Frikes has always seemed the poor relative of the fancy harbor of Kioni, the premier resort of Ithaca, Greece, just around the headland. Yet in many ways, it has been spared the goldfish bowl feel of Kioni, which has a few too many middle-class Brits gazing at one another across the harbor. A one time major port for the trade of lentils and olives between Ithaca, other islands and the mainland of Greece, Frikes was a prized port for its windy location.

Attractiveness 

Frikes in north Ithaca has in recent years received a bit of a tarting up, yet still retains a pleasant mix of old and new buildings. The main village cafes and tavernas are strung along the waterfront. In the harbor, a motley collection of small fishing caiques and leisure craft bob in the shallows, often augmented by the summer armada of Flotilla yachts.

Behind this waterfront, the scene is the main houses of the village lining the two roads that lead to villages of north Ithaca, Stavros, and Platritheas. All in all, Frikes is a sleepy place to hang out where cool young Ithacans come to relax. Pull yourself up a chair, pour yourself a beer and watch the dust devils come early afternoon.

Cleanliness        

Frikes, like most villages on Ithaca, is spotlessly clean. Occasional flotsam and jetsam get washed ashore but not really enough to take note of. Local people of north Ithaca take pride in the village and there are many fine rambling bougainvillea and jasmine and other favorite plants of Greece.

Safety  

Frikes has a one-way system which keeps the passing traffic under control. The biggest things to plow through Frikes are the tour buses, local school bus or Angelos Mavrokafelos on his JCB. The harbor itself is enclosed for mooring boats and yachts, though the mid-afternoon winds can be a bit gusty.

Though there is little traffic, a torch at night time should you be walking to a villa in the surrounding countryside or to Stavros would be helpful. The port can get busy in the summer around 9 in the morning when the ferry arrives at Ithaca from Nidri on Lefkas and cars are looking to board or disembark.

Non-beach activities     

Frikes offers a good base to explore the north Ithaca, especially up towards the villages of Stavros and Platritheas. You can quickly leave the main road as you walk on the minor road to Platritheas and onto old cracked concrete roads under the shade of the olive trees. This is a thoroughly lovely part of Ithaca and the road could take you as far as Kalamos and Asphales bay or even the near-deserted village of Exoghi.

It is about an hours walk up to the present-day capital of northern Ithaca, Stavros to get a flavor of life on the island. A visit to the Stavros museum is a must and there are several good tavernas in Stavros as well.

More recently local historian of Ithaca and Greece, Denis Sikiotis, has been working to open old trails and donkey paths in north Ithaca and there is even walk that can take you around the coastline to Kioni (see Top trips page for more information on the paths). There is also an FoI self-guided trail that introduces you to this village in north Ithaca.

Greek authenticity

Frikes is as about as authentic a village as they come to Greece. Even though there are a couple of small hotels in the village, there is no sense in which Frikes runs as some cheesy tourist destination. Frikes still has a pleasant, friendly village atmosphere. There are however a bizarrely large number of cafes and tavernas in the village (as many as five – a lot when you consider the resident population is less than 50) and though occasional battles break out.

Frikes will come as a pleasant change to the more slick operations of its near neighbor on Ithaca, Kioni. Frikes also maintains a strong local influence and its one of the few places where locals and visitors really do get to know each other.

All the bays along the coastline of northern Ithaca Greece have pebbly beaches of varying size so if you want a bit of comfort, you are best off taking along a mat of some kind.

Kourvoulia beach close to Frikes, varying size pebbles along this coastline.

These series of tiny coves have been cut into the bay of Frikes and are popular with locals of north Ithaca, Greece, looking for their afternoon swim. Each one has its own charm. The ones closest to Kioni, below the village of Rachi, are the most remote, though they do tend to lose the sun in the afternoon, especially later in the season.

Why not treat yourself to the Ithaca Digital Information Pack which includes all the trails for the island, together with eight wildlife booklets. Download the Ithaca Digital Information Pack

Attractiveness 

The northeast of Ithaca has a very pretty coastline. Though none are hugely dramatic, this series of little coves offer charming and peaceful seclusion. Some are a little close to the road, however.

Cleanliness        

All of these beaches are very clean and the council seems to make an effort to keep what are ostensively the public bathing beaches as clean as possible.

Being a small island with lots of small coves, however, there does tend to be flotsam and jetsam on occasions, together with the occasional blob of oil. For that reason and the fact that all of Ithaca’s beaches are pebbly, All in all pretty clean beaches. Remember if you do get tar on your clothes, rub a cloth with a little olive oil on it to remove the stain – but remember to use plenty of soap to remove the olive oil asap!

Access 

Access to all these beaches from Frikes to Kioni can be made via the road. In some places there are steps down in others a bit of a scramble, but nothing too difficult. A great number of visitors to the north of the island hire small motor boats which enable you to explore the coastline and visit all of these coves with ease. Don’t jump out of your boat too early as you land though…some of the beaches have quite steep drop-offs.

Friends of Ithaca offer very good rates for car hire. Click here for more information. Ithaca Car Hire

Shade  

The different coves have varying degrees of shade available. Some are quite exposed with nowhere really to cool off when in full sun, others have some trees behind. Being on the east of Ithaca, all the coves along this coastline lose the sun by mid-afternoon, shaded by the steep bulk of the island behind. This is particularly true of the coves to the south.

Facilities             

There are no facilities on any of these coves, most people bringing supplies with them from either Kioni or Frikes (where there are mini-markets). It is a good idea, if you bring nothing else on your trips to these coves, to pack yourself a large bottle of water to keep you hydrated and to get rid of the salt-sea taste.

From the history of the two flanking windmills that still stand astride the mouth of this harbor to the prickly pear cactus and agaves, the trail gets you under the skin of this Greek village.

Though Frikes might appear sleepy, it has had its share of heroic history and that’s not just the Odyssey! During WWII Ithaca’s resistance fighters successfully managed to scupper the Nazis’ attempt to retreat from Ithaca and Greece, but not without the deaths of five fighters. A plaque on the harbor wall commemorates the battle.

On a lighter note, Frikes also commemorates the Raftopoulous clan, or specifically Stathis Raftopoulos, a colorful, eccentric resident of Ithaca who ended up running a chain of cinemas in Melbourne. He was also one of the few people to catch the great 1953 earthquake on film in Greece. A couple of busts erected by him (including one of Dante) can be seen on the ground floor balcony of one of the small local apartments.

If you’re spending an afternoon in the village, why not make more out of your stay with a gentle amble around town on the FoI trail. Become a member and get this trail as part of your Island Information pack. Visit the Travel Shop for more details of how to get your pack.

Transport comment

Frikes is easily reached from anywhere in northern Ithaca. From Stavros, the capital of the north, Frikes is only five minutes by car – and 30 minutes on foot. The local bus service is a bit patchy and devised to run around the times of kids going to and school in Vathy in the south of Ithaca, so it leaves from Vathy very early in the morning. Most visitors staying on Ithaca have a car, although you could book a taxi to come up here and then take the bus back to southern Ithaca around 3 pm.

Kioni is the premier resort of Ithaca and one of the most picturesque village ports in the Ionian islands of Greece, up there with Loggos on Paxos and Assos on Kefalonia. Set within a horseshoe bay, the neoclassical houses of the village tumble right down to the quayside and its promenading Brits, yachties and cacophonous ducks.

Attractiveness 

The bay, the flanking slopes of olives and its winding streets through pretty, flower-tangled houses and its harbor front make it one of the Ionian stop villages.

What makes Kioni especially interesting is its keen grip on what it is that makes it such a top destination; it understands its unique qualities, which have so often been destroyed or swamped in other picturesque locations in Greece. Whereas Fiscardo, on neighboring Kefalonia, got carried away with renovation, terracotta paint and new tiling (as well as lots of new development), Kioni has resisted the temptation. As a result, Kioni looks like being one of Greece’s more sustainable developments that will maintain its premium price tag.

Cleanliness        

Kioni, like the other villages on Ithaca, Greece, is spotlessly clean. It is a well-maintained village that has a keen sense of civic pride.

Safety  

Kioni is off-limits to traffic in the day during the tourist season, cars having to be left on the outskirts of the village. The most traffic you are likely to encounter is someone trying to launch a boat or one of the three local tavernas receiving the delivery of provisions.

The harbor itself is very secluded, most people preferring to swim from one of the tiny beaches at the mouth of the bay. There can be a bit of tangle in the evenings as flotillas devise their own somewhat ungainly methods of coming ashore. All in all, the only thing to look out for is the precipitous drops off the edges of roads and paths that are typical of this part of Ithaca, Greece.

Non-beach activities     

Kioni offers a good range of non-beach based activities. The village itself will take a few days to explore and this region of Ithaca is interesting to explore. Try heading towards the mills on the headland or back along the old road towards the hamlet of Rachi, which straddles the spur into Kioni to which it practically joined. On the far side of Rachi are several small coves and the church of where an old Corinthian column has built into the table of the priest vestibule.

If you feeling strong you can follow one of the old donkey paths of Ithaca that leads from Kioni up to the near-deserted village of Anoghi, once the capital northern Ithaca. Its a steep climb at times and way is not always clear, although helpful paint makes lead you the way. For the less strong, many do the walk-in reverse taking a taxi to Anoghi and then walking down. You may need help to find the start of the path (near Ithacas helipad).

Perhaps one of the charms of Ithaca Greece is that it has managed to find a happy balance between beach and local environment, that leaves both quite uncrowded. Friends of Ithaca have published a self-guided trail for Kioni as well as Frikes, Exoghi, Stavros and Perahori in the south of Ithaca. There is also a leaflet to guide you along the Kioni to Anoghi donkey path.

Greek authenticity        

Kioni is an authentic Greek village but in a thoroughly modern way. Do not let the contemporary appearance fool you into thinking that this was how things always were. Kioni is a far cry from the reality of even forty years ago. What you see today is a village that comes alive in the summer as tourists visit and Diaspora Greeks return from Australia, South Africa, and America for the fine weather. Come winter this part of Ithaca is practically deserted.

The local school has long since closed and if wasn’t for Albanian families, the one remaining school in north Ithaca, at Stavros would have gone the same way. Having said all that, Kioni is a pretty place perfect for those who love rustic, beautiful Greece.

The beach by the three mills that stand at the mouth of the Kioni bay is where most visitors go to bathe if they are staying locally. A 20-minute walk from the harbor front (along the very picturesque coast road) leads you past wonderful houses and whitewashed church to the pretty shingle beach.

Attractiveness 

Kioni’s beach is a very charming little pebbly cove, quiet, relaxed and very pretty. The water seems very clean and there is plenty of opportunity for snorkeling.

Cleanliness        

Kioni beach has its own cafe snack bar that does its best to keep the beach spotlessly clean and you could probably eat your dinner off the pebbles here. Most of the visitors seem to be very litter conscious and what gets washed up gets quickly sorted out by the council or by the local cafe.

Access 

The road to Kioni beach is a narrow affair that makes two cars passing a nerve-wracking experience especially if you are on the outside lane. Not surprisingly the road is closed throughout much of the summer to all but locals who don’t really do much driving up and down.

The walk takes between 20 minutes and half an hour depending on how sun-soaked or wine-soaked you are, but every minute of it will help remind you of why you choose to come to this place with its quaint, but thoroughly agreeable vistas.

If you are coming from out of town you will have to leave your car on the outskirts of the village and walk the 1.5 km to the beach (taking the road to the right of the kafenion and the mini market as you come towards the waterfront).

Shade  

Plenty of shade can be found to the back of Kioni beach under the numerous trees that surround the beach or at the snack bar.

Facilities             

Kioni beach is a relaxed affair with few facilities. There is, however, a cafe snack bar where you can get drinks, snacks or a spot of lunch. Perfectly adequate.

Exoghi was once of Ithacas’ most important villages; a major administrative and religious center with well over a thousand inhabitants. Over the centuries the population has declined to around 20 people, leaving Exoghi a somewhat melancholic ghost town.

The Exoghi to Platrithea trail takes 2 to 3 hours at a leisurely pace and will introduce you to Exoghi and help you to get a feel for the village and what it must have once been like to live here. As well as introducing you to some of the histories of the region, the Exoghi trail will uncover of its more quirky features. From the strange pyramid monuments of Yiannis Papadopolous and the Seats of the Old Women to the old Aloni, or threshing floors, and mountainside terraces, there are many unexpected finds that you might otherwise miss. En route, you will also get some of the most spectacular views of north Ithaca.

If you plan to explore Ithaca a little during your stay, why not make more out your time with a gentle amble around town on the FoI trail. Become a member and get this trail as part of your Island Information pack. Visit the Travel Shop for more details of how to get your pack.

Transport comment

Exoghi can be reached by car or by taxi from any of the nearby villages. Ask the driver to take you up as far as the Church of Agios Nikolaos. From the crossroads at Platrithea, where the trial ends, you can walk the short distance by road to Stavros or Frikes which should take about 30 mins. Alternatively, make a prior arrangement with a taxi driver to collect you at the Levanti Taverna in Platrithea.

The Perahori Trail aims to give you a feel for life in a traditional agricultural village in south Ithaca. The Perahori trail takes about an hour at a leisurely pace.

The trail will lead you up to the zig-zag streets of the village to the two churches of the village and introduce you to the religious culture of Greece.

Climb some of the old cobbled steps of the village and learn a bit about what it means to live in a village with no fresh water source.

A second leg of the trail leads you up to the village of Paleochora, the original Perahori, ruined by successive earthquakes.

Transport comment

You will definitely need a car to get up to Perahori. It is quite a way up the steep mountainside.

Until relatively recently in Ithaca’s history, the island did not have roads as can be seen today. The main north-south road was hewn from the rock face and built by the British when they ruled the island in the nineteenth century.

Until this point, people traveled around the island by boat or by donkey and a network of paths crisscrossed the island. The definition of a road in these times was a path wide enough for 2 laden donkeys to pass.

Once proper roads had been built to link the towns and villages of Ithaca, the old donkey paths became disused, wildly overgrown and for the most part unpassable.

Local historian Denis Sikiotis, fascinated with the cultural heritage of the island, has spent considerable time and effort getting some of these paths reopened to prevent them from becoming lost forever.

With some funding from the local council and an army of volunteers, many of the paths have been cleared in the past few years.

The paths across north Ithaca Greece, have been marked with blue and yellow signposts and along the way, where the route becomes unclear, redpoint marks and arrows will help you to determine the route. The paths take you into the heart of the island along the old popular routes and uncover an Ithaca that is not be seen from the road.

Transport comment

This is a top trip designed for foot power alone. Get out of your car and head into the heart of the island!

Take a walk up the track behind the café in modern Anoghi in the mountains of north Ithaca, Greece, for a real walk into the past. It is quite clear to see how the village moved down the hillside over the centuries. The buildings furthest from modern Anoghi are the most rudimentary; very simple shelters build from piles of stones. Closer towards the village of today, it is possible to see the ruins of much more sophisticated buildings such as the old British prison with its arched doorways from the nineteenth century. Successive earthquakes have left little but ruins.

Looking around the bleak, rocky hillside, you will probably find yourself wondering how the capital of north Ithaca came to grow up here. It is more through push factors away from the coast than the lure of the Anoghj plain. Piracy was for a long time rife in the waters around Ithaca and Greece. Pirates from the mainland did not come to steal from the inhabitants – they had very little to take – but to capture them to sell in the slave markets of the east. So the inhabitants of Ithaca built their villages in the most inaccessible points of the islands. Amidst the rocky landscape of the Anoghi plain, it would have been very difficult to spot the low buildings built from the same rock

Anoghi literally means ‘upper land’ and it is the highest village on the island, some 500 meters above the sea. There is no freshwater source up here and villagers would have had to walk several kilometers down the mountainside to do their washing and collect water once stern as dried up in the summer. Fishermen had to carry their catch barefoot all the way from Kioni, only to be forced to sell their fish very cheaply since the inhabitants of Anoghi knew they would not be able to carry their fish back down the mountainside. One only has to look at the landscape around the village to realize that the Ithaca of yesteryear offered only a very hard existence.

With the demise of piracy at the beginning of the eighteenth century, many villagers moved down the mountainside to Kioni or Stavros where they would be closer to water sources and the sea and the mountain villages of Exoghi and Anoghi, once home to over a thousand people, began to decline. Waves of Diaspora continued this trend after, many Ithacans leaving for Melbourne and other parts of Australia after the earthquake of 1953. There are now only a handful of people left living in Anoghi permanently, although the numbers do swell with a few returning Greeks in the summer.

Transport comment

Unless you are prepared for a long hard walk up the mountainside from Kioni, you will need a car to get up to Anoghi, in the mountainous heart of northern Ithaca, Greece.