Ionian Odyssey 2 - Meganisi Island - a piece of paradise

Since the cold months of January and February are usually the months when many people book their summer vacations, I decided to publish a short series about my favorite islands in the Ionian Sea, which I recommend without a doubt, at this time of year. And what could be more warming than reading about a warm destination while it's cold? It works for me. And for you?

A few months ago, I told you with great excitement about my wonderful vacation on the bright green island of Corfu, the northernmost of the Ionian Islands. Have you visited it and what did you like about it? Let me know!

In this post I will tell you about an exceptional small island in the Ionian Sea - Meganisi Island. Translated from Greek "Meganisi" means "Big Island". Meganisi Island is called by the locals "The Island of Sailors".

Meganisi Island consists of only 3 settlements, which are connected to each other by a regular bus line, which according to those in the know is an extremely reliable method of moving around this incredible place, which I admit, looks a little wild in most places, but that's its charm. The island is dotted with narrow and winding mountain roads, on which only small buses and cars can move. It is quite common and convenient to use motorbikes, as many roads are quite narrow and even extreme. If you like walking, you will have the opportunity to admire great views if you walk along one of the numerous hiking and goat trails that will "transport" you to incredible more remote parts of the island.

The town of Vathi is a port town that fills up with many yachts and boats in the summer. The town is extremely picturesque and is located on the northern coast of Meganisi island.

The village of Spartochori is located on the highest point of the island and has a very unusual layout of the houses.

The most preferred destination for tourists on Meganisi Island is the village of Katomeri, which amazes with its traditional houses.

Meganisi Island is an unexplored paradise in the Ionian Sea, which very few Bulgarians have heard of! But it is a famous and very visited destination by Greeks! I admit that I also ended up there quite by accident, but I was fascinated by the beauty that I was able to touch personally, thanks to the extremely spontaneous trip to this incredible place.

I searched a lot on the internet, but the only connection between Meganisi and the rest of the world is by ferry from Lefkada, which runs more frequently during the summer months. According to various sources on the internet, there should be ferry routes via Ithaca and Kefalonia, but I couldn't find any accurate information. If anyone knows, please share.

The journey from the town of Nydri in Lefkada to Spartochori on the island of Meganisi takes about 25 minutes and the unpleasant thing is that the ferry is only for passengers, it does not take cars.

On the ferry ride, we passed very close to the legendary island of Skorpios, best known for having been the private property of businessman Aristotle Onassis in the past.

The picture above shows the famous island of Skorpios, at least that's what Google's navigation showed me while we were on the ferry from Lefkada to Meganisi. I hope Google didn't mislead me. Many of you have surely heard that the Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis, known as one of the richest people in the world in the last century, bought the entire island back in 1963 and since then this incredible place has been inaccessible to the average tourist. According to some sources on the internet, Onassis owned several islands in the area, and Meganisi was one of them. The reason he bought the islands was because he needed sailors and workers for his ventures. The locals respected him because he provided them with a livelihood.

But let's go back for a moment to the history and development of Scorpios Island. It is curious that when it was purchased by Mr. Onassis in 1963, Scorpios Island cost the modest sum of about 11,000 euros in today's money.

Although the island is mainly associated with Mr. Onassis, in 2013 it was sold to Russian billionaire Dimitar Rybovlev. At that time, Skorpios cost a much more substantial sum - $ 153,000,000. The Russian has publicly announced his project, according to which by 2024 he wants to turn Skorpios into an incredibly luxurious resort for super-rich lovers of exotic travel. Unfortunately, I can't find any current information about the development of the project in question. If it had been opened last year, the media would most likely have been extremely loud and there would have been a lot of photos. The project for the development of the luxury island includes not only the construction of a 5-star hotel, but also luxury villas, a marina, restaurants, a spa, a business center, a winery, a nightclub, swimming pools, a helipad, sports fields and more. A curious fact that I have come across over the years, reading about this impressive project, is that the entire complex is to be built according to the principles of bioclimatic architecture, which are quite interesting and futuristic. I was extremely impressed by the information published in the media that for the "modest" sum of 1 million euros per night it would be possible to rent the entire island. Of course, there are enough people who would pay that amount just to advertise themselves or so that some rich man could marry his daughter there.

In addition to the famous Skorpios, the area around Meganisi Island also includes the charming islands of Madouri, Tilia, Sparti and Kitros.

Meganisi Island impresses its visitors with its exceptional nature, the emerald color of the water, typical of the Ionian Sea, and the incredible miniature cobblestone streets with small, neat, well-kept houses. A true idyll! The views of this fabulous island are what we imagine when we hear about the "exotic nature of Greece", but most such places are located in the Mediterranean Sea. Meganisi Island is like an oasis in the Ionian Sea with only about 1000 permanent residents!

We visited the island at the end of September and the summer 35 degree heat had not yet given way to the autumn coolness. From what I read, at these latitudes the chance of snow in winter is minimal and if there is any, it cannot accumulate, as temperatures rarely drop below 5 degrees.

Another interesting fact about Meganisi Island is that due to its considerable isolation from mainland Greece, especially during the winter months when tourism stops, most of the island's population is engaged in fishing and agriculture. The most widely grown crops on Meganisi Island are olives and grapes, from which their incredible typical wine is made, which is highly recommended in all types of tourism as a must-try. The island is also famous for its exceptionally high-quality olive oils. An interesting and distinctive product produced on Meganisi Island is thyme honey.

I managed to take the above photo from the ferry, approaching the island of Meganisi. At that moment, I didn't even expect to be so impressed. To be honest, I had never heard of this island. We had decided to visit the island of Kefalonia, but it turned out that there were no ferries on that particular day, and after a quick look on the internet at the possibilities for visiting other islands, and without even thinking about it, we headed to the town of Nidri in Lefkada, from where we boarded a ferry to this hidden gem in the Ionian Sea - the island of Meganisi.

A curious fact about Meganisi Island is that every summer a large number of cultural events are organized to attract more foreign tourists. One of the most famous "fests" is the "Sardine Festival". In addition to it, you can visit many folklore performances, theater performances, musical and sports events and many more different events. The cultural life of Meganisi Island in the summer is extremely rich!

In the photo above you can see the ferry that took us to this wonderful place. On the way back to Lefkada, it was full of students who seemed to be studying in schools on the island of Lefkada, although we also saw a school on Meganisi, it might have been just a primary school. While I was contemplating them, I kept thinking, how cool is it to live in such a heavenly place and instead of a crowded and smelly city bus, to get to school by ferry that crosses an incredibly beautiful area? Well, for sure for these children this is everyday life and not as "alien" as for me, but why not dream? It sounds very nice! And I would go to work with more desire if I had to get on a ferry every morning that crosses such beautiful islands!

As soon as we got off the ferry, we set off on the first paved path we saw. We walked for about 10 minutes, but the higher we climbed, the more breathtaking the view that opened up before our unexpected gaze became.

The picturesque streets of Meganisi Island are extremely colorful and consist of scattered small village houses built of solid stone. What is special about them is that each house has a well, which helps the residents in periods of drought. The stone houses are in perfect harmony with the incredible nature and for this reason create an even more impressive landscape of the island itself.

The colorful blinds, wooden balconies, large French windows, and bright red roofs form a fairy-tale picture that brings extraordinary tranquility and peace of mind if you contemplate it for a long time.

If you are wondering what to take home as a souvenir from this magical island, it is good to know that a very popular souvenir offered to tourists are the hand-embroidered tablecloths made by local women. Of course, interesting local foods and magnets always remain a great option for a small gift to take home to our loved ones as a souvenir of our trip.

The island also has many beautiful churches in traditional style. The monastery of Agios Ioannis or Saint John the Baptist, which I unfortunately did not manage to see, is of exceptional charm. It was built on a rocky beach in the western part of Meganisi Island, and it is believed that this happened as early as 1477 BC. It is believed that the holy place was destroyed by raids by pirates who threw the icon of Saint John the Baptist into the sea, but later, entangled in fishing nets, it was discovered by a local fisherman. In 1800, the monk Ioannis Patrikis made a huge donation that served for the complete restoration of the monastery.

It's not my style to miss uploading a photo of my favorite bougainvillea, which made the landscape of the entire island even more fabulous and incredibly beautiful. This plant is extraordinary, I'm in love with it! I tried to "grow" it at my villa, but unfortunately it's located in the mountains and because of the climate, I didn't succeed, but whenever I can, I wholeheartedly admire this beautiful plant, which is extremely common in our southern neighbors.

You can't help but agree that the view from the above photo is breathtaking, right? It was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen in my entire life! A true fairy tale! I couldn't even believe that I wasn't looking at a picture from a travel guide, and this incredible landscape was really before my eyes! The magical view is of the island of Skorpios, which I told you about, and of course the largest island in the area - Lefkada, which is a beloved place by many Bulgarians. Lefkada is one of the relatively easily accessible Greek islands for our people. The distance from the Kulata - Promahon border crossing to the island of Lefkada is about 500km, but it's easy to travel, since the road is entirely a highway. Lefkada is among the few Greek islands that can be reached entirely by car without the need to use water transport.

Meganisi Island has amazing beaches with bright blue water and incredibly lush greenery. We visited a beach located near the ferry port of Spartochori. From the photo you can see for yourself how sparkling blue the water is. Simply unique!

The most beautiful beach on Meganisi island, according to tourist guides, is Amogolosa. It is a very long and narrow strip, dotted with pebbles. From the beach there is a beautiful view of the charming islet of Tilia.

Other popular beaches on the island are Ai Giannis, Elia, Pasoumaki, Spilia, Atherinos, Limonari and Ampelakia. The beaches on Meganisi are rocky or with small pebbles, which is the main reason for the color of the water along the entire coast. It is clear that many people are attracted to a particular beach because of the fine sand, but here the attraction is the azure color of the sea and the tranquility that reigns throughout the island. This corner of paradise is known to very few tourists and there are still no crowds, like on many other beautiful islands in Greece.

Apart from the churches and the monastery I mentioned, the only other tourist attraction on Meganisi Island is the large sea cave of Papanikolis, which is surrounded by other smaller ones. The large cave can only be reached by water. It is 30 meters deep and inside it is hidden an extremely beautiful sandy beach. During World War II, the Papanikolis cave was one of the hideouts of the submarine of the same name.

The Papanikolis Cave is also reached by boats that carry out one-day excursions from Lefkada called "7 Ionian Islands". In one day, the boat passes through Porto Katsiki beach in Lefkada, the town of Fiskardo in Kefalonia, Aphales beach in Ithaca, as well as the islands of Sparti, Kastri and Madouri. These mini-cruises are best suited for people who like to swim, as in some places the boats stop further into the sea and in order to reach land, it is necessary to swim. There is a big party on the ship itself, because dance music is played and the deck turns into a daytime disco. Until last year, a one-day trip on such a boat cost 25 euros per person. For this year, prices have not been announced, but considering that not only in Greece, but everywhere, everything is getting more expensive, it is possible that the price of this excursion will increase, but it is certainly worth it.

After visiting the island, we decided to look into accommodation options for information about a possible next trip. I can assure you that you will find hotels and guesthouses for every budget. From affordable to ... totally unaffordable, but extremely modern and offering amenities even for the most sophisticated taste. In the circle of jokes, I would say that the expensive villas are for people who are the target group of the future complex on the island of Skorpios. God bless everyone!

The typical architecture, the smiling inhabitants, the extremely peaceful way of life, the azure sea and the incredible nature are the main reasons I give you to visit the wonderful island of Meganisi. I guarantee you that you will be enchanted and will want to come back!