Take it easy in Kefalonia (Kefalonia)

Member Name: CazW

Product:	Kefalonia
Date:	15/08/02 (623 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: sunny, very sunny, not a cloud in sight

Disadvantages: hilly, very hilly

If you are looking for a holiday were all you can do by day is laze by the pool or on the (pebbly) beach and by night dine out and watch the people go by then Kefalonia is the place for you. If you are looking for something with a little more nightlife i.e a place with nightclubs then Kefalonia is not the place for you. Not that I am saying that the island isn’t nice because for a relaxing holiday, lazing about getting a tan then Kefalonia is a great place to go.

The island itself has long beaches around its coastline and huge great mountains in the middle. To get from one side of the island to the other you will drive through the mountains and the view is stunning both looking out to sea and into the island and the villages. An earthquake unfortuantely destroyed a lot of buildings so there is no old architecture to look at. For the Captain Corellis’ film they had to put painted false fronts on the shops to make the building look like they would have done during that period.

The two most popular tourist attractions appear to be Drogarati Caves and Melasani Underground Lakes, which are located quite close to one another. The caves are a bit like Wookey Hole in Somerset but are impressive all the same, it is just one big cave which you can walk round. Melasani Underground Lakes was completely covered until the earthquake created a huge hole in its ceiling, and no one part of it has the sun shining down on it, this then shows of the surface mist which is quite amazing. You are rowed around the lake and into the part which is still underground, but unfortunately the man who rowed our boat didn’t speak english so he pointed at things and we looked at them but we are not sure why ! One of the boat men actually sings opera as you go round and it sounds amazing.
Off the top of my head I cannot remember how much they cost for I do not remember they being as too expensive, a good couple of euros at least. A word of caution
though, and someone else told me this, the coach trips to these places arrive at about midday so if you want to avoid the midday rush try to get there for about 10/11 ish.

Argostoli is the capital, and has plenty of restaurants and cafes to choose from, and there are a few cafes on the main shopping street which are open late and you can order iced coffees and people watch quite happily from. The restaurants on the main square are expensive for what they offer and were not the traditional type of greek restaurant, but the food was nice all the same.

The beaches on Kefalonia were abit disappointing as they were mostly pebbly and not sandy like I hoped. But the sea on the North east side of the island was lovely and warm to swim in. As the island is hilly getting to the beaches involved a rather long walk, and an even longer one uphill to get home again.

I stayed in the Alfrato Village Apartments in Lourdata, the apartments themselves were brand new and were extremely comfortable but with one major problem….no air conditioning !! ( The owner is planning to install it in time for 2003). The lack of air conditioning was a major problem as for the week that we stayed there was no breeze at all which meant it was impossible to sleep at night because it was too hot and sticky. They were self catering apartments with twin beds, cooker, fridge, shower, all the usual stuff basically, and a balcony with table and chairs on it. All apartments had a sea view which meant we had breakfast every morning looking out to sea. The apartments had its own swimming pool which was quite frankly lush, as you could spend you day lying on a sun lounger and then cooling off in the pool. But the best was there was no children !! Not that I have nothing against kids but it was nice to be able to relax with no kids shouting around you.

One thing to seriously consider if you are planning to go to Kefalonia is hiring a car, the island is extremely
hilly and to get any where you really need a car. Hiring a car via our holiday reps appeared to be very expensive, £100 ish for3-4 days, we organised one via Hertz before we went and paid only £110 for the whole week, picking up and dropping off at the airport. To be truthful we would have been lost without it. As the resorts are sometimes no more then small villages to stop getting bored you will need to get out and about and the best way is by car. Also it is so much nicer taking yourself of on little adventures every day rather then getting herding about on a coach. Also our Alfrato Village was hidden down a dirt track which was a 20 min walk from the beach and any shops, so without the car we would have been lost.

Overall I did enjoy my holiday on Kefalonia, I had never heard of the place before and it was the only holiday that we could book at short notice, but I was not disappointed. The island is never going to be famous for its nightlife, but for glorious sunshine and not a cloud in sight it cannot be beaten.

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