"BEFORE CAPTAIN CORELLI" Top 5 Page for this destination Prefecture of Cefalonia by nickandchris

Prefecture of Cefalonia Travel Guide: 472 reviews and 1,097 photos

Kefalonia views - Prefecture of Cefalonia

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Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian group of islands,didn't encourage tourism until the mid '80's, fiercely independent and stubborn. Many residents had worked and lived in America and either sent money home or later returned to the island, a lot wealthier than when they left. They didn't feel the need for tourism.How things change, as Kefalonia is now an extremely popular destination for a Greek holiday, especially since the film, Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
Many of the villages are modern, being shattered almost completely by an earthquake in 1953, some even being built in the American style. Fiskardo, in the north, is one village to have escaped the earthquakes relatively unscathed.

Kefalonia is renowned for it's Robola wine.

1987 and Michael was 18 months old. It was time we introduced him to Greece! Destination Kefalonia. We had spent three days here back in '84 on a trip from Zakynttos.
We opted for a package holiday, knowing we would need to pre-book a cot . We went with Grecian Holidays, (it was a long time ago!!) and stayed in Skala in the Memmi Rooms which unfortunately were on one of the main roads in Skala.
Basic room with a shared kitchen and narrow, shared verandah. The pre-booked cot failed to materialise until we kicked up a stink and then various fastenings on it were missing. Good job we carried bungi ropes!!! We had to tie one side up. As our reason for taking a "package" rather than a" flight only" had been the pre-booked cot ,we were not particularly pleased with Grecian Holidays for cocking this up. Once it was all sorted, we had a thotoughly enjoyable holiday on a very beautiful island.

Skala

Skala Beach

Skala, in 1987. Well, it was very much developing into a resort then, with a decent number of tavernas and a few shops. The magnificent beach extended for miles, with no buildings behind, just an attractively green backdrop of pines and one taverna above the beach. If you walked to the end of the beach pictured here, I seem to remember it became fairly wild with a river running into the sea. To the other end were large rocks which made an impressive sight with the waves crashing over them.

I don't remember there being many rooms to rent as it was mainly package tourism. Nowadays, that is still the case but I guess there is independent accommodation as well. It is certainly well and truely "costa'd" now and wouldn't suit us, whereas back in the '80's it was quiet and compact with the unspoilt beach not even having any sunbeds marring it.

We particularly enjoyed our evenings out at the tavernas in Skala.

Off To Explore......

Much photographed Assos

After a few days lazing about we decided enough was enough and hired a car. It was getting pretty boring beaching it every day, we were ready to see what Kefalonia had to offer.
In those days, maps of Greek islands were abysmal and lots of places wouldn't be featured or places that you couldn't get to or find would be marked. Sound familiar? We had many an argument when we couldn't find where we wanted to get to!!!
There weren't many places we left unturned. Michael travelled well and would usually fall asleep just as we arrived somewhere interesting so we would keep going to allow him to have a decent sleep and return at a later date.

Kefalonia is gloriously mountainous and green with cypress and pines predominating. Mount Enos, now a National Park to protect the fir tree Abies Cefalonica, soars to 1632 m which is accessible by road and on foot.

Beaches vary from huge sandy swathes to tiny pebble coves.

Spectacular sights, with Drongarati Caves and Melissani Lake a definite must. Try and visit before the crowds. We had Melissani to ourselves!!

I would visit Kefalonia again, in early or late season. It would be interesting to see the changes. In fact, we are toying with the idea of a last minute deal in Oct. half term, as long as the price is right!!!!

Pros and Cons

Pros:Mountains and beaches. Plenty to explore.
Cons:Pricier than some Greek destinations.
In a nutshell:Spectacularly scenic...

Last visit to Prefecture of Cefalonia: Oct 1987
Intro Updated Oct 10, 2005
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Reviews (20)

Ag. Efimia Things to Do (10)

Lovely little place in 1987. Another spot where the yotties called, but not to the same extent as Fiscardo. It has a... more travel advice

Yotties at Fiskardo - Prefecture of Cefalonia

Fiskardo Things to Do (10)

Everyone who holidays on Kefalonia visits Fiskardo at some time or another. It's one of the very few places that escaped... more travel advice

A spileologist's delight - Prefecture of Cefalonia

Drogarati Cave Things to Do (10)

We made this excursion by motorbike on our first trip to Kefalonia. We were really impressed. I remember walking down... more travel advice

Katelios Things to Do (10)

We loved this little fishing hamlet with it's row of tavernas, little harbour and beach and not much else. We ate here a... more travel advice

Tourist Traps (1)
Myrtos Beach
Local Customs (1)
Love of Children
Hotels (1)
On the Main Road
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Comments (12)

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BruceDunning Aug 10, 2010 at 12:26 PM

I thought I would view some more of your Greece trip. Your presentation was great and pictures along with comments very nice.
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JLBG Aug 13, 2008 at 8:11 PM

A great and thorough page on Cefalonia ! I envy your trip to Mount Enos, we miss we did not try it! Too bad to learn that Fiskardo is now a touristy and spoilt resort! I am afraid that we would be deceived by a new visit!
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oriettaIT Mar 1, 2008 at 7:16 AM

Interesting tips, thanks for sharing. Greetings from Italy
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volopolo Feb 19, 2008 at 8:55 AM

Nice tips! volopolo
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Zvrlj Feb 14, 2008 at 12:17 PM

Hello. Thank you for visiting our Petrovac na moru page. We plan to visit Ionian Greece fro ages... Melissani Lake looks enchanted. BTW see our Venetian cats travelogue. Soon will be Istanbul cats too. Greetings from Kragujevac, I&V
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Cristian_Uluru Jan 29, 2008 at 11:03 AM

Fantastic place!!!
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viooltje Nov 21, 2007 at 1:40 AM

Natural beauty of Kef. is sth. that will make you keep coming back forever, to long forgotten places like Assos, Kipouria & beaches like Platia Ammos &Sissia, where time seems to have stopped&God took a moment of eternity to admire this gem of the Ionian.
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magor65 Oct 10, 2007 at 12:54 PM

I hope to go there one day. Great page.
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scottishvisitor Mar 7, 2007 at 1:44 PM

Pretty place to visit the beaches look stunning the views from mount Enos are quite something = nice page Chris
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ettenaj Nov 9, 2006 at 2:08 PM

Cefalonia is a special place, everyone should visit at some time