Property for sale in Ereikoussa

The island

Ereikoussa lies about six nautical miles off the north-west coast of Corfu, the second-largest of the three Diapontia islands and the northernmost island of the Ionian. It is low and green: olive trees and cypresses, and the heather — ereiki — that gives the island its name and flowers in October. Its Italian name is Merlera. Porto is the harbour and the main village, with a beach beside the quay; Bragini is the other beach people walk to, and the hamlets of Dentra, Nikolatika and Paliokalyva house the rest of the 447 residents. Like the other Diapontia, the island saw many of its people emigrate from the 1960s on. There is a small state clinic and a heliport; anything beyond first care means Corfu.

Where people buy

Property includes older family houses and plots among the olives, in and around Porto. It pays to be patient. Outside the village limits a plot generally needs 4,000 m² and 25 metres of frontage on a public road to be buildable, and part of the island lies within the Natura 2000 bird protection area of the Diapontia — both are for your engineer to check before you make an offer.

Ereikoussa is also a border area under Greek law. Buyers from outside the EU and EFTA need a permit from the border-areas committee of the Decentralised Administration before signing, and a sale made without one is void. Greek, EU and EFTA citizens are not affected.

Asking prices

Asking prices are shown on each listing; ask for an independent valuation before you make an offer.

Getting there

Fly to Corfu (CFU). The year-round ferry from Corfu port takes about two and a half hours, sails a few days a week and carries cars. In the season, small boats also cross from Sidari and Agios Stefanos Avliotes on Corfu's north-west coast. In winter, the ferry timetable decides when you come and go.

Golden Visa

Ereikoussa has 447 inhabitants at the 2021 census and, on an island-by-island reading, is in the €400,000 zone for the Greek Golden Visa, unlike Corfu itself. Administratively the island belongs to the municipality of Corfu, and we are not aware of an official ruling on how the 3,100-inhabitant test applies to it; ask your lawyer to confirm the classification in writing before you rely on €400,000. Every Golden Visa applicant is a non-EU buyer, so the border-area permit comes first.