Kefalonia
Largest Ionian Island: Myrtos Beach, The Melissani Cave Lake And Drogarati Cave, Mount Ainos With Its Fir Forest, Robola Wine And The 1953 Earthquake Story · Argostoli, Ionian Islands
Kefalonia is the largest of the Ionian Islands, a big, mountainous island off the west coast of Greece where the fir-covered ridge of Mount Ainos rises to about 1,600 m above bays of startlingly blue water. People come for Myrtos, the white-pebble beach under limestone cliffs that appears on countless posters, for the boat ride on the underground lake of Melissani, for the villages of Assos and Fiskardo in the north, for Robola wine from the Omala valley and for a greener, slower Greece than the Cyclades. The island carries a heavy twentieth century: in September 1943 German forces massacred thousands of men of the Italian Acqui Division here, the history behind the novel and film Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and in August 1953 an earthquake destroyed almost every town except Fiskardo, which is why most villages look modern. The honest caveats: it is large and its roads are slow and winding, so a car is essential and a day trip barely scratches it; Melissani queues and Myrtos parking are tight in August; and Argostoli is a practical town rather than a pretty one.
Kefalonia, Ionian Islands; Argostoli capital and airport, Sami and Poros ports, Fiskardo in the north, Myrtos beach on the north-west coast, Argostoli, Ionian Islands, Greece
An island open all year, but its sights keep their own patterns. Melissani and Drogarati caves run roughly from April or May to October, from about 09:00 to early evening, and close or open only partly in winter (Drogarati has been shut for safety works at times) - confirm before you drive over. Beaches have no gates, but the Myrtos access road can close after storms or rockfalls. The Argostoli archaeological museum follows state hours, shorter in winter, closed on the main public holidays. Arrive by plane to Argostoli (summer charters from much of Europe, Athens flights all year) or by ferry from Kyllini to Poros or Argostoli, and from Patras or Ithaca to Sami. Book the car and ferries early for July and August.