Lefkada hillside house, Vasiliki bay

Vasiliki sits at the southern tip of Lefkada, in a deep bay ringed by olive terraces and backed by the Lefkatas mountains. This is a ninety-five square metre house on the hillside above the village: three bedrooms, one bathroom, a large living room with a fireplace, and a long balcony that looks straight down the bay to the harbour. Traditional construction with a newer roof, mains water and power, a stone-terraced garden of olives, and enough flat land beside the house for a small pool if you want one.

Lefkada is joined to the mainland by a causeway and floating bridge, which makes it unusual among Greek islands — you drive on, no ferry, no seasonal booking scramble. Purchase follows the standard Greek route with AFM, lawyer, notary and about 8–10% in costs. Title work matters on olive land, where boundaries are often described by trees rather than surveys; a competent local lawyer will insist on a topographic survey before contracts, and you should too.

The bay itself is world-famous among windsurfers. Every summer afternoon a thermal wind called the Eric fills in around one o'clock and blows a steady force four to six until evening — flat water at the top of the bay, chop further out, and three long-established watersports centres on the beach renting boards, foils and dinghies. Mornings are glassy and perfect for swimming. The beach at Vasiliki is pebble and coarse sand; ten minutes north by boat are Agiofili's white pebbles and clear turquoise water, and over the ridge lie Porto Katsiki and Egremni, two of the most photographed beaches in Greece.

The village works year-round on a small scale: tavernas along the waterfront, a bakery, two mini-markets, a pharmacy, a doctor's surgery and a ferry to Kefalonia and Ithaca from the harbour. Lefkada Town, with hospital, banks, chandlery and a proper covered market, is forty minutes north. Prices sit below the Cyclades but above the mainland, and long-term rentals to watersports instructors fill part of the shoulder season.

Preveza airport (Aktion) is an hour away with charter flights from across northern Europe, and Athens is four and a half hours by road. Away from the water there is the hike to Cape Lefkatas, sea kayaking to Agiofili, day boats to Meganisi and the Ionian islets, and the mountain villages of Athani and Komilio, where the tavernas still cook one dish a day.