishing boats. At the kastro above Episkopi is a derelict fortified monstery.
The road to Episkopi passes a shingle beach at Agios Konstantinos - one of the few on the islet accessible by road. There are several beach coves on the Kalamos coast, the most notable called Myrtia, Asproyiali, Agriapidia, Pefki and Kefali but they are only accessible by boat.
KASTOS is an even smaller islet and it has a single hamlet of traditional stone houses and tavernas built around the small harbour. Only about 50 people live here permanently but numbers swell considerably in the summer.
All the beaches on Kastos are found along the eastern shore and they include Ambelakia, Fyki, Vali, Kilada, Aghios Aimilianos, Limni, Kamini and Vrisidi and all can be reached along dirt tracks. The western side of Kastos is sheer cliffs and rock and there are no beaches, just a small, sheltered quay at Sarakiniko.
The church of Agios Ioannis is worth a visit for the fine paintings and the islet Prasonisi, near the harbour, has good views of the bay. Kastos is also noted for its windmills , although they are all in private hands so you can't visit without permission. One windmill is thought to be the best preserved in the Ionian islands and it still has its orginal milling mechanism intact.
The are severalold windmills on Meganissi and the neighbouring islets of Kalamos and Kastos. Most of them, unfortunately, are now derelict. Scattered over the hillsides to catch the winds, they are often difficult to reach.
Several shells of old windmills can be seen on the hillside above Atherinos on Meganissi and they must have been a glorious site when operational in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Many were sited on steep sided slopes to gain full advantage of the southerly winds. Windmills were privately owned and took their names from the owners such as Bakolas Mill and Hymos Mill.
There are thought to be about 40 mills on Meganissi - many more if you count Kalamos and Kastos - but all that remains of most are the circles of the threshing floors.
Also of interest on Meganissi are the water wells which can be found the the island villages. None are used to actually draw water but they make an attractive sight. The Ferentinos well, in Spilia, is typical.
Old olive presses, too, can still be found on the islands. Olive groves are everywhere and many of the trees are ancient. Scores of island olive presses have been lost but a few survive. The traditional Zavitsanos press, in Spartochori, is still used for the island's autumn olive harvest. There are plans to restore a donkey-powered olive-press in Vathy and to turn it into an industrial museum.
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There is no airport on Meganissi so visitors arrive via ferry from Lefkas after a flight to Preveza International (PVK) on mainland Greece.
There is a daily bus service betwen Preveza airport and Lefkas Town and the journey time is about 30 minutes. - quicker but obviously more expensive if you take a taxi.
There are several UK charters that fly direct to Preveza but an alternative is a cheap flight to Athens and to get an internal flight to Preveza.
Regular scheduled internal flights from Athens are operated by Olympic Airlines, although domestic flight connections are not great and you will probably have to schedule an overnight stay in Athens.
Another possible route is a flight to Corfu, a ferry to Igoumenitsa (90 minutes) and bus to Lefkas (2 hours) but this is a long way round unless you intend to spend some time on Corfu or the mainland.
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Meganissi is well served by daily ferry services. From Lefkas Town there is a fast ferry 'Anchialos' which sails from the Lefkada marina to Vathi on Meganissi. The Anchialos is a small, fast boat and does not carry vehicles. The sailing time to Meganissi is about 25 minutes and sailing schedules can be found here.
The main daily ferry for Meganissi is the Meganisi II which leaves from the port of Nidri on the east coast of Lefkas. Visitors using this ferry have to travel from Lefkada to Nidri, by bus or taxi. This Meganisi ferry takes vehicles of any size and the journey time here is nearer 40 minutes. Daily schedules can be found here
This ferry calls at the Meganissi ports of Spilia and Vathi. For stays in Spartachori, passengenger get off at Spilia. For stays in Katomeri, Limonari, Elia they stay aboard until they get to Vathy.
As well as daily ferries to Lefkas there are also ferry connections to Kefalonia and to Ithaca.
The Meganissi island bus usually waits for the ferry to berth and local hotels often arrange pick-ups from the ferry for guests.
There is only one road on Meganissi and it links the villages of Katomeri, Vathi and Spartochori (and Spilia). A network of dirt tracks criss-cross the rest of the island, ideal for walking through shady pine forests, and most of the Meganissi beaches are now accessible overland.
A minibus runs daily between the three main villages on the island. The bus leaves Spartochori at 7am for Katomeri and Vathi, returning at 7.30am then back again at 7.40am. At 10am it leaves Katomeri for Vathi, Spartochori and Spilia, returning at 10.30am. It repeats this trip at 11am, 12.15pm, 2pm and 6pm with the last bus leaving Vathi at 6.40pm for Katomeri. Bus times usually coincide with ferry arrivals and departures. There are bikes and boats to rent in Vathi.
Most accommodation on Meganissi island is concentrated in themain resort ports of Vathi and Spartochori. although some rooms can be found in the inland village of Katomeri. A few of the better beaches, at Elia and Limonari, for example, have isolated apartments or rooms to let.
There are no room associations on Meganissi and few online booking agencies include Meganissi in their list of islands, so booking a room should be done through a travel agent or by contacting the hotel beforehand.
Even though the island is not short of rooms it would be very unwise to turn up on spec, especially in the high summer season.
The summer tourist season on Meganissi starts in May and ends in October with average temperatures over the summer months of 23‘C - 24‘C. Average night temperatures over the Meganissi summer months are 14‘C to 16‘C.
Humidity over the summer Meganissi is average for the Mediterranean and summer rainfall is negligible. Sunshine hours in the high summer are 13 hours and in winter it's 5 to 7 hours.
The winter in Meganissi is cool but pleasant. Average daytime temperatures from November to March are 19‘C to 16‘C and at night it falls to 9‘C.
| JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Averages |
| 11 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 21 | 16 | 12 | Day °C |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 6 | Night °C |
| 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 | Sun (hrs) |
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | UV Index |
| 140 | 129 | 91 | 68 | 43 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 48 | 125 | 172 | 184 | Rain (mm) |
| 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 13 | Rainy days |
‡ There are no ATMs on Meganissi and changing cash can be difficult. Stock up on Lefkas.
‡ With few sunbeds on Meganissi beaches, many visitors buy lilos and brollies in Lefkas.
