Envoy is currently in Lefkas Marina, Greece, until April,
This is part three of a five part summary of Envoy’s six years Med cruising to date. The full article will shortly be published in Pacific Motor Yacht magazine.
The Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea incorporates the east coast of Sicily (mentioned last posting), the east coast of the “boot” of Italy, the south coast of Albania, the west coast of Greece and the many Ionian Islands. The Gulf of Corinth would also logically be included here.
Time required – one season.
Map of Greek section of Ionian Sea
The Ionian's Italian coastline has little to offer the cruiser with few anchorages and long distances between marinas
.JPG)
Envoy alongside wharf at Chiro, Italian boot
However Gallipoli, in the Gulf of Taranto, is an excellent stopover with its stunning medieval Old Town, and the marina at Santa Maria di Leuca is a safe and strategic stopover when cruising to or from Corfu or her nearby islands.
Gallipoli has a great Old Town
Albania is safe, economical and fascinating to visit with friendly curious people and stunning inland places to visit. Importantly it is also one of the few remaining non-EU countries in the area, and if your boat is not “VAT-paid” you will need to leave the EU once in every 18 month period to avoid paying it.
Envoy (left) alongside Sarande jetty, Albania
.jpg)
The main Ionian islands of Corfu, Paxoi, Levkas, Meganisi, Ithaca, Cephalonia and Zakinthos are all fabulous offering good sheltered anchorages and interesting places ashore to visit.
Envoy anchored in Assos, Cephalonia
The adjacent mainland Greek coast also has some great places to visit such as Mourtos, Parga, Preveza and the Gulf of Amvrakia.
The Gulf of Corinth offers an excellent route to the Aegean via the Corinth Canal and on the way make sure you stop at historic Navpaktos and at Itea for an inland visit to ancient Delphi, regarded in ancient times as the centre of the world.
The medieval walled port of Navpaktos
Ruins of Dephi's gymnasium
The alternate route to the Aegean is slightly longer, but our preferred one of cruising south and then east around the Peloponnisos taking in Pilos, Methoni, Koroni, and the island of Kithera along the way. Interesting inland trips can be made to ancient Olympia and to several historic mountain villages in the area where Spartans formerly roamed.
The Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea incorporates the north-east coast of mainland Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, the islands off Croatia, Montenegro and the north coast of Albania.
Time required – at least one season.
Albania is great to visit as already mentioned. Montenegro is also very interesting and can be visited in about two weeks due to its short coastline. Here a cruiser can purchase very cheap tax-free fuel immediately prior to departure.
Stunning Kotor in Montenegro
.JPG)
Croatia will require the longest period of time to explore and can be expensive as many anchorages have been converted to mooring areas where a charge is made to moor or anchor. Nevertheless Croatia is stunning as are her offshore islands; 79 of them have an area over one square kilometre with the most popular ones being Korcula. Hvar, Brac, Vis, Kornati, Cres and Krk. Don’t miss cruising up the Krka River inland waterway to Skradin and the Krka National Park.
Envoy in great anchorage of Zaklopalika in Croatia
.JPG)
Krka National Park, Croatia
.JPG)
.JPG)
Kortula is one of Croatia's highlights
.JPG)
In the Italian Adriatic a visit to Venice is a must and offers a choice of several marinas. We plan to visit there during 2015.
To the south, the east coast of Italy has little to offer with very few anchorages and the ports mainly industrial in nature. ………… continued next posting
This is part three of a five part summary of Envoy’s six years Med cruising to date. The full article will shortly be published in Pacific Motor Yacht magazine.
The Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea incorporates the east coast of Sicily (mentioned last posting), the east coast of the “boot” of Italy, the south coast of Albania, the west coast of Greece and the many Ionian Islands. The Gulf of Corinth would also logically be included here.
Time required – one season.
Map of Greek section of Ionian Sea
The Ionian's Italian coastline has little to offer the cruiser with few anchorages and long distances between marinas
Envoy alongside wharf at Chiro, Italian boot
However Gallipoli, in the Gulf of Taranto, is an excellent stopover with its stunning medieval Old Town, and the marina at Santa Maria di Leuca is a safe and strategic stopover when cruising to or from Corfu or her nearby islands.
Gallipoli has a great Old Town
Albania is safe, economical and fascinating to visit with friendly curious people and stunning inland places to visit. Importantly it is also one of the few remaining non-EU countries in the area, and if your boat is not “VAT-paid” you will need to leave the EU once in every 18 month period to avoid paying it.
Envoy (left) alongside Sarande jetty, Albania
The main Ionian islands of Corfu, Paxoi, Levkas, Meganisi, Ithaca, Cephalonia and Zakinthos are all fabulous offering good sheltered anchorages and interesting places ashore to visit.
Envoy anchored in Assos, Cephalonia
The adjacent mainland Greek coast also has some great places to visit such as Mourtos, Parga, Preveza and the Gulf of Amvrakia.
The Gulf of Corinth offers an excellent route to the Aegean via the Corinth Canal and on the way make sure you stop at historic Navpaktos and at Itea for an inland visit to ancient Delphi, regarded in ancient times as the centre of the world.
The medieval walled port of Navpaktos
Ruins of Dephi's gymnasium
The alternate route to the Aegean is slightly longer, but our preferred one of cruising south and then east around the Peloponnisos taking in Pilos, Methoni, Koroni, and the island of Kithera along the way. Interesting inland trips can be made to ancient Olympia and to several historic mountain villages in the area where Spartans formerly roamed.
The Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea incorporates the north-east coast of mainland Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, the islands off Croatia, Montenegro and the north coast of Albania.
Time required – at least one season.
Albania is great to visit as already mentioned. Montenegro is also very interesting and can be visited in about two weeks due to its short coastline. Here a cruiser can purchase very cheap tax-free fuel immediately prior to departure.
Stunning Kotor in Montenegro
Croatia will require the longest period of time to explore and can be expensive as many anchorages have been converted to mooring areas where a charge is made to moor or anchor. Nevertheless Croatia is stunning as are her offshore islands; 79 of them have an area over one square kilometre with the most popular ones being Korcula. Hvar, Brac, Vis, Kornati, Cres and Krk. Don’t miss cruising up the Krka River inland waterway to Skradin and the Krka National Park.
Envoy in great anchorage of Zaklopalika in Croatia
Krka National Park, Croatia
Croatia's Konati Islands offer many anchorages
Kortula is one of Croatia's highlights
In the Italian Adriatic a visit to Venice is a must and offers a choice of several marinas. We plan to visit there during 2015.
To the south, the east coast of Italy has little to offer with very few anchorages and the ports mainly industrial in nature. ………… continued next posting
No comments:
Post a Comment