While planning our trip to Greece, we knew for sure that we wanted to visit one of its famous islands. It did not take us long to choose the island of Kefalonia and its capital Argostoli.
Kefalonia – or Cephalonia as it is also spelt in English, is the largest of the Ionian islands. It lies west to the mainland. Argostoli has been its capital since 1757.
Some of the islands we talked about visiting included Santorini, Zakynthos, and Corfu. We decided to go to Kefalonia as it was big enough to be less touristic, and we also found some cheap flights with Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines.
Flying to Argostoli
There are a lot of domestic flights within Greece. For a moment, we thought about catching the bus through the Peloponnese and then hop on the bus in Patra. We really aren’t that adventurous when travelling with a toddler. The airport is near Argostoli, and that’s why we also booked a hotel in the capital. Our flights, both there and back, were quite late. Already right after landing, we encountered a problem. Already in Korinthos, we had struggled to find a taxi with a baby seat. They did not seem to have any more of those in Kefalonia. Fortunately, our hotel could find us a taxi driver with a baby seat. The flight itself was quite uneventful, it lasted less than an hour and there was barely any time to finish the drinks.
Our hotel was in central Argostoli, right at the main square, Vallianou Square. As we checked in, we were served a drink and after that, we all jumped into bed.
Exploring a Windy Argostoli
Our first full day on Kefalonia was a Friday. Here I must say that I was very happy with our hotel. The room was lovely and the breakfast was even better. However, we were a bit unlucky with the weather. The sun was shining, but the wind threatened to throw us all into the sea. Well, at least almost.
Kefalonia is very famous for its turtles, and Jesper was able to spot one while Little A and I were taking a nap in the hotel. Apart from that, we enjoyed walking around the town. It’s not very big, so one day was more than enough.
In the afternoon, the winds had calmed down enough for us to take walk over the bridge crossing the Koutavos Lagoon. The lagoon is a feeding place for loggerhead turtles and here we could see a couple of them popping up their heads from the water. These are probably the largest turtles that we have seen, for sure the largest in the wild.
Even though Argostoli is not the most touristic area of Kefalonia, it had its fair share of tourists. Consequently, perhaps, it also had a lot of bars and restaurants. In other words, it was not difficult for us to find a place to eat. For lunch, we had some crepes and for dinner, we opted for Italian food. During our time abroad, Little A has started to eat almost the same foods as us. Fortunately, she seems to like everything so finding her something to eat is almost never a problem. Pasta does, however, seem to be one of her favourites.
Preparing for the Next Day on Kefalonia
Initially, we talked about staying in Argostoli and its surroundings for the whole weekend. After one day, we felt that we wanted to explore the island further. After all, it is famous for its beautiful beaches. The capital really hadn’t any beaches. So, we checked with the hotel about renting a car. The talkative taxi driver had recommended us this option on the way into town from the airport, and this alternative suddenly felt quite attractive. Even though Jesper has always been really reluctant to driving in Greece.
Renting a car turned out to be really easy and in the evening we went to bed knowing that exciting adventures would await us the next day.
Look at that turtle. How cute Susann. As for wind I do prefer windy conditions for some reason. Up to a point though. When you risk being blown into the sea it becomes a bit much and you lose any wind-driven benefits.