Kefalonia is a big and very dramatic island. Communications are pretty bad and this in combination with the size of this island makes it a little bit hard to both get around and at the same time find time to do interesting walks. So not really my cup of tea. But still well worth a visit, and just enough bus routes etc to fill a week’s program.

Dramatic landscapes or not, there is another thing that is my number one favorite “feature” of this island, and that is the excellent Robola grape. Sampling the delicate and insanely good white wines produced from this grape is a must. It is also possible to visit wineries for tasting.

Best food I found in Argostóli: Restaurant Diana (vis-à-vis the Lixoúri ferry). For other suggestions see my walks and the other (as far as I can tell) very good suggestions in /Anderson/ (see below).

Best café on Platía Valliánou: Premiére (using only very fresh ingredients).

Selected walks: For walks on the island, see Walk & Eat Kefalonia by Brian and Eileen Anderson (referred to as “/Anderson/”). All the walks are mostly unproblematic strolls and I have little to add to the information you can find in the book. Just note that if you are a keen and fit walker you should only need about half the walking time indicated there. This is good to know when you contemplate the bus schedules on this island…

•1 ARGOSTÓLI TOWN WALK (my total time 1h09, includes time for photography; 62a 67d): This is Excursion 1 in /Anderson/. Can be extended with walk 2 (and 3) below.

•2 DRÁPANO BRIDGE (around 0h30): See frame at page 35 in /Anderson/. A very short stroll that is an interesting addition to walk 1 above.

•3 THE KOUTAVOS LAGOON (my total time 1h07, includes time for photography and a short rest on one of the pleasant picnic tables; 35a 29d): This is the “Argostóli Lagoon” walk suggested in the update of /Anderson/ found on their web site. Another possible addition to walk 1 (and 2) above.

•4 PICCOLO YIRO (my total time 4h03, includes time for photography, a swim, the necessary sightseeing and lunch; 252a 246d; net walking time 1h56): This is Walk 1 in /Anderson/. On your way out, by all means use the diversion (on a coastal path) suggested in the update of /Anderson/ found on their web site.

Since I was staying in Argostóli, I cut the town part out of the walk and had lunch at Stó Psitó on my way back instead. I did not regret this choice as it turned out to be a superb place!

I extended the walk by walking to/from Lássi along the street (timing not included, it possibly took 15-20 minutes each way).

•5 SÁMI (my total time 1h21, includes time for photography; 258a 255d; net walking time 1h05): This is Walk 7 in /Anderson/. A very nice short walk.

•6 OLD VALSAMÁTA (my total time 2h16, includes time for photography and lunch; 154a 154d; net walking time 1h13): This is Walk 3 in /Anderson/. A fairly easy stroll.

Had a pleasant lunch at Plátanos, including (obligatory!) Robola wine.

•7 LIXOÚRI (my total time 2h29, includes time for photography, a couple of swims and about an hour on the beach; 100a 104d; net walking time 1h16): This is Walk 2 in /Anderson/. An easy stroll along a country road.

As far as I could tell the best sand was past the small monastery, so I extended the walk by maybe five minutes (each way) here.

•8 OLD SKÁLA (my total time 2h23, includes time for photography and the necessary sightseeing; 345a 333d; net walking time 1h42): This is Walk 10 in /Anderson/. An easy walk.

Some parts are however damaged by forest fire and hence now a bit overgrown. The book does not mention actually walking up to the church ruin and vantage point shown on the map, but be sure to include this in your walk (the view seen on the picture above).

The beach in Skála is only wall-to-wall sun beds and umbrellas and hence completely uninteresting.

• Good starting points: • Argostóli

• How to get there: • By air • By ferry from some other Ionian islands • By ferry from the mainland

• More info: • Kefalonia Greece • Fiscardo, Kefalonia, Greece • KTEL-Coach services has bus schedules for the island