Kastos
3.0/5A narrow car-free ridge of olive groves off Lefkada — one village, many anchorages
3.0on its own→4.1with the Inner IonianThe harbour and village, the windmill walk, and a swim at Sarakiniko.
Part of the Inner Ionian
These are hopping islands, not destinations. Based in Lefkada with a boat or the local ferries, the three of them together make one of the best low-key weeks in Greece.
Base4.0Lefkada4 daysWhy 3.0: some of the best sailing water in Greece and nothing you need a car for — but there is no nightlife at all and the beaches are ordinary.
Kastos is a long, thin sliver of an island in the Inner Ionian, east of Lefkada and Meganisi — barely 800 metres wide and home to only a few dozen year-round residents. There are no cars: a single stone path runs the length of the ridge past old olive groves and a restored windmill to one small village above the harbour. It has long been a favourite of sailors, who anchor in its quiet bays, and of walkers who want nothing more than olive shade, clear water and a taverna at dusk. Beaches are few and pebbly, reached on foot or by dinghy.
Good for
- Sailors — quiet anchorages the length of the island and yachts tied stern-to in the small harbour
- Walkers who travel light — no cars, one stone path along the ridge past olive groves to a restored windmill
- Anyone happy to hire an outboard in Mytikas — around €100 a day, and no boat licence needed
Maybe skip if
- If beaches are the point — Kastos has a couple of pebble coves, reached on foot or by dinghy
- If you want anything after dinner — one village, a couple of tavernas and no nightlife at all
Getting there
No airport. A small local ferry links Kastos with Mytikas on the mainland (and neighbouring Kalamos) daily; many visitors arrive by yacht. Service is limited and weather-dependent off-season.
Tip: Car-free and tiny — pack light and plan to walk everywhere on the stone path.
Best time to visit Kastos
A summer and sailing-season island — tavernas and rooms open roughly May to September, busiest when the yacht flotillas pass through in July and August. May, June and September are quietest and best for walking the ridge.
Top beaches of Kastos
Agios Aimilianos
The best beach on Kastos, up at the northern end and named after the little chapel above it. Pebbles, deep clear water, and a view straight across the channel to Kalamos. Sheltered, silent, and usually empty — the walk out is half the reward.
- Type
- Pebble and shingle
- Length
- 90 m
- Depth
- Medium — clear and calm
- Wind
- Avoid visiting when the wind blows from the north to east at over 4 Bft. Northeast-facing — mostly sheltered from the afternoon maïstros (NW breeze); usually calm
- Facilities
- None — a chapel, a few olive trees for shade, and nothing else. Walk up the island or come round by boat.
Diama
Bright pebbles and water clear enough to count the stones under a moored boat, with the olive ridge rising behind. Closer to the village than Agios Aimilianos and just as quiet, though a little more open to the wind. Nothing built here and no shade, so bring water.
- Type
- White pebble
- Length
- 120 m
- Depth
- Deep — glass-clear, drops away quickly
- Wind
- Avoid visiting when the wind blows from the northeast to southeast at over 5 Bft. East-facing — sheltered from the Ionian's afternoon maïstros (NW breeze); typically calm all day
- Facilities
- None at all. Reached on foot from the village along the stone path, or by dinghy — most people arrive by boat.
1-day itinerary for Kastos
Read the day-by-day plan on its own page →
Day 1: Harbour, Windmill & a Quiet Bay
- 09:00 · Rent a boat in Mytikas
The best way to do these islands is to skip the timetable and drive yourself. Nemo Rent a Boat and others on the Mytikas quay hire small outboards for around €100 a day, plus roughly €50 of fuel — and no boat licence is needed, an ordinary car licence is enough. The distances here are tiny, so with an early start and a calm forecast you can take in Kalamos, Kastos and a string of empty coves in a single day. Watch the wind: the afternoon breeze gets up, so plan to be back before it does. Riding your own boat between these islands is the thing people remember from the trip. Rather not skipper? A local ferry leaves Mytikas daily for Kalamos (about half an hour) and Kastos (about an hour).
- 11:00 · Kastos harbour & village
The single settlement climbs from a small harbour where yachts tie up stern-to. A couple of tavernas, a church, a shop, and a stone path instead of a road — the whole of island 'traffic'.
- 🍴 Stop for lunch · Kastos harbour — see Eat & Drink below
- 12:30 · The Windmill
A restored stone windmill on the ridge south of the village, an easy walk through olive groves with sea on both sides. One of the classic Inner Ionian views.
- 14:00 · Sarakiniko bay
A sheltered pebble cove on the south of the island, a favourite anchorage with water clear enough to see the anchor on the bottom. Reached on foot or by dinghy; no facilities.
- 16:00 · Atokos — swim with the wild boars
If the sea is glass, push on to Atokos, the uninhabited island southwest of Kastos. Its beach is one of the strangest and best in Greece: you swim, and the island's wild boars wander down to the shoreline beside you. There is nothing else here — no water, no shade, no people, no phone signal. Bring everything you need, and only attempt the crossing in a flat calm.