Ithaca lies 17 nautical miles northeast of Kefalonia, separated by a strait that ancient mariners crossed under sail and modern ferries traverse in forty minutes. The island spans 96 square kilometers and supports fewer than 3,200 permanent residents, yet its literary weight far exceeds its physical footprint. Homer's Odyssey named Ithaca as Odysseus's kingdom, and while archaeologists debate whether Bronze Age ruins at Stavros or the Cave of the Nymphs match the epic's topography, the island's role as a symbol of homecoming remains uncontested. Organized boat trips from Argostoli to Ithaca depart daily throughout the summer season, carrying visitors across the same waters that Venetian galleys, Ottoman traders, and British colonial packets once navigated. Vathi, the island's capital and principal port, occupies the innermost reach of a deep, fjord-like bay that nearly bisects Ithaca. The harbor town was rebuilt in neoclassical style after the 1953 earthquake flattened most of Kefalonia and the Ionian archipelago. Two-story merchant houses in ochre and terracotta line the waterfront, their arcaded ground floors now housing tavernas and chandleries. The Archaeological Museum of Vathi displays Mycenaean pottery shards and geometric-period bronze tripods excavated from the Polis Bay cave complex, objects that date to the twelfth through eighth centuries BCE and align roughly with the chronology of the Trojan War cycle. Inland, the road climbs through olive groves and cypress stands toward the northern villages of Stavros and Frikes, where stone houses cling to hillsides terraced centuries ago. The island's coastline alternates between vertical limestone cliffs and narrow pebble coves accessible only by sea. Gidaki Beach, on the eastern shore below Vathi, lies beneath a sheer rock face and remains roadless; boats anchor in the turquoise shallows while passengers swim ashore. Afales Bay in the north opens to the Ionian Sea through a narrow cleft in the cliffs, its crescent beach backed by macchia scrub. Day-cruise operators include stops at two to four secluded bays, allowing time for swimming and snorkeling in water that reaches 24°C by mid-summer. Most itineraries build in a one- to two-hour window at Vathi for lunch and a walk through the harbor quarter. Argostoli Port functions as the main departure point for island-hopping routes. The commercial quay handles car ferries to the mainland, while smaller excursion vessels berth at the eastern mole. Boat trips from Argostoli to Ithaca tours typically last six to eight hours, with morning departures timed to reach Vathi by midday and return before the afternoon meltemi winds rise. Operators furnish lunch on board or allocate free time ashore; some itineraries incorporate a stop at Fiskardo on Kefalonia's northern tip during the return leg. The crossing itself takes forty minutes to one hour depending on sea state and the vessel's draft, a passage brief enough that even passengers prone to motion sickness rarely require medication.