Friday 19th September 2025 – Paralia Glyfa, Greece

 

The ferry stopped at Corfu and Igoumenitsa during the night – we both heard the docking at Corfu but slept through Igoumenitsa.
After breakfast we enjoyed the journey down Greece’s west coast and past the islands of Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithica before entering the Gulf of Corinth and heading to Patras. We had a good view of the, relatively, new Rio-Antirrio Bridge that links the Peloponnese with central Greece. We arrived on-time at 13:00 – I think that is the first time that we have ever been on a Greek ferry that left and arrived on-time.
We discovered that they are building a new (or upgrading an existing?) motorway south from Patras and that was causing chaos. Going south out of Patra, we had reduced speed limits and a few minor queues but going towards Patras there were major queues that would have resulted in very long delays.
We managed to find a shady parking space next to the sea for a very late lunch. There was evidence here, and earlier in the journey, of the very serious fires that this area of the Peloponnese had suffered this Summer.
When the signs showed that the motorway was open to traffic, we chose to stay on the old road, which was very quiet. Later, we turned off onto more minor roads and headed for the small village of Glyfa and the Aginara Beach Campsite at Paralia Glyfa.
We have stayed at Aginara Beech twice before in 2022 and thoroughly enjoyed it. This time, as before, we were greeted by the campsite owner, Agelika, and we selected a pitch with plenty of shade. The site was busy – being next to the beach and having large, shady pitches is part of the attraction but the friendly staff, especially Agelika, are an important factor. For us, the campsite restaurant is also key. It is the best campsite restaurant that we have ever found and, probably, the best Greek restaurant that I have sampled. Not fancy food but excellent, honest Greek fayre with many pre-cooked dishes in addition to the standard grilled dishes. Almost all of the tables were taken when we sat down to our meal – green beans in tomato sauce as a starter followed by chicken in lemon sauce for Jane and meatballs in lemon sauce for me – absolutely delicious!
Photos: View from our cabin; The island of Atokos just off Ithaca; The island of Okia; The Rio-Antirrio Bridge with central Greece in the background and Patras off picture to the right; Meatballs in lemon sauce at Aginara Beach.