Kefalonia

Kefalonia

Kefalonia (Cephalonia) is the largest of the Ionian Islands. It has an area of 738 km2 with approximately 42000 people living here. As far as tourism goes the island is a little behind. It is not nearly as developed as for example Corfu. Kefalonia is mostly interesting for people appreciating untouched nature and hiking. There are dense forests to explore and high mountains to climb; the island has rivers and even lakes. Even mountaineer get their money's worth. The highest mountain (Ainos) may only be 1625 meters high but some of the tracks are rather cliffy so they are something of a challenge. The island is big enough to spend an entire holiday here.

Argostoli is Kefalonias capital and ferry port. In 1953 it was almost entirely wiped out by an earthquake. Because of it the city lacks charm. When they rebuilt the city the people were more interested in stability than beauty. One can tell. The 1950 aren't exactly famous for their architectural style to begin with and in that respective the timing could not have been worse for Argostoli. Other than that there is nothing wrong with it.

Argostoli, the capital of Kefalonia
Picture: © Deborah Benbrook - Fotolia.com

Argostoli is actually a good base for exploring the island. From here go the most busses and there are plenty of rooms to rent.

Sami is a pretty village in the east of Kefalonia. It is most popular with nature lover. The high mountains, the absolutely astonishing Lake Melissani and the famous Drogarati cave are all within walking distance from the village. That alone explains its popularity but it really is a nice place to stay.

Luxouri: Across the bay from Argostoli lies the second biggest town on Kefalonia. Luxouri is quite certainly a lot prettier than the capital which is curious. It was completely destroyed by the same earthquake that wiped out Agostoli but unlike the capital Luxouri was rebuilt in the traditional way. The two towns are connected by a ferry.

A village on Kefalonia
Picture: © Urbanus Eskiniwach - Fotolia.com

The most famous beach on the island is Myrtos Beach. The colour of the water there is astonishing. The contrast to the shiny white beach is most impressive. The beach itself is formed with marble pebbles. The entire setting with the steep cliffs behind it is absolutely breathtaking.

Busses on Kefalonia: From Argostoli busses to pretty much every corner of the island. Unfortunately there aren't that many busses. Most connections are serviced only twice a day. It is no problem though to get anywhere you want in the morning an then get back in the afternoon. Just try to not miss the bus. Prices are typically somewhere in between reasonable and dirt cheap. Kefalonia is pretty big so the bus ride can take an hour or longer.

Ferry to Kefalonia: There are two big ferries a day coming from Patras on the mainland to Sami. From Argostoli there are two boats to Kastro-Kyllini on the Peloponnese. From there you can easily get a bus to Patras and Athens. This should work out a lot quicker than the route from Sami.

Kefalonia has an international airport. There are also daily flights to Athens