Lefkas holidays

The names of Lefkas’ beaches are bandied about as some of the best in the Mediterranean. But, although every stretch of sand comes highly rated, the beaches on the east coast of the island are significantly different to those on the west. The former tend to be attached to resorts, so you get a helping of tavernas and cafes on the side of the sand. The latter are pretty much the way nature intended – nothing but sand and sea.

Nidri is the most-visited beach on Lefkas. The view from the sunloungers on this smile of golden sand is one of anchored sailboats and the islands of Heloni, Scorpio and Sparti in the distance. The beach is also backed by a collection of tavernas, cafes and family-friendly bars.

Word has travelled fast about Porto Katsiki, and Lefkas’ former secret beach can’t really be called secret anymore. But it’s not the easiest stretch of sand to reach. In fact, its name means ‘port of the goat’ because there was a time when only nimble mountain goats could access the sand. Today, most visitors arrive by boat. And when they do, they’re greeted by a brace of bright white cliffs, golden sand, and waters so blue they’ll make you blink.

The best things to buy in Lefkas tend to have sell-by-dates. Delimari salami is the island’s official salami brand and you’ll find their flagship shop on 8th Merarchias Street in Lefkada Town. Wine is another good bet. Vertzami is the most commonly used grape on the island and you can pick up a bottle or two at the wine shops on Main Street in Nidri.

Lefkas isn’t exactly inundated with shops, and you’ll need to go to the mainland in search of high street stores. The closest you’ll get to a spree will be in Lefkada Town. There are a few boutique jewellery shops and some clothing stores on Ioannou Mela and Goulielmou Dorpfel near the harbour.

In the windsurfing world, Rip Curl and O’Neil are just as coveted as Gucci or Dior. And you’ll find the proof in Vassilikki, 25 minutes’ drive from Nidri. You don’t need to look further than the waterfront to find surf shops selling the latest clothing and accessories.

It’s chefs rather than DJs that create the evening entertainment in most of Lefkas’ resorts. In Nikiana the restaurants cluster around the harbour front and menus give the limelight to fresh fish and traditional Greek dishes. In Periyiali, meanwhile, the tavernas are split between the main square and the port. Agios Ioannis is on the sunset side of the island, and you can watch night fall in the dinky tavernas at the southern end of the beach.

In Lefkas, the nightlife buck stops at Nidri and Vassiliki. There are a few bars on Main Street in Nidri. Some show live sport, others put on live music. For after-hours action, head to the north end of the beach, where the nightclub puts on theme parties. In Vassiliki, the bars cling to the waterfront in the centre of town. Dancing on the bar is a rite of passage in certain beach bars.

Heinz and Campbell’s don’t get a look in, in Lefkas. Out here, lentil is always the soup of the day. The lentils are grown in the mountain village of Englouvi and they’re cooked with garlic and oregano to make the island’s signature soup.

The name of this dish has been lost in translation. Literally, the recipe’s name means sour fish, but it won’t make your eyes water. The sauce is made with vinegar, rosemary, garlic and raisins, and it’s poured over fried red mullet and served cold as part of a mezze platter.

Beef stews come in many guises in the Greek Islands, and sofigado is Lefkas’ take on the dish. The recipe is a hand-me-down from the island’s Venetian rulers, and it’s made by slow-cooking beef with wine vinegar, rosemary, onions, garlic and a grape molasses known as petimezi.

This is Lefkas’ answer to afternoon tea. The recipe has been handed down the generations like hot potatoes. It’s made by mixing olive oil, caster sugar, flour and cinnamon. Then the mixture gets baked to form a spongy mattress of a cake.

This full bodied red grape is grown in vineyards less than 10 kilometres from Nidri. Taste-wise, it has hints of bay leaf, cinnamon and red berries, and its food pairings tend to be rich meaty dishes, like beef stews. The best quality bottles of this wine are keepers, too. They’ll come of age in your wine cellar.