What to do in Kefalonia

This gorgeous Greek island, approximately an hour’s flight from Greece’s capital city, Athens, is the largest, but one of the lesser known, of the Ionian Islands. Surrounded by the beautiful blue waters of the Ionian Sea, this destination is a perfect place to visit for picturesque coastal villages like Fiskardo and Assos, unique historical scuba diving sites and stunning beaches like Petani Beach and Fteri Beach.

Kefalonia is steeped in history and mythology, with a beautiful rugged coastline and the highest mountain in the region, Mount Ainos, towering at 1628m above sea level.

Kefalonia also famously boasts dozens of great spots for outdoor activities like swimming, scuba diving, hiking, paragliding, sailing and sea kayaking.

Marine Life and Unique Dive Sites

Home to endangered Loggerhead turtles, the waters around Kefalonia are teeming with beautiful wildlife and colourful reefs. This island is a paradise for scuba divers and free divers, with incredible experiences to be had diving around historical underwater landmarks such as an ancient Roman shipwreck’s anchor, a deactivated WW2 sea mine and a sunken WWII British submarine. Kefalonia's beautiful blue waters have been recorded to be as warm as 27 degrees Celsius in recent summers – a perfect temperature for swimming and diving.

White Sand Beaches and Blue Waters

To the south of the island, you can find Lourdas beach, a quiet and secluded spot with an assortment of restaurants and bars nearby and Kato Lagadi, a small pebble beach with blue waters and stunning sea arches to explore, a less-touristy spot.

In the north of the island you can find the idyllic Myrtos beach, a picture-perfect location, with steep cliffs and white sand - an amazing destination to try some tandem paragliding.

For a completely different experience, head to Xi beach, in the north-west of the island, for a cinnamon-orange sand beach experience like no other. In this location, many people find it exciting and refreshing to mix water with the grey clay of the cliffs to get a natural mud mask.

Picture-postcard Fishing Villages

For lovers of small scenic fishing villages, Kefalonia is the place to visit, with towns such as Fiskardo, at the very north of the island, boasting beautiful rows of colourful red-roofed houses. Fiskardo is an idyllic Greek village with a harbour full of sail boats and a variety of cafes, bars and restaurants along the waterfront for visitors to relax and admire the turquoise waters.

The town of Argostolion, on the south-west coast of the island, has a beautiful harbour, the world’s longest stone bridge over the sea, the De Bosset Bridge and a number of charming beaches. The Lighthouse of Saint Theodore, originally built in the 19th century, but rebuilt after an earthquake in the 20th century, is also nearby Argostolion.

Another great and vastly overlooked picturesque village is Assos, on the west coast of Kefalonia, where pink and orange houses line the quiet streets. Assos is also known for its charming pebble beach and the Castle of Assos, the ruins of a fortress dating from the 16th century.

Caves and Peaks

Just to the north-west of the town of Sami, in the east of Kefalonia, lies one of this island’s most incredible sights, the Melissani Lake Cave. A stunning natural phenomenon, this blue-water lake in a limestone two-chamber cave, has to be seen to be believed. Melissani Cave is best seen by row boat, where you can admire the crystal clear waters below you and the 20,000 year old stalactites above you.

6km south of Melissani Cave, is Drogarati Cave, a breathtaking subterranean world of stalactites and stalagmites - over 150 million years old. This area also boasts some great opportunities for caving.

Head in the opposite direction - up towards the clouds, by hiking up Mount Ainos, whose peak stands at over 1600m, and offers incredible panoramic views of island’s surrounding blue waters. Other Ionian Islands can be seen in the distance: Zakynthos to the south and Lefkada to the north. This mountain, the highest in the Ionian Islands is a great place to hike and mountain bike, with trails of varying difficulty.