Kefalonia Holiday Reviews

not a resort for the young .there are no music bars (great)friendly locals(spent an hour talking to an old greek guy fishing on the marina,he didnt speak english,i know a couple of words in greek)definately a resort for the older holidaymakers.

Scala as a resort is very nice with a great selection of taverners to eat at. Meal prices are not too bad with an average two course meal with wine (house) costing on average 35 euro a couple.What I did notice are the ridiculous bar prices with a glass of bacardi costing five euros and a small bottle of mixer (diet coke) another two euros. Beer averaged out at about three to four euros for a pint.With the exchange rate at 1 to 1 going out for a drink works out quite expensive.We spent a week at Scala and enjoyed it very much, I think a fornight may have been too long.

Lourdas is very quiet,not much nightlife apart from tavernas but that is part of what makes it so chilled and relaxing.

To get to the village you have to tackle a hill and boy do I mean a hill! The steepest part is the first bit and this can be avoided but taking the steps from the apartments, to the left of the pool bar, this brings you to the 3rd level of the apartments and then along to opposite the Trifilli taverna. There is still a way to walk to the village but there some good places to eat there and you will have to walk it if you take an excursion as this is where the pick up point is.

I would recommed the Island tour and the trip to Ithaca which is a really beautiful island. We had a great tour guide for both trip, Hilda, who is British but lives on the island. She was very informative with tales of the history of both islands and the mythology. If you go to Ithaca take some spending money or your credit card as there is a great little place called Texnhma in Kioni which does some lovely jewellery and ornaments (www.tehnima.com). On the island tour they stop for lunch at Agia Efimia and it was a great meal.

There are some good places to eat in Lourdas. Klimatis which is at the entrance to the apartments does good food and so does Lorraines which does huge portions! Turn left when you come out of the apartments and walk along till you come to the Aridas Palace (it has a picture of Daffy Duck on the sign). The food is really good both for lunch and in the evening, the stuffed pittas for lunch are lovely. The music however is terrible but try not to let that put you off! The Seven Bar is good for lunch, evening meal and just for drinks. Andromeda does good food and so does La Mer but I have to say that our favourite place was the Olive Lounge. The food was wonderful, the staff so friendly and welcoming and the atmosphere lovely. We went there twice and I would really reccommend it.

It's really worth hiring a car to have an explore on your own and go to places you didn't on the tour or re-visit.

All in all we had a lovely 2 weeks in Kefalonia and at the Ionian Sun.

Scala main street, where most of the tavernas and bars were situated is about a five to eight minute walk away along the coast road from the Hotel Anassa. Lots of great places to eat. Try the Mi Abeli Taverna or the Kaliva Taverna (Kaliva is situated down a little side street), for lots of choice, well cooked food, great service and excellent value for money. Skala beach is very long with golden sand and some shingle which shelves out to sea quite quickly. The sea is beautifully clear (take a little bread to the beach to feed the fish, the different types will surprise you), and there is nearly always a breeze blowing to cool you down as you laze on one of the many sunbeds provided. This is a great place to stay, as Skala still retains its greek charm, and the Anassa is one of the best Hotels and studios we have ever stayed in.

katelios is a very small village with a dramatic backdrop of mountains, we found the beach very good especially in front of the tavernas, 6 euros for sunbeds. clear clean water safe for swimming and you could walk out for ages before it got to your waist.. good assortment of tavernas in the village, all serving the same thing but we never had a bad meal the whole 2 weeks.. try the katelios taverna, medusa, and up out of the village jerrys elienko ....superb service..you must try the water taxi to skala, small boat, great fun and very fast, takes approx 15 mins. overall we really enjoyed katelios, would certainly visit again and have brought back fond memories of this little unspoilt part of greece.

Lasi is a one strip resort with 4 supermarkets, many restaurants and several bars situated along the length of it. There is not much at all to do there if you are half board and do not need to eat out. However it is a beautiful resort and for us this was more important than being entertained. A very relaxing holiday. We hired a car and spent 2 days visiting other places on the island and I would definately recommend this. The roads are quiet, if a little steep on one side with a sheer drop to the sea! Fiscardo is a must-visit and it is a lovely place to have lunch on the harbour side. The beach at Anti-samos is also a must see - where they filmed Captain Correli's Mandolin and stunning.

The location is fantastic, 5 or 6 euros to the capital in a taxis. Under 5 minute walk to the beach, which is stunning, with sunbeds that have fabric mattresses!

We visited a number of tavernas/restaurants and recommend Lorraine’s Magic Hill for the goat stifado, Klimatis for the sirloin steak and Andromeda’s for the views and excellent value for money set menu, 10 euros - on Tuesdays they have a buffet night with live entertainment. Petro’s supermarket in the village is well stocked and has fresh bread and wonderful chocolate croissants delivered daily along with milk etc. You can also pay by credit card which is very useful as the nearest ATM is in Argostoli. On the way to Argostoli you will find Lidl, Carrefour and AB supermarkets. We were lucky to see the turtles at the quayside in Argostoli being fed by the fishermen, you need to be there by about 10:30 to see them.

Don't try to catch the bus out of season, because they don't run! There are still lots of things to do provided you are brave enough to drive around. Plus there is the old town to walk up to, though be prepared, this is a walk of several hours and you will need a lot of water.

Having been to Cephallonia before we wanted to try a different resort and chose Skala, it was lovely....the Greek people are always friendly anyway however the resort proved to us why we want to live in Greece....wonderful people,fantastic beaches and marvellous food.

We are a couple in our late twneties and were looking for a resort which had a good beach, a variety of places to eat and drink with a little bit of nightlife without being manic! Skala was perfect for us!

I dont know how people can call this resort 'commercialised', yes it does cater for the tourist but there is a lovely village atmosphere and there are no British Pubs and only a few places which advertise put on 'pub quizzes and kareoke' which are not at all in your face. We actually quite like to have the option of a bit of entertainemnt after our evening meal so it suited us.

The Beach is huge and there is always plenty of space. It is sand and shingle and is some places probably more shingly. The water is lovely and clean and there a couple of taavernas behind the beach.

I would recommend the boat trip to Sami via the Melissani Lake which was a really enjoyable trip. Sami is a lovely resort with tavernas directly overlooking the harbour.

We hired a car through Greekstones which gave excellent service and compeittive rates. We found the roads very quiet so it was quite a pleasant experience touring the Island. Assos is well worht a visit.

We ate out at quite a few different restaurants and they were all great apart from our first night. Our favuorite restaurant was Aquarius and we also had a lovely meal at Symposium and The Paspalis. Socrates for its fresh fish also deserves a mention.

There are many places to go and have an after dinner drink all offereing a slightly different atmoshphere. The atmosphere in the evening was lovely and the town felt very couples and family oreintated and alwyas felt safe.

Before we went away we couldn't decide between Skala and Lourdas but I am so glad we picked Skala. Definitely the right choice. '

The local beach is pebbly with poor amenities, 3 4 restos and no bars except or a cafe. There is not a direct path from the villas (big shame) and the path is pretty treacherous.It would have been a struggle only using this beach for a week - very boring and not suitable for families. Nearby however was the small Trapazaki beach. It had a beach bar with music and bar snacks and a sandy with shallow water 10 minutes drive but not walkable unless you're a mountain goat!

As for the resort itself, Lourdas is pretty sparse a few Tavernas and Supermarkets but nothing more than that. Its set on a hill with winding roads and hairpin bends and not well signposted with roads badly lit. We dined locally a few times and the food was good and people great, but again, you need a car unless you will have a good mile of uphill walking in the dark which in that heat, is not enjoyable. There is no bar scene if you are keen on a boogie.

This is not for teenagers and anyone looking for a busy night life. It is certainly a place where you are spoilt for choice regarding good Tavernas. You dont need bars you can just sit and spend all night in a Taverna enjoying the food and local wine together with the company of the owner. Brilliant holiday.

Skala is a resort for couples and young families that like to relax. There are plenty of bars and tavernas but best of all no clubs or rowdy bars. This was our second visit to Skala and we have yet to see either a drunken fool or a policeman! A great place to unwind and relax.

sami is a quiet resort its a port so lovely views over the harbour all of the restaurants are looking out onto the sea so nice and relaxing not much to see and do for children so i would recomment it for couples and honeymooners,nice selection of shops and traditional greek landmarks all in all a nice relaxing place