Questions on Argostoli, Kefalonia / Cephalonia / Κεφαλονιά

[pdmlynek]

Dear fellow cruisers:

 

Our family will be visiting Argostoli, Kefalonia in June this year, and we are trying to figure out what to do.

 

Kefalonia is a beautiful Ionian Island that would take many weeks to see thoroughly.  We only have about 8 hours on the island (10:00 to 18:00).  We likely need to select only a few places to enjoy instead of trying to see everything through our windshield.  A few questions.

 

(1)  We are planning to do by car one of three routes

(a)  Southern Loop: Argostoli – Agios Gerasimos Monastery – St George's Castle (Κάστρο Αγίου Γεωργίου) – Skala – Poros – Sami – Agia Efimia – Myrtos Beach – Argostoli

 

(b)  Northern Loop: Argostoli – Sami – Agia Efimia – Myrtos beach – Assos – Fiskardo – Argostoli

 

(c)  Western loop: Argostoli – Vouti Beach – Petani Beach – Xi Beach – Lixouri – Argostoli

 

Please let me know which of these three loops would be the best for about 6 to 7 hrs.  Or is there some other drive that you'd recommend?

 

(2) The car rental in Argostoli is about twice as expensive as at the airport.  Is there a way of picking up a car at the airport easily from the pier?

 

(3) Argostoli, due to 1953, does not seem as historically significant or interesting as the port cities of Corfu, Mykonos, or Rhodes.  We plan on stopping only at Katavothres (Καταβόθρες) at 38.1938°N, 20.4743°E; Monument to the Fallen of the Acqui Division (Μνημείο Πεσόντων Μεραρχίας Acqui) at 38.1889°N 20.4770°E; and Church of St. Gerasimos (Ιερα Μονη Αγιου Γερασιμου) at 38.1598°N 20.4863.  Is there anything else that deserves a visit in Argostoli?

 

(4) Half of Kefalonia is on karst stone, thus contains dozens of caves.  Unfortunately, aside from the two show caves, namely, Drogarati Cave (Σπήλαιο Δρογκαράτη) at 38.2275°N 20.6283°E and Melissani Lake (Λίμνη Μελισσάνη) at 38.2567°N 20.6243°E, none seem very accessible.  Some caves, such as Drakaina Cave (Σπηλαιο Δρακαινας) 38.1495°N 20.7675°E are off limits because they are archeological sites; some caves, such as Agalaki Cave (Σπηλαιοβάραθρο Αγγαλάκι) 38.2355°N 20.6173°E or Gruspa 38.1738°N 20.5253°E require steep descent on lines and spelunking equipment; some caves, like Zervati Cave (Σπηλαιο Ζερβατι) require cave SCUBA diving equipment; etc.  Any suggestions for caving on Kefalonia would be appreciated. 

 

Thank you!

[SummmerInKefalonia]

Wow someone is well prepared for their visit in our island!

Greetings from Kefalonia!

I hope you have a nice cruise.

As a local here for almost 30 years I recomment the route B. I would also do A but it has many towns and you will only have 8 hours, so not worth taking the risk.

Is there anything else that deserves a visit in Argostoli?

De Bosset bridge (largest stone bridge in the world) and also the turtles in the waterfront on the morning near the fishermen boats.

Melissani Lake is very good for phots but tends to be overcrowded at summer months.

[pdmlynek]

5 minutes ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

As a local here for almost 30 years I recomment the route B. I would also do A but it has many towns and you will only have 8 hours, so not worth taking the risk.

Thank you for the advice.  I appreciate it!

[pdmlynek]

7 minutes ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

De Bosset bridge (largest stone bridge in the world) and also the turtles in the waterfront on the morning near the fishermen boats.

Melissani Lake is very good for phots but tends to be overcrowded at summer months.

 

This is similar to what I've read.  The turtles at Argostoli seem very prominent in many videos of the town.  

 

De Bosset Bridge seems interesting as well.

 

There will be two cruise ships in the port that day, and both offer tours to Melissani Lake.  We'll have to make sure that we arrive well before them or after them.

 

[pdmlynek]

Does Kefalonia have its Maho Beach?

 

Maho Beach is a popular beach on the island of St. Maartin in the Caribbean.  The beach is very famous for being at the end of runway 10 at the Princess Julian Airport, which means that airplanes are landing fly just a few meters above the beach, and every time a plane spools up to take off, the beach goers are exposed to a very strong blast.  It looks like a very fun time. 

 

Kefalonia also has an airport by the beach.  The Kefalonia Airport has a single 2400-meter 14/32 asphalt runway.  Of the northern end of the runway is Spasmata beach (Παραλία Σπάσματα), and off the southern end is Ammes Beach (Παραλία Άμμες).  Do people ever go to these beaches to enjoy the landings of take offs of airplanes like they do at St. Maartin?

[SummmerInKefalonia]

16 minutes ago, pdmlynek said:

Does Kefalonia have its Maho Beach?

 

Maho Beach is a popular beach on the island of St. Maartin in the Caribbean.  The beach is very famous for being at the end of runway 10 at the Princess Julian Airport, which means that airplanes are landing fly just a few meters above the beach, and every time a plane spools up to take off, the beach goers are exposed to a very strong blast.  It looks like a very fun time. 

 

Kefalonia also has an airport by the beach.  The Kefalonia Airport has a single 2400-meter 14/32 asphalt runway.  Of the northern end of the runway is Spasmata beach (Παραλία Σπάσματα), and off the southern end is Ammes Beach (Παραλία Άμμες).  Do people ever go to these beaches to enjoy the landings of take offs of airplanes like they do at St. Maartin?

I've never been there (I want my life 😛 ) but you could try it.  ''Beach goers are exposed to a very strong blast'' i don't think it affects these beaches so much. Just you can spot them flying very closeby.

[SummmerInKefalonia]

 

[pdmlynek]

8 hours ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

I've never been there (I want my life 😛 ) but you could try it.  ''Beach goers are exposed to a very strong blast'' i don't think it affects these beaches so much. Just you can spot them flying very closeby.

Thank you very much!  I appreciate your help!

[SUESEABE]

We will be in Kefalonia in May 2022.  Thinking about taxi to Makris Gialos Beach. Probably easy to get taxi at cruise pier to beach, but wondering about return taxi ease. Anyone ever do this? If so, how did it go? Also, any one know about how much taxi should be?

[pdmlynek]

20 hours ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

 

Another question for you, @SummerInKefalonia, if I may:

 

How would you rank the following ruins:

- St George's Castle (Κάστρο Αγίου Γεωργίου);

- Acropolis of Ancient Sami (Ακρόπολη Αρχαίας Σάμης); and

- Venetian Castle of Assos (Ενετικό Κάστρο Άσσου).

 

St. George may be the easiest to visit, but Sami and Assos seem to be more picturesque because there are on close to the shore.  I presume that Sami is not visited very often. 

 

[SummmerInKefalonia]

12 hours ago, SUESEABE said:

We will be in Kefalonia in May 2022.  Thinking about taxi to Makris Gialos Beach. Probably easy to get taxi at cruise pier to beach, but wondering about return taxi ease. Anyone ever do this? If so, how did it go? Also, any one know about how much taxi should be?

You can tell the taxi driver to come and get you back. You can get his telephone number.

10-15 euros one way I think. Try to gather more people (4 max) and act as a family to share the cost! 😅🤣😂

[SummmerInKefalonia]

2 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

Another question for you, @SummerInKefalonia, if I may:

 

How would you rank the following ruins:

- St George's Castle (Κάστρο Αγίου Γεωργίου);

- Acropolis of Ancient Sami (Ακρόπολη Αρχαίας Σάμης); and

- Venetian Castle of Assos (Ενετικό Κάστρο Άσσου).

 

St. George may be the easiest to visit, but Sami and Assos seem to be more picturesque because there are on close to the shore.  I presume that Sami is not visited very often. 

 

Venetian Castle of Assos (Ενετικό Κάστρο Άσσου).

St George's Castle (Κάστρο Αγίου Γεωργίου).

Acropolis of Ancient Sami (Ακρόπολη Αρχαίας Σάμης).

 

Sami (the village not the Acropolis) is visited really often actually because of the Caves. But really nice village. Agia Efimia is great too!

[pdmlynek]

On 4/13/2022 at 3:41 PM, SummmerInKefalonia said:

 

I really appreciate all the information that you are doing for me and others.  If I can repay you some way, please let me know.

 

Do you know of any listing or a map of vardiolas (Βαρδιόλα), the Venetian watchtowers from late 16th century?  The only two I found are at Koutsoupia and Atheras (vardiola of Agio Spyridon).  There used to be once 129 of them, but there are only a few left.  

 

[SummmerInKefalonia]

2 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

I really appreciate all the information that you are doing for me and others.  If I can repay you some way, please let me know.

 

Do you know of any listing or a map of vardiolas (Βαρδιόλα), the Venetian watchtowers from late 16th century?  The only two I found are at Koutsoupia and Atheras (vardiola of Agio Spyridon).  There used to be once 129 of them, but there are only a few left.  

 

Sadly no... But you can take a regular map and follow the way to both Koutsoupia and Atheras. They are not vast places, i think vardiolas would be easy to find there.

[WESTEAST]

We are looking at a shore excursion from Argostoli that includes visiting the subterranean Melissani Lake and a boat tour of stalactites, a stop to see Myrtos Beach and then free time in Fiskardo Village.

 

How long is the boat tour to view the stalactites?  For our free time in Fiskardo, our plan is to browse the little harbour with a stop at one of the tavernas. Have read about the lighthouses which we expect can be viewed from a distance.  Any other items in Fiskardo that is a must see or taste (local unique specialities)?

 

[pdmlynek]

On 11/7/2022 at 5:47 PM, WESTEAST said:

We are looking at a shore excursion from Argostoli that includes visiting the subterranean Melissani Lake and a boat tour of stalactites, a stop to see Myrtos Beach and then free time in Fiskardo Village.

 

How long is the boat tour to view the stalactites?  For our free time in Fiskardo, our plan is to browse the little harbour with a stop at one of the tavernas. Have read about the lighthouses which we expect can be viewed from a distance.  Any other items in Fiskardo that is a must see or taste (local unique specialities)?

 

I have not seen any such tour, but maybe you'll be lucky and find one.

 

You do not write how much time you have on Kefalonia.  We had 8 hrs, and we wanted to something similar to what you suggest, but independently, but we could not get that done.  Here is the problem:

 

Kefalonia is huge.  It is not like Santorini or Mykonos; it takes many hours on winding roads to get to the other side of the island.  You really should take a week to see it properly.

 

There are many things that we wanted to see, but had time only for a few.  In the 8 hrs on Kefalonia, we rented 2 cars, and did Argostoli > Asos > Fiskardo >  Myrtos beach > Argostoli.  We spend maybe 1h30 hrs at Fiskardo, and 1/2 hr each at Asos and Myrtos.  We did hurry a lot.  There would be no way for us to have done the Melissani Lake in such a short time.  

 

I'll defer to SummmerInKefalonia, but to me, a person who does not want to see things through a windshield but does not linger around too much either, if you want to see Melissani Lake, you should do Sami instead of Fiskardo, Sami Acropolis instead of Asoss, and Antisamos beach instead of Myrtos. The advantage of this plan over what we did is that you won't spend as much time in a car as we did.  

 

 But there are many other possibilities.  

 

 

 

 

[pdmlynek]

On 11/7/2022 at 5:47 PM, WESTEAST said:

We are looking at a shore excursion from Argostoli that includes visiting the subterranean Melissani Lake and a boat tour of stalactites, a stop to see Myrtos Beach and then free time in Fiskardo Village.

 

How long is the boat tour to view the stalactites?  For our free time in Fiskardo, our plan is to browse the little harbour with a stop at one of the tavernas. Have read about the lighthouses which we expect can be viewed from a distance.  Any other items in Fiskardo that is a must see or taste (local unique specialities)?

 

Also, out of all the islands that we've visited during our cruise (Patmos, Rhodos, Mykonos, Corfu, Kefalonia, and Santorini), Kefalonia was our favorite.  

[WESTEAST]

On 12/4/2022 at 9:53 PM, pdmlynek said:

I have not seen any such tour, but maybe you'll be lucky and find one.

 

You do not write how much time you have on Kefalonia.  We had 8 hrs, and we wanted to something similar to what you suggest, but independently, but we could not get that done.  Here is the problem:

 

Kefalonia is huge.  It is not like Santorini or Mykonos; it takes many hours on winding roads to get to the other side of the island.  You really should take a week to see it properly.

 

There are many things that we wanted to see, but had time only for a few.  In the 8 hrs on Kefalonia, we rented 2 cars, and did Argostoli > Asos > Fiskardo >  Myrtos beach > Argostoli.  We spend maybe 1h30 hrs at Fiskardo, and 1/2 hr each at Asos and Myrtos.  We did hurry a lot.  There would be no way for us to have done the Melissani Lake in such a short time.  

 

I'll defer to SummmerInKefalonia, but to me, a person who does not want to see things through a windshield but does not linger around too much either, if you want to see Melissani Lake, you should do Sami instead of Fiskardo, Sami Acropolis instead of Asoss, and Antisamos beach instead of Myrtos. The advantage of this plan over what we did is that you won't spend as much time in a car as we did.  

 

 But there are many other possibilities.  

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the information. We are in port 9 hours and the excursion is one of the ship's offerings we may consider.  Tour length is stated at 7 hours and with the distances covered, we realize it would be a busy tour. It doesn't stop in Sami just passes through as well as Myrtos Beach is a photo stop. Seems most time is spent on the boat tour of stalactites and free time in Fiskardo and of course, travelling from site to site. No decisions yet.

[WESTEAST]

On 12/4/2022 at 9:57 PM, pdmlynek said:

Also, out of all the islands that we've visited during our cruise (Patmos, Rhodos, Mykonos, Corfu, Kefalonia, and Santorini), Kefalonia was our favorite.  

We have visited all the islands that you stated but this is our first visit to Kefalonia which we are looking forward to seeing. To date, Rhodes and Santorini are our top favourites. 

[saltcreekmom1]

On 4/12/2022 at 11:02 PM, pdmlynek said:

Dear fellow cruisers:

 

Our family will be visiting Argostoli, Kefalonia in June this year, and we are trying to figure out what to do.

 

Kefalonia is a beautiful Ionian Island that would take many weeks to see thoroughly.  We only have about 8 hours on the island (10:00 to 18:00).  We likely need to select only a few places to enjoy instead of trying to see everything through our windshield.  A few questions.

 

(1)  We are planning to do by car one of three routes

(a)  Southern Loop: Argostoli – Agios Gerasimos Monastery – St George's Castle (Κάστρο Αγίου Γεωργίου) – Skala – Poros – Sami – Agia Efimia – Myrtos Beach – Argostoli

 

(b)  Northern Loop: Argostoli – Sami – Agia Efimia – Myrtos beach – Assos – Fiskardo – Argostoli

 

(c)  Western loop: Argostoli – Vouti Beach – Petani Beach – Xi Beach – Lixouri – Argostoli

 

Please let me know which of these three loops would be the best for about 6 to 7 hrs.  Or is there some other drive that you'd recommend?

 

(2) The car rental in Argostoli is about twice as expensive as at the airport.  Is there a way of picking up a car at the airport easily from the pier?

 

(3) Argostoli, due to 1953, does not seem as historically significant or interesting as the port cities of Corfu, Mykonos, or Rhodes.  We plan on stopping only at Katavothres (Καταβόθρες) at 38.1938°N, 20.4743°E; Monument to the Fallen of the Acqui Division (Μνημείο Πεσόντων Μεραρχίας Acqui) at 38.1889°N 20.4770°E; and Church of St. Gerasimos (Ιερα Μονη Αγιου Γερασιμου) at 38.1598°N 20.4863.  Is there anything else that deserves a visit in Argostoli?

 

(4) Half of Kefalonia is on karst stone, thus contains dozens of caves.  Unfortunately, aside from the two show caves, namely, Drogarati Cave (Σπήλαιο Δρογκαράτη) at 38.2275°N 20.6283°E and Melissani Lake (Λίμνη Μελισσάνη) at 38.2567°N 20.6243°E, none seem very accessible.  Some caves, such as Drakaina Cave (Σπηλαιο Δρακαινας) 38.1495°N 20.7675°E are off limits because they are archeological sites; some caves, such as Agalaki Cave (Σπηλαιοβάραθρο Αγγαλάκι) 38.2355°N 20.6173°E or Gruspa 38.1738°N 20.5253°E require steep descent on lines and spelunking equipment; some caves, like Zervati Cave (Σπηλαιο Ζερβατι) require cave SCUBA diving equipment; etc.  Any suggestions for caving on Kefalonia would be appreciated. 

 

Thank you!

Hello.  How did your visit go? What would you do different? I would love a beach day at a gorgeous beach but I’m not sure which one is both beautiful and accessible.  

[saltcreekmom1]

On 4/20/2022 at 1:42 AM, SummmerInKefalonia said:

Sadly no... But you can take a regular map and follow the way to both Koutsoupia and Atheras. They are not vast places, i think vardiolas would be easy to find there.

SummerInKefalonia… I’m hoping you can advise.  My teen daughter and I will be there the last week of May.  Will it be warm enough for good beach weather? We would love a few hours at Myrtos beach.  How far is that from the cruise port at Argostoli? Is it possible to get a taxi at the port and also for the return? Otherwise, the underground lake looks interesting. I would love to find a way to do both but I cannot find an excursion that does this.  Any advice? 

[SummmerInKefalonia]

On 3/17/2024 at 3:46 AM, saltcreekmom1 said:

SummerInKefalonia… I’m hoping you can advise.  My teen daughter and I will be there the last week of May.  Will it be warm enough for good beach weather? We would love a few hours at Myrtos beach.  How far is that from the cruise port at Argostoli? Is it possible to get a taxi at the port and also for the return? Otherwise, the underground lake looks interesting. I would love to find a way to do both but I cannot find an excursion that does this.  Any advice? 

Hello,

Taxis and local travel agents are just outside the port gate (1 minute from the ship).

If you don't want to spend a lot of money go to Makris Yialos Beach which is very near to the port by either taxi or the small bus.

Myrtos only by taxi is possible or with a local travel agent who has a mini bus. The road down there is not for big busses.

Melissani is the classic highlight of the island but in my opinion a beach day is better. Kefalonia has great beaches.

I hope I helped.