Othonoi forms the westernmost point of Greece. It covers 10.8 square kilometres, with a width of about 3.6 kilometres, a length of about 5.6 kilometres, and a coastline covering 30 kilometres. Five settlements are scattered over the island, but during winter only Ammos and Stavros have any sort of life. It is a wonderful place for visitors, perfect for a sailing holiday but also for quiet holidays ashore. It is a poor region, and the few islanders who have not emigrated live from fishing and from their few olive trees (36,000 in number).
The way of life led by the people today, however, is not indicative of the island's history. At one time, boats approaching and leaving the Adriatic Sea used to stop here and the harbour of Ammos was always busy. Some ruins on nearby Kastri Hill, probably of a Venetian fortress, and the former Italian name of the island, Fanos, indicate that a lighthouse of great importance to shipping once stood here. The Othoniots were skilled seafarers and built their own caiques. In addition, the island was famed for its good climate, and it is said that during the British Protectorate sick soldiers would be sent here to recuperate.
Today, the boat will leave you at Ammos, a little bay with a pretty beach, where the few shops that exist on the island are located. Footpaths and tracks connect with the interior of the island, a paradise for lovers of walking. In the centre of the island lies the settlement of Stavros, on the slopes of 'Mount' Kalodiki (217 metres). Most of the seashore is rocky and precipitous, but in the west there is the beautiful beach known as 'Aspri Ammos' (White Beach), with the 'Calypso' cave, and to the north is the Bay of Fiki.