Technically Lefkada isn't an island, seeing as it can be reached by road or on foot, along a narrow strip of land joined by a 50 metre long drawbridge, but it is almost an island and ticks many of the boxes the best Greek islands should, including clear, sparkling blue seas, sandy coves and rocky cliffs and mountainous interiors lush with olives. Lafkada's towns are busier than many on the smaller islands, but the food is still very local and the lifestyle laid back; dotted between the nicely turned out hotels are the small farms, vineyears and rustic mountain villages. At one end of the island are the windsurfing centres, and one side it edged with a beautiful long ribbon of beach-y coast. Lefkada has become an easy package holiday destination because it's so close to the airport, and visitors looking for a night life with plenty of choice will be content, as will visitors looking for something quieter, because they can head for the hills and the smaller villages they'll find there. The best way to see this island is on the back of a scooter.

It was the Corinthians that dug a trench between it and the mainland in the 7th Century BC making it into an island. All the Greek islands have tales connecting them to the mythology of the past, and Lefkada is no different: Sappho, the great lyrical poet, was supposed to have thrown herself off the cliffs at Cape Lefkada, and the island is supposed to one of those visited by Odysseus, some historians believe that Lefkada was Homer's Ithaca, and the island has many grottoes and other geographic and historic nods to Aphrodite.

These days you can reach the island by bus from Athens, as well as via the nearby airport or ferry.

Written by  Jodie Kimbah.

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