Are you heading to the beautiful Greek island of Kefalonia and wondering what to do to make sure you have the best possible time? Well, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve got you covered here in this post about the best things to do and see in Kefalonia.
In a country loaded with magnificent islands it’s hard to stand out, but Kefalonia has its own unique charm. It’s not overloaded with tourists and offers a more budget friendly alternative to powerhouse islands like Mykonos and Santorini. Kefalonia also contains some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe and some of the most magnificent coastline you will see anywhere in the world.
Travelers to Kefalonia are left wishing they spent more time on this rugged, beautiful island. So read on to discover all the best things to see and do on your trip to Kefalonia!
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Kefalonia – Logistics and Important Info
How to get to Kefalonia
Kefalonia has an international airport but it doesn’t get as many flights as more popular Greek island airports. You can fly there from a lot of Northern European countries but the flights are seasonal. Only domestic routes operate year-round. So if you’re coming from overseas your best bet is to fly from Athens on a separate ticket.
Alternatively, you can also drive there from the Greek mainland. The ferry from the Peloponnese Peninsula takes about 90 minutes and is reasonably priced. It’s operated by Levante Ferries and you can book your ticket directly on their website. They operate the only ferries between the mainland and Kefalonia so you don’t have any other choice. In 2024 we paid 74 euros for 2 adults and a car for the ferry each way. The ferry was super nice and comfortable and we enjoyed the 90-minute cruise to Kefalonia.
For renting cars in Europe we use Discovercars, as we find they have the best rates. You can book directly using the link below.
Click here to find a great rate on a rental car in Greece!
I recommend driving from mainland Greece and adding it onto a longer road trip in the Peloponnese, which is home to the majority of Greece’s magnificent ancient archaeological sites. If you don’t have a lot of time though, flying is the way to go.
How to get around Kefalonia
Even if you fly to Kefalonia, you’re going to have to rent a car or be essentially limited to your hotel/resort, which would mean you literally can’t do anything I discuss in this article without a group tour. There are buses that run around the island, but they are more city-to-city buses than public transport. There are also no rideshare services on the island and limited taxis. So you really need your own wheels.
The only way to see the sites without your own car is to take group or private tours. Luckily there are plenty of them available in Kefalonia. They mainly focus on the more popular tourist sites and beaches, but they can be a great way to see a lot of the island without having to drive yourself around.
I’ll be providing links to some specific tours throughout this article, but below you will find some options for full day adventures that cover various things on the island.
- Full Day Northern Kefalonia Tour
- Kefalonia Caves and Wine Tasting Tour
- Kefalonia: Assos and Fiscardo Island Day Tour
Where to stay in Kefalonia
Kefalonia is a big island by Greek standards and you’ll have to choose a region of the island you want to base yourself in knowing that you might not get to the other side of the island. My recommendation is to stay along the north coast. This is where you’ll find many of the places I discuss in this article and the north coast has the most dramatic coastline.
Below are some accommodation options along the north coast.
- Myrtos View Apartments is above the famous Myrtos Beach and offers stunning views
- Villa Alexandros is in Zola on the north coast and it is where we stayed for our time in Kefalonia
- Petani Resort is right up the cliff from the beautiful Petani Beach and offers a great base for discovering Kefalonia
If you’d prefer to stay a little more central, White Rocks Hotel Kefalonia is right on Platis Gialos Beach, near the airport.
Or if none of those options float your boat you can check out some other great options here on booking.com.
Weather and when to visit
Kefalonia is in the Ionian Sea, so at the base of the Adriatic. It’s usually sunny with hot summers and mild winters. It’s a summer destination but I’d argue that if you can swing a late April, May, September, or early October visit that would be best. Less heat and less other visitors.
Crowds
Kefalonia is not well known outside of Europe and receives a fraction of the tourists that go to the more popular islands in the Aegean Sea. Kefalonia still has plenty of visitors, though, and the popular beaches can get crowded in peak summer. You’re not gonna be shoulder to shoulder or anything, but it won’t be a secluded, deserted beach either. The island is big, though, so you’ll be able to find plenty of solitude outside of the popular main beaches.
Language and money
As Kefalonia’s local economy is almost solely based on tourism, English is common and widespread. Signs and everything are in Greek and English. You won’t have any issues if you don’t know any Greek. Though they’d appreciate an “afadasto” here and there (that means thank you).
Food in Kefalonia
You’ll find all the typical Greek food you love in Kefalonia as well as a few local staples. The Kefalonian meat pie is the signature dish of the island so be on the lookout for that. It’s sort of like a cross between pastitsio and a British meat pie. They also make vegetarian pies. All the locals cook their own and have their own recipes. You can’t leave Kefalonia without trying a pie.
Restaurants in Kefalonia also serve a lot of fresh seafood (surprise surprise). If you’re vegetarian you’ll find options in Kefalonia but they’ll be a lot more limited than, say, Athens. There isn’t much food other than Greek food and seafood. But you didn’t come to the Greek islands to eat burgers and fries, did you?
Though speaking of fries, literally every restaurant in Kefalonia serves their meals with a side of fries. I have no idea why, but this is a thing. And don’t expect to be able to substitute for rice or vegetables. So hopefully you like french fries as a side for your fresh caught squid.
Travel insurance
When traveling around Greece, it’s advised to have travel insurance so that you’re protected in case of unexpected circumstances or illness. We use World Nomads when we travel internationally. World Nomads provides coverage to travelers in over 100 countries. You can search for a coverage plan using the link below.
The Top Things to See in Kefalonia
Kefalonia may not be the most popular Greek island, but it very well might have the most amazingly gorgeous coastline of any of the islands. There are so many amazing places to stop and take in the view that you can’t possibly see everything unless you spend weeks there, but let’s go over some of the top things to see here.
Myrtos Beach View
Myrtos Beach along the north coast of the island is the most iconic beach in Kefalonia. Located at the base of a massive cliff, the beach is composed of fine pebbles and is large enough to accommodate a significant number of beach-goers.
Myrtos Beach is particularly iconic due to the stunning cliffs that arise from either side of the beach. The beach is tucked away, hidden from view until you reach a specific spot on the road above that looks down on the famous beach. This view, from here, just east of the road to Myrtos, is possibly the most beautiful view in all of Kefalonia and a place that you must stop on your drive around the island.
It will only take a few minutes to stop and take in the view, so don’t miss it!
Petani Beach View
Petani Beach is another beautiful beach flanked by massive cliffs on each end. Similar to Myrtos, there is a long winding road that leads down to it with a pullout that offers a great view of the beach below. If you don’t have time to visit Petani Beach itself, stopping at the viewpoint is a necessity. I consider it the second most beautiful view in Kefalonia after Myrtos.
If you do have time to chill out on the beach, Petani is a great place to be. There are two restaurants (both pretty damn good) and a designated parking area. It’s a long and deep beach, flanked by white cliffs to the north and south.
Most people congregate around the beach umbrellas, but if you walk a bit further towards the cliffs you can get more space to yourself. As it’s on the west side of the island, morning sun is hard to come by. It’s best visited mid day or mid afternoon.
The red sand of Xi Beach
In a land of stunning seaside cliffs there is a unique geological feature at the southern tip of the southwest peninsula. Here you will find Xi Beach, a red sand beach formed from clay deposits, unlike anything else you will see in the island.
Xi Beach is slowly eroding away and is not as wide and comfortable as it once was. If you ask me I’d say it’s not the best beach to relax and spend the day chilling by, but it’s a cool place to see and walk a bit down the shores.
It’s also quite different from the more famous red beach on Santorini, which is volcanic rock. A road trip around Kefalonia should definitely include a stop by Xi Beach!
Asos
Perhaps the most adorable little town in Kefalonia is Asos. At the northern side of the island, the little fishing village of Asos is not much more than a small waterfront and a few city blocks with restaurants and shops. But boy is it a charming little place. There are a few small beaches you can take a dip in, or you can cruise the streets and enjoy a drink on the water.
If you’re up for a little more walking, you can head up to the old Venetian Castle of Asos. It’s at the top of a small mountain on a rocky peninsula just north of town. From the walk you’ll get some gorgeous views of the town and the surrounding hillside. I’d allow maybe an hour total to hike up to the castle and back. There isn’t much to see at the castle itself (it’s just ruins), but the walk is nice and you do it for the views.
Parking can be difficult in Asos’s main parking lot so I recommend parking the overflow dirt parking lot here. Asos is so small that it only takes a few minutes to walk to the coast from the parking lot.
Melissani Cave Lake
Melissani Cave Lake is a crystal clear natural lake in an open cave (sort of like the Mexican cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula). It’s small and quick to visit but a very popular thing to see in Kefalonia. In order to see the lake you have to take a short boat ride that you can book on the spot. It’s only about 10-15 minutes and costs 10 euros per person.
For the best light, visiting around noon is ideal. This is the time of day where the sun is at the right angle to shine directly into the cave, which is really just a large hole in the earth. The cave lake is just outside the town of Sami and easily reachable by car.
It’s also a stop on just about every day tour of Kefalonia. If you’d prefer to skip a full day tour you can do a half day tour that will take you to Melissani Cave Lake as well as Drogarati Cave (see next section) and Myrtos Beach. You can book that tour here!
Drogarati Cave
Drogarati Cave is a small cave system – also near the town of Sami – that is easily doable in less than an hour. Like Melissani, there is an entrance fee (though you can buy a combined ticket for a discount and most people do that). You’ll descend down some steps into the cave where you can view the stalagmites and stalactites.
Again, if you don’t drive you can visit Drogarati Cave as a stop on many group tours around Kefalonia (see the link above).
The Best Things to do in Kefalonia
Now let’s go through a few activities and other things to do in Kefalonia beyond just taking in the beautiful views and snapping photos.
Go to the Beach
Hands down the popular activity in Kefalonia is going to the beach. It’s the main reason people flock to the sunny island in the summer. The beaches in Kefalonia are superb, flanked by large cliffs with pebbly coastlines. Most people who visit the island spend at least a few days just lounging on the beach.
I’ve covered the 10 best beaches in Kefalonia in a detailed post that you can read here. So I won’t go into detail on any of the beaches. I’ll let you read that article to get a sense of which beaches you want to choose to visit. I will just say that my favorite is Fteri Beach, which is only accessible by water taxi or hiking!
The others on the list are Myrtos Beach, Petani Beach, Platis Gialos Beach, Agia Kiriaki Beach, Kamari Beach, Kako Lagadi Beach, Antisamos Beach, Fiskardo Beach, and Xi Beach. Refer to the map below for the Google Maps pins for all these beaches.
Take a boat tour
I’ve mentioned boat tours before but let’s take a deeper dive into that now. Given the stunning coastline and many remote beaches, boat tours of the Kefalonian coast are a popular thing to do when visiting the island. A lot of different companies offer boat tours and to be honest they are all pretty similar and pretty good.
The boat tours start and end at various places on the island and it depends on your vendor. I’d recommend picking a tour based on where you are staying so that you don’t have to drive too far. We stayed near the little town of Zola and a lot of boat tours leave from there so we had a lot of options.
If you’re staying near the largest city on the island, Argostolion, this Full-Day Boat Trip with Lunch & Unlimited Drinks is a great option for a cruise around the coast.
If you’re staying on the north part of the island, there are some tours from Zola that take you to the best parts of Kefalonia. Kefalonia Fishing Tours has a lot of options (not just fishing) from Zola you can review.
Full disclosure: we did not actually do a boat tour when we were in Kefalonia. Our daughter was 7 months old at the time and we didn’t want to keep her out on the boat all day. We took the water taxi to Fteri Beach and did a 3-hour boat tour in Zakynthos instead. If you want to experience a short boat ride but don’t want a full tour the water taxi to Fteri Beach is a great option (see options here from Fteri Water Taxi).
Take a ferry to Ithaca
Yes, that Ithaca. The one from the Odyssey where Odysius lived. It’s a real place and it sits just off the east coast of Kefalonia. Ithaca is a small, mountainous island only accessible by boat, but there are three ferry ports you can arrive at. To get there from Kefalonia you’re once again on Levante Ferries and the ride takes 20-30 minutes.
Another common way to visit Ithaca is to take a boat tour from Kefalonia. They leave from the port of Sami and you can book a great Ithaca tour here. If you don’t want to drive around the little narrow roads on the island this is the way to go!
Ithaca is known for its calm water, charming villages, and of course, Odyssius. There is a statue of the great warrior at the Vathy ferry port, though it’s not really anything special. If you visit Ithaca you’ll want to allow a full day, but you’ll have time to be back to your hotel before dinner.
Visit a winery
Kefalonia isn’t exactly known for being one of Greece’s great wine regions. But alas this is still Greece. The island still has a number of great wineries and its own unique grape. Robola is the quintessential wine of Kefalonia and the island is the only place in the world where you will find this native grape.
Robola is a dry white wine but it’s not the only type of wine you will find on the island. Kefalonia also produces tsaousi, vostilidi, muscat, mavrodaphne, and thiniatiko. Basically you’ll be drinking wine you’ve never heard of before. And you’ll love it!
The wineries of Kefalonia are spread throughout the island, but the largest concentration is in the middle of the island near the town of Valsamata. Here you are at the base of the largest mountains on the island in a beautiful setting amongst the vineyards.
You typically don’t have to prebook anything at the Kefalonia wineries. You can just show up and do wine tasting, but if you’re driving a great distance it might be worth calling or emailing ahead of time just to make sure they are open and accepting visitors.
Another potentially easier option is to just take a Kefalonia wine tour. There are a few different operators that will drive you around to different wineries and teach you all about Robola and Kefalonian wine. A couple great wine tour options are shown below.
Visit the fishing village of Fiskardo
Fiskardo is considered by many to be the most adorable little village in Kefalonia. It’s a fishing village, hence the “fisk”, but is more than just that, with a cute waterfront and a nice little beach (see my list of beaches to visit above).
Fiskardo is at the very northern tip of the island so it can be quite a drive to get there, depending on where you’re staying. If you’re staying on the north coast it’s worth a visit to take some nice photos and maybe have a delicious fish lunch.
Hike to the top of Ainos Peak
I’ve mentioned plenty of times that Kefalonia is a mountainous island. So why not do some hiking? The highest point on the island is Ainos Peak stands 5341 feet (1628m) above the sea below and is easily reachable by a short trail.
The hike to the top starts pretty high up the mountain, where the parking lot is, and you only gain about 520 feet of elevation during the hike. It’s a moderately strenuous hike that just about anyone can do. Even on hot days in Kefalonia it’s quite mild atop the mountain. And from the top you can see Zakynthos and other parts of Greece if it’s clear.
You can find more information about the hike to Ainos Peak here.
Kefalonia – FAQs
What is not to miss in Kefalonia?
The main things not to miss in Kefalonia are the majestic Myrtos Beach, the quaint town of Asos, and the spectacular Melissani Cave Lake. But really anything you see or do on Kefalonia is going to be amazing. There are many other lovely beaches and pretty towns. This article goes through all the best things to see and do in Kefalonia.
What is Kefalonia best known for?
Kefalonia is best known for its majestic cliffs along the coast and stunning turquoise water breaches. It’s not as popular as the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, or even its Ionian Sea counterpart Corfu, but make no mistake Kefalonia is a stunning island with tons of things to see and do.
Can you get around Kefalonia without a car?
Technically yes, you can get around Kefalonia without a car. There is a public bus system. But let’s be honest here: taking the bus around will make your holiday a huge hassle. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are staying on the island long term. If you’re there for a week or less I highly recommend getting your own car or booking day-tours each day.
How many days should you spend in Kefalonia?
Kefalonia is one of the larger Greek islands so I’d argue that you need at least 3 days to get a good feel for the island. A week would be ideal, but you can do most of the things I’ve discussed on this page in a very busy 3 days. I don’t recommend that, but if you’re energetic and want to get after it then you might be able to handle it. Staying an entire week gives you some time to relax on the beach as well, though.
