Kefalonia is the biggest island of Ionian Sea with teal waters and sand beaches. It is said that it got its name from the mythical hero Kefalos who captured the island and gave it his name. Kefalonia has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era. Also has been heard as the most likely homeland of Homeric Odysseus instead of neighboring Ithaca. Keflonia located in the heart of the Ionian sea, has inspired many with its beauty and has been the filming location of the famous movie “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”. Worldwide famous for its scenic beaches (such as Myrtos, Antisamos, Lourdas, Skala), dramatic landscapes and delicious food, the island attracts and bewitches thousands of visitors every year. Enchanting villages (Fiscardo, Argostoli, Sami, Assos), white dazzling sand, exciting activities, mysterious caves, and lively atmosphere create an exotic holiday paradise in the middle of the Ionian sea. The exploration continues in the mysterious lake cave of Melissani, hop on one of the little boats that make tours around the cave and immerse yourself in the magical atmosphere of this natural wonder.

The capital city of Argostoli is a modern town laid out in a grid-pattern and easy to figure out. With a year round population of over 10,000 people, there are shops, restaurants, cafes and an active harbor with fishing boats and the main tourist attraction, the caretta-caretta turtles who feed at the nearby Koutavos Lagoon as well as from the fishermen who toss unwanted catch into the sea. The best time to see them is in the morning when the boats come in. If you see a crowd on the dock, chances are good that they are watching the turtles. The waterfront is a long promenade along Ioannou Metaxou Street, very nice for an evening walk, or a walk to the small pine shaded beaches to the north of town. At the lower end of the harbor is the Drapano Bridge which separates the lagoon from the harbor. Originally built out of wood by the British, it was later rebuilt out of stone and until recently was open to automobiles, but is now a pedestrian bridge. The lagoon is now a bird sanctuary and there are walkways and signs which show the different kinds of birds.

There are several popular restaurants including the Kiani Akti, a mezedopoulion by name but really a very nice seafood restaurant that happens to have a lot of mezedes to go along with their many seafood and pasta dishes. The restaurant is in a setting that would be pretty hard to beat, on a wooden dock on the bay in the north part of town. I would say that if you have one meal to eat in Argostoli then this is where to have it. Order any of their salads, their excellent Kefalonian meat pie and if they have it, their pasta with three different types of clams. Another restaurant, (which we were actually planning to eat at before we came across Kiani Akti) that we were told by friends to go to, is Ampelaki, also on the waterfront at 26 Metaxa Street and a regular winner of Tripadvisor Certificates of Excellence.

The center of Argostoli is a large square called Platia Vallianou which is actually two squares put together, or a square and a rectangle to be more precise. On the square is the Ionian Plaza Hotel (full when we went and cleaning up some minor earthquake damage) and a number of cafes, pizza restaurants and other places to socialize while eating and drinking. These cafes, bars and restaurants continue north, up Leoforos Vassileos Giorgiou V (King George V Ave) which has been pedestrian-ized for the two blocks up to the square. Going south from the square you pass the Focas Kosmetatos Foundation which is a small museum dedicated to the social and cultural history of Kefalonia, housed in one of the few buildings that survived the earthquake. Further on is the Archaeological Museum which was built after the earthquake, however when we were there it was closed due to damage from the earthquake of January 2014. Just beyond the museum is the beginning of the Lithostroto Pedestrian Mall Street, which is exactly what it sounds like: a street of shops and cafes closed to automobile traffic and one of the best places to sit and have a coffee or a drink while you watch people shopping or going about their daily business or doing their evening volta.

One of the best reasons to visit Fiscardo is the journey from Argostoli. This is truly one of the most spectacular roads in Greece and probably not recommended for the faint-hearted. But those with the courage to make the trip will see amazing views of the rugged western coast of Kefalonia as well as some of the most beautiful and dramatic beaches in Greece. If you are someone who does not like heights a blindfold would be something that might make the trip more enjoyable for you. If none is available or you are terrified but want to see the spectacular views, duct-tape over the mouth is another option which though more painful, will give you more of a feeling not unlike Odysseus with the Sirens. It will also keep you from annoying the other passengers.

Just beyond the village of Angonas close to where the road from Argostoli meets the road from Lixouri is the long sandy beach of Agia Kyriaki near the settlement of Zola which can be reached by a narrow road. There is an excellent fish taverna run by Spiros and Metaxas near the small harbor where you can eat fish caught that morning. A little further on is the beautiful Bouti Beach.

Continuing on you come to the famous beach of Myrtos which has graced many a postcard, poster and magazine cover, being the kind of place that you don’t believe what you are seeing even as you are seeing it, as you ask yourself can the sea really be so blue and the sand so white? A road makes its way down the mountain, well most of the way. The earthquake of 2014 caused much of the side of the mountain to collapse and cover most of the road, and when I came they were working to uncover it. So unless you went by excursion boat or helicopter chances are that like me, in the early summer of 2014 Myrtos was a beautiful beach to look at but you could not partake of its crystal clear waters. Those who arrived on the island at the end of July though, found the road cleared and access to the beach hair-raising but passable.

Those who traveled the Argostoli to Fiscardo road in 2014 also found themselves on a long detour beginning in the town of Drakata and making their way on winding dirt roads through the mountains which eventually got them to Assos, adding an hour to what the trip would have taken on the earthquake damaged coastal road (probably fixed by the time you read this).

Assos is a unique town on a narrow isthmus below a large fortress and there are a couple stops on the long road down the mountain to the sea where you get an amazing view. When you enter the village the first thing you need to do is find a place to park which is not easy in July and August but should you be successful or should you come in the non-tourist months you will find a lovely town mingled with the ruins of stately mansions left over from the 1953 earthquake, a small but crowded beach in an attractive harbor with pine trees lining the far shore, and several fish tavernas and cafes. Chances are they will be full in the summer but if you are patient and ready to pounce at the first opportunity you should be able to snare a table before one of the less agile diners gets it.

Some 40 years ago my friends Michalis, George and Dorian sailed Dorian’s 10 meter fiberglass sailboat (which he called a yacht) to a little known village on the northern most tip of Kefalonia where they spent their days catching lobsters and fish and eating in one of the small tavernas in what was then the unknown fishing village called Fiscardo. For years any island they visited, no matter how beautiful it was, they always compared it to Fiscardo. “Yes, Vathi, Sifnos is a lovely little port, but it is not Fiscardo,” they would say and then tell all the reasons why this little port in Kefalonia was the best place in Greece with the cleanest sea, abundant fish, no tourists, and dirt cheap. As they got older and the realities of life began to swallow them up they dreamed of chucking it all away and going back to Fiscardo to live that simple idyllic life they had left behind.

Fiscardo is a boaters paradise, which is not to say that it is any kind of paradise for the rest of us who are more land based, even if we love the sea. But the small fishing harbor that made my friends so nostalgic is full, packed so densely with sailboats that you can barely see the water. Fish tavernas and cafes offer the kind of dining experience most people desire when they make their plans to come to the Greek Islands, though instead of gazing at the sea you are more likely to be watching someone showering on the back of his chartered sailboat with tables so close you might get wet or even get shampoo suds in your kalamari.

Clearly the success of the yachting business in the Ionian Islands has been responsible for the boom in Fiscardo and a night in town is a noisy one as tables are filled with skippers, crews and passengers sharing their tales of the sea and favorite coves and tavernas in loud drunken voices in every language. It is the kind of place most sailors love because they can meet other sailors and talk about sailing (and drinking).

Visitors to Argostoli who walk along the busy waterfront may notice a small ferry loading and unloading passengers, cars and trucks every half an hour or so and wonder which island it is going to. They are actually not going to an island but across the bay to the town of Lixouri.

Like Argostoli and just about every town and village in this part of Kefalonia, Lixouri was also destroyed in the 1953 earthquake and completely rebuilt in the island style that favored durability over beauty. But Lixouri had the misfortune of having another earthquake in 2014 that seriously damaged the port and many houses and businesses. The municipality rushed to fix things enough for the tourist season but even so there were still people living in tents that summer and sections of road that had fallen away that made driving somewhat hazardous.

Of course that did not keep everyone away and those who came to Lixouri found a lively waterfront with restaurants and cafes and life going on as it always does and a lively main square. Lixouri was the Venetian capital of the island and is still the second largest city.

Beaches near Lixouri on the Paliki Peninsula include Xi and Magas Lakkos which have tavernas and accommodation as well as the red sand beach of Lepedha. Further on is the beach of Kounopetra with its mysterious rocking stone which unfortunately no longer rocks, and the sandy beach of Agios Nicholaos at the lower tip of the peninsula, which has a small restaurant. On the west coast the beach of Petani is one of the best on the island, with an excellent fish taverna and rooms available. Finally the beach of Porto Atheras is shallow and sandy and has a couple of places to eat as well. For those in search of icons and other holy relics visit the Monastery of Kipouria built in 1759, on the edge of a solid rocky cliff high above the sea on the rocky western coast.

Where to head next?

Keep exploring the best of Greece! After Kefalonia, the top destinations to visit are Ithaca, Zakynthos, and Lefkada.