Kefalonia - which areas might suit us pls?

[AndCallMeNancy]

Hello
I am trying to book a holiday for late Aug/early Sept… of course things are getting booked up but after considering a few different places I am now strongly considering Kefalonia.

Would love people experiences of the following areas to help with decision making please! These are the areas where there seem to be viable accommodation available:

Svoronata
Lassi
Scala
Katelios
Lixouri

We will self cater so we like to be able to walk to a few tavernas. We have a DD so we prefer a nice safe child-friendly beach, ideally walking distance. We like to do boat trips, see a bit of culture (but not everyday!), mooch about, have beach days, pool days - we are pretty low key.

We aren’t looking for clubs, partying, English breakfasts or Irish bars.

If anyone has any other reccomendations for things to do/places to visit on the island I’d love to hear them, we will probably hire a car for at least a few days.

Thanks in advance!

Skala is lovely, quiet no night life as such but a big selection of bars & restaurants, all lovely.

beach is a mix of sandy & pebbles, very long almost 2km, some bars & sun beds but plenty of space

There is a well preserved Roman mosaic in Skala, the old town (ruined in earthquake) is walkable up a big hill, a lovely chapel and Roman remains if you walk towards Poros (and the best ice cream shop on the way), boat trips leave the beach most days (Captain Vangelis). The Skala Kefalonia Facebook page is very friendly and lots of advice

Svoronata and Katelios are tiny, and at the foot of incredibly steep hills.

Skala and Lassi are towns; Skala smaller and quieter than the last time I was there.

All the beaches are stony so don’t go looking for a lovely sandy beach!

Great start - Skala sounds lovely, just our kind of place, thank you @Defiantly41 ! 🙏

Just to add, hiring a car is a great idea. Go to the underground lake, drive to Argostoli where there are huge turtles in the bay, head up to the top of Mt Aenos.

Its a really beautiful place 😍

Thanks @EssCarGo 🙏
we can handle pebbly beaches if the sea is lovely to swim in.

Hopeful bump for some more Kefalonia wisdom if possible!!

We stayed in Svoronata 2 years ago, handy for the airport but didn't love the beaches. Avithos Beach was the best of them with a nice taverna in the carpark. Other than that we found ourselves going to Makris Gialos near Argostolion which was lovely white sand etc but pretty busy (in late August).

Dont bother with Lixouri as the beach disappeared after a storm a few years ago. Although nice to visit on the very short and cheap ferry from Argostoli.
Makris Gialos beach is good which is in Lassi - don't walk further up to Costa beach as cafe and sunbeds there are a rip off. Lassi a bit touristy but a bus (or taxi rank) takes you quickly to Argostoli which is lovely - great Greek designer shops and loads of restaurants and turtles as well as couple of good museums. Get off at the bus station (locals seem to use the cafes round there) and get times for other buses going to Fiskardo (expensive but really pretty) or my favourite Sami where there are boats mooring and nice restaurants along the front. Nice small museum there as well. I have not stayed there but Sami Beach Hotel looks ok and is near to the caves and short walk into Sami. Antisamos Beach is about 10 minutes by car/taxi which is nice. Ferries from Sami to Ithaca and mainland Greece.
My friend stayed in Skala and really like it although I have not been.
Of course, if you hire a car you can get around anywhere.

Thank you, helpful to hear re the beaches in Svoronata. I’m also slightly out off by the idea of a lot of plane noise due to the proximity to the airport, so Svoronata might be scratched from the list of possibilities… eliminating options is good!

Just came here to say that the northern part of the island is completely different. No mass market tourism just small villages with traditional tavernas.

This is a really informative post, thanks so much. I wouldn’t mind a bit of bussing about the place if it’s an option so this is great. Scala sounds promising from this thread and I’m still quite keen on the sound of Katelios too.

We've stayed in Katelios a couple of times and really loved it. It's quiet - mostly just a strip of restaurants and bars along the sea front.

Skala we didn't like as it felt a bit too much like "clubs, partying, English breakfasts or Irish bars"

Fiskardo, in the North, is really touristy, despite what @KateSixer has said! it's also much more pricey as that's where the yachting crew tend to go.

Must admit I don’t recognise Skala from that quote - have been every year for the past 10 years. Apparently years ago it was livelier, but I don’t think there are any clubs - maybe a few of the bars have music nights but most don’t, and the only partying I’ve seen is the once a week beach party with fireworks at one bar! Possibly one Irish bar, and yes, a few of the tavernas offer English Breakfast.

I stayed in Lassi twice and the lovely beaches in Lassi are sandy actually! It’s really nice there. Some good restaurants & bars but quiet away from the main road; everything within walking distance; a short distance from the capital Argostoli.

Also we hired a car from a rental company in Lassi, a couple of times we drove up to an amazing beach called Kamieni-something (sorry will have to look it up); a huge shallow sandy bay with turtle nests at one end.
The sea in Kefalonia is actually like bath water!

Dont bother with Lixouri as the beach disappeared after a storm a few years ago.

Lepeda beach, just south of Lixouri, was very much there last time I looked. You can sometimes find people guarding the baby turtles that are about to hatch. Very popular with locals but hardly any tourists in sight.

I agree. I've been going for years. It would suit you very well, just take beach shoes.

We did 5 days in Svoronata then 5 in Fiskardo last time. Fiskardo is lovely but pretty busy in August. Emplisi Beach nearby was heaving. But Foki is quieter and there's a few on the West side that should be very quiet. And you can rent a boat in Fiskardo and get across to Ithaka or to some little coves you'll have all to yourself.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all the input, lots of food for thought.

At the moment the best accommodation option available for us seems to be in Katelios, it’s a basic, low budget kind of place but that’s what it needs to be this year, money is pretty tight atm. It has good reviews on tripadvisor tho. It’s close to Scala too so could spend time in both resorts as well as do some trips elsewhere on the island.

Will deffo take beach shoes wherever we end up! I LOVE floating about in a nice warm sea @Lararoft and I’ve heard a lot about turtles on Kefalonia @samarrange so thank you for that tip off.

I agree, it’s really not a clubbing/full English breakfast type place at all. I’ve been five times in 20
years and it’s maybe for slightly busier but apart from that it hasn’t changed much.

If you're going to skala. Beach shoes are a must! Lovely quiet village with little nightlife. Loads of lovely bars and restaurants though.

Ive never been to a place on kefalonia that I didnt like

Fiskardo... beautiful port village. Stunning venetian architecture there.

Assos. Just as beautiful but much quieter. The road down there isn't for the faint hearted.

Lassi. Bit more lively. Nightlife better. Beach Stunning.

Basically all is nice. Just depends what you're looking for activity wise.

Absolutely love Skala. Fantastic restaurants, lovely people!

We stayed at White Rocks in Lassi. The town is a bit of a strip. But really well placed and there is a sandy beach.

Happy to accept I may be wrong about Skala - we didn't stay there, but weren't impressed on our visit. Glad others have loved it!

I didn't recognise skala either. Wherever you go english breakfasts are offered. You cant escape that. But there's no Irish bar there or even many bars that open past midnight. Its not a party town. At all.