Kioni

It is the third port on the island of Ithaca and is a more viable alternative to the “main” port of Vathi, although it does not offer the same excellent shelter from the winds from the east. Kioni, that is the name, is located on the northeastern coast of Ithaca and offers very good shelter and a very interesting village from a tourist point of view as well.

In fact, the port of Kioni is very busy during the warm season, with boaters and charterers; some charter companies are based right here, which means that, in summer, by mid-afternoon the port space is often completely sold out. So the first advice is definitely to move in good time if you intend to land here.

Kioni lies in a small bay open to the east, characterized by lush nature in which pine, olive and cypress trees predominate. Coming from the sea, the bay is marked, so to speak, by the promontory to the south that houses the clearly visible ruins of several windmills.

Entering the bay that holds Kioni presents no problems, except for afternoon breezes that create strong currents some days; in case, anchor early and use the motor to reach the port. Depths at the entrance to the bay are around 10 to 12 meters.
Kioni harbor offers excellent shelter from the prevailing north and northwest winds, while suffering somewhat in strong easterly winds.

The banked shore where passing boats usually head is the one on the north side, where there are about 25 berths. Here you drop anchor in kelp and mud, decent holding but becoming unsafe in strong east and southeast winds. Depth around 2 meters. The small breakwater extending from north to south at the far end of this dock offers a couple of comfortable berths usable after 4 p.m., which are also a bit more sheltered from easterly winds.

The west side of the dock offers another 8 or so places but the depth at the shore is only a meter, so one has to drop anchor a little way off and pull mooring lines to the dock.
Finally, the south side of the bay where Kioni is located offers convenient little coves for anchoring, dropping anchor on a good 6 to 10 meter deep sand and kelp bottom and bringing mooring lines to shore. The only downside is that these anchorages are very exposed to strong northerly winds.

As amenities, Kioni has water (for a fee) and fuel, which can be delivered on request from a nearby gas station. Bars, taverns, restaurants, and small stores round out the offerings.
On the tourism front, Kioni is very picturesque and enjoyable; pleasant is the walk that leads, to the south, to the promontory that marks the entrance to the bay and is home to the ruins of several windmills.