My Summer Holiday to Kefalonia, Greece
We stayed in the resort of Lourdas in the Ionian Sun apartments. The apartments were right on the beach and our room had a full sea view. The apartments were of an excellent standard, having all the self catering facilities you would expect including a microwave, kettle and toaster, hairdryer, iron and ironing board. We also had full air conditioning. The complex itself had a beautiful pool with a small Jacuzzi and a pool bar.
The resort of Lourdas was very quiet and relaxing which was exactly what we expected. Along the beachfront road where we were situated was not the centre of the resort but still had a few tavernas. There are no bars or nightlife in this resort!! Along the beachfront as well as the few tavernas are plots of land where the farmers are kept busy tending to there peppers, aubergines, figs, olives and courgettes. The resort is backed by the tallest mountain on the island which is covered at the top in pine trees. Along with this view to the back of the beach, and clear views of Zakynthos across the sea, this provides extremely dramatic scenery. The beach itself is a mix of course sand and small stones. There are sunbeds and parasols on the beach and we spent a great deal of time here topping up our tans. We hired a jeep for the duration of our holiday. If you do not fancy this walk and you do not drive abroad there is plenty of accommodation in the centre of the resort and there is one taxi driver. The selection of restaurants in the resort centre was excellent and we found some traditional Greek tavernas and restaurants serving international cuisine.
As we had the Jeep we made full use of it and explored the whole island. 85% of the island was destroyed by an earthquake in 1953 and having the Jeep we drove off road and found many villages that had been destroyed and deserted. Old Valsamata was our favourite and a very eyrie place to explore, with a lot of the cracked walls of the buildings and churches still standing. On the same day we visited the monastery of Saint Gerasimos who is the patron saint of the island. His withered body is on display in a silver coffin in the chapel. This area is rich in agriculture and they grow their own Robola grape. You can visit the winery but we chose to taste the wine in a local taverna with a selection Greek Meze (plates of local dishes).
The capital of the island is Argostoli. The whole town was destroyed in the earthquake so this is a very modern capital. We spent a few nights in the main square of the town people watching. This is where Greek families come to enjoy the café atmosphere. Just off the square is the Lithostroto which is the shopping heart of the town. There are also many museums in the town. We had the best meal on the whole holiday in Argostoli in a local taverna on the harbour front.
Captain Corellis Mandolin was filmed on the island and we visited Sami where most of it was filmed. Antisamos and Myrtos beaches which feature in the film and absolutely beautiful, and we found the best kept secret in Kefalonia which is the beach with the jetty that was used frequently during filming. The beach is Horgota beach and is very isolated and can only be found using a good map.
In the north of the island are the resorts of Assos and Fiscardo. Assos is built on its own peninsular and is overlooked by a 16th century fortress. Most of the village survived the 1953 earthquake and you can see many of the old Venetian buildings still standing.
We visited all the main resorts on the island including the largest resorts of Lassi and Skala. There are plenty of restaurants, cafes and shops here but Lassi remains mainly low-key and particularly popular with families. In the busy resort of Skala you will find everything you need. The beach is long and sandy with plenty of sun beds, umbrellas, water sports and scuba diving.
Having lived in Greece for many years it was a pleasure to return, but this time to an island we had not visited before. We found Kefalonia a very beautiful island with extremely dramatic scenery. The combination of turquoise sea, steep white cliffs and white sand beaches, combined with fertile valleys covered in grape vines and olive trees and the towering mountains make this island a gem and a must to visit.