A Gentle 7-Day Ionian Sailing Itinerary from Lefkada, Day by Day
Written by Gediminas Vengrauskas, licensed Coastal Skipper · ICC · VHF. Updated October 2026
The short answer
A gentle Ionian week from Lefkada is six short sailing days around the islands just south of it: Meganisi, Kalamos, Kastos, the northern tip of Kefalonia at Fiskardo, and Sivota on Lefkada's own south coast, then back to Lefkas Marina. On the distances local fleets publish, that loop is roughly 77-80 nautical miles, with no leg longer than 18. At the 5-knot average I plan with, that averages about two and a half hours under way a day and never more than about three and a half, which leaves the rest for swimming, lunch at anchor and an early harbour.
It is the week I would suggest to a family with young children or to anyone who has never been on a yacht before. The Ionian is the calm side of Greece, the hops are short, and there is always a sheltered harbour close by. Below is the plan day by day, the numbers behind it, and the two decisions that make it gentle or not.
Key takeaways
Ionian weeks start in Lefkada, not Athens. You fly to Preveza (Aktion), which sits about 11 km from Lefkada town in a straight line.
Local fleets publish their own leg distances, and they do not always agree: Kalamos to Kastos is 3 NM in one table and 6.1 NM in another. Plan on the larger figure.
One published loop implies close to 7 knots on average and over 9 on its first leg. Plan at 5 and you will not be rushing the children through lunch.
The boat goes back to the base by 17:00 on Friday at Ionian Charter, and Ionion Sails tells its guests to be in before 16:00. Keep the last leg short.
If you want Ithaca as well, you either sail out on Saturday evening or accept one longer day. Both are fine, but choose before you book flights.
Why start an Ionian week in Lefkada?
Because that is where the boats are, and because the best of the gentle sailing is within a morning of it. Lefkas Marina is the island's main marina, with 620 berths and open all year according to Ionian Charter, one of the partner fleets with a base there. Charter weeks run from it, so the itinerary has to start and finish there too.
The practical consequence is the flight. You do not fly to Athens for an Ionian week; Lefkada is about four to five hours from Athens by road. You fly to Preveza, also called Aktion (code PVK), which on the published coordinates is roughly 11 km from Lefkada town in a straight line. I sail from Athens as well, and for the Saronic islands that is the right base. For the Ionian, it is the wrong airport.
What does the week look like at a glance?
Six sailing days, Sunday to Friday, after a Saturday night aboard in the marina. Here is the shape I would plan for a family, with the distances local charter companies publish for each leg and the time at a steady 5 knots:
Saturday: fly to Preveza, check in at Lefkas Marina, provision, sleep aboard.
Sunday: Lefkas to Meganisi, 11 NM, about 2 h 10 min.
Monday: Meganisi to Kalamos, 15.5 NM, about 3 h 05 min.
Tuesday: Kalamos to Kastos, 3-6 NM, under 1 h 15 min. The lazy day.
Wednesday: Kastos to Fiskardo on Kefalonia, 18 NM, about 3 h 35 min. The longest day.
Thursday: Fiskardo to Sivota on Lefkada, 12 NM, about 2 h 25 min.
Friday: Sivota to Lefkas, 17 NM, about 3 h 25 min, back by mid-afternoon.
The total is 77-80 NM, depending on whose figure you take for Kalamos to Kastos. Spread over six days that is about two and a half hours a day at the helm. For most crews that is an easy rhythm, especially if the morning starts with a swim.
Saturday: why not sail on the first evening?
Because the first evening is for the briefing, the shopping and an early night, and a 17:00 check-in leaves no comfortable margin for a passage. Ionian Charter starts every charter at 17:00 on the day of departure, normally a Saturday, and the check-in begins with a briefing and an inventory check. Some itineraries still send you straight out to Meganisi that evening. It can be done, but it means sailing tired, late in the day, into a harbour you have never seen.
Two things make Saturday easier. Ionian Charter will put supplies on the boat if you send a provisioning list at least a week before you arrive. And provisions are not included in the charter fee, so agree in advance who buys what; I cover how meals work with a skipper aboard in what it is like having a skipper on board.
Sunday: Lefkas to Meganisi, 11 NM
This is the shakedown day: short, sheltered and pretty, with time to learn the boat before anything is asked of anyone. Meganisi lies between Lefkada and the mainland, and Ionion Sails, a Lefkas-based fleet, lists three places to stop there: Spartochori, Vathi and Abelaki bay. Which one depends on the wind and on how busy the week is.
Leave after a relaxed breakfast, swim on the way down, and be settled by mid-afternoon. On day one children should learn that sailing means swimming, not waiting.
Monday: Meganisi to Kalamos, 15.5 NM
A longer morning, but still inside the sheltered water between the islands and the mainland. Ionion Sails describes Kalamos port as a small harbour, once a fishermen's shelter, with a few tavernas. Between the two islands there are small bays that make good swimming stops, so this is the day to break the passage in half with lunch at anchor.
Ionion Sails puts this 15.5 NM at about two hours, which is nearly 8 knots. At 5 knots it is closer to three, which is why I plan every day at 5.
Tuesday: Kalamos to Kastos, the lazy day
The shortest hop of the week, and the day to do almost nothing. Kastos is the long, narrow island just south of Kalamos. Ionion Sails calls it a tiny island with pines, friendly people, a few tavernas and one supermarket. One local fleet gives the hop as 6.1 NM; a Corfu fleet's distance table gives 3. Either way it is under an hour and a quarter.
On a family week I build one day like this in, deliberately: snorkelling, the dinghy with an adult, a book for the grown-ups. If the weather costs you a day, this is also the day you get back.
Wednesday: Kastos to Fiskardo, 18 NM
The one day of the week that crosses open water, so it is the one I would start earliest. Fiskardo is the northernmost port of Kefalonia, at the head of a bay about two kilometres long, and it is the best-known stop on the whole route. The Corfu fleet's table gives Kastos to Fiskardo as 18 NM, which at 5 knots is about three hours thirty-five.
Fiskardo is also the harbour I would least like to arrive at late. It is the stop everyone wants, so my rule for any popular harbour in high season is simple: be in by early afternoon, or have a plan B bay already chosen. Starting early on Wednesday covers both the passage and the berth.
Thursday: Fiskardo to Sivota, 12 NM
Back towards Lefkada, to a sheltered bay on its south coast. Ionion Sails gives this leg as 12 NM and notes that it passes the small island of Arkoudi on the way, which makes a natural swim stop. Sivota itself they describe as a place to relax, known for its food and its view of the bay.
Thursday is when I would start watching the Friday deadline. Sivota is 17 NM from the base, which is a comfortable morning. If the forecast for Friday looks unhelpful, this is the evening to decide to leave early.
Friday: Sivota to Lefkas, and the return-time rule
The last leg is 17 NM, and it has a deadline the brochures mention only in small print. Ionian Charter wants the yacht back in port by 17:00 on the day before the charter ends, normally the Friday evening, so the boat can be checked before the next guests arrive. Ionion Sails tells its guests to reach Lefkas Harbour before 16:00 and to start early. Different fleets, different hours: ask yours.
At 5 knots, 17 NM is about three hours twenty-five. Leave Sivota by nine, stop for a last swim on the way, refuel if the fleet requires it, and you are in with time to spare. Arriving rushed on the last afternoon is the most common way to spoil an otherwise easy week, and it is entirely avoidable.
Why do published sailing times look so optimistic?
Because they often assume a yacht that averages close to 7 knots, and more on some legs, and a loaded family cruiser rarely does. Ionion Sails' own loop gives Lefkas to Meganisi as 11 NM in about 1.2 hours, which is 9.2 knots, and Fiskardo to Sivota as 12 NM in 1.5 hours, which is 8. Across their seven legs, 94.1 NM in roughly 13.7 hours averages close to 7 knots.
On a good day, on a long boat, that happens. But a plan should survive an ordinary day: light morning wind, a detour to a bay, a child who needs the bathroom at the wrong moment. At 5 knots the same seven legs take nearly 19 hours, not 14. That gap is a whole extra afternoon at the helm, and it is better found on paper than on the water.
Why do the distance tables disagree?
Because nobody says how they measured, and harbour-to-harbour is not the same as the route you actually sail. Two charter companies' published figures for the same legs:
Kalamos to Kastos: 6.1 NM (Ionion Sails) against 3 NM (Tsirigotis).
Ithaca (Vathi) to Fiskardo: 15.5 NM against 14 NM.
Kastos to Ithaca (Vathi): 17 NM in both tables.
Most likely one figure follows the route around a headland and the other is closer to a straight line. On a 3-mile hop it hardly matters; over a week it adds up. I plan on the larger number and treat the smaller one as a pleasant surprise.
What if you want Ithaca as well?
Then something else has to give: either sail out on Saturday evening, or accept one longer day. The classic loop Ionion Sails publishes runs Kastos to Vathi on Ithaca (17 NM) and Vathi to Fiskardo (15.5 NM) instead of my direct Kastos to Fiskardo leg, which adds a night. To fit that into a Saturday-to-Friday week, you either leave the marina on the first evening for Meganisi, or you drop Sivota and sail Fiskardo to Lefkas in one go, which the Corfu table gives as 25 NM, about five hours at 5 knots.
Both work. With teenagers or a crew that has sailed before, I would happily do either. With small children on their first boat, I would keep the gentle version and see Ithaca from the water: it lies close to Wednesday's crossing. Kefalonia is, as Ionion Sails puts it, about three and a half hours' sailing from Lefkada, so it is never far away.
Is this route right for children and first-timers?
Yes, and it is the honest best answer in Greece for that crew. The water between Lefkada, Meganisi, Kalamos and Kastos is sheltered by the islands on one side and the mainland on the other, and Ionion Sails describes this eastern side as weather-protected. The local fleet lists tavernas at Kalamos, Kastos, Fiskardo and Sivota, and there is a shop even on tiny Kastos.
What makes the Ionian different from the Cyclades is the wind, and I have written a whole month-by-month wind guide on why the place you choose matters more than the month you choose. The short version for parents: if your children have never sailed, this is where to start. The Cyclades can wait until they ask for more.
Catamaran or monohull for this week?
For a family, I would lean towards a catamaran, but a good monohull does this route perfectly well. A catamaran sits flat at anchor and under way, has more deck space for children and keeps the cabins well apart, which is why catamarans are my own priority for 2027. I have skippered a Lagoon 42 and a Bali Catspace, as well as an Oceanis 46 and a Sun Odyssey 42, so I am comfortable with either.
The trade-off is cost: a catamaran charter costs a good deal more than the equivalent monohull. The numbers are in my guide to what a skippered sailing holiday in Greece really costs, and the extras that come on top are in what sailing in Greece actually costs beyond the charter fee.
Do I need a skipper for this itinerary?
Only if nobody in your group holds a recognised sailing licence, but on a family week a skipper is also what lets the adults have a holiday. Ionian Charter's own FAQ says a skipper is advisable if no one in your party holds a skipper's licence, and that the skipper sleeps on board in their own cabin. The licence rules are in do you need a licence to charter a boat in Greece.
If you would like me to skipper your Ionian week, my weekly fee, what it covers and my 2027 availability are on the hire a captain page. For direct bookings my travel to Lefkada is included, so there is no extra line for getting me to the boat. The wider Greek picture, with all three sailing areas side by side, is on skippered sailing charters in Greece.
FAQ
How far is it from Preveza airport to Lefkas Marina?
On the published coordinates, Preveza (Aktion) airport is about 11 km from Lefkada town in a straight line. The marina is in Lefkada town, so it is a short transfer, and it is the airport to fly to for an Ionian week.
How many nautical miles is a 7-day Ionian loop from Lefkada?
The gentle family version in this guide is about 77-80 NM over six sailing days. The classic loop with Ithaca that Ionion Sails publishes is 94.1 NM over seven legs.
How many hours a day will we actually sail?
At a 5-knot average, the family version is about two and a half hours a day. The longest day, Kastos to Fiskardo, is about three and a half hours. The shortest, Kalamos to Kastos, is under an hour and a quarter.
What time do we have to return the boat on Friday?
It depends on the fleet. Ionian Charter wants the yacht back by 17:00 on the day before the charter ends, normally Friday. Ionion Sails tells its guests to reach Lefkas before 16:00. Check your own contract.
Can we leave the marina on Saturday evening?
Some itineraries do, after a 17:00 check-in. It buys an extra day, which is how the classic loop fits Ithaca in, but it means sailing after a long travel day. With small children I would sleep in the marina and leave on Sunday morning.
Is the Ionian good for a first sailing holiday with children?
Yes. The water between Lefkada and the mainland islands is sheltered, the hops are short, and the harbours on this plan are small villages with tavernas. It is the gentlest sailing area in Greece.
Can we see Ithaca on this itinerary?
Yes, either by sailing out on Saturday evening or by replacing Sivota with one longer final day from Fiskardo to Lefkas, about 25 NM. In the gentle version it lies close to Wednesday's crossing to Fiskardo.
Are 2027 weeks still available?
Yes, 2027 dates are open. Tell me your preferred week and the size of your group and I will come back to you within 24 hours.
About the author
I am Gediminas Vengrauskas, a Lithuanian captain with six years of sailing and about 1,000 nautical miles logged. I hold a Coastal Skipper licence for sail and motor vessels up to 24 metres, day and night, up to 12 miles offshore, plus an ICC, a VHF radio certificate and a 2026 first-aid certificate. I have sailed the Ionian, the Saronic and the Cyclades in Greece, Dalmatia in Croatia, and the Baltic. I do not own a fleet; your boat comes from a licensed partner charter company, and I skipper it.
Planning a week in the Ionian?
Send me your dates, your crew and what you would like the week to feel like, through the contact form. I reply within 24 hours.
Sources checked October 2026: Ionion Sails' published Lefkas itineraries and sailing guide; Tsirigotis Yachts Charter's nautical distance table; Ionian Charter's charter FAQ and Lefkas Marina base page.
