Whether you have a self catering apartment or villa and need to buy food, or are in a hotel and only fancy a bottle of something, you need to go shopping. Insects and mosquitos can be a nuisance so arm yourself with a can of Baygon spray. The blue one. Before you go out at night spray the room, not forgetting the wardrobes, and close the doors and windows.

The only true supermarkets are in Lefkas town. Lidl, Champion(Carrefore) and Dia are the biggest. These are all foreign owned and relatively new to the town.There are also plenty of Greek owned shops calling themselves supermarkets. There is also an abundance of greengrocers, butchers and bakers, chemists and clothes shops.

Nidri is the second largest town and there appear to be a number of supermarkets. However, the only true one  is Market Inn at the northern end. The rest are family owned shops but can provide most of your daily needs. Prices vary a great deal so check carefully and don't pay over the odds when a little bit of footwork could save you money.

A few suggestions follow. Working from the northern end of town on the main road.

Zeus , opposite All Seasons office, lovely fresh fruit and vegetables. Most of the seasonal stuff is locally grown.

Proton. On the left past the Elite bar. Sells a variety of food stuffs including baked beans and Bisto gravy! It is a clean and well organised shop.

The CO-OP next to the Oscar hotel is an Aladdins cave. It is amazing what you can find at the back of that shop, as well as the usual food stuffs that you would expect.

The Cheap Shop, on the Paleokatouna road sells the cheapest 5 litre local wine.  It has been refurbished so is a lot better than it used to be.

Out of the towns.

If you are staying in a village, for example in a villa, there is nearly always one small shop selling basics. One of the exceptions to this is Vafkeri, although Karia is only a ten minute drive away. The villages rely on the many transit vans that visit. These sell anything from bread, fish and vegetables (mainly locals), to plastic tables in the summer and rugs in the winter (often gypsies).

Lefkas town is,of course, the capital.  A great deal of new buildings are going up and most of these are shops. You can buy absolutely anything here but it needs a bit of footwork as the newer shops are away from the center. If you are stuck for something to do on a wet day there is even a bowling alley and swimming pool located beneath the CITY shopping centre. Only three lanes in each but better than travelling all the way to Preveza.

The place to buy the local lace and embroidery is KARIA. Here it is cheaper than in the main tourist towns and most of it is locally made. Ask first though whether it is hand or machine made as there isn't enough of the former to fill the shops so they do bring in items from elsewhere. Sometimes you can actually see the ladies working on their embroidery outside their homes. However this is unlikely in the heat of the day unless they can find some shade.