Vathy & the south

Vathy is the capital, wrapped around one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, and it holds most of the island's rooms and nearly all of its restaurants. The Archaeological Museum here keeps the finds from the sites scattered over the island.

Nothing on Ithaca is a ticketed monument, which is part of the pleasure. The Cave of the Nymphs above Dexa bay is where Odysseus is said to have hidden the Phaeacians' gifts; the Arethusa Spring in the south, reached on an hour's walk along a cliff path, is where the swineherd Eumaeus watered his pigs; and at Aetos, on the island's narrow waist, Heinrich Schliemann dug for the palace and found the ancient town of Alalkomenae instead. Perachori above the town has the ruins of the medieval village below it, and the monastery of Kathara, at 600 metres on the shoulder of Mount Neritos, is the best viewpoint on the island.

The beaches are small, pebbly and clear. Gidaki is the famous one — reached by boat from Vathy or a stiff forty-minute walk over the headland — and Filiatro and Sarakiniko are the easy drives. Dexa is where the Phaeacians are supposed to have put Odysseus ashore, which is a lot of history for a small bay with a canteen.