Ithaca is a small, mountainous island in the Ionian Sea, famous as the mythical home of Odysseus. Whether Homer's hero actually lived here is debatable, but the island has been trading on the connection for centuries — and it works. The landscape is dramatic: steep green hillsides dropping to tiny coves with water so clear it hardly looks real.
The island is far quieter than neighbouring Kefalonia, which is part of its charm. Vathy, the capital, sits at the end of a deep natural harbour and has a relaxed, almost sleepy atmosphere with a handful of waterfront tavernas. The west coast has a few beaches reachable by boat or on foot, and the interior is good for walking through olive groves and cypress forests.
The villages of Kioni and Frikes on the north coast are picture-perfect — whitewashed houses around small harbours, a few good tavernas, almost no traffic. Inland, the old hill village of Anogi has the island's strangest landscape: a high plateau scattered with enormous limestone boulders.
Ferries run from Kefalonia and from the mainland ports of Patras and Astakos. Most visitors come for a few quiet days of swimming, eating, and doing very little — which is exactly what Ithaca is for.