Car rental in Kefalonia solves a problem the island creates by its own geography. Kefalonia stretches about 773 square kilometres of mountain and coast, the largest of the Ionian Islands, and its beaches, caves and villages sit at opposite ends of that landmass. Myrtos hangs below cliffs in the northwest, Melissani opens inland from Sami … Read more
Agios Gerasimos Monastery stands in the Omala plain, a flat upland basin in the centre of Kefalonia. The enclosure lies about 12 km southeast of the capital. It gathers an old low church that holds the saint’s relics in a silver reliquary, a large modern church raised beside it. A narrow underground cell reached by … Read more
Petani beach lies on the west coast of the Paliki peninsula. Lixouri stands about 10 km southeast, and Argostoli about 40 km away by the road around the bay. A long arc of white pebbles curves under steep cliffs, and deep blue water shelves quickly from the shoreline. The bay faces west, so the sun … Read more
Loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, are the emblem of Kefalonia’s wildlife. Adults feed in the sheltered bay at Argostoli and rest inside the Koutavos lagoon. The lagoon sits beside the De Bosset bridge, minutes from the town centre. Females nest on the sandy south coast near Skala. Watchers on the harbour quay see shells break … Read more
Skala Kefalonia is the main resort of the island’s southeastern corner, spread along a beach that runs roughly 3 km below low pine-covered slopes. The village itself is modern and low-rise, laid out on flat ground about 40 km by road from the island capital. Rooms, shops and tavernas sit in a short grid one … Read more
Ithaca sits across a narrow strait from Kefalonia’s east coast. Close enough that the ferry crossing runs about 30 to 45 minutes from the port of Sami to the landing at Pisaetos. That short hop turns Homer’s island into a straightforward day out rather than a separate stay. A single day covers the capital Vathy … Read more
Lixouri faces Argostoli across the Gulf, about 4 kilometres of water and a 20 to 30 minute ferry ride from the capital of Kefalonia. The town is the island’s second settlement and the centre of the Paliki peninsula, a farmed, low-lying quarter in the southwest that most visitors see only from the opposite shore. Its … Read more
Antisamos beach occupies a wide bay on the east coast of Kefalonia, about 4 km from the port of Sami over a green ridge. White pebbles line the shore, the water deepens within metres of the waterline, and hills covered in trees close the bay on three sides. The open side looks east across the … Read more
Drogarati cave sits in the low hills above Sami, on the east coast of Kefalonia. The entrance stands about 3 kilometres from the port town and around 25 kilometres from Argostoli. A stairway drops through a narrow opening into one great chamber hung with stalactites. Stalagmites rise from the floor to meet them, and columns … Read more
Kefalonia rewards travellers who match the month to the plan. The largest of the Ionian Islands runs a long main season. It opens in late spring and closes in early autumn, and each stretch of it delivers a different island. Spring paints Mount Ainos and the Omala valley green, and leaves Myrtos almost empty. July … Read more