Greece’s next big tourism boom may not be coming to Santorini or Mykonos. It may be heading to a much smaller island with a much older story.
Ithaca, the legendary home of Odysseus, is suddenly finding itself at the center of a new wave of international attention. The timing is hard to ignore.
Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster “The Odyssey” has brought Homer’s epic back into popular culture, sending audiences back to the landscapes, characters and places associated with one of the world’s most famous stories.
And while the movie did not actually film primarily on modern-day Ithaca – the Sicilian island of Favignana was used to represent Ithaca on screen – the real Greek island is benefiting from something arguably more powerful than a film location.
People are becoming curious about the place behind the myth. That could be very good news for an island that has spent decades living in the shadow of Greece’s more famous tourist magnets.
Ithaca Has Something Santorini Can’t Sell
For years, the Greek island holiday has followed a familiar script – Santorini for the sunsets. Mykonos for the nightlife, Rhodes and Crete for beaches and resorts, Corfu for grand scenery and old-world charm.
But a growing number of travelers are looking for something different: a version of Greece that feels less crowded, less commercial and more connected to history. That’s where Ithaca comes in.
The small Ionian island has remained relatively untouched by the kind of mass tourism that has transformed some of Greece’s best-known destinations.
Its capital, Vathy, wraps around a deep natural harbor, while much of the island is covered by mountains, olive groves, green valleys and winding roads leading to small beaches and secluded coves.
The municipality describes Ithaca as one of the places where tourism development has remained relatively restrained, helping preserve its traditional character. And now that authenticity is becoming part of the attraction.
Hollywood Didn’t Need to Film Here to Put Ithaca Back on the Map
This is the slightly unusual part of the story. If you’re looking for the exact landscape you saw representing Ithaca in Nolan’s movie, you won’t necessarily find it on Ithaca.
The production was filmed in several countries, and Favignana in Sicily was used as one of the film’s principal stand-ins for Odysseus’ homeland. But that distinction may not matter much to travelers. The movie has reignited interest in Homer’s world.
Travel companies are already packaging Greece around the story, with new itineraries connecting destinations including Kefalonia, Ithaca and Corfu and explicitly marketing the experience as following in the footsteps of Odysseus.
That is a different kind of movie tourism. You aren’t necessarily traveling to see a film set. You’re traveling to see the place that inspired the story.
The Film Is Part of a Much Bigger Trend
Hollywood’s influence on travel is nothing new. Fans have traveled to New Zealand because of The Lord of the Rings, Croatia because of Game of Thrones and Sicily because of The White Lotus.
The phenomenon has become known as set-jetting – traveling because a movie or television show has made a destination suddenly feel familiar.
“The Odyssey” is taking that idea in a slightly different direction. The story is thousands of years old. There isn’t one definitive location for every place Homer described.
But that ambiguity may actually make the experience more interesting. Travelers can arrive in Ithaca and ask the same question generations of historians have debated: Was this really Odysseus’ kingdom?
Ithaca Is Built for That Kind of Question
The island’s appeal goes far beyond the name. Around Aetos, visitors can explore archaeological remains associated with ancient Ithaca.
In Vathy, the Archaeological Museum and other cultural sites offer a way to explore the island’s history beyond the mythology.
There is also the Cave of the Nymphs, known in Greek as Marmarospilia, which has long been associated with the Odyssey.
And high above the island sits the Monastery of Kathara, one of Ithaca’s most important religious landmarks.
The island’s official tourism authority promotes a network of historical sites, walking routes and locations connected to the story of Odysseus. The result is unusual for a Greek island. You can spend a day here without ever needing a beach club.
Then There Are the Beaches
That doesn’t mean Ithaca lacks the classic Greek-island appeal. Quite the opposite. The coastline is filled with small bays, clear water and beaches that are often dramatically framed by steep green hills.
Some are accessible by road. Others are much easier to reach by boat. The municipality describes the island’s coastline as a mixture of secluded coves, caves, steep cliffs and beaches, with many of the most isolated spots accessible from the sea.
That makes Ithaca particularly attractive to sailors. The island sits between Kefalonia and mainland Greece, in the middle of the Ionian Sea, with sheltered bays and numerous anchorages.
For travelers on a yacht or small boat, Ithaca is not simply a destination. It’s an excuse to slow down.
And Getting There Is Easier Than You Might Think
Ithaca does not have a major international airport. That sounds like a disadvantage. For the island’s character, it may actually be part of the reason it has avoided mass tourism.
Most international travelers arrive through nearby Kefalonia, then continue by ferry. The crossing from Kefalonia’s Sami port to Ithaca’s Pisaetos port can take as little as 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the service.
There are also connections with Lefkada and mainland Greece. That makes Ithaca surprisingly easy to add to a larger Ionian itinerary.
Spend several days in Kefalonia. Then take a ferry. Within less than an hour, you can go from one of Greece’s larger and more established island destinations to a place that feels considerably quieter.
That Could Be the Sweet Spot for 2026 and Beyond
This is where Ithaca’s timing becomes interesting. The island is positioned almost perfectly for a new kind of Greek tourism.
Travelers still want beautiful beaches. But increasingly, they also want stories. They want places with a sense of identity.
They want to escape destinations that feel interchangeable. And they increasingly want to feel that they have discovered somewhere rather than simply arrived at the same place as everyone else.
Ithaca has been offering that experience for years. It just hasn’t had Hollywood’s attention machine working in its favor. Now it does.
France Has Already Started Selling the Ithaca Story
The island’s renewed cultural profile is not simply a social-media phenomenon. Earlier this year, the Greek National Tourism Organization’s French office organized a press trip to Ithaca for Le Figaro Histoire.
The result was a 162-page special edition devoted to Ithaca and the Odyssey, covering the island’s archaeology, history, landscape and connection to Homer.
That’s the kind of exposure destinations normally spend enormous tourism budgets trying to generate. And it arrived just as Nolan’s film was reaching global audiences.
The Weather Helps, Too
Ithaca has a classic Mediterranean climate, but its location in the Ionian Sea gives it some characteristics that distinguish it from hotter parts of mainland Greece.
The island has mild, wet winters and hot, generally dry summers. According to the municipality, average high temperatures reach around 28.6°C (83.5°F) in July and 29.3°C (84.7°F) in August, while summer rainfall is extremely limited.
The surrounding sea also moderates temperatures compared with mainland Greece. For travelers, that means the traditional summer season is reliably warm and sunny, while May, June, September and October can offer a more comfortable combination of weather and fewer crowds. And that could become increasingly important if tourism grows.
The Island’s Biggest Advantage Could Also Become Its Biggest Problem
There is an obvious catch. Ithaca’s appeal comes partly from the fact that it hasn’t been overwhelmed by tourism. If the Odyssey effect becomes too successful, that could change.
The island has a small population and limited infrastructure compared with Greece’s biggest tourist destinations.
More visitors mean more hotel rooms, more restaurants, more ferries and more pressure on water, roads and the natural environment. The experience of other Greek destinations offers a warning.
Once a quiet island becomes a global tourism brand, it is very difficult to make it quiet again. That makes the next few years particularly important for Ithaca.
The Goal May Not Be to Become the Next Santorini
And perhaps it shouldn’t. Ithaca doesn’t need millions of visitors. Its opportunity may be to attract fewer visitors who stay longer and spend more.
A traveler who comes for the Odyssey might stay for four or five nights. They might rent a car, take a boat trip, eat at local restaurants, visit museums, hike, and then combine the trip with Kefalonia or Lefkada.
That’s a much more sustainable tourism model than turning the island into a destination for thousands of cruise passengers passing through for a few hours.
There Is Something Almost Perfect About the Timing
Homer’s Odyssey is fundamentally a story about travel. But it isn’t really about getting somewhere quickly. It’s about everything that happens along the way.
That makes Ithaca an oddly perfect destination for travelers tired of ticking famous Greek islands off a list. You can come here because of Odysseus.
But you might stay because of the quiet harbor in Vathy, or the mountain roads, or the beaches, or the smell of pine and olive trees, or the feeling that, for once, you’ve arrived somewhere that hasn’t been completely redesigned for tourists.
The Bottom Line
Ithaca may be about to become famous for something it has been famous for for nearly 3,000 years.
The success of The Odyssey is putting Homer’s world back into the global spotlight. Travel companies are already turning the epic into itineraries.
International media are devoting major features to the island. And travelers are increasingly searching for the real places behind the stories they see on screen.
Ithaca wasn’t Hollywood’s main filming location. It doesn’t need to be. It is the real island carrying the name, the mythology and the history.
And if the current wave of interest continues, the homeland of Odysseus could become one of Greece’s most talked-about destinations – just as travelers are beginning to look beyond the country’s overcrowded islands. The irony would be hard to miss.
After thousands of years of waiting for Odysseus to come home, Ithaca may finally be getting the visitors instead.
Sources:
- Ithaca Municipality – Official Tourism Portal – information on Ithaca’s history, landscape, attractions and tourism development.
- Ithaca Municipality – How to Get to Ithaca – ferry connections with Kefalonia, Lefkada and mainland Greece.
- Ithaca Municipality – Weather and Climate – climate, temperatures, rainfall and seasonal conditions.
- Reuters – “As Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’ draws global audiences, Sicily’s Favignana braces for film tourism” – the film’s use of Favignana as Ithaca and the growing phenomenon of set-jetting.
- The Guardian – “My very own Greek Odyssey: a sailing trip to the island of Ithaca” – recent travel coverage of Ithaca and its Homeric connections.
- Le Figaro / Tornos News – Special Ithaca and Odyssey edition – 2026 international media promotion of Ithaca around The Odyssey.
- EF Go Ahead Tours – “Footsteps of the Odyssey in Greece” – new travel itinerary connecting Kefalonia, Ithaca and Corfu around Homer’s epic.
