July 20, 2026•6 min read•By Maurits Dierick, Charter Broker & Former Yacht Captain
Ionian Yacht Charter Itinerary: 8-Day Corfu Route (2026)
Eight days round the Ionian from Corfu: Paxos sea caves, Lefkada's calm channel, and the Homeric islands of Ithaca and Kefalonia.
Half the sailing on our Ionian week happens on two of the seven days.
Day 3 to Lefkada is 40 miles. Day 7 back up to Corfu is 65. Together that's 105 of the route's 212 nautical miles. The other five days average 21 miles each, and the hop across to Antipaxos is five miles and takes half an hour.
Total time under way across the eight days is 21.5 hours. That works out at under three hours a day, and most of it sits in those two legs.
This is the Ionian route we run from Corfu, day by day, with the anchorages and the restaurants as we plan them.
Before we dive in, it's worth noting the route below is also available as an interactive map on our Greece charter page.
Eight days, seven nights, 212 nautical miles, 21.5 hours under way. Round trip, so you fly in and out of Corfu.
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A complete day-by-day route round-trip from Corfu through Paxos, Lefkada, Ithaca and Kefalonia, with anchorages, timings and the stops we'd plan ourselves. Enter your email and we'll send the full PDF to your inbox.
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Day 1: Paxos
You board in Corfu at noon. The yacht heads south along the Corfu coastline and crosses to Paxos, a small island under olive groves.
The anchorage is Kipiadi, a silver-pebble bay. It's a swimming cove with nothing built on it.
Dinner ashore at Erimitis in Loggos, on the harbour.
Antipaxos has two well-known beaches that fill up with day boats. Your captain anchors in Rodovani Bay instead, which is a secluded inlet on the same island. The morning is swim platform and sea caves.
Late afternoon you go back to Paxos and into Gaios for dinner at Carnayo.
Passage: 0.5 hours, 5 nm. Anchorage: Rodovani Bay by day, Gaios outer anchorage overnight. Dinner: Carnayo, Gaios.
Day 3: Lefkada
Four hours, and the first long leg.
Lefkada's west coast is white cliff above deep blue water. You anchor off Mylos Beach, one of the few sands on that coast with no road to it.
In the evening a private transfer takes the group up into the mountains to Rachi, where you eat at Duende or Amente with the sun going down over the sea. It's the one dinner of the week that isn't at the waterline.
Overnight in the natural harbour at Sivota.
Passage: 4 hours, 40 nm. Anchorage: Mylos Beach by day, Sivota Bay overnight. Dinner: Duende or Amente, Rachi.
Day 4: Ithaca
Ithaca is Odysseus's island. It's quiet and green and there isn't much on it.
You anchor at Gidaki, which is another beach with no road to it. In the afternoon the yacht goes into Kioni, a village of coloured houses stepped down to the harbour, and you eat at Myrtia with the harbour in front of you.
The guided Odysseus walk is worth doing. Filiatro and Skinos bays are a tender ride away.
Then Meganisi in the afternoon, pine forest and coves, and dinner at Azur Retreat at the water's edge in Vathy. Sunset walk up to Spartochori if the group wants it.
Overnight in Abelike Bay.
Passage: 2.5 hours, 25 nm. Anchorage: One House Bay, Atokos by day, Abelike Bay overnight. Dinner: Azur Retreat, Vathy.
Day 7: Corfu
Sixty-five miles north, six and a half hours, breakfast under way.
There's a swim stop at Kalami Bay to break the passage. Late afternoon you come into Corfu, with the Venetian architecture above the old town. Dinner at Ora Day in a stone courtyard, and a guided walk through the old town if there's appetite for it.
Passage: 6.5 hours, 65 nm. Anchorage: Kalami Bay swim stop, Marina Corfu overnight. Dinner: Ora Day, Corfu Old Town.
Day 8: Corfu
Coffee on deck, goodbyes with the crew, and you disembark by noon.
The pace of the week
Not much. The longest passage is on the day you're already thinking about the flight home, and the five middle days average 21 miles. Most mornings you swim before you go anywhere, and most afternoons you're anchored by three.
If you want the week to work harder there's material: the mountain dinner on Lefkada, the Odysseus walk, the castle at Assos, kayaking at Atokos.
It tends to suit families with a range of ages, and groups who'd rather eat well and swim than cover ground. If you've done a hard Aegean week and didn't enjoy the passages, this is the alternative.
Practical notes
Round trip from Corfu. One airport, no repositioning.
The restaurants on this route sit at different registers, from Erimitis and Carnayo to a mountain table at Rachi. Your broker books them before you arrive, and in July and August that isn't optional.
