The Epirot coast has some very attractive beaches between Igoumenítsa and Préveza, among the best on the mainland outside of Mount Pílio. Igoumenítsa itself, the capital of Thesprotía province, is a purely functional ferry port, while the first beaches you'd stop for are at Sývota, 23km south. Párga, the most established resort on the way to Préveza, is best left for June or September visits. Inland near Párga, there are worthwhile detours from the main route south: the intriguing Nekromanteion of Acheron was the legendary gate of Hades; the gorge of the Ahérondas River offers fine hiking; and the imposing ruins of Kassope and Nikopolis break the journey to Préveza, a low-key provincial capital at the mouth of the Amvrakikós gulf. Árta, surrounded by Byzantine churches, is approached around the gulf from Préveza, past the RodhiáWetland Centre.

Moving into Étolo-Akarnanía, the landscape becomes increasingly desolate, with little to delay progress to Lefkádha island or the Peloponnese. Páleros port, south of castle-topped Vónitsa, is the one place with any maritime feel, or foreign-tourist trade; committed hermits might retire to Kálamos island, reached from the enjoyable little coastal settlement of Mýtikas. Walled Mesolóngi has Byronic associations, but is otherwise unglamorous, if enjoyable enough for a few hours.