The community of Elafonisos includes the island of the same name and the opposite shore of Vatika, Pounta, next to the biotope of Lake Strongyli. The island is small but famed for its beauty, its sand hills and its cedar trees. It is renowed for its beautiful beaches, Simos, Tseratsinikos and Limnitsa. On its west coast are 4 smaller islands, the islands of Panaghia. On the east coast there is the little island Pavlopetri, with its sunken prehistoric town and the islet Stavros. The largest bays of the island are Sarakinikos, Frangos and Lefki.

Archaeological digs have brought to light settlements of the 3rd and 2nd millenium BC. Finds of the Myceanean period also bear witness to a flourishing society. In the centuries of Venetian domination, the island belonged to the Venetian family Venieri. In later years the English regarded it as belonging to the Ionian Islands territory. At the end of the Revolution of 1821 people from Vatika, Mani and Kythira moved to Elafonisos seeking a safer settlement. On the 6th of July is celebrated the local National day, the anniversary of the union with Greece.

The people today apart from a very few farming activities are employed mainly in fishing and supplement their income with the tourist industry. One of the most important elements of the natural wealth of the island are the rare species of cedar trees. Elafonisos is reach in a variety of flora. In a field study carries out by a local school 35 different kinds of wild weeds and wild flowers were recorded.