Anyone been to Kefalonia?

first78

I'm going to Kefalonia in September and wondered what recommendations anyone has. I'm interested in snorkeling,water sports,wildlife,good places to eat etc. I'm hiring a car so if anyone can recommend anything on the island please let me know...it'll be my first visit to the Greek islands :j

smckay

I went in June and had a very good time.

We stayed just outside Skala which is very touristy and not the bst place to go. East of Skala there are some very nice private coves to go snorkling and the water is crystal clear!

Further round the coast is Poros (a small harbour town) and then Sami which is a bigger version of Poros although again touristy it is nicer than Skala!

Right at the northeast edge of the island is Fiskardo which is a very nice marina with some nice restuarants and views.

There was a very nice beach on the west coast on the way back up to the airport with a cafe/bar just off the beach which was a decent drive off the main road but the name escapes me at the moment!?!

Have a great time!

Pollycat

These 2 holiday-specific websites may provide the information you're looking for and answer any questions:
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ForumHome

This should be a good starting point. I've not used the 'justkefalonia' one but the 'justzante' website has lots of great advice on good restaurants in all the main resorts.
http://www.justkefalonia.co.uk/

I've been to Kefalonia but it was over 20 years ago. We found it a quite affluent island in comparison to some of the other ones we'd visited around the same time. There was a really bad earthquake in the 1950's, most of the island with the exception of Fiskardo at the top was badly damaged and a lot of the people moved elsewhere, some to the USA so money was sent back to help those left behind.

first78

We're staying at the San Giorgio apartments. Want to try and stay away from the touristy scene but would like to either rent a boat for a day or go on a good boat trip.

I think it's possible to get a ferry from Poros to Ithaka which is something I'd like to do and of course snorkeling is high on my list of things to do...did you see many fish?

Did you find eating out expensive?

smckay wrote: »

I went in June and had a very good time.

We stayed just outside Skala which is very touristy and not the bst place to go. East of Skala there are some very nice private coves to go snorkling and the water is crystal clear!

Further round the coast is Poros (a small harbour town) and then Sami which is a bigger version of Poros although again touristy it is nicer than Skala!

Right at the northeast edge of the island is Fiskardo which is a very nice marina with some nice restuarants and views.

There was a very nice beach on the west coast on the way back up to the airport with a cafe/bar just off the beach which was a decent drive off the main road but the name escapes me at the moment!?!

Have a great time!

smckay

I think that the SAN GIORGIO HOTEL is just up the road from where we stayed. It looked very nice but is a little out of the way so having the car will be useful.

Eating out was relatively cheap but then the weak £ brought the prices up a bit.

Pssst

Whilst someone said skala Was "touristy",it isnt touristy in the sense that you would expect on say,the Spanish mainland. i.e it is a far cry from boom disco and highrise hell.

davidlizard

Its quite touristy compared to some of the other Greek islands by virtue of the sheer number of visitors the island attracts, but as stated above its not high rises/discos/english breakfasts etc etc. However, it seems to attract a more "upmarket" type of tourist rather than the "beer and chips" brigade that infest some other islands. The prices for eating out are fractionally more expensive than some other islands - we were paying around E25-30 for two courses + drinks a couple of years back (for two of us).

It has an airport which has charter flights, which on the plus side makes it very easy to get to which means you can be in your room 6 hours after taking off, but on the negative side results in the crowds flying in. Its proximity to Italy also attracts a large number of Italian tourists.

ALWAYS_POOR

I've just returned from the east side of Skala. It is a beautiful island, lush and green and very pretty, also mountainous. Visited all the attractions, you can drive from Skala through to Sami and onto Fiskardo then down to Assos (picturesque fishing village - but gets very crowded and hard to park) and Myrtos Beach then back around via Argostoli in one (very long hot) day. Fiskardo is well worth a visit as are Sami and Assos. Myrtos was a bit disappointing but still lovely. Driving was quite easy because of lack of traffic but the roads are full of hairpin bends up and down the mountains.

Went on a boat trip from Skala beach to Ithaca for 25 euros for a whole day, much cheaper than other tours, well worth it. Ithaca is gorgeous. The boat picks up at Poros on the way and made two stops en route for swimming and snorkelling off beautiful beaches. You can rent a motor boat from Skala beach.

You can spend 50 euros a night eating out if you want to but there are much cheaper places if you look around. Drinks on the whole are the same price as UK.

It was much prettier than many of the other Greek islands that I've visited, and I didn't think it was that touristy, compared to Lindos for instance. It is a matter of opinion obviously but I didn't think that Skala was especially touristy at all.

markandkate

Hi You will need to get to Fiskardo or Sami on the north and west side of the island to get a ferry to Ithaca. From memory the bus leaves Argostoli at 11.00 and the ferry leaves at 4.00. You will therefore have to stay over and I do not think that you will be able to do it as a day trip. The busues are not geared up to meet the ferries and if hte ferries are late the buses do not wait. We stayed at Lourdas which is a lovely area with a sandy beach but there was only one bus in the morning to Argostoli and that was at 8.00am.

If you are able to get an organised trip it may be better but otherwise plan to be away for a couple of nights. We did stay away and had no trouble finding places to stay and it was nice to get a flavour of hte island rather than one afternoon but it is a bit of a hassle.

first78

ALWAYS_POOR wrote: »

I've just returned from the east side of Skala. It is a beautiful island, lush and green and very pretty, also mountainous. Visited all the attractions, you can drive from Skala through to Sami and onto Fiskardo then down to Assos (picturesque fishing village - but gets very crowded and hard to park) and Myrtos Beach then back around via Argostoli in one (very long hot) day. Fiskardo is well worth a visit as are Sami and Assos. Myrtos was a bit disappointing but still lovely. Driving was quite easy because of lack of traffic but the roads are full of hairpin bends up and down the mountains.

Went on a boat trip from Skala beach to Ithaca for 25 euros for a whole day, much cheaper than other tours, well worth it. Ithaca is gorgeous. The boat picks up at Poros on the way and made two stops en route for swimming and snorkelling off beautiful beaches. You can rent a motor boat from Skala beach.

You can spend 50 euros a night eating out if you want to but there are much cheaper places if you look around. Drinks on the whole are the same price as UK.

It was much prettier than many of the other Greek islands that I've visited, and I didn't think it was that touristy, compared to Lindos for instance. It is a matter of opinion obviously but I didn't think that Skala was especially touristy at all.

Thank-you so much for telling me a bit about your holiday!! Did you have to book your boat trip to Ithaka or could you just turn up on the day. I'd love to know who that trip was with as it sounds exactly what I'm looking for, a boat trip with some snorkeling!!!

ALWAYS_POOR

Capt Vangelis is a local guy with a lovely new glass bottom boat. He runs trips every day to different places including Zante from the beach near Onassa Hotel. There is a display on the side of the road and a lady sits there all day taking bookings. Sometimes the boat is very full so I would recommend booking a day or two in advance. 25 Euros each is a really good price, Thomson wanted £54 EACH!!! The trip stops at two places in Ithaca and you have plenty of time at each, they are only small towns. It really was a lovely day out.