Property for sale in Othonoi

The island

Othonoi is the largest of the three Diapontia islands, about ten square kilometres of green hills rising to about 390 metres at Imerovigli, and the westernmost point of Greece, about 43 nautical miles from the coast of Italy. The slopes are terraced with dry-stone walls and planted with olive trees, many of them centuries old, among cypresses. Ammos, the harbour, is the largest settlement, with the guesthouses, tavernas and shops; the rest of the 386 residents live in small hamlets — Chorio, Dafni, Kasimatika, Mastoratika and others — linked by paths and some twenty kilometres of asphalt road. Most beaches, Aspri Ammos below its pale cliffs among them, are reached by boat. There is a clinic with an ambulance and a heliport for emergencies; hospital care means Corfu.

Where people buy

Many Othonians emigrated — to Corfu, to Athens and above all to the United States. Property includes houses in Ammos and the hamlets, some of them stone-built, and plots among the olive terraces. 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; your engineer should check both before you make an offer.

Othonoi is 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 calls at Ereikoussa and Mathraki on the way and takes three to four hours; it sails a few days a week and carries cars. Boats also sail from Agios Stefanos Avliotes on Corfu's north-west coast; check the current timetable.

Golden Visa

Othonoi has 386 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.