Day Trips from Kefalonia

Day trips from Kefalonia start in Argostoli and reach Lixouri, the caves of the island, Myrtos, Assos and Fiskardo, then cross the water to Ithaca and Lefkada, with tastings of local wines and oils. The page is part of the Greece Tours on Greece Ville.

This page covers what day trips from Kefalonia are, Argostoli and Lixouri, the caves, the northern coast from Myrtos to Fiskardo, Ithaca, Lefkada and the wines and oils. Common questions come last. Each section links to the Greece Ville posts on single tours.

What are day trips from Kefalonia?

Day trips from Kefalonia are short outings that start from the island’s ports and return to the same base, taking in caves, bays and neighbouring islands of the Ionian Sea, with Argostoli, Sami and Fiskardo as the main departure points.

The main ferry port of Argostoli connects the capital with the mainland by way of Kyllini and with Zakynthos, while a separate car ferry runs to Lixouri, the second town of the island.

Sami lies on the central east coast of the island. Argostoli, Lixouri and Sami are the seats of the three municipalities that the 2019 local government reform created on Kefalonia.

The island has long served as a crossing point. Italo-Normans besieged its main city in 1085, and the Venetians plundered the island in 1126, so ports and fortified towns shaped its early history.

Italy lies close to the island, and Cephalonia is a popular holiday destination for Italians for that reason. Ionian music also drew on Italian influences, because the islands kept ties with Venice.

The municipality of Sami covers 291.2 square kilometres, so day trips from Kefalonia that leave from the east coast cross a wide stretch of the island before they reach the sea.

• Argostoli: The capital handles the ferries to Kyllini, to Zakynthos and to Lixouri.
• Lixouri: The town lies west of Argostoli on the Paliki peninsula.
• Sami: The Melissani cave lies west of the east-coast town.
• Fiskardo: The northern village stands 32 km north of Argostoli.

These ports set the pattern for every outing on the island, and the sections below follow the routes in turn, from the towns and caves to the north coast, Ithaca, Lefkada and the vineyards.

What do day trips from Kefalonia show in Argostoli and Lixouri?

Day trips from Kefalonia start in the two largest towns, Argostoli and Lixouri, which together hold almost two-thirds of the island’s people and show the capital, the Paliki peninsula and the old musical tradition of the Ionian Islands.

Argostoli holds one-third of the inhabitants of the island. Lixouri is the second major settlement, and the two towns account for almost two-thirds of the regional unit’s population.

Citizens of ancient Pale founded Lixouri. The new town took its name from Paleas, one of the four sons of the mythical king Kefalos, after whom the island is also named.

The oldest document that carries the name Lixouri was sent in 1534 by local authorities to the Senate of Venice. Earthquakes on 23 January 1867 and in August 1953 destroyed houses in the town.

The Iakovateios building in Lixouri holds the public library and a museum, and it was preserved from before the earthquake, so day trips from Kefalonia can still see a stretch of the older town.

Lixouri has a philharmonic orchestra that dates from 1836, and Argostoli has the Rokos Vergottis Conservatory. Both belong to the musical tradition known as the Ionian School of music.

• Argostoli: The ferry port stands beside the new bus station, between the Koutavos Lagoon and the De Bosset Bridge.
• Lixouri: The town lies west of Argostoli and south of Fiskardo.
• Area: The municipal unit of Argostoli covers 157.670 square kilometres.
• Hotels: Larger hotels rose south of Lixouri near the beaches in the 1990s.

The Kefalonia island tour post covers the island by road, with the towns, villages and viewpoints that lie between the two coasts.

Which caves do day trips from Kefalonia visit?

Day trips from Kefalonia visit the Melissani lake cave and the Drogarati caves, natural features of limestone country, where a collapsed roof, forested slopes and a gorge with a prehistoric cave shape the scenery on the east side of the island.

Melissani forms a cenote, a natural sinkhole that opens onto groundwater, and a feature of the same kind is described on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico as well.

The lake lies east of the mountains of Evmorfia and Agia Dynati. Forests surround the cave, and the mountain slope rises to the west of the water in the sinkhole.

The Drakaina cave lies in the gorge of Poros. Excavators found tools made of stone and bone, figurines and pottery there, and the finds show how people used the cave in prehistoric and historic times.

The name Drakena means She-Dragon and refers to a local legend. In the popular imagination, certain marks in the rocks on the side of the gorge were believed to be the dragon’s foot prints.

The island has a rich biodiversity, with a substantial number of endemic and rare species. Over 200 species of birds have been spotted there, and the European pine marten also lives on Kefalonia.

• Setting: The slope west of the Melissani lake is covered in forest.
• Legend: In local legend, the Cyclops threw the large rocks off the Poros beach at early invaders.
• Birds: Over 200 species of birds have been recorded on the island.
• Mammals: The European pine marten lives on the island.

The Melissani cave tour post covers the lake and the boat ride inside it, and the caves above give day trips from Kefalonia two reasons to go underground.

How do day trips from Kefalonia reach Myrtos, Assos and Fiskardo?

Day trips from Kefalonia reach Myrtos, Assos and Fiskardo along the north-west and northern coast, where a pebble beach, a Venetian fortress and a community of five villages show three different sides of the island and its long Venetian past.

Longshore drift and wave energy have shaped the shore at Myrtos. The slope drops abruptly near the edge of the water, so the waves arrive with very high energy.

A public bus service from the harbour area in Agia Efimia to Myrtos Beach is run by the Municipality of Pylaros in the high season, which gives day trips from Kefalonia a road link.

In 1584 the nobles of Kefalonia petitioned the Venetian Senate for a new fortress, because the Castle of Saint George was unable to defend the whole island against the Turkish threat and the pirate raids.

The work at Assos began under Ambrosius Cornelius, whose name appears on the sign outside the main gate. Near the church stand the ruins of a Venetian building owned by the Gentilini family.

The community of Fiskardo consists of five villages: Fiskardo, Evreti, Katsarata, Matsoukata and Tselentata. In the 18th century the port of Fiskardo became the commercial harbour of Erisos.

• Myrtos: The beach lies in the region of Pylaros, in the north-west of the island.
• Bus: The summer bus leaves from the harbour area in Agia Efimia.
• Assos: The fortress was built to defend the island from pirates and from a naval invasion.
• Fiskardo: The name Fiskardo also belongs to the bay in which the port stands.

The Kefalonia boat tour post covers the same coast from the water, with the bays and capes between the three stops.

What do day trips from Kefalonia find on Ithaca?

Day trips from Kefalonia find on Ithaca the island that tradition names as the home of Odysseus, a place where ancient scholars, later rulers and modern theorists have argued over the map and the sea routes of the Odyssey.

Eratosthenes, as recorded by Strabo, believed that there was no Ithaca and that Homer had invented the island. Ancient readers therefore disagreed about the place from an early date.

Later theories moved the island far from the Ionian Sea. Manolis Koutlis placed Ithaca on Faial in the Azores, a proposal that shows how wide the search for Homer’s home became.

In 1798 a joint Russo-Turkish force commanded by admirals Fyodor Ushakov and Kadir Bey liberated Ithaca from the French, and the island then became part of the Septinsular Republic in a new order.

In 1830 the local community asked to join the restored Greek state. Under the 1864 Treaty of London the island passed to Greece with the other Ionian islands.

According to the traveller Leake, the families of Karavias, Petalas and Dendrinos formed the three main factions of the island in the 18th century. The composer Dionysius Rodotheatos was born there in 1849.

• Old names: Thrakoniso, Thakou, Thiakou and Thiaki are among the Greek names of the island.
• Doubt: Eratosthenes questioned whether Homer’s island existed at all.
• Union: The 1864 treaty ceded the Ionian islands to Greece.
• Music: Rodotheatos lived from 1849 to 1892.

The Ithaca day trip post covers the crossing and the island itself, so day trips from Kefalonia can follow the Homeric trail on the ground and compare the claims in person.

Why do day trips from Kefalonia look north to Lefkada?

Day trips from Kefalonia look north to Lefkada because the island lies just across the water, joined to the mainland by a causeway, and offers east-coast resorts, car ferries and a long record of bishops, raiders and legends.

The east coast of Lefkada has the small resorts of Lygia, Nikiana and Perigiali, all north of Nidri, which is the largest resort on the island, so smaller places line the coast to its north.

Regular car ferries link Lefkada with Kefalonia, Ithaca and Meganissi, so day trips from Kefalonia can end on the Lefkada side of the strait and return by the same water.

The island is attested as a bishopric at the Fourth Council of Constantinople in 879. It was later raised to an archbishopric under the Emperor Leo VI the Wise.

Liutprand of Cremona visited Lefkada during his embassy to Constantinople in 968. In 1099 the island was raided by Dagobert of Pisa, and al-Idrisi mentions it in the mid-12th century.

In medieval British legend, Brutus of Troy found Lefkada abandoned after pirate attacks. A vision at a temple of Diana sent him to Britain, where he founded an empire.

• Bridge: A long causeway and a floating bridge join Lefkada to the mainland.
• Resorts: Lygia, Nikiana and Perigiali lie north of Nidri.
• Ferries: Regular car ferries serve Kefalonia, Ithaca and Meganissi.
• Church: The island became an archbishopric under Leo VI.

The Lefkada island tour post covers the island on land, and the Lefkada boat tour post covers its coast from the sea, a second view of the island for day trips from Kefalonia.

Which wines and oils do day trips from Kefalonia taste?

Day trips from Kefalonia taste Robola, Mavrodaphne and olive oil, the products of a mountainous island where the plains are small, the olive groves are large and the dark fortified wine carries fig, spice and nut tones in the glass.

Tasting notes for Mavrodaphni dessert wine mention fig, spice, nutty and herbal tones, with cedar or tobacco aromas in certain glasses, beside the better-known caramel, chocolate and plum.

The wine is dark and almost opaque, with a dark purple reflected colour and a purple-brown transmitted colour, which shows when a glass is held to the light.

Olive oil is a major part of the island’s economy. There are over one million olive trees on Cephalonia, and they cover almost 55% of the island’s area.

Koroneiki and theiako are the two main olive varieties on the island, followed by a smaller number of ntopia and matolia, so day trips from Kefalonia that visit a press meet all four.

Kefalonian olive oil has a green tone, a rich touch and low acidity. Until the 18th century the oil produced on the island just covered the needs of its residents.

• Plains: The plains cover less than 15% of the island.
• Land: Less than a quarter of the island’s land is arable.
• Trade: Venetian pressure for olive plantations began the first oil exports to Venice.
• Presses: Before the 1953 earthquake, 200 oil presses were working on the island.

The Kefalonia wine tour post covers the Robola vineyards and the tastings, and the oils and wines above fill out the farm side of day trips from Kefalonia.

What do travellers ask about day trips from Kefalonia?

Day trips from Kefalonia raise a short set of questions about ports, caves, neighbouring islands and local produce, and the replies below draw on the facts set out in the sections above and keep to the same sources for each answer.

Which ports serve day trips from Kefalonia?

Argostoli is the main ferry port, with links to Kyllini, Zakynthos and Lixouri. Sami lies on the central east coast, and Fiskardo stands in the north. Together the three ports give day trips from Kefalonia access to the whole coast.

Which islands do day trips from Kefalonia reach?

Ithaca lies across the strait and is the traditional home of Odysseus, although Eratosthenes doubted that it existed. Lefkada lies to the north and has regular car ferries to Kefalonia, Ithaca and Meganissi. Both islands make short day trips from Kefalonia possible by sea.

Which sights do day trips from Kefalonia include on land?

Land routes of day trips from Kefalonia visit Argostoli and Lixouri, the Melissani lake cave, the Drakaina cave in the gorge of Poros, Myrtos Beach and the Venetian fortress at Assos, with the village of Fiskardo at the northern end of the island.

Which local products do day trips from Kefalonia taste?

Tastings centre on Robola white wine, dark Mavrodaphni and olive oil. The island has over one million olive trees, and Koroneiki and theiako are the two main varieties, so day trips from Kefalonia can end at a press or a cellar.