Your Ionian adventure starts here

Your two-week sailing holiday begins at Gouvia Marina, home of Bob’s Yachts and your gateway to the Ionian.

Step aboard, unpack, familiarise yourself with your yacht and start settling into life afloat. Provisions disappear into cupboards, bags get stowed away and the cockpit suddenly becomes your new living room.

You can spend your first evening relaxing and eating at the marina, wander into nearby Kontokali or take the opportunity to explore Corfu Town with its historic streets, old fortress, cafés and waterfront.

Then head back to your yacht. Tomorrow morning, you cast off.

Ease into your first day on the water

Leave Gouvia behind and begin your journey south along Corfu’s eastern coastline, but there’s no need to make your first day a marathon.

Instead, settle into the yacht, get everyone back into the rhythm of sailing and enjoy the views as you make your way down the island.

Today’s destination is Petriti, a traditional fishing village on Corfu’s southeast coast. It is wonderfully laid-back.

Fishing boats share the harbour with visiting yachts, tavernas sit beside the waterfront and life moves at a noticeably slower pace.

Anchor out or moor up, head ashore and find somewhere for dinner beside the water. It’s a gentle first step into your two-week adventure.

Island life begins…

Wake up in Petriti, have breakfast and set sail south towards Paxos. Your destination is Lakka, tucked into a beautiful natural bay at the northern end of the island.

The approach is one of the highlights. Green hills surround clear blue-green water, yachts sit peacefully and the small village lies at the end of the bay. Once you’re settled in, there is very little you actually need to do.

Swim from the yacht. Take the dinghy ashore. Explore the village. Find a café. Enjoy a leisurely lunch. Or simply stay aboard and appreciate where you are.

In the evening, head ashore for dinner around the harbour before returning to the yacht. This is exactly what Ionian island life should feel like.

One day – two completely different Ionian experiences

This could easily become one of the days everyone talks about when you get home.

Leave Lakka and sail south past Paxos towards Antipaxos, aiming for one of its beautiful bays and drop anchor in the extraordinarily clear blue and turquoise water.

Then stop. Swim. Snorkel. Have lunch aboard. Jump back into the water. And just enjoy being there.

It is difficult to imagine a better example of why exploring the Greek islands by yacht feels so different from an ordinary holiday.

Later, continue east towards the Greek mainland and Parga. The contrast couldn’t be greater.

After spending the middle of the day swimming in a beautiful island bay, you arrive at a colourful mainland town climbing the hillside above the sea beneath its historic castle. Head ashore and explore the streets, waterfront, cafés and restaurants.

Time to head farther south…

This is where your two-week itinerary really begins to separate itself from a one-week holiday.

Instead of turning back towards Corfu, keep heading south, leaving Parga and enjoying a longer day on the water as you sail towards Lefkada.

Longer passages are part of the attraction of a two-week charter. There is time to settle into the sailing, find your rhythm as a crew and enjoy several uninterrupted hours on the water.

Eventually you’ll approach Lefkada and make your way through the canal towards Lefkada Town.

After several nights in smaller villages and harbours, the town provides a completely different atmosphere, with a busy waterfront, shops, cafés and plenty of restaurants. It is also an ideal opportunity to top up your provisions before heading farther into the southern Ionian.

Escape to one of the Ionian’s quieter islands

Leave Lefkada and sail towards Kalamos. This is another change of pace.

Kalamos is a steep, green island dominated by pine-covered slopes and is noticeably quieter than many of the better-known Ionian destinations. Its small harbour is a popular stop for visiting yachts, but the island retains an wonderfully unspoilt feel.

There are no grand attractions you need to tick off here. And that’s really the point.

Walk through the village, find somewhere for a drink, enjoy a simple meal and appreciate the feeling that you have sailed somewhere just a little bit removed from everything else.

A tiny island, a spectacular swim and an unforgettable arrival

This is another potential contender for the best day of the holiday.

Leave Kalamos and set sail towards Ithaca, breaking up the journey with a stop at the small island of Atokos.

Largely undeveloped, Atokos makes a wonderful daytime swimming stop and you may even get to see the famous Mediterranean black pigs that wander the shoreline.

Later, continue towards Kioni on the northeast coast of Ithaca. And what an arrival.

The village sits around a beautiful natural harbour with traditional houses climbing into the green hills behind it and yachts scattered around the bay.

Find your place for the evening, head ashore and explore. Then choose a taverna overlooking the water. This is one of those evenings when being on your own yacht feels particularly special.

From Ithaca to Kefalonia

Today your destination is Fiskardo. Surrounded by wooded hills and colourful waterfront buildings, Fiskardo is one of the best-known harbour destinations in the Ionian.

The harbour can be lively with visiting yachts, which is part of the attraction. After the quieter atmosphere of Kalamos and Kioni, Fiskardo gives you somewhere with a little more buzz.

Secure the yacht, step ashore and explore the waterfront. Find somewhere for dinner. Order a drink.

Then look back across the harbour at the yachts and remind yourself how far you’ve already sailed from Corfu. And you’re only just over halfway through the holiday.

Turn north – but there’s still a long way to go

Today you begin gradually making your way north again. Leave Fiskardo and head back across the central Ionian towards Meganisi.

Meganisi is a wonderful island to explore by yacht because its coastline is cut into a succession of bays and inlets. The green landscape runs almost to the water and there are plenty of tempting opportunities to stop for a swim before deciding where to spend the night.

Depending on conditions and what your crew wants, you might head for somewhere such as Vathy or Spartochori, or choose another suitable anchorage.

You’ve now been living aboard for more than a week. Everyone knows where everything is. Mooring has become a team effort. Breakfast in the cockpit feels completely normal, and nobody is thinking very much about life back home.

Time to turn back towards mainland Greece

Leave Meganisi and head north towards Preveza. Today’s sail takes you back towards mainland Greece and one of the Ionian’s established sailing centres.

Preveza sits at the entrance to the Amvrakikos Gulf and offers marinas, town-quay options, and a lively town immediately behind the waterfront.

After several days among the islands, it is another interesting change.

Head ashore and wander through the narrow streets. Find one of the town’s tavernas. Sit outside a café. Or simply enjoy watching the waterfront come alive as the evening begins.

Preveza is also an excellent point to regroup before one of the longer sailing passages of the trip. Tomorrow you head back towards Paxos.

A proper day under sail

Today is one of the longer passages of your two-week itinerary.

Leave Preveza and set your course north towards Paxos. This is a day for enjoying the yacht. There is distance to cover, so settle in, trim the sails and enjoy the feeling of travelling properly under your own steam.

Eventually, Paxos appears ahead. But rather than returning to Lakka, where you stayed on the outward journey, this time head towards Gaios, the island’s main town.

The approach is memorable, with the harbour protected by the long narrow island of Agios Nikolaos and the waterfront gradually revealing itself as you make your way in.

After a good day’s sailing, arriving somewhere as attractive as Gaios feels particularly satisfying. Secure the yacht. Stretch your legs. Then find somewhere for a well-earned dinner.

Heading back to the mainland

Wake up on Paxos and enjoy breakfast aboard before heading north-east towards mainland Greece. Your destination is Sivota, surrounded by small green islands, sheltered bays and clear Ionian water.

Depending on the weather and what sort of evening you fancy, you can choose between heading into the town or finding a quieter nearby anchorage. Either way, it is a wonderful place to spend one of the final evenings of the trip. By this point there is no urgency.

You’ve travelled a long way. You’ve seen a huge variety of the Ionian. And you still have two days of sailing left.

Head ashore, find a waterfront taverna and enjoy.

One final crossing – and back to Corfu

Leave mainland Greece behind and set sail across the Corfu Channel towards Ay Stefanos on Corfu’s northeast coast.

It is a beautiful final stretch, with the green hills of Corfu ahead of you and the dramatic mountains of Albania rising across the water.

Tucked into a sheltered bay, Ay Stefanos is one of northeast Corfu’s most appealing little harbours. Waterfront tavernas line the bay, fishing boats bob beside visiting yachts, and the whole place has the relaxed, unhurried feel that makes this corner of Corfu so special.

After almost two weeks of travelling, it is a wonderfully peaceful place for your final night away from Gouvia.

Head ashore. Choose a table beside the water. Raise a glass to the islands, harbours and miles you’ve sailed. And try not to spend too much of the evening discussing the fact that tomorrow is the last day.

One last sail along beautiful north east Corfu

If a sailing holiday has to finish, this isn’t a bad way to do it.

Head south along one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline on Corfu. You will pass the bays and villages of north east Corfu.

Stop somewhere beautiful for lunch. Have one final swim. Sit in the cockpit and soak up the view.

Then point your bow towards Gouvia.

Arrive back with favourite places, favourite meals, favourite sailing days, hundreds of photographs and, quite possibly, a conversation already underway about where you’re all going sailing next year.

A two-week yacht charter from Corfu isn’t simply twice the length of a one-week holiday. It opens up a much bigger part of the Ionian.

There is time to sail farther, time to experience longer passages, time to visit smaller islands, time to stop somewhere simply because you like the look of it, and time to enjoy the journey rather than just the destination.

This itinerary gives you an extraordinary variety of places.

The traditional fishing village of Petriti, the beautiful natural harbour of Lakka, the turquoise water of Antipaxos, the colourful mainland town of Parga, the livelier waterfront of Lefkada, the quiet island atmosphere of Kalamos, a swim stop beside tiny Atokos, the beautiful harbour at Kioni, and the buzz of Fiskardo.

And don’t forget the green bays of Meganisi, the waterfront streets of Preveza, a second taste of Paxos in Gaios the sheltered waters around Sivota, and finally, Ay Stefanos and the spectacular northeast coast of Corfu.

But the destinations are only part of the experience.

It’s breakfast in the cockpit. Swimming before lunch. The day when the wind is just right and nobody wants to stop sailing. The unexpected bay that wasn’t on your itinerary. The first cold drink after a longer passage. Sitting outside late into the evening because nobody wants the day to end. And waking up the next morning knowing there is another island or harbour waiting for you.

That’s what turns an itinerary into a sailing holiday. And with two weeks available, you have much more time to enjoy it.

This is a suggested sailing itinerary, not a fixed route or navigational guide.

Your actual itinerary should always take account of current weather and sea conditions, your sailing experience, the capabilities of your crew, local harbour and anchorage conditions and appropriate up-to-date charts and pilot information.

Love somewhere? Stay longer. See a beautiful bay? Stop. Fancy a quieter day? Change the plan. Want more sailing? Go farther.

Some of the passages in this itinerary are longer than those on our one-week route, particularly as you travel farther south and then begin your journey back towards Corfu.

Not sure how long to charter for?

Our One-Week Ionian Sailing Itinerary from Corfu is ideal if you want to explore Corfu, Paxos, Antipaxos and the nearby Greek mainland while keeping most sailing distances relatively manageable.

Whichever you choose, the best itinerary is the one that suits you, your crew and the sort of sailing holiday you want.

Choose your yacht, gather your crew and start imagining your own two-week sailing adventure from Corfu.

Discover Our Fleet or Contact Us to discuss your dream two-week Corfu sailing holiday.

Tell us when you’d like to sail, who is coming with you and what kind of holiday you have in mind, and we’ll help you take it from there.

Whichever you choose, the best itinerary is the one that suits you, your crew and the sort of sailing holiday you want.