Theodoros Gounas, Shenzhen China - auratus41@yahoo.com

Lou Brand, Southsea, Portsmouth

We were very pleased to meet you and your husband and to see ourselves on your website. Actually we were very pleased with everything on Ithaca and are hoping to come and spend a whole holiday there in the next few years. What a fabulously REAL Greek island. The only other that I know that is remotely similar is Astypalea , which I have always loved. Anyway, thanks for all your help - you must do the island a lot of good. Best regards,

Trevor and Kathy Baines

Carol and John London UK

hello all from ithaki citizens I live  in << atlantic city NJ USA  and i hope  your people get  my  mail     with   love  kostas magrippis from <VOUNAKI  ITHACI>

Gus Maggripis USA

My name is Eleni Cominos and I come from Ithaki. I've been enjoying your site for a few weeks now ( I had no idea that existed, until recently Spyro Davias informed me about the site) and you deserve congratulations for such a great effort. I live currently in Australia -Newcastle- with my daughter Venya and husband Peter who comes from Ithaki too. We visit "our island" every 2 years and we stay at our house in Lefki. I concider myself a true Ithakisian and a very proud one. I was born there in 1971 moved to Athens 5 years later until I got married to my husband Peter (whose father is Arthur Cominos from Lefki) in 1991 in a dream wedding in Lefki with 350 guests. I met my husband while both on holidays in Ithaki. He was visiting from Newcastle and I had two weeks holiday from my job in Athens. Talking about destiny. I know a lot of Ithakisians that live around the world and I know we all share the same "kaimo" to return to our ISLAND as often as possible. Looking at the site makes me feel very homesick but at the same time soooooo lucky to be able to get a "taste" of Ithaki on a daily basis and being able to see so many friends of mine that live there all year round. My family from my mum's side is Paxinos from Lefki and my dad's side is Tzanos from Vathi ( his uncle was Speradoni the head priest of Kathara Monastery for many many years) . My husbands father's side is Cominos from Lefki and his mum's side is Dendrinos from Kioni. If you want to know more about our familys (my husbands and mine)  or have any questions let me know. Lovely been able to talk to you and well done again on such a great effort. Eleni xxxxxx

Eleni Cominos - Newcastle, Australia

Ithaca is my paradise island. I dream of it when I am away and I yearn to return again and again. Once Ithaca is in your blood, it is difficult to travel anywhere else because the island is always calling to you, no matter how far you are away from it. All my love to everyone of Ithaca and to my favorite rock in Exogi.

Audrey Benson New Zealand

Hello Ithaki. Had a fantastic time, met some great people and will return again next year for sure. Who says Greeks aren't friendly.

Benjamin from London, UK

Hello to my family in kioni ithaca and mouse in lahor ithaca. Wishing i was there.

Rena.Raft.- Melb.Australia.

How I came to love Ithaca I first visited Ithaca in the summer of 1998.  I travelled with my two
little girls, who were then 7 and 6, and a dear friend, Anastasia Gabriel.  I was lucky enough to have met 'Sacey many years before in Melbourne Australia, before I knew anything about this lovely island. I didn't know then that Melbourne was populated with many Ithacean diaspora or that I was, in due, course to visit the place and fall in love with it! It was a magical journey for me.  We stayed in a large stone house on a hill, with a well in the kitchen!  The Greek extended family welcomed us in, we enjoyed wonderfully good food and conversation all together with the clanking and donging of the goat bells as accompaniment.  Swimming in the clear water of Poli beach, sitting eating fried fish and drinking cold beer, and chatting. I loved the way the Greeks all go out as a family with every generation included. Being English this was very appealing. I loved the way we would go out some times at 11 pm and sit for hours drinking coffee and again ... chatting, the children happily asleep by our side.  This was perfect.  My little girls were taught to swim that special summer and now they are 13 and 15 Ithaca holds many precious childhood memories for them. The Island is a green jewel, unspoilt by tourist resorts and the hustle and bustle of tour guides.  I hope that the Ithaceans can protect their beautiful island from the ravages of rampant commercialisation! I did the regulation tour of Greece in 1977 as soon as I was old enough. Sleeping on the beaches of Kos and Ios.  Eating grapes and drinking wine with happy, brown, wrinkly old men and their wives. They would give you a dinner of what ever they had picked from the garden and then refuse payment. I fell in love with Greece all that time ago.  Sadly I hear that many of these islands have been spoilt. Not so Ithaca.  I took a scooter up the hill, to where I had seen the twinkling lights of Xhoni, perched so high!  I drank the water. I came back, and will keep coming back as long as I can! Thank you Ithaca for allowing me to discover you in the most delightful way and for providing me and my daughters with so many treasured memories!

Janet Holden, Cambridge, UK 2006

You have no idea how much I love reading your site.  It's a really hot sticky day here in Birmingham, so logging on and gazing at the fabulous pictures, and reading about what's going on, helps me get through the day !  The view from my office window is of grey concrete tower blocks and the railway station !!! I cannot wait for my holiday, only 8 weeks to go now.  I'm dreaming of Spanokopita and Dexia beach Looking forward to meeting you.  Hope you are well and enjoying summer on Ithaca.

Lesa Carnegie Birmingham UK x

hello erika from  STAVRO  I used  to  go  there  in  my  15  year old  summer  times back  1964. ithaca this is kostas  magrippis from vathi-ithaci –vounaki, i like to say   hello to  my nephews  chris --rodotheos  my sister  golfo tarkaziki and  my  brother  antoni magrippis. thanks again  kostas magrippis USA

Long sunny days at Polis beach with my family and a cool drink at the cantina, nights in Stavros at Margarita Cafe and gift shopping in Vathy. We had a perfect holiday. Thank you Ithaca island. Karen, Mike, Sophie and Daniel UK

Ithaki you are truly the gem of the greek islands. I will come back to discover more of you next year, but for now thank you to the gentle people of the island for a great Summer time holiday. Nancy Joy NY USA

Hello, our favorite beach was Dexa and sitting under the shade of the olive trees on a hot day, was the best way to stay cool. My family and I are making our way around the Greek isles, so we may not return, but want the people of Ithaca to know we had a really enjoyable time on their island. We have been to Corfu, Zankynthos, Lefkas and Kithera, and Ithaca is so far our favorite. Next year we will try Mykinos. We hope it will match this year's holiday. thank you to all. Marianne Bauer Florida USA

Its freezing here in South Africa as I write this letter, just to share some news and tell everybody in Ithaki that I could not be more envious! The Stavros Panayiri looked like a right party and im bleak to have missed it so narrowly! Looking at the website, checking the daily updates has become more a part of my routine than having breakfast! I'm dying to come back for Ryan and Nadia's wedding on the 20th of August! I'm missing my parents, brothers and sisters, Aris and all my friends... The five weeks i spent in Greece over June/July where simply sublime and I cant wait to return, that Kalamos water definatly has something magical about it! So, here are many kisses, best wishes and fondest memories from SA to all my beloved in Ithaki...waiting with anticipation to return and top up my tan!

Teresa, SA

Elena Australia

We came to Ithica for the first time this last July and thought it was just the most lovely of islands. Small and traditional, just the way we like it. Had a great holiday and made some friends. Kathy and John New Zealand

Hello, we had a fabulous time on your island. We hired a scooter in Cephalonia (we didn't know we could get one there on Ithaca) and made our way around all the roads to explore. We loved Cephalonia, where we stayed 1 week, but we thought Ithaca was really fantastic. Next holiday, we will go again and spend our entire 2 weeks there. We had a taste, we liked it and want to go back for more. Great site. Wish we'd found it before, could have saved ourselves a little trouble.. Jane, Mike and Sophie Manchester UK

We thought Ithaca was lovely, but we didn't like all the traffic. Maybe we will go again next year, but earlier in the season when there is not so much activity as in July. Although we didn't stay at the Nostos hotel, it was nice to be able to use the swimming pool there. What a nice place. ..

Betty and Kevin UK

hello every body my name is GUS  MAGRIPPIS  from  vathi vounaki  my nephew  christos he have to  periptero tou<< tsomou>> stin  plateia any body please say hello thanks...

Gus Magrippis USA

Graham and Sandra USA

Pat, Aussie living in Germany

I lived in Kioni during the summer of 1991 whilst working for GIC as a boat boy, it was the best summer ever, the team included Zoe, Steve, Paul and Tom, Mark and Snake as the windsurf instructors. I soon settled in thanks to the generous hospitality of the locals including Thalia & Despo whose house we lived in on the front at Kioni. I also remember Anneka (sorry if that's spelt wrong) who used to run the corner shop, Yeorgos with the infectious laugh among many of the great people who made my visit so memorable. We had great fun with the windsurf team, spending many nights in Petes bar in Frikes or on the sailing beach in the afternoon, the roof top bar in Kioni or the harbour side restaurants in Kioni were also favourite places to hang out, happy days. I lost touch with everyone eventually but would love to hear from anyone who may remember me, I'm living near Bristol with my wife Pip and two girls Ruby & Kitty and plan on taking them all back to see the Island soon. If anyone is looking for a great place to have a relaxing holiday with a wonderful mix of local hospitality and some great scenery I would thoroghly recomend this. Thanks

Mike Farrell  Bristol UK

In the autumn of 2005 "D", a Dutch guy who had been living on Ithaca for a year, went back to the Netherlands. He couldn't be bothered to take his car back with him so he offered it to several people, including me. Nobody wanted it. So instead of selling it on Kefalonia or driving it to a garage to be destroyed, he just parked it close to where he lived and left the island anyway. This seriously annoyed me. Just what we need, an abandoned car on a mountain top. The chances of "D" coming back for it were close to zero, so his car would be sitting there for... well, ever? Nice sight. I didn't know we had free long-term parking areas here. The car sat there for almost a year. Nothing much happened to it, it 'only' ruined the Ithacan landscape. Sometime during the past 3 weeks, peak of the tourist season, vandals attacked the car. They smashed the lights, broke all the windows and slashed the tyres. So now we've got an abandoned WRECK sitting on the mountain, and the changes of it ever being removed by "D" have certainly dropped to zero. Once again a piece of Ithaca is ruined by ignorance and stupidity. Thank you "D", thank you Unknown Vandals. I guess you want the local Ithacans to clean up your mess?

Rien Post Lefki, Ithaca

Erika, Wonderful to see some close-up photos of Ithaca appear on the site. You're obviously putting the new camera to good use. When I was there in May, I took plenty, which I have subsequently published in a book of photos from the holiday. I did send Eleni at Oasis, and Costas from Hamilton house copies, but not sure if they got them. (I only had 5 copies printed. If I have any more produced I will make sure that you receive one). If you speak to Eleni, say Mikalis Paparazzi & susan send their love. If you're interested you can see pdfs of the book, including the close ups at https://www.viovio.com/photos/gallery/5640 Kind regards, and keep up the brilliant website. We're going to Ikaria and Athens this September, but will surely be back in Kioni early next year,