The island consists of four peninsulas, and includes some fairly serious mountains, which all goes to make for some outstanding scenery. A series of earthquakes, the last in the 1970s mean there are relatively few relics of antiquity in the island, but architecturally it doesn't look very different from most of Greece. Towards the centre of the island there are two noteworthy caves: the beautiful Drogarati caves seem have suffered somewhat from the loss of rather a lot of its stalactites and stalagmites (allegedly due to occupying German forces using them for target practice during WWII) , but Melissani cave (actually a lake, formed when part of the land above collapsed during an earthquake), filled with brilliant blue water from an underground current which mysteriously flows right under the island, is a memorable experience.
Sami beach (a short drive out of the town of the same name) is also stunning,(blue water, white stones, mountains in a circle around the small bay) but has a permanent traffic jam around it. Myrtos beach, in the West, is also attractive and popular, but can be busy. This beach has a very steep shore break (you are out of your depth about 10ft out!) so is not recommended for non swimmers. Also take plenty of suncream, as the beach is made up of white stones, and in high summer can be blindingly hot. Less ravishing but pretty good beaches which are very much less crowded tend to be found in the south, around Scala and the Lixouri peninsula to the west. The beach of Xi, south of Lixouri, is a lovely sandy beach and always seems to have space and peace. Makris Gialos and Platis Gialos in Lassi are two stunning beaches, but predictably busy. Petani, on the Lixouri peninsula is very pleasant, while Antisamos, near Sami, is where they filmed some key scenes for Corelli. Kaminia Beach is a lovley shallow beach between Anno Katelios and Skala, where you may see a turtle!
The jetty in the film of Corelli, where Mandras throws Pelagia into the sea, is at Horgota beach.
Of the many boat excursions available, one to nearby Ithaca is particularly recommended. Also, the glass bottomed boat tour run by Captain Maki is a must.
The Roman villa just outside Skala, with mosaic floors more or less intact, is worth a visit - recent finds have added to its attraction and digs continue in the area.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kefalonia
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Kefalonia - updated May 2024
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Kefalonia Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
