A spin around Λευκάδα/Lefkada
It’s hard to put into words how pretty Lefkada is. It is mountainous and has other small islands dotted off the coast. The island is 35km long and 15km wide, yet its highest peak is Stavrota, at 1,158m. For perspective, Snowdon is 1,085m and Carrauntoohil is 1,038m, so you can imagine how dramatic the mountains look here on a relatively small island!
It’s surprisingly green, perhaps because of the height of the hills and mountains? Perhaps because of the winter weather which brings plenty of rain? The seawater is crystal clear aquamarine. Lefkada is a popular spot for sailing so there are boats of all sizes moored at the water’s edge round the island. Beehives are a frequent sight on the sides of the hills and every village we passed through featured stands selling honey and related items.
To be honest, it was a bit hairy at times driving up the steep, winding roads in a motorhome. Mostly, the mountain roads had good surfaces but, when it came to the mountain villages, the houses were built right on both sides of the narrow road, leaving no possibility of road widening. We were lucky we weren’t trying to drive these roads at the height of the season. Because it was October, we more or less had the roads to ourselves. Unlike Spain and Portugal, vans and motorhomes are few and far between in Greece.
We stopped at this spot below for a break and to admire the view. Take a look at this for spectacular coastline.
It took us a bit over an hour to drive up into the mountains and back down over the other side, to reach the most incredibly stunning beach at the end of our drive, Porto Katsiki.
Our van is at the top of that cliff 😎
As a reward at the top of the climb back up, we stopped for frappés and slushies – costing the same as a full dinner anywhere else 😮 But it was a lovely treat and we made sure to enjoy it!
After that, it was time to hit the road and depart Lefkada – but we will definitely be back!. It took about an hour and a half to drive up the western coast of Lefkada, completing our grand tour of Lefkada, but only getting a tantalizing first taste of what the island has to offer.
Here’s what Sunday’s trip around Lefkada looked like;
from Desimi Beach in the south east, to Porto Katsiki beach in the south west, and then hugging the west coast all the way back up to Lefkada town. That’s about 95km of a drive, although it takes longer than you might expect, due to the 3.5t vehicle and the mountain roads!
