Description

• Lush, green Kefalonia is straight from paradise, with its pastel-washed fishing villages, unspoilt resorts and staggeringly beautiful, steep-cliffed coastline. If you're into exploring, don't miss the fir-covered Mount Aneos or dazzling Myrtos Beach, with its turquoise seas.
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• Mount Aenos National Park
• For an idyllic day amid fabulous natural scenery, head for Mount Aenos and its surrounding National Park in the south of the island. The mountain's foothills are ablaze with wild flowers in early summer, and higher up, you'll journey through fragrant fir forests, which once served the island's shipbuilding trade. If you're very lucky, you might glimpse one of the small herds of wild horses that roam free in the area - a fantastic sight. And once at the 1620-metre high summit - you can drive almost all the way up - you'll experience breathtaking vistas of the coastline below. It's a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of your resort and savour some true Kefalonian peace and quiet.
• Myrtos Beach
• Before you've even visited this jaw-droppingly beautiful beach, you'll recognise it from Kefalonia brochures and postcards. Set into the northwestern coast, it's a brilliant, wide crescent of soft, white sand cupped between soaring high cliffs and lapped by iridescent, deep-blue and green waters. Here, you can swim and snorkel in the crystal-clear seas or simply stretch out on the sands and wonder at the amazing, dream-like views all around you. There's also a useful small bar-taverna on the sands for refreshments when you need them. You can drive here - via an extremely steep and winding road curling down the cliff - or take a boat to marvel at the dramatic cliffs and bay from the sea.
• Fiskardo
• Located on the northern tip of the island, this gorgeous, pastel-painted harbourside town must be one of Kefalonia's prettiest sights and most charming places to stroll around. Made up of colourful 18th-century Venetian style houses clustered around an L-shaped harbour - luckily, Fiskardo escaped being damaged in Kefalonia's 1953 earthquake - it's a haven for yachts and brightly-painted fishing boats, and offers a wide array of shaded waterside tavernas perfect for passing the time away in time-honoured Greek style. There are lots of interesting little shops and boutiques to pop into, winding alleyways to draw you in, and a cute little museum at the top of the harbour, as well as some nearby Roman and Norman ruins too.
• Bird Watching
• Make sure you pack those binoculars - Kefalonia's unspoilt, wild countryside and coastline makes it a paradise for birdwatchers, whether you're an enthusiast or beginner. As well as migratory birds, which stop here in large numbers on their way between Europe and Asia, the island has a wonderful variety of resident species, including buntings and warblers. Keen twitchers should head first for Mount Aenos, where amongst the fir treed slopes, you might just spot griffon vultures, woodpeckers and short-toed eagles, as well as coal tits, robins and jays. For water birds, it's worth visiting the island's Livadi Marshes and the lagoon at Agostoli, to observe heron, bittern and other colourful species.
• Excursions
• Island Tour £20 approx.
• See the natural wonders of Melissani lake, Drogarati Cave. Visit picturesque Fiskardo and famous Myrtos Beach.
• Ithaki Odessey £30 approx.
• Full day visit to the legendary home of Odysseus.
• Onassis' Playground £39 approx.
• Sail to the private island owned by the Onassis family, before continuing to the island of Lefkada, whose name means 'White Rock'.
• Pre-bookable Extras & Car Hire
• Pre-book your car hire with holiday autos. See page 122 for more details.
• A range of pre-bookable extras are available on many hotels, look out for our 'add some extras' options listed under individual hotel pages or see page 122 for more information.