Here are the available villas for rental in Ionian Islands.

Not too many home comforts

I have just returned from Kalamaki, Zante. I had a very quiet and relaxing holiday. The Greek people were very friendly and helpful.
The island is famous for the Loggerhead turtles. Unfortunately, I never saw a real one, only replicas in the shops.
The weather was very hot and the food was great. I would recommend the resort only to people who don't care too much for home comforts and are easily pleased with very little facilities in their apartment. I was assured that all Greece was the same.

Italy and back in minutes

From the Daily Mail

On the waterfront, relishing a breakfast of spinach pie and black coffee in the shade of a heavily-laden pomegranate tree, I felt triumphant. I had just staked my claim to a world record. Smiling, snowy-headed locals who had witnessed the feat confirmed it had never been done before. It would look good in the Guinness Book Of Records, I mused: The first person to swim, non-stop, from Greece to Italy - and back.
'Oh dear, you forgot to time yourself,' my wife chuckled. 'Ah well, I'll have to do it again before lunch,' I grinned. 'Nothing like getting the rehearsal right.'
The rocky, 600-yard, turtle-shaped islet of St Nicholas is a mere 200 yards off the northern tip of the seductive Greek island of Zante. But - more than 200 miles from Italy - it remains Italian, an outpost from the 300-year Venetian occupation of Zante.
Incredibly, uninhabited St Nicholas, passed on to Vatican ownership, was overlooked in the island's unification with Greece in 1864. So the international swimming record could legitimately be claimed, but I decided not to pursue the idea. I hadn't packed a stopwatch, anyway.
Idyllic, verdant Zante (population 37,000) is a small island, 23 miles by ten, roughly the size of the Isle of Wight. It captivated us. We explored the gem in the oh-so-blue Ionian Sea first by boat, taking a leisurely day-long cruise from Zante Town aboard the 145ft Delfini, which never reached its top speed of 17 knots.
There are 25 beautiful, top-rated beaches - and countless deserted coves accessed only by boat - on the island, including the longest in Greece, the six miles of golden sands at Laganas Bay, the breeding ground of the loggerhead turtle.
From the Delfini, we spied all of the beaches, stopping for a dip at three of them. The absolute must-stop is Smugglers' Cove in St George's Bay. Here, half-buried in the sand, lies the rusting wreck of a cigarette-smuggling cargo ship which ran aground in the late Eighties. It is one of the most famous sights of Greece, though suspicion surrounds the shipwreck story. Perhaps, so perfectly placed, bang in the middle of the cove, it was beached deliberately. What a coup by the island's tourism spin doctors.
At Cape Skinari, we were astonished as the sleek, white Delfini nosed into the Blue Caves. The refraction of the light turns everything in the water blue, even the boats. ... more

Slow road to a perfect beach

From the Daily Mail

We'd hardly had time to settle onto the transfer bus from Kefalonia airport to the small resort of Scala where we were staying when the tour company rep jumped up. Handing me a welcome party invitation, she said: 'There's a music bar opposite where you're staying, I'm sure you'll want to get in there straight away.' Peaceful, pretty Kefalonia expects families, thirtysomethings and couples as its visiting guests. And largely, that's what it gets.
They don't expect three slightly hysterical, twentysomething girlies. Wouldn't we rather be on Zante - our livelier, neighbouring island - the locals wondered? No, no and no again. We wanted a quiet week somewhere beautiful, and Kefalonia fitted the bill. The biggest of the Ionian Islands, it is also the most unspoilt.
The island is a collection of coastal villages circumnavigating the huge Mount Enos that dominates the island, a patchwork of olive groves and fields saturated with poppies and dandelions - disturbed only by tiny, winding roads linking the villages. The main street of our village, Scala, was lined with simple tavernas, pretty garden bars and a few souvenir shops and supermarkets. No throbbing clubs, pubs or other horrors. Lovely.
Unfortunately, what Scala didn't have a lot of was atmosphere and, to an extent, that's true of most of Kefalonia. Levelled by an earthquake in the Fifties, the island has many new buildings that bear little relation to the traditional Greek architecture and fishing village charm common to most islands. Only the village of Fiskardo, on the island's northern tip, retains any original architecture.
But the beaches are where Kefalonia scores. Staying somewhere as small as Scala means a change of scenery - and a hire car is essential if you want to get out and about. But as roads are narrow and speed limits restricted to 40mph, it can take a while to get around. So we started off nearer home - the small village of Lourdas, with golden sand and rolling waves, and the tiny, almost Caribbean beaches of Kourkomelata and Avithos.
On the last day we ventured further to the port of Sami and the neighbouring beach of Anti-sami. Although a three-hour drive, Anti-sami proved worth it - a long strip of sand shaped like a crescent moon, backed by lush green mountains that encircled the sea. Beaches like this no longer officially exist - no sign of tourism, no cafe or toilets, just the clearest azure water and the blissful feeling that comes from being surrounded by unspoilt natural beauty. ... more

Nothing is too much trouble

We had a lovely relaxing holiday. Nothing is too much trouble for the people on this island. Meals were excellent - we ate Greek food, of course.
The most amazing thing was that there is no crime on Kefalonia. It seemed strange not to carry everything with us (including our cash). Bars are also plentiful and very, very good. Beaches also are something else. We would recommend Kefalonia to anybody.

Lovely and laid-back

We stayed at Scala, a quiet, pretty resort with a backdrop of green hills on the southern tip of the island. The sand and shingle beach is clean, with parasols and sunshades costing about £5 for two all day.
The water is lovely and clear, although there was a fair bit of seaweed at one end and the shingle shelves quite steeply at some points, so it's not suitable for very small children.
Scala has lots of good tavernas and a few shops plus the bonus of the remains of a Roman villa in an old olive grove - lovely. There are a few hotels, but it's mainly self-catering here.
We hired a car and drove round the island in a day. We loved the pretty harbour front at Sami and visited the nearby Melissani Lake (a bit touristy, but fun) and the Drogarati Cave (lots of steps and people).
Fiskardo, at the northern end, has some lovely restaurants and you can watch the posh yachts come in as you eat - fantastic ice cream parlour here, too! Myrtos Beach was dramatic (as is all the coastline on this side of the island) but is a long drive down and lots of flies at dusk made the idea of staying for sunset rather unappealing.
Had a meal on the harbour front at Argostoli on the way back. Unremarkable, but this is more of a working town than a resort.
Took the ferry from Sami to Ithaca - a beautiful, unspoilt island. Especially loved the little port of Kioni and the spectacular harbour at Vathy, but a car is vital to get around.
Food on Kefalonia was great - plenty of traditional Greek dishes and quite a few vegetarian options. Best local wine is the dry white Robola. A lovely, laid-back island! ... more