"Fantastic trip, our guide vanna was wonderful highly recommend, you won’t be disappointed 😁 Response from Provider August 24, 2026 Thank you so much for your fantastic review! We’re delighted to hear that you had such a wonderful trip and that Vanna made your experience extra special. We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you back again soon!"
Ionian Islands · Homer's Ithaca · Full-Day Tour from Kefalonia
Ithaca, Greece: The Real One
The island Odysseus spent ten years trying to reach is real, small, and gorgeously unbothered by its fame - no airport, ferry-only, one mountain road. The featured full day from Kefalonia (4.6/5 across 139 bookings, from $70) is the sane way in for most visitors: bus, boat and the villages in one arc, with the ferry problem handled for you. Free cancellation to 24 hours.
From
$70
per person
Free cancellation
- 4.6 / 5 139+ Reviews
- No Airport Ferry-Only Island · That's the Charm
- 20-30 min Sami to Pisaetos · The Short Crossing
- Free Cancellation
How an Ithaca Day Works
Four steps, ferry truth first.
Solve the Water First
No airport, no bridge: everyone arrives by sea. From Kefalonia it's a 20-30 minute crossing (Sami to Pisaetos); day tours bundle it, independents buy the ferry.
Respect the Season
Summer runs a dozen-plus crossings a week; deep winter drops to a couple. The island effectively opens and closes with the ferries - plan inside that window.
Split Vathy from the North
The capital's amphitheater bay and the northern villages (Stavros, Frikes, Kioni) are one mountain road apart. A full day covers both; a half day forces a choice.
Let the Myth Be Free
The Odysseus sites - the Fountain of Arethusa, the School of Homer, the Cave of the Nymphs - are open hillsides and ruins, free or near-free. Pay for the logistics, not the legend.
Photo Gallery
The Island on Camera
Vathy's amphitheater bay, Kioni's three windmills, Gidaki's boat-only sand.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. Instant confirmation — free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
Which Ithaca Day?
Group day, private myth pilgrimage, or the cruise. The island is small; the difference is pace and company.
| Feature | Agia Effimia cruise ($75) | THE SANE FIRST VISIT Full day from Kefalonia ($70) | Private Odysseus full day ($142) |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | The island from the water: Gidaki Beach, Kioni and the swim stops - 4.3/5 across 56 bookings | Bus and boat through Vathy and the northern villages with the ferry handled - 4.6/5 across 139 bookings | A private guide building the day around Odysseus - the myth sites, at your pace, 5.0/5 across 25 bookings |
| Best for | Swimmers and deck-nappers - the beach day with scenery attached | First-timers who want the whole island in one organized arc | Homer readers, couples and anyone the wave actually brought here |
| Honest note | Sea-day tradeoff: you see the coast gloriously and the interior not at all | Group pacing - the stops are set, and that's exactly why it's the easy pick | Private pricing for a small island - worth it precisely when the myth is the point |
| Check cruise dates | Check Availability | Check the private day |
Other ways around the island
The Gidaki Cruise, the Myth Bus & the $6 Ferry
A swim-stop cruise from Vathy, the mythology-first bus day, and the Sami ferry for independents. Free cancellation on the bookable ones.
THE SWIM-STOP CRUISEIthaca Day Cruise: Gidaki Beach, Filiatro & Vathy Village - 2026 (Verified Reviews)
MYTHOLOGY-FIRST BUS DAYKefalonia: Mythical Ithaca Island Full-Day Bus Tour - 2026 (Verified Reviews)
THE $6 FERRY, BOOKABLEKefalonia: Explore Ithaca By Ferry From Sami, Kefalonia - 2026 (Verified Reviews)
Twenty-nine centuries after Homer sang a man home to it, Ithaca is suddenly everywhere again - a certain 2026 film did that - and the first honest thing to say is that the real island rewards the attention. Small, steep and ferry-only, it has an amphitheater harbor for a capital, three fishing villages strung along its north, and the rare quality of looking roughly like what the poems promise.
The second honest thing: the film’s Ithaca isn’t this Ithaca. The production shot its homecoming island largely on Favignana, off Sicily, with the wider epic spread from the Peloponnese to Morocco to Iceland. The real island’s claim runs deeper than a location credit - the Odysseus sites here (the Fountain of Arethusa, the School of Homer above Stavros, the Cave of the Nymphs) are open hillsides you can stand on for free, holding exactly the argument between myth and archaeology that has run since antiquity. We tell that story straight - it’s better than the brochure version.
Getting here is the whole game, and the searches prove everyone knows it: no airport, no bridge, everything by sea. The short answer - Kefalonia’s Sami port to Pisaetos, 20-30 minutes, two operators, a dozen-plus crossings a week in summer collapsing to a couple in winter - and the long answer with every port, route and season live at getting to Ithaca, including the $6-class ferry independents actually book.
The featured tour solves it all at once: the full-day from Kefalonia (4.6/5 across 139 bookings, from $70) runs bus and boat through Vathy and the north in one arc - the sane first visit. The Gidaki swim cruise, the mythology bus day and a private Odysseus-themed full day (5.0/5, from $142) cover the second visit, and Gidaki Beach plus the worth-it verdict answer the questions in between.
Guest Reviews
What Our Guests Say
4.6/5
from 139 verified guests
"Vanna was an excellent guide and very friendly. Andreas the driver was an absolute star even when we broke down on the way back to our hotel, his driving skills were brilliant - would definitely recommend this trip."
"Excellent stops in beautiful towns on Ithaca. Our guide was full of knowledge and stories; our driver was superb. cannot recommend this tour highly enough."
"Nothing to be improved. Marvelous guide and very skilled driver"
"A must! Second tour with this agency, driver and guide in a few days. Excellent service."
"What a wonderful way to see Ithaca. Our skilled driver manoeuvred the roads effortlessly (sometimes I wondered how he did it). Our guide was full of interesting information. I love it when they can tell you sooo much information and history of the area. Very memorable day. A must do on your visit to Kefalonia ♥️"
Read all 139 verified reviews
See All ReviewsBook the Full-Day Ithaca Tour
Bus, boat, Vathy and the villages from Kefalonia in one day - 4.6/5 across 139 bookings, from $70, free cancellation to 24 hours. Starting from $70 per person.
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Ithaca Questions
The ferries, the film, the myth sites, the one-day plan - answered plainly.
For anyone drawn by quiet harbors, real myth and the absence of crowds: emphatically. Ithaca is the rare famous island with no airport and no cruise-ship economy - Vathy's bay, Kioni's windmills and the Odysseus hillsides feel close to what the poems promise. The honest caveats (ferry-gated season, limited nightlife, one mountain road) live at the worth-it verdict.
The short hop - Sami to Pisaetos - takes 20 to 30 minutes depending on the operator, with two companies running the route and a dozen-plus weekly crossings in season. Poros to Ithaca runs about 50 minutes. Foot passengers pay single-digit euros; cars go too. The full port-by-port picture: getting to Ithaca.
Kefalonia (EFL), across the strait - fly there, cross the island to Sami (about 45 minutes by taxi or car), then take the 20-30 minute ferry to Pisaetos. Preveza/Aktion serves the Lefkada route as an alternative. Ithaca itself has no airport, which is doing more for its charm than any tourism board could.
Mostly, no - and we say so plainly. The 2026 film shot its Ithaca scenes largely on Favignana, off Sicily, with other locations across the Peloponnese, Morocco, Iceland and Scotland. The real island's connection to the story is older and better than a film credit: the film vs the island.
Different products, honestly: Kefalonia is the big island - airport, beaches like Myrtos, resort infrastructure; Ithaca is the small one - quiet, myth-soaked, ferry-only. Most visitors sleep on Kefalonia and give Ithaca a full day by tour or ferry, which is exactly what the featured day does. Staying ON Ithaca is the connoisseur's move for a second visit.
Being Odysseus' homeland - the island a whole epic is about getting back to. Beyond Homer: Vathy's near-circular natural harbor, the northern village of Kioni, boat-only Gidaki Beach, and walking sites tied to the myth - the Fountain of Arethusa, the School of Homer, the Cave of the Nymphs: the Odysseus sites.
The realistic arc: morning ferry or tour pickup, Vathy's harborfront, over the spine to Stavros and the School of Homer, down to Frikes and Kioni, a swim (Gidaki by boat, or a roadside cove), late ferry back. That's precisely the featured full-day tour's shape - doing it independently needs a hire car and ferry-timetable discipline.
The towns, absolutely - Vathy and Kioni are made for evening strolling. The island, only for real walkers: the myth sites sit on unshaded hill paths (the Fountain of Arethusa walk is a genuine hour-plus round trip), and village-to-village distances are mountain-road distances. Everyone else pairs walking with a boat, a bus tour or a hire car.
Still have questions? Email us at info@ithacagreecetour.com