Getting from Mykonos to Ithaca

You're heading to the island that Homer made famous. Ithaca is Odysseus's home, the destination of one of the greatest journeys in all of literature, and the island itself carries that weight with quiet dignity. It is small, mountainous and uncommercialised in a way that feels deliberate. The main town of Vathy sits at the end of one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, the hills drop steeply into the sea on almost every side and the interior is covered in olive groves and cypress trees. It is not a beach holiday island. It is somewhere you go to walk, eat well, sit in the harbour in the evening and feel the history of the place.

Take the ferry

Ithaca sits in the Ionian Sea on the western side of Greece while Mykonos is in the Aegean, which means the two ferry networks do not connect directly. Getting there by sea means taking a ferry from Mykonos to Piraeus and then making your way across to Patras or Astakos on the western mainland coast, from where ferries run to Ithaca. The crossing from Patras takes around 3 hours and from Astakos around 2 hours. The overland section from Athens to either port takes around 3 hours by car.

What about flying?

Ithaca does not have an airport. The nearest airport is Kefalonia, which has ferry connections to Ithaca with the crossing taking around 30 to 45 minutes depending on the route. The journey from Mykonos goes Mykonos to Athens, Athens to Kefalonia, and then the short ferry across to Ithaca. It is worth knowing that in Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights. Almost all island to island travel goes through Athens.

Your best option

Fly to Kefalonia via Athens and take the ferry across to Ithaca. It is the most efficient way to get there and arriving into Vathy harbour by sea is exactly the right way to arrive on an island with this kind of story attached to it. Give it at least three days, walk the paths between the villages and eat at the tavernas around the harbour in the evening. Ithaca rewards the people who take it seriously.