Kefalonia, Crete or Puglia?

[snapdragongirl]

Looking at villas with pools in these areas for a two week family summer holiday. DC will be 15, 13 and 10. Which would you recommend? We are hoping for somewhere authentic, nice food, sandy beaches, not too many Brits, interesting places to visit, maybe boat trips or similar activities.

Also will these locations be way too hot for us in late July/august? As mentioned we are hoping for private pool to cool off in plus air con....

I've been to Kefalonia and Crete and both were absolutely beautiful. I would say Kefalonia is more picturesque. We went on a coach tour of all the places in which Captain Corellis (sp?) mandolin was filmed. We were taken by boat through these stunning caves with turquoise water. Both places will be very hot, I think when I visited Kefalonia it was end of June and there was a heatwave. It was late 30 to early 40 degrees. We went to Crete in September and there was a nice cool breeze but still warm. So long as you have air con and a pool it shouldn't be too much of a problem x

Late July and August will be heaving anywhere on the Italian coast so I’d probably swerve Bari though I haven’t actually been then.

Kefalonia is better for stunning beaches than Crete IMO. Also further north so (marginally) less likely to be baking, but tbh any of these places will be very hot. Crete has more to see culturally, but for a beach and pool holiday I’d choose Kefalonia. There can be a lot of wasps there in August though just in case that is a deal breaker.

Food good at all of these

Thank you for this! We are leaning towards Kefalonia. DH and I both loved Captain Corelli's Mandolin! We are keen to find somewhere that's walking distance to a taverna or two if at all possible. Quite a few villas seem to be a little more off the beaten track, in beautiful settings but you need to drive to any shop/restaurant...

Thanks so much! Will bear in mind the wasps...would prefer to avoid heaving if possible, Given potential heat we are more likely to take it easy in the pool, or visiting beaches etc (suspect I'll want to do more cultural stuff than the DC!) and think we are leaning towards Kefalonia.

Holiday'd in both the South and North of Kefalonia. Prefer the North - Fiskardo area absolutely stunning, although longer transfer from airport.

Forgot about the wasps! They are a bit of a pain...

I’d strongly suggest hiring a car (with a/c!) as there are so many beaches to explore and a car will help you find the less busy ones.

If budget allows, hiring your own little powerboat for a day or half a day is great fun and means you can explore some coves which aren’t accessible by road.

We summer in Puglia (Salento; the southernmost bit .. Puglia does not end at Bari!) as DH is from there so we have a house. It will be hot, and busy, but as long as you’re by the sea and have a pool then you’ll be ok. Friends came out last summer and booked two separate villas with pools on both sides of the coast either side of Leuca (we have the Ionian one side and the Adriatic the other). Gallipoli is a super town to visit in the evening, as is Otranto. Some great UNESCO sites like Alberobello for day trips (to or from airports) plus you could stay at night or two at Matera, where the last Bond movie car chase was filmed (it’s just over border into Basilicata but close enough from Bari). The closest airport is Brindisi for our part of Salento. We always do a boat trip visiting and swimming into the grottos around Leuca.

I'd go for Kefalonia, it's gorgeous :) https://www.clickstay.com/p/376550

Kefalonia is so beautiful. Gentle waters and stunning scenery. It will be very hot in July and August so air conditioning is a must. It is not a place where there are lots of activities if that is what your family are looking for. It is peaceful and a break away from the hordes. I would recommend a boat trip to Ithaca. It is of course the home of Odysseus and spectacular to visit.

We did Kefalonia a few times pre-kids and then last summer with 3 teens. Lovely beaches, good food but reasonably busy everywhere in August. Very rare to find a villa that's walkable to more than 1-2 tavernas. The better villas are generally more away from things. We split the holiday between the south and north (Fiskardo) which I'd recommend - especially if you're doing 2 weeks. The north has less sandy beaches but lovely coves, a little quieter and great boat hire or trips from the port.

@sniffydog I realise this is a slightly older thread but I was wondering if you could share where you stayed in the south? We went a couple of times pre-kids and love Fiskardo so much, so we are thinking about doing a week there but also a week in the south as well. Fiskardo has gone very expensive since we were there though!

My daughter spent a month in kefalonia on a volunteer sea turtle project this September. If you go, follow Wildlife Sense as they share then they have nest inventories and members of the public might be lucky enough to witness turtle hatchings. Turtles are in argostoli harbour and the beaches of luxouri. She said kefalonia is beautiful and easy to get around.

wildlifesense.com/en/

We stayed in Svoronata in the south which was close to some nice tavernas and beaches but I'm not sure we'd stay exactly there again. The nicest beach we ended up driving to was Platis Gialos but it was close to Argostoli and very busy. Yes, we ended up renting a villa outside of Fiskardo as it was hard to find one in walking distance. The real shock is having to go back in school holidays instead of the joys of flexibility 🙄

Thank you, yes I’m trying to find a villa near Fiskardo but am shocked at the prices! Although it is such a beautiful area so I do get that it must be very popular. We were originally thinking about going in May half term but the flights are ridiculously expensive, so now looking for August as we can pick and choose the cheaper flight dates. Just a bit concerned about the heat but I suppose pool and air conditioning will make it bearable!

Was considering a week in Lassi and then week in Fiskardo (as seems to be more activities for the kids somewhere like Lassi) but I really just want to get to Fiskardo 😅