The Ionian Islands are located in the western part of Greece, and have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, sunny summers.

The seven largest islands (the old Heptanese) are:
- Corfu, the northernmost and the second largest, with its 592 square kilometers (228 square miles).
- Paxos.
- Lefkada; it has an area of 336 square km (130 sq mi).
- Ithaca, 118 square km (45 sq mi).
- Kefalonia, the largest with its 781 square km (301 sq mi).
- Zakynthos (or Zante), the southernmost of the actual Ionian Islands. It has an area of 408 square km (157 sq mi).
- Cythera (or Cerigo), located south of Attica, in a position isolated from the other islands; for this reason, it has also a slightly different climate, less rainy in the cold half of the year and a little less hot in summer.
There are also some smaller islands:
- the Diapontian Islands, the northernmost ones, located northwest of Corfu: Erikoussa (or Merlera), Mathraki, and Othoni (or Fanò).
- Kalamos, Kastos and Meganisi, between Lefkada and the mainland.
- Other islands such as Antipaxos, Arkoudi, Atokos, Oxeia.

Being that these islands are outside of the area where the Meltemi blows, it can get very hot in summer: temperatures can reach 35/36 °C (95/97 °F) but sometimes up to 40 °C (104 °F). In winter, sometimes there are periods of a few days with a cold wind blowing from the north, although very cold weather is rare. In practice, at sea level, it never snow nor freezes, while snowfalls may occur in the interior of the islands where hills or mountains are found.
Here, for example, are the average temperatures of Paxos.

Rainfall on the Ionian Islands is quite abundant, since it generally exceeds 800 millimeters (31.5 inches) per year, but above all, it can be abundant from October to March because the islands are exposed to both the south and the west winds. In summer, it rains very rarely, as normally occurs in the regions with a Mediterranean climate.
For example, here is the average rainfall in Argostoli, on the island of Kefalonia.

The amount of sunshine on the Ionian Islands is excellent in late spring and in summer, when clear skies prevail. From November to mid-March, on the contrary, there are sunny days, but also periods of bad weather.
Here are the average daily sunshine hours in Lefkada.



The temperature of the sea in the area of the Ionian Islands is high enough for swimming from July to September. In June, it is still a little cool, around 22 °C (72 °F), but all in all, it's acceptable. Here, for example, is the temperature of the sea in Lefkada.

Best Time

The best time to go to the Ionian islands for a beach holiday is from June to August, or even mid-September, especially on the southernmost islands (Cephalonia, Zakynthos, Kythira), where summer lasts a little longer.

Back to the Greek Islands.