Kefalonia, Greece 🇬🇷

I’ve just come back from a week on the gorgeous Greek island of Kefalonia. I love this place! This was our second visit (having also been in 2015) and it was exactly as remembered – tranquil and super pretty with lush mountains and the brightest of blue seas.

Agia Efimia

During both visits to Kefalonia, we have stayed close to the tiny-but-perfectly-positioned harbour village of Agia Efimia. The first time by chance, the second time deliberately, since we loved it so much.

Agia Efimia is on the eastern coast of Kefalonia and around a 30 minute drive north from the airport. Although small in size, it is a hosting port for holiday yachts, rental boats and fishing boats and faces the island of Ithaca across the water. The village is home to a handful of shops and supermarkets, as well as a good number of cafes, restaurants and bars. It also has a couple of small, secluded beaches where you can watch the waves with some privacy.

We decided to rent our own boat for the day from Agia Efimia. Like most, we were enticed by the promise of sailing into secluded bays and coves that cannot otherwise be reached. The 30 horse-power engine is the best boat you can hire and this set us back about €100 for the day, which covered the cost of petrol.

Tip: Don’t be fooled by the brochure and smooth-talking agent – it really isn’t as easy as it is made to look and ‘dropping anchor’ is a very tricky business for us amateurs! Also be aware that the water can get really choppy out at sea so prepare for a not-so-smooth sailing. That said, as one souvenir t.shirt read: ‘Better a bad day on the water than a good day in the office‘.

Being so close to our villa, we got a taxi into Agia Efimia each night and sampled the majority of its restaurants. I adore Greek food as a rule and the Kefalonian restaurants did not disappoint. My recommendations of where to eat include the traditional Greek tavernas ‘To Perasma’, ‘Spiros’ and ‘Finikas‘ for the best authentic dishes and the friendliest staff.

You couldn’t be blamed for wondering what to choose from the extensive menus in each of the tavernas (not to mention the daily specials, too), so let me help. If you’re a meat eater, try the local lamb kleftiko, moussaka or the Kefalonian meat pie – all delicious! If you’re vegetarian, there can surely be nothing finer than a traditional Greek salad, bursting with tomato, feta, cucumber, olives and onions – followed up by a dish of devine dolmades (vine leaves, to you and me). Heaven on a plate.

Tip: For a taste of the Med back home, do what the Greeks do and sprinkle oregano on your chips and dill on your salad. Game changer.

‘Carena’ is also a great choice of bar for an evening cocktail (or five), with friendly staff and cosy outdoor sofas – perfect to enjoy a sunset setting! A word to the wise – they are very generous with their boozy measures in Kefalonia. Not that I minded. Not one bit.

The world-renowned Myrtos Beach

As we always do on holiday, we had hired a car to explore Kefalonia island. Just a short ten minute drive from Agia Efimina is the famous Myrtos Beach, allegedly one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire world!

Surrounded by dramatic, impressive mountains and with clear blue turquoise sea, it’s something not to be missed if you’re on the island. From a distance, you’d be right to assume it’s a beach made up only of powder white sand, whereas in actual fact, it’s is a mix of soft sand and pebbles. A slight anticlimax, perhaps, given how amazing it looks from above.

To get down to the beach involves a pretty steep descent, best in a car but perfectly fine on foot as it’s well-paved. This doesn’t put people off as they come to Myrtos beach to enjoy the best spot for swimming and snorkelling in the coves.

Being at the beach in May, out of the typical ‘tourist season’, we were lucky to see it looking unspoilt and to be in the company of only a handful of people. I believe it’s an entirely different place in the busy summer months, when pop-up cafes and rows of sunbeds line the beach, along with masses of sun-worshipers.

Talking of sun-worshiping, whilst May is not typically known for having too many rainy days, we definitely got the better of the sunshine when we visited in the month of June in 2015. According to the locals (well, our nightly taxi driver, at least) September is the ideal time to visit Kefalonia – the summer crowds are gone but the height of the temperatures remain. Perfect for a day – or week – at the beach!

I mentioned how Myrtos Beach is surrounded by mountains (as, of course, most of Kefalonia is), and this is home to the resident mountain goats, which can be seen high into the forests, as well as casually hanging out in groups on the bends of cliff roads – startling unsuspecting drivers! Apparently the goats can be quite vicious so approach with caution; that selfie might not be such a good idea.

Sami

From Agia Effimia, we took the road out to Sami – a small fishing port now famous as the location for Captain Correlli’s Mandolin book and film, which was shot in Sami in the summer of 2000.

Much like Agia Efimia, Sami has a delightful little harbour and is a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a meal in the sunshine, watching the boats come in and out. Naturally, you can expect to enjoy some of the finest seafood here!

Sami is also the place where island-hoppers can catch ferries to nearby islands Ithaki and Patras, or further afield to Zakynthos in the summer months.

Just two miles from Sami is the ultra-impressive Drogarati Cave, brimming with age old stalagmites and stalactites and standing 44 metres deep.

The cave was discovered 300 years ago after an earthquake created an entrance. The steps down into the cave are extremely steep (slippy too, if wet) and lead down into the huge chamber, which you will notice as being especially cooler compared to the heat outside. Oddly, it has a constant temperature of 18 degrees, irrespective of what the temperature outside is! Due to the cave having great acoustics, it also hosts orchestral concerts throughout the year. What a venue!

Just a short distance from Drogarati Cave is the even more impressive Melissani Lake – or ‘Nymphs Cave’ as it’s also known. This spectacular subterranean lake dates back to the ice age, but was only really discovered following an earthquake which collapsed the roof of the cavern and exposed the crystal waters below (similar story as the Drogarati Cave). The natural opening lets in the sunlight that beams down, lighting the cave right up.

For a small fee, you will experience being rowed around the lake by a singing boat man! It’s probably as close to Venice as you’ll find in Greece! The experience lasts around 20 minutes and it’s an absolute must do! Despite it being absolutely stunning with the best reflections and iridescent colours I’ve ever seen, it also felt a bit eerie. Greek myth suggests that the nymph Melissani committed suicide in the lake as a result of unrequited love.

And on that cheery note….

Assos

Venturing north up the island, we found ourselves is Assos, another small fishing village with gorgeously colourful houses and an old 16th century Venetian fortress, standing 1.8 km up in the mountain.

Assos is super-cute, charming and charismatic, maintaining original Greek architecture and filled with rows of tiny houses covered in flowers of all shapes, sizes and shades of the rainbow.

We decided to have a seafood lunch in the working harbour, which gave us front row seats to natures natural aquarium, before deciding that we would walk the calories off and go and see the fortress.

Despite looking somewhat daunting after a big meal, the climb was surprising easy (even in flip flops), thanks to a helpful stone path winding through the pine trees. The views looking down to Assos on the way up were definitely worth the trek alone.

The old fortress was originally served to defend the island from attack by Ottomans and pirates. It was subsequently used as a prison, too. Nowadays, you can expect a scattering of tourists and historians having a look at the remains – and little else.

Fiskardo

The road from Assos leads up to the far north of Kefalonia and to the prettiest of all harbours on the island (in my opinion, at least) – Fiskardo.

Interestingly, Fiskardo is the only place on the island that was unaffected by the 1953 earthquake and it cashes in on this as being the oldest and only truly original part of Kefalonia. Here is a place which welcomes fishermen, flotillas of day-tripping sea folk and many a cruise ship full of eager holidaymakers wanting to sample the catch of the day from the harbour-side tavernas.

One of the main attractions is the Venetian lighthouse, which is easily reached on foot around the shoreline within a short amount of time. There are two small pebbled beaches in Fiskardo if a spot of sunbathing is in order. You can also go snorkelling in the clear waters or rent out your own kayak for a few hours, should the fancy take.

But the thing I love most about Fiskardo is the old cobbled streets leading somewhere and nowhere, the intriguing doorways, the rustic glamour of vine-covered buildings and the pop of colour at every turn.

To me, this is the epitome of a Greek holiday on the coast. Without question, Fiskardo simply has to top your itinerary when visiting Kefalonia – and be sure to grab a cooling gelato to wander around with too, because Greek ice cream in Greek sunshine is what holidays are made of.

Argostoli

The opposite end of the island to Fiskardo lies Argostoli (the administrative capital of Kefalonia and home to the island’s only airport). Unlike Fiskardo, this was completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1953 and had to be rebuilt with concrete buildings for strength and durability. As such, expect everything to be much more modern and polished than any other part of the island.

Unlike the places I’ve mentioned so far, Argostoli is most undeniably geared for the holidaymakers who want nothing more a beach, the odd museum and a plethora of shops, restaurants and bars on their doorstep. It’s also where you’ll find the super-yachts and the island-hoppers who casually drop in for the weekend.

Argostoli has the largest population on the island (around 10,000), as can be seen by the houses that fill the coastline. As Kefalonia’s Capital, it has had much more money invested in it than other more traditional villages, with a modern shopping plaza, coffee shops galore and ‘fun activities’ for tourists such as (slightly over-priced) pedal boats that look like cars.

My only regret was not getting arriving in Argostoli in time to see the ‘famous’ loggerhead turtles who follow the fishing boats into the harbour each morning. Maybe next time?

If Argostoli isn’t your base, it is still an interesting town to visit for the day, or the ideal place to spend a few hours before your flight home.

Accommodation

As I mentioned at the start of the blog, during this holiday we stayed in Villa Theo, one of the ‘Forest Villas’ accommodations in Potamianata – 30 minutes north of the airport. It was perfect for the two of us (though it’s worth noting that it does sleep up to 6). We found this little gem through a well known travel site, but you can also book directly with the friendly owners at http://www.forestvillaskefalonia.com.

Set on one level, the villa was spacious, immaculate and modern, with attractive stone walls inside and out and all of the amenities you could ever need (including Netflix). Outside, we had a sun terrace, fantastic private pool, barbecue area and views into the forest, as well as private space to park our hire car. We received a lovely, warm welcome from the owners who provided us with a bottle of local wine and a whole host of other welcome treats, including delicious home cooked pastitsio.

During our previous holiday in 2015, we stayed in a much bigger villa just down the road – Villa Stefania – another gorgeous stone villa, this time set on a secluded private road in the valley of Pylaros.

This huge, three bedroom villa boasted a living space of 125 square metres over three levels (the lower level being the third bedroom and snooker/ pool room).

Like Villa Theo, this villa had everything we could possibly hope for – and more – complete with a massive swimming pool, two sun terraces, built-in barbecue and again, an all-important private space for the hire car.

If you want to book this beauty, visit http://www.kefalonia-holidayhomes.com.

Both villas were within easy walking distance of two local tavernas, a small but perfectly adequate supermarket and a bakery, as well a short taxi ride into Agia Efimia. Perfect!

Despite its status as the largest Ionian Island, Kefalonia is a quiet place out of peak season (July and August). This makes it the perfect destination for holiday makers who just want to relax in one of the most picturesque places you can find, without hoards of tourists.

Please drop any thoughts or comments on the blog below 👇🏻