Table of contents

• Motorcycle tour Greece Ionian Islands Island ride on Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaca
• Arrival by ferry or via the Balkans
• Information about the motorcycle tour Ionian Islands

Dirk Schafer

21 pictures

Dirk Schafer

1/21
Ithaca: Sure, Odysseus wanted to come back here! The bay of Filiatro invites you to take a spontaneous swim.

Dirk Schafer

2/21
Kefalonia: joyful drive from the beach towards Agia Paraskevi on a legal slope.

Dirk Schafer

3/21
Lefkada: Spontaneously camping with friends? Possible here at Ammoglossa not far from Lefkada city.

Dirk Schafer

4/21
In Sami on Kefalonia the big ferry to Ithaka will soon leave.

Dirk Schafer

5/21
Ouzo: Comes from Lesbos, but is ubiquitous on Lefkada too.

Dirk Schafer

6/21
Coffee enjoyment right on the promenade of Assos on Kefalonia.

Dirk Schafer

7/21
Hohenstrabe near Porto Katsiki on Lefkada: great way to end the day.

Dirk Schafer

8/21
Is there anything better than coastal roads? Mountainous, winding coastal roads?

Dirk Schafer

9/21
The shell-shaped bay of Agios Nikitas passes by, then the long golden yellow beach of Milos.

Dirk Schafer

10/21
The bikes push behind the cypress trellises by Fiskardo
neatly through the swarm of curves.

Dirk Schafer

11/21
Short wow stop on the cliff overlooking Myrtos Bay.

Dirk Schafer

12/21
Snow-white cliffs lie ahead. Between them lie lonely bays with pebble beaches at this time of year, which the sea will have turned to sand in a few thousand years.

Dirk Schafer

13/21
The choice falls on a picturesque branch on the west coast. A deep red slope with an African flair makes its way through knee-high macchia.

Dirk Schafer

14/21
The Dakar for the little man. At the end of the slope, a wide circle opens up in front of the rocky beach.

Dirk Schafer

15/21
Odysseus, why did you ever go away??

Dirk Schafer

16/21
The gravel crunches under the tires as we park the bikes on the east coast.

Dirk Schafer

17/21
With the new morning we will set sail again. The third in the island union is Ithaca.

Dirk Schafer

18/21
The old Odysseus had his home base here before he started his little sailing trip.

Dirk Schafer

19/21
There are comfort-conscious people. There are price-oriented people. Then those who leave the comfort zone for a certain period of time.

Dirk Schafer

20/21
Dirk Schafer and his friends do the latter every year.

Dirk Schafer

21/21
Last time it was an island ride on Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaca.

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Motorcycle tour Greece Ionian Islands

Motorcycle tour Greece Ionian Islands
Island ride on Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaca

The annual Father’s Day outing with the buddies is coming up. We do it every year. Much is different this time. Not only because the travel issue divides our travel group. Zeus, the father of the gods, also wants to have a say and brings a few surprises along the way. A not everyday island ride.

Dirk Schafer

07/05/2021

There are comfort-conscious people. There are price-oriented people. Then those who leave the comfort zone for a certain period of time. My best buddies are among the latter. But that seems to be changing now. At least for some. How else would we have gotten into such a situation? The deeply staggered mountain ranges behind Igoumenitsa are flooded by an orange-colored sun and the shadows that were just on the houses of the port city are pushed back by it.

Arrival by ferry or via the Balkans

The runs in slow motion “Olympic Express” to the quay wall. Shortly afterwards, I roll off board with the KTM. My helmet dangles from the Ortliebtasche, the airstream gently caresses my face. After a few hundred meters, the Dennis Hopper feeling is over again. Not because of the Greek law enforcement officers, who interpret the helmet requirement laxly anyway, but because of the Africa Twin before the “Cafe Timo”. Guido, who wanted to travel via the Balkans, is already there and when he has “Olympic Express” came in, ordered a cappuccino for me. Splendid! “Have you heard from the others??”, I want to know and sip the milk foam. “Yes, you landed in Corfu earlier. Now all they have to do is pick up the rental car, transfer it to the mainland and drive to the island of Lefkada, which is connected to the mainland, where they can pick up their rental motorcycles.” I can’t help but laugh, Guido grins. “Yes. And because it still takes a while, I suggested that the two of us drive up to Lefkada.”

Dirk Schafer

Kefalonia: joyful drive from the beach towards Agia Paraskevi on a legal slope.

We’ll get started. Is there anything better than coastal roads? Mountainous, winding coastal roads? Passing place names and signs throw me back into history class. Hades, Styx … What happened here back then? Legends? True story? At the bridge to Lefkas, the relapse into boring school days is forgotten and the landside island trip can begin. At least for Guido and me, because our dear friends have still not arrived. Change of plan: We meet tonight at the southern end of the island, in Vasiliki. You can’t miss that and until then we will have fun on the mountainous west side of the island. We think.

The shell-shaped bay of Agios Nikitas passes by, then the long golden yellow beach of Milos. We could jump into the refreshing water. “No, let’s continue to Porto Katsiki. It’s even better there!” We surf with the two-cylinder through freaky curves, over panoramic hills, until …

The rainy season in Kenya is against a children’s birthday party

Where are these clouds suddenly coming from? From the mainland, a black wall pushes over the cliffs of the dream beach of Porto Katsiki, which spreads the South Sea feeling. Nothing will come of the beach act. But what happens next takes our breath away: Not that it starts to rain, but how it starts to rain. The beginning of the rainy season in Kenya is against a children’s birthday party. In the pounding rain Guido calls out to me: “Let’s take the shortcut to Vasiliki!” The shortcut consists of a four kilometer long, actually good slope. No problem for the enduros. Normally. We hurriedly start the descent towards Vasiliki. As far as the view through the rain wall allows a hasty driving style at all. The bikes now look like we come from Kenya.

Dirk Schafer

Short wow stop on the cliff overlooking Myrtos Bay.

But the thickest chunk is still waiting for us. Perhaps 300 meters from our meeting point in the city center, a low bridge spans a gentle stream. In the meantime, however, this has developed into a torrential flood of brown mud. The police and fire brigade have blocked the road. No getting through. But there is no rainproof shelter on our side of the tide. The next are just a stone’s throw away, on the other side. “Is there a bypass?”, we want to know. “Yes, through Lefkas”, a soaking wet firefighter gestures. What? 80 kilometers detour in this dirty weather? There must be an alternative!

A small dirt road, over which a virginal, but already deep brown brook paves its way towards the sea, is our option. Less than five minutes later we are driving through a river. To make matters worse, it’s gotten dark. Never have I held so tightly to the GPS indicator light. You hardly see where you are going. Although the dirt roads are noted in the navigation system, they are completely under water together with the adjacent fields. After the rainy season in Kenya, now comes the journey through the Amazon.

“What do you take? Ouzo? Tsipouro?”

20 minutes later we reach the dripping friends. Quickly somewhere dry! With an apologetic gesture we step into the “Dolphin”-Tavern a. We bring the flood and the soil of Lefkada to the tavern. Under the tables with their white and yellow checked tablecloths. Under the chairs with wicker seats. We leave a trail behind us like a leaky oil tanker. The innkeeper doesn’t seem to notice any of this. On the contrary: He greets us with a radiant smile, welcomes us, and says that someone will soon take care of eliminating our leaks. But we should first toast this weather. “What do you take? Ouzo? Tsipouro?”

The next morning the storm is history. Only the brown earth sauce in the otherwise turquoise harbor basin of Vasiliki reminds us of this while we squint into the midday sun on the ferry to Kefalonia. Snow-white cliffs lie ahead. Between them lie lonely bays with pebble beaches at this time of year, which the sea will have turned to sand in a few thousand years. The dear friends have dusted off Supermoto XTs. Perfect for winding Greek streets. Behind the cypress trellises by Fiskardo, the bikes push through the swarm of curves. Short wow stop on the cliff overlooking Myrtos Bay. Where are we actually today? There are enough bays. The choice falls on a picturesque branch on the west coast. A deep red slope with an African flair makes its way through knee-high macchia. In the backlight of the setting sun, we produce glow-colored fountains of dust. The Dakar for the little man. At the end of the slope, a wide circle opens up in front of the rocky beach.

Dirk Schafer

Lefkada: Spontaneously camping with friends? Possible here at Ammoglossa not far from Lefkada city.

Exactly the right place to pitch the tents. With the new morning we will set sail again. The third in the island union is Ithaca. The old Odysseus had his home base here before he started his little sailing trip. We land in Piso Aetos. The steep cliffs have barely left room for a harbor worthy of the name. The island has made a name for itself above all among dropouts and alternatives. Ecotopia is one of the projects. Since we don’t want to get off as much as we want to climb, we repeatedly screw our way up from the beaches to the numerous hills. Odysseus, why did you ever go away? The gravel crunches under the tires as we park the bikes on the east coast. A wide bay. The scent of pine trees is in the air. There is no one to be seen. The water: crystal clear, wonderfully warm. White sailors lie ahead in the bay. The first bottles of Mythos are opened. A look at the calendar: Tomorrow is Father’s Day. It can’t get any better, right?? “What are we doing tomorrow?” “Drive to the main town. After all, he’s called Vathi.” “Come to Vathi! “Is clear!” “Cheers, Vathi day!”

Information about the motorcycle tour Ionian Islands

Especially in the off-season, the Ionian islands of Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaka offer driving fun and the original Greek feeling. This no longer exists in tourist hotspots like Zakynthos.

Travel time / arrival: Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaka are part of the Ionian Islands on the west coast of Greece. They are easy to travel from spring to late autumn. Igoumenitsa as the starting point of the tour is 1700 km away from Munich by land. A number of highlights, above all the fantastic Adriatic coast, speak for this variant, which can of course already be seen as a motorcycle holiday.
Various ferry passages from Venice (24 hours) or Ancona (16 hours), on the other hand, reduce the journey kilometers considerably. This is how it works with www.minoan.gr or www.superfast.com on board (prices vary depending on the day of the week, time of year and demand). The third option is to travel by plane, for example to Preveza. We have rental motorcycles (Yamaha XT 660) on Lefkada “I love santas” borrowed (seven days with a 48 hp bike currently costs 190 euros in the low season and 210 euros in the high season).

Motorcycling / route: The roads are winding, the road condition is mediocre to good. The routes on the west side of the islands in particular are often narrow, extremely curvy and, in addition to plenty of driving pleasure, offer excellent vantage points. Although Lefkada is actually an island, it can be reached via a bridge from the mainland. Kefalonia and Ithaka can only be reached by ferry. There are numerous opportunities to be out and about away from the paved roads; Anyone who is a little considerate will be met with tolerance. Most of the time, however, nobody cares if a few tourists are out on the slopes and pulling a plume of dust behind them. We have covered a total of 687 kilometers on the islands.

Accommodation: In Vasiliki we found simple but good rooms in Kostas Studios, just above the harbor. The other nights were wild camping (is officially prohibited, but if there is no sign from the tourism authority prohibiting wild camping, it is almost always seen and tolerated very relaxed, especially in the off-season).

Activities: Lefkada City and Argostoli (Kefalonia) offer a wide range of water sports. The Melissani cave with the karst lake on Kefalonia is an attraction in itself. It is very busy in the high season. Odysseus is said to have had his home on Ithaca, and his wife Penelope waited there for him throughout his entire odyssey. If you have it with Greek mythology: Between Igoumenitsa and Lefkada you come across the rivers Acheron and Styx that lead to Hades into the mythological underworld. Great literature tip: “Corelli’s mandolin” by Louis de Bernières outlines the drama about the Italian-German occupation of the island in World War II and is very readable.

literature & Cards: Margret von Blokland: travel guide “Corfu, Ionian Islands”, Reise-Know-How-Verlag, 369 pages, 16.90 euros. Becht / gown: “Kefalonia & Ithaca”, Michael Muller-Verlag, 256 pages, 17.90 euros. “Ionian islands”, Marco Polo travel guide, travel with insider tips, 96 pages, used 2.59 euros. Claudia Christoffel-Crispin, Gerhard Crispin: “Corfu / Ionian Islands”, Polyglott on Tour (Grafe und Unzer-Verlag), with a large folding map, 160 pages, 12.99 euros. The Michelinkarte 737 “Greece” offers a good overview of the travel area.

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