A Kefalonia island tour is a guided coach day that crosses the largest Ionian island from Argostoli to Myrtos beach, the castle village of Assos, the harbour at Fiskardo and the underground lake at Melissani, over eight to nine hours with hotel pickup. Plan the rest of the island with Greece Tours.
This guide covers the day in full: what each stop involves and how long you get there, the caves and their timing, the other sights that appear on the itineraries, what the full and half days cost, what is paid on the day, how the coach compares with a hire car, what to wear, and when to book.
What does a Kefalonia island tour cover?
A guided coach or minibus day that crosses the island from Argostoli to Myrtos beach, the castle village of Assos, the harbour at Fiskardo and the underground lake at Melissani, running eight to nine hours with hotel pickup.
A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. Kefalonia is the largest of the Ionian islands and its sights sit at opposite ends of it. Myrtos and Assos are on the north-west coast, Fiskardo at the northern tip, Melissani and Drogarati on the east near Sami, and the capital in the middle. That geography is why the coach tour exists. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos.
The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. Driving the same circuit takes two days at a comfortable pace and a full day at an uncomfortable one. The tour compresses it by starting at eight, holding each stop to a fixed window, and putting a guide on the bus for the roads between. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber.
Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. Shorter versions exist. Half-day tours run to the caves and Antisamos, or to Assos and Fiskardo alone, and they suit a traveller with a hire car for the rest of the week. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price.
What is the Myrtos beach stop?
Twenty to forty minutes at the viewpoint above the bay and, on most itineraries, a swim stop on the sand below. The beach is white pebble under a limestone cliff and the water reads turquoise from the road 200 metres above.
Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. The viewpoint is the photograph. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins and the terrace halfway down looks straight into the bay, which is the frame on every poster of the island. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint.
Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The beach itself is a different experience: coarse white pebble, deep water within a few metres of the shore and a shelf that drops away fast. There is a canteen and sunbeds in season and nothing else. It sits at Myrtos beach. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours.
Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. Coaches that include the swim allow an hour. Those that stop only at the viewpoint make up the time at Assos, and the itinerary says which. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands.
What happens at Assos?
An hour in the village on its isthmus below a Venetian castle: pastel houses round a small harbour, a shingle beach, and a path climbing to the fortress walls above.
The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. Assos is the prettiest stop on the circuit and the one passengers wish were longer. The village sits on a neck of land joining the island to a wooded headland, with the harbour on one side and a bay on the other. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli.
Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. The castle above it is a sixteenth-century Venetian fortification, reached by a twenty-minute climb from the village or a road to the saddle. Few coach itineraries allow time for the walk, and the guides say so rather than pretending otherwise. The village sits at Assos. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos.
Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. Lunch is taken here on part of the programmes, at tavernas facing the harbour. The others eat at Fiskardo, which is busier and dearer. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up.
What is the Fiskardo stop like?
An hour and a half to two hours in the island’s only village untouched by the 1953 earthquake: Venetian houses in ochre and pink round a yacht harbour, with tavernas along the quay and a lighthouse walk at the point.
Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. Fiskardo survived because it sits on a different fault block from the rest of the island. Everything else on Kefalonia was rebuilt after 1953; this one village kept its eighteenth and nineteenth-century houses, and that is what visitors are looking at. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami.
The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. The harbour fills with yachts through the summer and the quayside restaurants price accordingly. The walk north to the Venetian lighthouse and the ruined basilica takes twenty minutes and empties out completely. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint.
Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The village sits at Fiskardo, at the northern tip 50 km from Argostoli on a road that takes ninety minutes. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins.
What is at Melissani and Drogarati?
Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat, roofless at its centre where the ceiling collapsed, with the sun striking the water blue at midday. Drogarati is a dry stalactite cavern with a chamber used for concerts.
Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. The Melissani boat trip lasts fifteen minutes and covers two chambers. Timing decides everything: between eleven and one the sun comes straight through the hole in the roof and the water turns an electric blue that photographs badly and looks extraordinary in person. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking.
Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. The queue at that hour is the trade-off, and coach tours are built around it because the operators know it. The cave sits at Melissani cave. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli.
A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. Drogarati is ten minutes away, 60 metres underground, at a constant eighteen degrees. The main chamber has stalactites two metres long and acoustics good enough that Maria Callas sang there. Entry is separate and cheap. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle.
Which other stops appear on the itineraries?
Antisamos beach below Sami, the monastery of Saint Gerasimos on the Omala plain, the Robola cooperative next to it, Argostoli’s Korgialenios museum and the Katavothres sinkholes on the town’s edge.
The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. Antisamos is the beach on the eastern coast where the Captain Corelli film was shot, white pebble under wooded hills, and it appears on the itineraries that skip the Myrtos swim. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving.
The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. The monastery holds the tomb of the island’s patron saint and stands beside the wine cooperative, which is why the two are always visited together. Both are twenty minutes east of the capital. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami.
The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Katavothres are the sea mills at Argostoli where seawater disappears into the rock and re-emerges at Sami, sixteen days later and on the other side of the island. It is a five-minute stop and a genuine curiosity. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake.
How long does the day take?
Eight to nine hours for the full island tour with pickup between eight and half past nine, five to six for the half-day cave and beach runs, and about seven for the northern loop to Assos and Fiskardo.
Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. The pickup order costs the first passenger up to fifty minutes. A coach working Skala and Lourdas before it turns north leaves earlier than the printed hour, and the confirmation states the real time the evening before. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer.
The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. Returns run in reverse, so the first collected is the last dropped. On the northern loop that means a Skala guest is on the bus for ten hours to spend five out of it. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff.
What does a Kefalonia island tour cost?
From about 40 to 70 euros for the full-day coach with a guide, 30 to 50 euros for a half day, and 250 to 450 euros for a private car with a driver-guide taking up to four.
The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. The fare covers the transport and the guide. Cave entries at Melissani and Drogarati, lunch, the boat on the lake and drinks at the stops are paid on the day, and thirty to sixty euros per person covers them. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat.
Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Children pay roughly half on the coaches. Hotel pickup from Argostoli, Lassi, Skala, Lourdas, Sami and Agia Efimia is standard on the guided days and named at booking. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer.
Is a coach tour better than a hire car?
For one day, yes: the road to Myrtos and Assos is a cliff shelf with hairpins, the Melissani car park fills by eleven, and the guide explains the 1953 earthquake that shaped everything you are looking at.
Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. The north-west coast road is the argument. It climbs from Divarata to Assos on a shelf cut into the cliff with a drop on the outside, and driving it takes concentration that costs the view. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour.
A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. The counter-argument is timing and the south. No coach reaches Xi beach, Petani, Katelios or the Paliki peninsula, and the tour hits Melissani at the same hour as every other tour. A hire car at nine has the lake nearly empty. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff.
June and September give the clearest days for the caves. The practical middle is a guided day early in the week and a hire car afterwards. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through.
What do you wear and bring?
Closed or flat shoes for the cave steps and the Assos path, a light layer for Drogarati at eighteen degrees, swimwear and a towel if the itinerary includes a swim, sun cream, water and cash for entries and lunch.
Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. The cave steps are wet and worn. Melissani has a stair down to the boats and Drogarati a long flight into the chamber, and both are the reason flip-flops are the wrong choice on this day. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees.
Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. Shoulders covered is expected at the monastery of Saint Gerasimos. Cards work at the caves and the larger tavernas and thin out at the village kiosks and the Myrtos canteen. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. June and September give the clearest days for the caves.
Who does the day suit?
First-time visitors, cruise passengers with a full day ashore, travellers without a car, and anyone who wants the 1953 earthquake and the island’s geology explained rather than guessed at.
A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours. Families manage it well because the stops are frequent and short. The limiting factor is the total hours on a bus rather than any single stop, and the half-day versions exist for that reason. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber.
A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands. Travellers who have already driven the north coast get less from it. Those with one day and no car get more from this than from any other single booking on the island. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price.
When does the season run and how far ahead do you book?
May to October, daily in July and August and three or four days a week in the shoulder months. Book two to three days ahead in high summer and on the day outside it.
Antisamos beach appears on the itineraries that skip Myrtos. June and September are the months for it. Myrtos is swimmable, the cave light is strong, the coach has space and the roads are quieter. August puts four coaches at the Melissani car park at the same hour. Katavothres are the sea mills on the edge of Argostoli. Cave entries are paid on the day rather than at booking. The north-west road is a shelf cut into the cliff. Children pay roughly half on a Kefalonia island tour. Booking a Kefalonia island tour ahead fixes the seat and the price. The road drops from Divarata in a series of hairpins. Fiskardo kept its houses through the 1953 earthquake. Melissani is a cave lake reached by rowing boat. Drogarati sits sixty metres underground at eighteen degrees. A Kefalonia island tour runs eight to nine hours.
Myrtos beach lies below a viewpoint two hundred metres up. Booking online holds the seat and the pickup and fixes the price against the resort desk rate. Cancellation runs free to twenty-four hours with most operators here, and the island as a whole sits at Kefalonia. Assos stands on an isthmus below a Venetian castle. The yacht harbour at Fiskardo fills through the summer. The roof of Melissani collapsed and lets the sun through. Maria Callas sang in the Drogarati chamber. Saint Gerasimos is the island’s patron saint. Hotel pickup covers Argostoli, Lassi, Skala and Sami. A Kefalonia island tour costs less than two days of driving. The Melissani car park fills by eleven in high summer. June and September give the clearest days for the caves. A Kefalonia island tour crosses the largest of the Ionian islands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Kefalonia island tour cost?
From about 40 to 70 euros for the full-day guided coach, 30 to 50 euros for a half day, and 250 to 450 euros for a private car with a driver-guide taking up to four. Cave entries and lunch are paid on the day.
What does a Kefalonia island tour include?
Myrtos beach and its viewpoint, the castle village of Assos, the harbour at Fiskardo, and the Melissani cave lake with Drogarati nearby, plus a monastery or winery stop on part of the programmes.
How long is a Kefalonia island tour?
Eight to nine hours for the full island day with pickup between eight and half past nine, five to six hours for the half-day cave and beach runs, and about seven for the northern loop.