Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
95.7km²
Area
109km
Coastline
800m
Highest point
3,231
People
26°C
Warmest sea
August
22km
To the mainland
When to go to Ithaca
Best for the beach from July to August.
The sea is warmest in August (26 °C) and coolest in March (15 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Greek island in the Ionian Sea
Ithaca is an island in Greece. It covers 95.7 km², with 109 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 800 m. About 3,231 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 22 km away.
Getting there
- Kefallinia Airport (EFL)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 36 km in a straight lineCar hire at EFL airport (Kefallinia Island)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesCephalonia (Sami) - Ithaca (Pisaetos), Ithaca (Pisaetos) - Cephalonia (Poros), Ithaca (Frikes) - Cephalonia (Sami), Ithaca (Frikes) - Ithaca (Kioni)
- 22 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Ithaca.
- 43beachesLittle Polis Beach, Filiatro, Mnimata and 40 more
- 5viewpoints
- 3lighthouses
- 4ferry terminalsPisaetos, Vathy, Frikes and 1 more
- 1marinas
- 4named peaksNiritos, Aetos and 2 more
- 6ruins and archaeological sitesCyclopean wall, Alalkomenés and 4 more
- 13waymarked walking routesIthaca Trail 01B, Ithaca Trail 12, Ithaca Trail 01 and 10 more
- 1campsitesNight free spot camp
- 35hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 60restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 237 m above the sea. 53 % of it is below 200 m.
- 16 %0–50 m
- 37 %50–200 m
- 37 %200–500 m
- 10 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Itháki1,843 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 19 | 15 |
| Night low (°C) | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 13 |
| Sea (°C) | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 119 | 93 | 76 | 45 | 29 | 19 | 12 | 19 | 77 | 103 | 129 | 148 |
| Wet days | 13 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | 3.9 | 4.9 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 10.4 | 12.0 | 12.5 | 11.3 | 8.6 | 6.7 | 4.7 | 3.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.4 | −1.1 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.3 |
| 2021 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −0.5 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +1.7 | +1.9 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +1.0 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +1.4 | +0.6 | +0.7 | −0.1 | −0.6 | +0.2 | +1.7 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +1.7 | +1.4 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +2.3 | +2.8 | +1.9 | +0.5 | +1.4 | +1.4 |
| 2025 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +1.3 | +1.6 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.9 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.




Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q187471) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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