Skorpios, how to visit the Onassis island today

Skorpios is private. You cannot land on the island, you cannot walk through the gardens, and you cannot visit the small chapel on its north tip. You can, however, circle it slowly by boat at any time, and you can anchor and swim in the clear water off its south and west coasts. This is what every boat day in the inner Ionian includes.

A short history

Aristotle Onassis bought Skorpios in 1962 from the local Lefkada family who owned it. He built the small villa at the top of the island, the chapel where he married Jackie Kennedy in 1968, and the network of paths and gardens that ran through the wooded interior. He is buried on the island, along with his son Alexander, who died in a plane crash in 1973, and his daughter Christina.

In 2013 the family sold the island to a Russian buyer, Ekaterina Rybolovleva, daughter of the businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev. The Onassis tombs were excluded from the sale and remain under family custody.

The new owners have kept the island private. The villa was being renovated as of recent reports. Construction crews come and go. You can sometimes see them from the boat.

What you can actually see from the water

Circling Skorpios from a small boat takes about 30 minutes at a slow cruise. From the sea you can see:

• The small chapel on the north tip, visible from the water, a white stone building on a green slope.
• The boat houses and dock on the east coast, where the family's tenders used to come and go.
• The villa on the high point of the island, partly visible through the trees from certain angles on the south coast.
• The olive groves and cypresses that cover the interior, dense and old.

The water is clear and deep. On the south coast there is a small sand-and-pebble bay (locally called "Onassis Beach", though there is no formal name) where boats anchor to swim. This is the closest you can legally get to the island itself. The water is 4-6 metres deep over white sand, almost milky turquoise in midday light.

Why we circle it slowly

Two reasons. First, it is part of the natural geography of the inner Ionian, Skorpios sits exactly on the line between Lefkada and Meganisi, and the route past it is the route you'd take anyway. Second, it is one of the more interesting set-pieces on a day on the water. The history is real, the family was famous, the place has the strange feeling of a private estate where the family is no longer in residence and the new family is rarely there either.

What is nearby

Skorpios is twenty minutes from Lefkada town by fast RIB. To its north sit the smaller private islands of Madouri (owned by another family) and Sparti (uninhabited). To the south is the larger Meganisi, where we usually stop for the morning swim after circling Skorpios. The whole cluster sits inside the Meganisi by boat inner Ionian loop, the route that takes you past all of them in one day.

A real day

We had a couple from New York last August who specifically asked about Skorpios. He had been reading a biography of Onassis on the flight over. We did the slow circle in the morning, anchored at the south bay for a swim, then carried on to Meganisi for lunch. He took a photograph of the chapel that ended up framed in his office. Their day was less about beaches than about the place. Both are valid.

FAQ

Can I land on Skorpios? No. The island is private property. Landing is not permitted.

Can I visit the Onassis tombs? No. The tombs are within the private area of the island and are not open to the public.

How long does the Skorpios part of the day take? About 30-40 minutes, a slow circle of the island plus a 20-30 minute swim stop in the south bay. It is one stop in a larger inner-Ionian day.

Who owns Skorpios now? The island was sold by the Onassis family in 2013 to Ekaterina Rybolovleva. The Onassis family retains rights to the tombs. Background on the sale via Wikipedia.

The Skorpios circle is part of every Meganisi by boat inner Ionian day we run, and a regular detour on the longer Lefkada to Paxos boat day.