Catamaran CharterGreece
— Route · 14 days · one-way
Catamaran charter route · Ionian

Preveza
via Kefalonia & Zakynthos.

Catamaran charter Greece — 14-day Preveza, Kefalonia & Zakynthos route. Fiskardo, Argostoli, Navagio Beach across the Ionian.

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The route

Day-by-day route

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Meganisi
Day 1

Preveza → Meganisi

Off the dock at Cleopatra Marina (Preveza) and 22 nm south through the Lefkas Canal to Meganisi. Allow time for the canal bridge hourly opening, then a beam-reach run with the SW thermal.

Distance

18 NM

Sailing

~3.6h at 5 kn

Route at a glance

Best season

May – mid-October (peak Jun & Sep)

Duration

14 days · Sat – Sat

Departure

Preveza

Sailing area

Ionian

Route summary

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The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, restaurants, and route notes for every leg of the week — written by sailors who've actually run this passage.

Day 1 / 14
Meganisi
1
Day 1

Preveza → Meganisi

Start at Preveza, where the sapphire of the Ionian embrace complements Venetian elegance. Travel across the Lefkas Canal, its blue waves directing you to Meganisi, a little treasure of olive orchards and secluded coves. Anchor in Spartochori, where whitewashed homes grip cliffs and plunge into waters so pure they reflect the heavens. Under a blanket of stars, dine on bourdeto (spicy fish stew), the sea murmuring stories of old sailors.

Things to do

Climb to Spartochori for harbour panoramas

Snorkel inside the WWII Papanikolis Cave

Anchor for a long swim in Atherinos Bay

Bourdeto fish stew at a Vathy quay taverna

Sundowner cocktails on the cliffs above port

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Vathy or Spartochori town quay (small fee). Plenty of fallback bay anchorages — Atherinos and Abelike — both 4–8 m sand, sheltered from the prevailing N–NW.

Ithaka
2
Day 2

Meganisi → Ithaka

Glide east toward the fabled kingdom of Odysseus, Ithaka. Dock in Vathy, horseshoe port surrounded by cypress trees. Wander cobblestone roads to the Cave of the Nymphs, then feast at a waterfront taverna on sofrito (garlic-infused veal), as the sun sets behind the Nirito Mountains.

Things to do

Hike to the Cave of the Nymphs

Sofrito at a waterfront taverna

Walk the cobbled lanes of Vathy old town

Swim Dexa Bay where Odysseus came ashore

Sundowner over Mt Nirito ridgeline

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Vathy town quay (small fee, water/electric). Holding good in 5–8 m mud — set the anchor well as the bay is narrow. Tight in mid-August; arrive before 16:00.

Asos
3
Day 3

Ithaka → Kefalonia (Asos)

Sail south to Asos, a pastel community nestled on hill covered in pine. Anchor under the remains of a Venetian castle, its stones ablaze at evening in amber. Kayak to remote pebble beaches or traverse paths smelling of wild oregano, then rewarded with vistas of the Ionian Sea running indefinitely.

Things to do

Walk the Venetian fortress walls above Assos

Kayak to remote pebble coves

Hike the wild-oregano coastal paths

Robola wine at a hillside taverna

Sundowner from the village harbour wall

Mooring tip

Anchor in 5–8 m sand off Assos village; second-line stern-to on the small quay if room. Foulis or Fiskardo to the north as overflow if a southerly is forecast.

Asos
4
Day 4

Kefalonia (Asos) → Asos

Free day at anchor under the Venetian fortress at Assos — the limestone bowl tucked into Kefalonia's west coast that fills every aerial drone shot of the island. Stay on the hook in 5–8 m sand off the village; if the wind clocks south, shift up to Foulis or Fiskardo (5 nm north) for shelter — Assos is open to anything south. The morning's headline is the 1 nm dinghy hop south to Myrtos Beach for the limestone-cliff swim that earned Kefalonia its postcards — drop off at the small pebble landing, pick up at noon. The Venetian castle ramparts above the village were built in 1593 to control the sea lane between Lefkas and Zakynthos; the climb is 30 minutes through pine, with the panorama back over the village and across to Ithaka. The coastal trail north winds through an abandoned hamlet emptied during the 1953 earthquakes. Kreatopita meat pie in the harbour-side square at lunch from the family-run kafeneio.

Things to do

Hike the Venetian castle ramparts

Swim the limestone crescent at Myrtos

Kreatopita at a family-run kafeneio

Coastal trail to the abandoned hamlet

Sundowner in the harbour-side square

Mooring tip

Stay at anchor in 5–8 m sand off Assos. If wind clocks south, shift to Foulis or Fiskardo (5 nm north). No fuel — top up at Sami later in the week.

Lixouri
5
Day 5

Asos → Kefalonia (Lixouri)

Cross to the laid-back counterpart of Kefalonia, Lixouri. Sail by Petani Beach; around noon, the gold-glow of the cliffs. Cycle across vineyards from a slumbering harbour to Xi Beach, where warm waves meet rust-red sand. Robola wine will help you to toast the day as fiddlers perform in the square.

Things to do

Swim at gold-cliffed Petani Beach

Cycle the vineyards to Xi rust-red sand

Robola wine at the village square

Kantadores fiddlers in the evening

Walk the long Lixouri seafront

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Lixouri main quay (small fee, water/electric). Long quay, plenty of space. Argostoli town quay across the gulf is the alternative if a strong N–NW is forecast.

Zakynthos
6
Day 6

Lixouri → Zakynthos

Track the horizon toward Zakynthos, where cliffs sink into azure depths. Anchor close to the famous shipwreck shining white against azure at Navagio Beach. Join the commotion of Zante Town as evening sets, where honeyed mandolato and ouzo are served from bars covered in bougainvillea.

Things to do

Anchor at Navagio shipwreck for swimming

Mandolato and ouzo on a Zante Town terrace

Walk the Solomos Square at sunset

Pick up local nougat at a bakery

Cliff-top viewpoint at Cape Skinari

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Zakynthos Town quay (small fee, basic). Exposed S–SW — relocate to Keri Bay (8 nm S, 5–8 m sand) if a southerly is forecast. No proper marina on the island.

Zakynthos
7
Day 7

Zakynthos → Zakynthos

Free day around Zakynthos — a chance to circle the south coast and sample the highlights without committing to a long passage. Short 8 nm hops carry you down the lee shore of the island in the SW thermal: north to Cape Skinari for the Blue Caves where the sea-cleft chambers turn turquoise in mid-morning sunlight; south to Keri Bay for the warm shallow lagoon that Marathonisi islet shelters from the open sea. Marathonisi sits inside the National Marine Park boundary — anchor only outside the buoyed turtle-nesting zone, and the loggerhead Caretta caretta sightings come most reliably between 09:00 and 11:00 when the turtles surface for breath in calm water. Keri Bay overnight on 5–8 m sand, holding good, sheltered from N–NW; Vromi viewpoint cliff hike at sundown for the panorama back across to Kefalonia. Saganaki — pan-fried kefalotyri cheese flamed with lemon — at any cliffside taverna for dinner.

Things to do

Snorkel the Blue Caves at Cape Skinari

Anchor in Keri's warm lagoon shallows

Spot loggerhead turtles around Marathonisi

Saganaki at a cliffside taverna

Cliff hike at Vromi viewpoint

Mooring tip

Anchor in Keri Bay (5–8 m sand, holding good) for a quiet overnight, or back to Zakynthos Town quay. Marathonisi is a marine park — anchor only outside the buoyed turtle zone.

Sami
8
Day 8

Zakynthos → Kefalonia (Sami)

Thirty-eight nautical miles north back across the open Ionian — the longest crossing of the route. Cast off by 08:00 to put the bow on Sami before the SW thermal hardens above 18 kn in the early afternoon; a beam reach the whole way in steady wind is the textbook day. Sami sits halfway up Kefalonia's east coast, the working ferry port for the Patras run with a long quay (small fee, water and electric, fuel adjacent) that handles charter berthing the easy way. Refuel here — the next fuel dock on the route is back at Preveza. The Captain Corelli waterfront is the one Hollywood rebuilt for the 2001 Penelope Cruz film; the houses along the front are mostly the film-set replicas, which is its own piece of recent island history. Kayak the 1 nm into Melissani Cave, the sinkhole lake roofed by limestone — the noon sun-shaft turns the water electric-blue. Antisamos Beach 2 km north is the cinematic crescent for the swim. Drogarati Cave 3 km inland is the optional drive.

Things to do

Kayak into the sunlit Melissani Cave

Lounge on cinematic Antisamos Beach

Walk Sami's Captain Corelli waterfront

Visit nearby Drogarati Cave (drive)

Refuel at the Sami fuel dock

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Sami main quay (small fee, water/electric, fuel available). Long quay, easy berthing. Sheltered from N–NW. Holding good in 5–8 m mud at the anchorage just east.

Fiscardo
9
Day 9

Sami → Fiscardo

Twelve nautical miles north up the lee shore of Kefalonia onto Fiskardo — the only village on the island to escape the catastrophic 1953 earthquake that flattened the rest of the northern peninsula. The pastel neoclassical mansions on the inner quay survived where everywhere else collapsed, and the result is the most photographed harbour in the Ionian. The town quay is free but fills hard in summer — radio Port Police on Ch 12 before 13:00, or fall back to the anchorage in Foulis Bay (4–6 m sand, holding good, 1 nm east). Walk the cypress-lined quay before lunch; Emplisi Cove a short climb north is the smooth-pebble swim with a small wreck snorkel just offshore. Bakaliaros — salt cod fried in a light batter with garlic-and-potato skordalia — at any waterfront taverna is the local plate. Sundowner up at Tselenti or Lagoudera above the harbour as the yachts glow gold against the cypress.

Things to do

Walk the cypress-lined Fiskardo quay

Snorkel at Emplisi Cove pebbles

Bakaliaros (salt cod) on the waterfront

Sundowner above the harbour at Tselenti

Dinghy snorkel of the cove's shipwreck

Mooring tip

Fiskardo: stern-to on the town quay (free, fills by 14:00 in August — radio ahead). Foulis Bay 1 nm east is the overflow anchorage — 4–6 m sand, holding good.

Astakos
10
Day 10

Fiscardo → Astakos

Twenty-two nautical miles east across the channel onto Astakos — the working fishing harbour on the Akarnanian mainland, set under low limestone hills that shelter the bay from the prevailing N–NW. The name in Greek means lobster, and the harbour's identity has been the same for centuries: a quay full of working caïques, a tamarisk-shaded plateia of one-table ouzeria, and a quietness that the Lefkas-bound charter route mostly skips. Stern-to on the town quay (free, basic) by mid-afternoon; the holding is fair on 4–6 m mud and weed, set the anchor well and double-check the bite before paying out the chain. The walk past olive farms to Kounina Beach takes 25 minutes south of the village; the sea there is shallow and warm with no shade, so go early. Revithada — chickpea stew slow-baked overnight in a clay pot — at the family taverna near the quay is the local plate; thyme honey from the village shop travels well. Sundowner under the tamarisks.

Things to do

Walk past olive farms to Kounina Beach

Revithada lunch with quayside fishermen

Watch the day's catch come in at the harbour

Buy thyme honey from the village shop

Sundowner under the tamarisk trees

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Astakos town quay (free, basic). Holding fair on 4–6 m mud and weed — set the anchor well. Sheltered from N–NW; quiet overnight, occasional gusts off the mountains.

Kastos
11
Day 11

Astakos → Kastos

Eight nautical miles south-southwest across the channel onto Kastos — a sliver of an island, 5 km long, fewer than 50 year-round residents, one quay and an interior of olive terraces. The single port quay holds 8–10 boats stern-to with own anchor (free, no services); arrive before 18:00 in season as the slot count is tight, and the holding is fair on 5–7 m sand — drop the hook well clear of the rocky lip and back in carefully. The donkey path from the harbour climbs to Kastos Village in 20 minutes, past abandoned stone windmills on the ridge that catch the afternoon W thermal the same way they did when they ground the island's flour two centuries ago. Sarakiniko Bay 1 nm south is the day-anchor swim — pebble shore, no road access, no tavernas, the stillness that makes you check the engine just to be sure it's on. The Blue Cave on the south coast is a short tender ride for the snorkel. Homemade lemonade in fig-tree shade on the harbour for the afternoon.

Things to do

Anchor & swim in Sarakiniko Bay

Climb to the abandoned stone windmills

Homemade lemonade in fig-tree shade

Walk the donkey path to Kastos Village

Snorkel the Blue Cave on the south side

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Kastos Port single quay (free, no services). Tight — 8–10 boats max. Holding fair on 5–7 m sand, drop anchor well clear and back in. Bombproof in any wind.

Kalamos
12
Day 12

Kastos → Kalamos

Four nautical miles east drops you onto Kalamos — a pine-clad sister to Kastos with mountain pines that come right down to the waterline and a single small port at the southwest tip. The crossing is usually under engine, the channel sheltered enough that the wind rarely fills before mid-afternoon. Stern-to on the Port Kalamos quay (small fee, basic services, 12 boats max) by mid-afternoon; holding excellent on 5–8 m sand off the bay if the quay fills. The headline walk inland is the abandoned Kastro village above the port — emptied during the 1953 earthquakes when the residents who had not already left for Australia gave up the goat tracks for the cities. Stone houses still stand roofless, the church still locked. The pine path from the harbour to Episkopi cove on the south coast takes 40 minutes one way past the church of Episkopi and a string of unmarked swim coves. Savoro fish — fried small fish marinated overnight in vinegar and rosemary — at the harbour taverna for dinner. Sundowner over to ghost-port Leone on the dinghy.

Things to do

Paddle to Kalamos Beach pebbles

Hike to deserted Kastro village ruins

Savoro fish at the harbour taverna

Walk the pine path to Episkopi cove

Dinghy across to ghost-port Leone

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Port Kalamos single quay (small fee, basic). Limited slots — 12 boats max. Holding excellent on 5–8 m sand. Sheltered from N–NW; gusty afternoons in the channel.

Preveza
13
Day 13

Kalamos → Preveza

Twenty-eight nautical miles north up the inner channel back to Preveza — the long delivery leg that closes the route. Mytikas Beach on the mainland coast is the morning swim stop, a golden sand bay with a small village taverna behind the dunes; Paxos sits 60 nm west and is well out of range for the day. The Lefkas Canal bridge opens on the hour every hour — plan the timing so the bow points north under the bridge by 14:00 in season, queue early in August. Cleopatra Marina (lazy lines, full services, fee, fuel adjacent) is the technical hand-back base on the Preveza-side bank — refuel at the on-quay fuel dock before 18:00 and confirm the clean-time with the base manager for the morning. Restock provisions in Preveza Town across the channel via the marina shuttle. Walk the Venetian-arched old town before dinner; moussaka and retsina at a marina taverna for the last-night plate. Final ouzo on the sea wall as the canal lights come up.

Things to do

Last swim at Mytikas Beach golden sand

Restock provisions in Preveza Town

Moussaka and retsina at a marina taverna

Walk Preveza's Venetian-arched old town

Refuel at the Cleopatra Marina fuel dock

Mooring tip

Berth back at Cleopatra Marina (lazy lines, full services, fee). Allow time for the canal bridge — opens on the hour, queue early in August. Refuel before the technical hand-back.

Preveza
14
Day 14

Preveza → Preveza

Final morning at Cleopatra Marina — the technical hand-back is straightforward when the fuel slot and clean-time were sorted the evening before. Boat back by 09:00 Saturday for the marineros' inspection, papers signed at reception. The marina sits across the channel from Preveza Town on the Aktion peninsula; the marina shuttle runs every 20 minutes to Pantokratoras Street in the old town if the airport transfer leaves time for breakfast. Greek coffee on Pantokratoras with a kourabies almond biscuit is the local morning. Walk the cobblestone old town past the Venetian arched gateway and the 17th-century bell tower; the Saturday market sells thyme honey and oregano from the Akarnanian hills. Monolithi Beach 5 km south is the last swim if the bus-and-taxi schedule allows. Aktion PVK airport is a 5-minute taxi from the marina gate — the most convenient transfer of any Ionian base. Disembark with sea-stiff hair and the long memory of pine on a hillside above an inner blue.

Things to do

Greek coffee on Pantokratoras Street

Walk Preveza's cobblestone old town

Pick up local thyme honey at the market

Last swim at Monolithi beach to the south

Transfer to Aktion PVK airport (~5 min taxi)

Mooring tip

Return to Cleopatra Marina Friday by 18:00 for technical hand-back; sleep aboard, disembark Saturday by 09:00. Direct taxi or shuttle to Aktion PVK airport on the same peninsula.

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