Kefalonia: Who It Suits, and What Changed in 2026

As of early October 2026, a few things on Kefalonia differ from older guidebooks. On 9 July a landslide sent rocks and soil down the slope above Myrtos beach. Efthymios Lekkas, president of OASP, Greece’s earthquake planning and protection agency, said “we are at acceptable risk levels, but larger landslides cannot be excluded”, and permanent signs now forbid umbrellas, sunbeds or sitting near the foot of the cliff. The coach tours on this page stop at the viewpoint above Myrtos, not on the beach.

The second is good news. Drogarati Cave, which some sites still describe as closed, is open in 2026; the Municipality of Sami charges €6 there and €10 at the Melissani lake cave.

Just before midnight on 1 August 2026 a wildfire broke out near Pastra, and inland villages in the south-east, among them Kateleios, Markopoulo and Kremmydi, were evacuated before it subsided. The fire season runs to 31 October.

The largest of the Ionian islands

GNTO calls Kefalonia, Cephalonia in older English, the largest island in the Ionian Sea: pine, cypress and olive trees, the endemic Cephalonian fir on the peaks of Mount Ainos, and on its slopes the vines that make Robola white wine. Loggerhead turtles and Mediterranean monk seals live in its waters. Argostoli is the capital. Fiskardo, in the north, was one of the few places to escape the earthquake of 1953, and Assos is a fishing village with a Venetian castle.

At Melissani you cross an underground lake in a rowing boat for about twelve people, a ride of 10 to 15 minutes, and swimming in the lake is not allowed. Drogarati is a cave of stalactites reached down about 150 steep steps. Children under six go free at both. The Municipality of Sami’s page says the caves open daily from 09:00 to 16:00, in a notice that carries no date, so check before you go.

Ithaca, which has no airport, lies across the channel. GNTO times the ferry from Sami to Pisaetos at 31 minutes. Levante Ferries sails it at 07:05 and 16:45 between 3 September and 18 October 2026, Ionion Pelagos runs the same crossing until 24 October, and in summer Ionion Pelagos also links Fiskardo with Frikes. GNTO presents Ithaca as the land of Odysseus, but whether it is Homer’s island is debated. In the Municipality of Ithaca’s account, the excavator Thanasis Papadopoulos identified the acropolis at the site called the School of Homer as Odysseus’s palace in 2010 “with every scientific reservation”, and some researchers argue that Homer’s Ithaca was Paliki, Kefalonia’s own western peninsula. kefaloniatoithaca.com goes through the crossings port by port, from the Sami ferry to the day cruises.

Who Kefalonia suits, and who should pick another island

The guides give it different labels. Lonely Planet’s July 2026 list of the best Greek islands calls Kefalonia “rugged romance”, Condé Nast Traveller’s UK edition files it under hiking and nature, and Condé Nast Traveler’s US edition under laid-back family vacations. In our view it suits a trip of boat days, caves, walking and wine. It is also quieter than its neighbours: in 2025 its airport had about 377,000 international arrivals, against 1.08 million at Zakynthos and 2.08 million at Corfu, and the Kefalonia-Ithaca cruise port saw 256,679 cruise passengers against Corfu’s 894,179.

For livelier resort nights, or Navagio from the clifftop, choose Zakynthos; GNTO gives 1 h 35 for the crossing between Pessada and Agios Nikolaos, on Zakynthos’s north coast. For a historic town and the busiest airport in the Ionian, choose Corfu. For a family beach week, Lonely Planet points to the shallow water of Naxos, and both Condé Nast editions pick Crete. If even Kefalonia sounds too busy, the quieter-islands guide covers Ithaca and others.

Getting there

Nothing sails to the Ionian islands from Piraeus, Rafina or Lavrio. The shortest mainland crossing is from Kyllini, on the Peloponnese, to Poros, Kefalonia’s port (not the Saronic island of the same name): about 1 h 30 with Levante Ferries, the only operator, which listed departures at 07:15, 16:30 and 21:00, plus 12:00 on Tuesdays and Fridays, for 1 to 15 October 2026. GNTO gives 3 h 15 from Patra to Sami and 2 h 12 from Astakos to Sami. From the neighbours, GNTO gives 1 hour from Vasiliki on Lefkada to Fiskardo.

Kefalonia’s airport, Anna Pollatou, is run by Fraport Greece. In winter 2025-26, from 3 December to 28 March, it kept restricted hours and closed on Saturdays, so check flights before planning an off-season trip.

How long to stay

No one publishes a recommended stay, so this is our suggestion: five days. One for the boat out of Argostoli, one coach day round the caves and the north, one for Ithaca, and two for beaches and walking. Where you sleep matters, because two of the coach tours here do not pick up in Lixouri, Agia Efimia, Sami, Fiskardo or Assos.

Some tours stop for the winter: when we checked, the Assos and Fiskardo day had its next date on 2 May 2027. The Ionian also turns wet in autumn: EMY’s normals give Argostoli 94.7 mm of rain in October against 6.0 mm in July.

What 2025 and 2026 changed

The other changes are fees and numbers. Since 21 July 2025 cruise passengers pay a fee at each port where they go ashore, regardless of age: €5 from June to September, €3 in April, May and October, €1 in winter; only Santorini and Mykonos charge more. The climate resilience fee rose in 2025 to €2 to €15 per room a night by star rating from April to October, and €8 for short-term rentals. Cruise traffic grew, with 256,679 passengers at the Kefalonia-Ithaca port in 2025 against 186,219 in 2024 (ELIME), and Fraport’s airport traffic for January to August 2026 was up 8.3%.

The tours here

The featured day is Dreamy Cruises Kefalonia’s traditional boat from Argostoli, from $73 as of October 2026, rated 4.9 from 879 reviews. It stops for an hour at White Rocks Beach, about an hour and three quarters at the islet of Vardiani for lunch and a swim, and an hour at Xi Beach. Lunch is homemade, with local wine and water through the day, a morning snack and fruit, and snorkel gear, inflatables and a paddle board aboard; a dinghy takes non-swimmers ashore. The listing says the schedule may change or be cancelled in poor weather, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.

For a first full day on Kefalonia with the lunch, the wine and the swimming taken care of, this is the one to book.

See dates for the Argostoli boat →

ASSOS NAVIS A.E.’s cruise to Ithaca ($62, 4.6 from 247 reviews) leaves from Skala Beach, opposite the small pine park at the end of the main pedestrian street, for a swim near the chapel of Agios Ioannis, an hour and a half in Vathy, Ithaca’s capital, and swims at Gidaki and Koutsoupia. Lunch and hotel pickup are not included, and it is not for anyone prone to seasickness.

For the caves, AVALON TRAVEL SERVICES SINGLE MEMBER runs a half day from Argostoli ($73, 4.6 from 695) with port or hotel pickup, the entrance fees, a local guide and a photo stop above Myrtos. It is not for wheelchair users, and the operator warns of queues in July and August when several cruise ships are in. Kefalonia Excursions’ full day ($43, 4.8 from 379) takes in both caves and the Myrtos viewpoint and adds the Monastery of Agios Gerasimos, a Robola tasting at a winery and free time in Fiskardo, but the cave tickets (€16 for an adult) and lunch are extra. The monastery is a place of worship, so dress for it.

Kefalonia Sightseeing & Tours’ Assos and Fiskardo day ($62, 4.8 from 347) covers Melissani (entry extra), Assos, Fiskardo and the Myrtos viewpoint with hotel pickup. This day and the Kefalonia Excursions one both say they do not suit cruise passengers.

OPUNTIA KEFALONIA’s meze cooking class on a farm ($73, 4.9 from 63) teaches filo pie, riganada, tzatziki and halva, then sits everyone down to eat with house wine. Transport to the farm is not included, and it is sold only with advance booking.