Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Ithaca .. jewels in the Ionian Sea

I've been wanting to go to the Greek Island of Kefalonia for quite some time and this year that dream became a reality.

Every year in June my girl friends and I go to an island within a four hour flying radius of London. The pandemic stopped us going for 2 years and last year we finally got to go to Corfu in September. This year we looked at a number of island  options but connections didn't work out with flights and ferries so we booked an EasyJet holiday to Kefalonia. It was a great deal and an easy process. Flights, accommodation and transfers all organised and paid for in advance.

We took a super early flight out so that we could make the most of our first day. We arrived around lunch time a little before check in so went and had a lovely lunch by the pool. 

The hotel Apostolata is set into a hillside and all rooms have a view of the beautiful Ionian sea. The location is lovely but it is about 3kms outside of the main town of Skala so if you like to be in the thick of it this is not the place for you. The hotel offers a free shuttle service every day except Sunday - twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, the last one being at 5.30pm.

Our first full day was a Sunday, so as there was no shuttle service, we chose to walk to the town to get a sense of the area. Mostly downhill on the way there, it took about 40 minutes to our first stop at Nautilus restaurant which had a beach which you could access on a stepped path down the hill. We had a coffee and booked lunch for later on, giving us free use of the sun beds and umbrella. The beach was quite stoney so we walked further into town and bought beach shoes as we had forgotten to bring ours with us.

The water was crystal clear and relatively warm and it was such a joy to be on the beach and in the water again.

Lunch was delicious fresh fish with Greek salad and local wine. It was such a perfect location with views of the beach and sea. A great start to what was to be a fantastic holiday.

We went back to the beach for another swim and decided we had enough energy for the walk back. I have to say, that last kilometre or so up the hill was a struggle particularly as we didn't have suitable footwear (flip flops are really meant for the beach) but we racked up about 13,000 steps that day!

We booked 2 days of boat trips - one to Zakynthos or Zante as it's also known, and one to the island of Ithaca. Both trips were fabulous and we we went with Valsamis Cruises. It took about 90 minutes to get to the beautiful Shipwreck beach which was wonderful to see but crowded on the day with other boats dropping tourists off. The sea was too rough for us to get off and swim but it didn't matter as we had about 20 minutes to take it all in before going on to see the Blue Caves. I couldn't get over the myriad variations of the blues of the sea, it was just amazing. 

Cruising onward around the island we stopped at St. Nikolaos for about an hour and a half where we had a leisurely lunch overlooking the sea and the small harbour. On the way back we dropped anchor in a secluded bay for the chance to swim off the boat and enjoy the peace and tranquility.

Similarly, the trip to Ithaca was about an hour's sail away from the port of Poros but the island was charming and different to Zante. It was an enchantingly beautiful place, just as you'd imagine a Greek island would be. 

The capital Vathi, which was our first stop, is situated around a deep natural bay and retains all the charm and traditional architecture that is typical of the Ionian Islands. We got off there to spend an hour or so wandering around the
town with its water front shops, cafes and restaurants. 

Our second stop and where we had lunch was Kioni, also set in a sheltered bay with restaurants and cafes on the beach. This is an island I would love to come back to explore more. 

On the way back we stopped again at a beautiful secluded beach to swim in the crystal clear turquoise sea.

Mid week we got the local bus service for a trip to the capital of Argostolion on the other side of the island from where we were based. At a cost of €4.50 each way it was a bargain.

The journey took almost 2 hours as there were a number of stops along the way but it was an interesting trip on winding roads through little villages and seeing a great deal of the island which is surprisingly quite mountainous. The roads are generally quite narrow so there's no hurrying the process.

Argostolion looks relatively modern with a pedestrianised area filled with shops, cafes and restaurants. It was fairly quiet while we were there but apparently can get quite busy at times as it's a cruise ship stop. We checked out the shops and stopped for a Frappe - iced coffee - outside a typical Greek cafe.

We headed down to the water front and had lunch in a restaurant Aristofanis recommended to us by a local resident and it didn't disappoint. I love the Greek diet of fresh fish vegetables and salad. I could actually live on it permanently. 

The rest of our time between the day trips was spent at the beach in Skala, right in front of what became our favourite, Milos beach bar and restaurant. Two sun beds and umbrella plus two bottles of water was €8 for the day. The beach is mostly sand so not too many rocks to contend with and there is also a shower and changing hut.

We stayed there for lunch and went for drinks in the evening as we loved the location and the hospitality of the owner and his staff. We even got to see the strawberry super moon rise over the sea one night. A magical, serendipitous experience to remember. 

We met so many lovely people who also appreciate the beauty of this region and return every year without fail.

I think I may have left a little piece of my heart in Kefalonia and would love to come back to this beautiful island again one day.

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