Kefalonia and Ithaca
(Travel comparison sites, currency and insurance comparisons can be found on the travel page)
A guide to the Greek islands Kefalonia (Cephalonia) and Ithaca. I visited both during a holiday in mid to late September 2004 with Simply Travel. The islands are close to Corfu. Ithaca is the smaller of the two, more rugged and less developed, whereas Kefalonia has sandy beaches, a number of car hire companies and some large resorts.
Kefalonia (Cephalonia)
Kefalonia has good, sandy beaches on its south coast, and large mountain (Enos) at its centre. The villages in the centre can be quiet and the island's roads are at most two lanes wide, with many single lane or even unpaved. The island is sizable and a car is useful (we only saw half the island, even with a car). The food is generally good and comparatively cheap, a meal costing around 12 euros per person with soft drinks.
We stayed in Caretta's
Nest, overlooking Kaminia beach (right). The
beach shelved gently and had fine golden sand. The apartments were clean
and comfortable. Though at night times we had to have the air conditioning
on as for some reason the bedroom become hot. We could see no other
apartments from ours, and had a view of the whole beach, seeing the sun rise and
set across the bay. In the plot to our right was a small beach cafe.
Much of the time we spent relaxing in the apartment, in the cooler evenings and
mornings we would swim and snorkel in the sea, seeing rocks, fish and reed beds
further out.
The next village
along, Katelios was on the same bay and had a string of tavernas on the
waterfront, none of which we tried, preferring ours and our host's
cooking. The backstreets were interesting, one house having grapes, figs, pomegranates,
limes as well as a wide variety of flowers growing outside.
We also visited Sami, where we ate in a waterfront restaurant and bought a hat, and Argostoli where we drank in a harbourside bar, having looked down on the town from hills to the west.
Mount Enos (Aenos) is a good-sized mountain, 1628m in height, with spectacular views, and a narrow, winding road to the summit. We visited it on a not-so sunny day, and reached the end of the paved road, part of the way up it, fog was blowing across the mountain top, and the plants looking frosted and cold.
Before leaving we ate in Agios Evfemia, at Stelios Dendrinos, said to be the best restaurant on the island. The food was good, the rain spectacular, and the possibility of eating from the same plate as Penelope Cruz a thrill.
Ithaca
Ithaca has rocky beaches rather than sand. Taking a boat out from Vathi or Kioni allows you to access private coves where you can spend the day. We didn't do this, preferring to drive around the island, visiting bays, snorkelling and enjoying walks and views from hillsides.
We stayed in
Margarita's House, up in Perahori, overlooking Vathi. Our veranda was regularly visited by a hummingbird that
liked the petunias their. The veranda included binoculars which we used to
spy on the harbour boats, nearby islands, buildings and people. At night the moon
and milky way could be studied at leisure.
Two restaurants mentioned in the Rough Guide of 1993 are still open in Vathi and quite good - To Trehandiri (behind the waterfront) and To Kantouri (on the waterfront). Vathi is quiet in September, some restaurants are closed, the service is quick as there are comparatively few to serve. The taverna at the top of the hill in Perahori was open, but in the evenings it only opens around dusk. The food is good, mainly grilled.
We took a trip to the
North of the island:
Kioni was pretty, but the restaurant was basic, but the harbour picturesque.
Exogi is a half-deserted town, it is good for a half-hour wander or so, it features great views over nearby bays and villages.
The vicinity of the town of Anogi has great views, but it was raining when we were there. The nearby church is said to be pretty.
In the south of the island, the walk to Arethousa Spring is pretty, along lush hillsides, but the spring itself is not very interesting. The beaches a short walk below are deserted and look lovely (see picture to the left) and would make an ideal destination after a hot walk.
Beaches (all stoney):
- Kaminia (Caminia) has a rough track for 1km before the beach, so is difficult to drive to. It is quite quiet, and has a good variety of fish life.
- Sarakiniko has nude bathers, but not much beach.
- Filiatro is a nice beach, but is reasonably busy.
- Mnimata is a small beach, but we didn't bathe or use.
- Skinos is a wide, but skinny beach with largish pebbles. Snorkelling, I saw a large spherical item on the seabed, I thought that it was a sea mine.
- Piso Aetos (the port on the west coast) has a great beach with smallish stones and is very quiet. Just avoid the times when the ferries arrive.
Maps:
Images of the islands:
Beach Guides:
- Friends of the Ionian - beach and resort guides from a not-for-profit group providing information on Ionian islands.
- Kefalonia (nudist) beach guide - reasonable discussion of beaches if you can get past the clothed/unclothed divide.
Travelling there, package holiday firms:
- Simply Travel (part of the TUI/Thomson holidays group).
- Tapestry Holidays - has a good last minute facility highlighting cheap deals
- Greek Islands Club
- Iglu Villas - villas for small and large groups from a variety of operators.
- Sunsail.com - sailing holidays
- Holidayoptions.co.uk - not Greece, but other Mediterranean countries, including Croatia.
More information:
Postmehome.com, also Friends of the Ionian, mentioned above.
