From Rome Fiumicino Airport, we took a Wizz Airline flight to the beautiful Ionian Island of Kefalonia. Wizz trolled us again as we didn’t pay for seats so sat Sam and I at opposite ends of the aircraft. It was a very short flight of an hour so we weren’t phased.

The landing into Kefalonia was rough. It is a small island airport and the runway needs a bit of love. However they were very efficient at getting everyone off and getting out the bags. We were annoyed on landing to see our booked taxi transfer to our accommodation had been cancelled while in mid-air. Being an island airport, there weren’t many options for public transport. We had tried to look into this beforehand and had got confused - it was definitely running an “island-style" bus service. We did end up taking the bus and by the end of the stay, had worked out most of the intricacies of the Kefalonian bus service!

Our Airbnb was in Argostoli which is the capital of the island. Our apartment was unfortunately at the top of a hill which required a bit of leg work to get up from the bus stop. Thankfully it was only a 15 minute walk but I was exhausted after!

After a quick refreshing shower we went out in search of food and found the most amazing Greek BBQ restaurant nearby. What threw us though was that he didn’t have a menu! Eventually we ordered two pork gyros and a beer and cold drink. It was so cheap (€11 for everything) and so delicious we kept going back here!

On the way back to the Airbnb we stopped at the local grocery store to get breakfast supplies and wine. Suspiciously cheap wine was being sold in 1.5L plastic bottles for €4 so I took the plunge and can say, while not amazing, it was very drinkable and I may have gone back to purchase more during our stay!

Our first full day in Kefalonia I had two goals, see a sea turtle and go swimming in the amazing blue waters. We set off in the morning to explore the town of Argostoli. We wandered across the De Bosset Bridge, the longest stone bridge over the sea in the world, to view The Obelisk and look back towards the township. The water was practically jumping with fish! No sea turtles yet though!

From the bridge, we continued walking along the waterfront and my lifelong ambition to see a sea turtle in the wild was fulfilled! In fact, I saw more than one! They were everywhere! Apparently the older sea turtles retire to this lagoon as it is warm and food is plentiful! We ended up at a cafe next to the water drinking cold frappes watching them for a good hour.

After gathering supplies at the Airbnb, we set off to the famed beaches of Kefalonia. It was a decent hike of about 30 minutes (thankfully downhill). We stopped about halfway for lunch before carrying onwards to Makris Gialos Beach. The water was beautiful! A lovely temperature and so clear! We spent the following day at the beach as after our epic trip through Italy, we needed some R&R.

For our last day in Kefalonia, we booked an island tour to get out and explore the rest of the island. We had debated hiring a car as we’ve both driven on the right before in America. However, the road rules here are very “flexible” and we both didn’t feel confident driving the windy, mountainous roads of the island. Personally I’m not a fan of tour buses but this one wasn’t too bad.

We started off at the port of Argostoli where we were one of the last few passengers collected (the majority had been picked up in Lassi). Our group was quite a mix but the majority were British. Our guide was a local of Kefalonia called Katarina. She was lovely and provided interesting commentary throughout the day on the history of Kefalonia.

Our first stop was a local products store where we got to try the local honey and the local treat, Mandola. Unfortunately as an almond based treat only I got to taste it (since Sam recently found out he’s allergic!).

Continuing on we made the most popular stop of the day which was to the Orealios Gaea Winery where we got to try the local wine of Robola. Robola is a white Greek wine grape that is grown primarily on the islands of Kefalonia. We both liked it a lot!

From here we made our way towards the village of Sami and the Melissani Cave, passing by the Sacred Monastery of Agios Gerasimos (the Patron Saint of Kefalonia) on the way. We were supposed to go to the Drogarati Cave first but our tour guide had sighted the cruise ship coming into port at Argostoli and was trying to beat them to the Melissani Cave! Good thing she did because by the time we left the cave there was a traffic jam of 10+ tour buses!

The Melissani Cave is also known as the Cave of the Nymphs and was a place of worship dedicated to the god Pan and the Nymph Melissani. The legend is that the Nymph Melissani fell into the lake and died because Pan was not responding to her love for him. It was discovered after a part of its roof caved in, revealing the beautiful blue waters of the cave!

We were taken on a quick boat ride out to the middle of the underground lake and into the main cave itself. The water was super clear and a beautiful blue colour - we could see eels floating across the bottom!

After the cave, the guide decided to come back for the Drogarati Cave later on so we pushed onwards to the small fishing village of Fiskardo. It was a drive of about an hour which took us up and over the dry arid limestone hills of the north of Kefalonia. We had some amazing views and spotted heaps of wild goats.

Fiskardo itself was quite disappointing. It is supposed to be famous for its surviving Venetian architecture (one of the few towns that weren’t decimated in the 1953 earthquake). It’s really a tourist trap more catered towards pumping and dumping tourists. We had a very disappointing lunch and a wander. I don’t think we were the only ones disappointed as many people were already back on the bus by the time we went back and we were early!

Our next stop was to the viewpoint overlooking Myrtos Beach. Myrtos is described as “one of the most dramatic beaches in Greece” - it definitely looks dramatic from above! Our tour guide told us it gets it’s unique blue colour from the lightly-coloured limestone sand underneath the waters.

The final stop for the day was to the Drogarati Cave - again discovered when a section collapsed revealing the caves entrance. It’s famous for its stalactites and stalagmites! I also really enjoyed how cold it was - it was a very welcome respite from the heat!

After returning to Argostoli, we finished our day with a stroll through the local shops before indulging in one last pork gyro!

We loved Kefalonia! The Greek people have been so lovely (I’m sure the local bus driver and BBQ man know us by sight now!). The beach and water has been fantastic and it still has that untouched island feel to it. It’s not overly touristy like other Greek Islands. I really don’t get why because when I think Greek Islands, Kefalonia ticks all the boxes! Next time we would stay in Lassi so we were closer to the beaches and look at doing more day trips to the other islands like Ithaca and Zakinthos. There are many water-access-only beaches in Kefalonia as well I would also love to get out and explore next time!

We were both sad to leave Kefalonia but looking forward to Athens, our final stop in Europe and one more step closer to home.