Kefalonia Reviews -General

You know the old saying "its a hard life"... I was contemplating this very thing the other week. Well, I did not have much else to do really, I was lying on my lounger, sun beating down on me, listening to the sound of the water gently lapping at the sides of the swimming pool, whilst Chris Rea's greatest hits played on the stereo in the background. For those of you who don't know who Chris Rea is, he is an English middle-aged rock star, who to be honest has been middle aged since the 80's. Is it a hard life really? Are we really on the Road to Hell, like Chris Rea's song says we are? I took another sip of my cocktail and thought that another ten minutes was needed before I would flip myself over and tan my back for a while.


See, unlike Chris Rea I am not quite middle aged yet and definitely not on the Road to Hell, and I can say that it is not always a hard life, only sometimes, and life is good when you're lying around the pool sipping cocktails in Cephalonia, as an end of season break, the wife and myself decided to visit our favourite Greek island.


Staying in the village of Skala at the Marietta Apartments, our usual haunt. We spent a week soaking up the hot Greek sun, lazing around on the beach, just chilling out.
We have always stayed in the same place when visiting Skala, the Marietta Apartments offers no frills basic self-catering/ bed & breakfast accommodation. They are located just outside of the village centre just of the main road heading from Katilios/Mounda Beach direction. This was our 5th visit to the Marietta and over the years we have always enjoyed our stay there, and this time was no different apart from one little thing has changed. The cleaning is a little bit on the relaxed side, with sheets and towels only changed twice a week, which is not good in forty-degree heat. You can however pay for additional cleaning if you so want to. I feel that all cleaning should be provided and be inclusive of the price you pay, so they have let themselves down on that point. Apart from that it's the same old place we remember, nothing else has really changed that much.


Skala itself is a small resort on the southern edge of Cephalonia. Although it has changed a little, there are a few more hotels and bars than last time, it has not lost its relaxed atmosphere. There are a good number of restaurants/taverna's to choose from, the best in my opinion are the Gallera and the Flamingo, closely followed by the Manor House and La Luna, all offering traditional Greek food and local specialities including Cephalonian meat pie, which is one of my favourites.
If you have got a sweet tooth like me, then head to the Sugar Lemon, by the main square, their waffles and ice cream are first class, and so is the walnut cake. The best of the bars seem to be the Sirocco and the Nero Cocktail Bar, they offer a loyalty card (buy 6 drinks and get the 7th free). The beach at Skala is a mixture of sand and shingle; it is very clean and well cared for. A set of sun loungers will cost €6 per day and there are many beach tavernas to choose from just off the sand. Milos is a nice place for a spot of lunch or a drink. Skala has all of the usual amenities found in most Greek resorts, gift shops, supermarkets, car hire, doctors etc. They used to have a pharmacy too, but this closed a few years ago for some reason I could not quite understand. Which was a little inconvenient to me as I was unwell for a couple of days, and had to see the doctor to get some antibiotics instead of just walking into the pharmacy.


The sights of Cephalonia. There is quite a lot to see and do on the island. Over the last five visits we have basically done it all, so I will give you the highlights of the very best places to go. The capital is Argostoli and the best time to go there is in the evening. The main square comes to life in the evening, there are plenty of little restaurants surround the square serving the finest Greek food. After dinner take a walk along the harbour's edge as the sunsets and the pleasure boats tie up for the day. Take an island tour stopping at multiple places through out the day; these can be booked with your rep. Although we booked with the Panem office in Skala, they were cheaper, and our tour guide Carol, who has lived on Cephalonia for the past 20 years was so well informed about the island. She gave the most knowledgeable account of the island's history I have ever heard. The trip consisted of a stop at the Robola Winery, Drogartti Cave, Messani Lakes, Fiskardo for lunch, and Myrtos, and Asos. All of that for €26 is not bad, the Thomas Cook rep was charging €30, and I bet theirs would not have been half as good. Be aware there will be an extra charge of €6 for the lakes and €4 for the caves, we did not mind this as those were the only places we have never seen before. They were ok but to be honest I was not that impressed by them, a see once kind of thing.

Next door to Cephalonia is a little island called Ithaca, which is a beautiful place to visit, there are many trips to the island every week, Panem offer one and so will your travel rep. If you have never been before it is well worth visiting, the trip takes about an hour to get across the water and usually boards at Sami. One of my favourite places on Kefalonia is the little harbour town of Katilios, which is not to far from Skala, about 15 minutes by car. There you will find some lovely tavernas serving the very finest seafood. The seating is right on the water's edge and it is a lovely place to watch the sunset. They serve the best lobster on the island and it is very well priced, just ask the waiter for a set menu for two people, that's Greek salad for starter, lobster with all of the trimmings for main and desert of your choice to finish with, plus a litre of house wine all for less than €100 per couple. Now that can't be bad. The beaches on Cephalonia are clean and always very well kept. The most famous is Myrtos beach, the second most photographed beach in Greece after the one on Zante. It is very beautiful, however it has some very strong currents and it is not recommended for swimming unless if you are a very strong swimmer. It is also very hard to walk on. It might look like white sand from hundreds of feet up but it is actually very fine white pebbles, a bit like walking bare foot on Glass Marbles (ouch). There are many beaches like this on the island; the sandy and shallow ones are Mouda Beach, just outside Skala and the red sand beach of Xi.


To sum up, Cephalonia is a beautiful and charming island. It has a relaxed atmosphere, which has drawn us back to it many times. It is steeped in history, charm and character. The people of the island are very pleasant and friendly. Cephalonia offers something for every type of traveller, from families to couples, or singles. There is much to do and see on Cephalonia, no two days are the same unless you want them to be. The island offers all kinds of accommodation from basic/budget to high end/luxury and most high street travel agents offer holidays there.


Cephalonia is one of the many jewels in Greece’s crown.