Traveling: Unlocking Lefkada & Parga, Greece

August is here and so is my long awaited vacation to Greece. With the pandemic and all the instability that we have worldwide, there was a big chance of us having to cancel, yet we took the leap and it was a success. Greece never lets me down, the beautiful beaches, the shades of the water and the amazing food, makes it my favorite place in the world. 

Lefkada

Driving to Lefkada

We planned this as a road trip, we left Cluj on Friday evening, we spent one night at the Bulgarian border and then on Saturday we drove all the way to Lefkada, the island that is located in the south-western part, in the Ionian Sea. 

Our accommodation was on the west side, the more “impressive” side, in a villa near the beach. We found it to be a perfect place for us, since we had some taverns and bars within walking distance.

If there is one thing to know about Lefkada, is that the beaches are with rocks, this is also the reason the color of the water is so beautiful. Unfortunately, this also means that you need to have water shoes if you want to get near the beaches. Those little devils will still get in your shoe, yet it is a lot better than walking on the headed rocks. 

The only way of getting around the island is by car or scooter, you could also try bikes, but I wouldn’t recommend it since the hills are abrupt. It takes around 1hour to get from one place to another, even if the distances are not that big. If you plan on landing here, you will have to rent a car, and I would suggest you bring your driving skills with you, the streets are narrow and you need to know how to position your car in order to pass others. 

Food 

The Greek food is one of the best in the world, healthy and tasty. You can basically order anything from the menu and you will not be disappointed. My favorite will always be the sea food, especially on the island, from Pasta with seafood, Grilled Calamari, Grilled Octopus and shrimps, everything will enchant you. You should also try the Gyros and the Souvlaki, I prefer the chicken ones, but the pork is also very good, lamb chops are also traditional here, if you prefer the meat. The moussaka is another favorite of mine. 

If you are a vegetarian, there will be pies, vegetarian moussaka, salads and pizza that you can try, all of them are very tasty since they are made with olive oil and local herbs. 

If you are a foodie like myself, you will be in heaven here.

Beaches 

Getting to my favorite part, there are 4 beaches that I recommend you to visit while here. I will have to warn you, sometimes the access is not going to be that easy, for Egremni you will have to go down and then up 400 stairs, for Porto Katsiki you will drive on a very narrow road with a lot of turns, but it will all be worth it, when you will get there.

Things to do

Apart from visiting the beaches on your own, I would recommend a boat trip. We went on the 7 island cruise that took us around the island all the way to Kefalonia and Itaka. It’s a full day trip from Nydri and it’s nice to get to know a little about the history. I cannot say that I was impressed by the trip, but it was definitely worth it. We paid 25 euros/person without the meal since we wanted to eat in Kefalonia. You can purchase drinks on the boat and the meal is around 8 euros. 

The Nydfri waterfall is another place you can visit, you can also swim in the water. I would recommend going in the middle of the day, we went in the afternoon and we decided it was too late to get into the water.

If you are into watersports then this is the place for you, from paragliding to parasailing, paddling, canoe or anything you can think of, you can try it here. I recommend Vasiliki beach since it’s a safe haven for them. 

Parga

Often confused with Prague, Parga is a small town on the coast, 1.5 hours away from Lefkada, also in the Ionian sea. From here you can make day trips to Corfu, Paxos and Antipaxos islands, or just visit the beaches near it. 

The Venetian Castle of Parga that oversees the city is a must for the view of the harbor. Small, coquette and picturesque, I loved the chill vibe it gave me. 

We stayed in an apartment villa in Lichnos that had a pool overlooking the beach and I think this was one of the best accommodations ever. The beach is not very big and you have a few places to eat and rent sunbeds. 

We took the canoe to the caves nearby and we spent our last night at the restaurant near the beach. 

It was the perfect end to a long awaited vacation.