The Greek island of Kefalonia is a great many things. For one, as we have written here, its capital Argostoli is very cosy. However, as the town isn’t very big, we decided that we would spend our second day exploring the island. As a taxi driver told us, if you’re going to drive in Greece, this is not one of the worst places. Here’s the story about our Kefalonia road trip.
Driving on Kefalonia – What Should You Expect?
As it turned out, renting a car with a baby seat was not a problem. We have had problems with this before in Greece. In this case, the hotel helped us. The car rental even brought the car to our hotel.
We had already made a plan where to go before embarking on our Kefalonia road trip. I really wanted to see Myrtos. Supposedly it’s one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Jesper had his heart set on Asos and Sami. We also thought about going all the way to Fiskardo on the northern tip of the island. I even thought about driving around the whole island, fortunately, Jesper realized that even though the distances are short, it takes quite some time to get where you are going. After all, it is a mountainous island.
Read more about driving on Kefalonia here:
First Stop on Our Kefalonia Road Trip: Myrtos Beach
Image Greece, what do you see? Let me guess – white sand or pebbles, turquoise water, a mountain perhaps? Lying between the feet of two mountains, Myrtos Beach is just that. It was actually quite easy to drive too, even if the hill down was steep. The season had not really begun when we visited in early June, so there were not that many people. However, our stop was quite quick. I cooled my feet in the water while Little A explored the pebbles.
Was it worth a visit? Yes. Was it beautiful? Definitely. It is a dramatic place. However, it was not the nicest place we visited during our Kefalonia road trip.
Stop Number Two: Asos
Not far from Myrtos lies the isolated village of Asos. The taxi driver recommended this place. The reason Jesper wanted to go there, I think, was because of the 15th-century Venetian castle. We didn’t go to Assos Castle. Instead, we enjoyed a great lunch in one of the few restaurants in this sleepy town. And after that, I could finally have a swim on the small beach.
Asos is one of these places where there really isn’t anything apart from nature, but you could spend the whole day just relaxing and enjoying yourself. At the restaurant they didn’t even seem to know what take away coffee means…. so, just for relaxing. Anyhow, this is one place I’d like to return to someday.
Third Stop: Sami and Antisamos Beach
The now famous taxi driver also recommended us a visit to Sami. It still remains a mystery why. Assos might have been sleepy and picturesque, this one was just sleepy. Maybe it felt like that because the tourist season hadn’t started?
In order to reach Sami, we had to cross the island. I was a bit afraid because Little A didn’t really handle the hills in Madeira well. However, we drove through a valley and there weren’t any problems. It was really beautiful, though. Even though Kefalonia is fairly small, the scenery is very dramatic and changing. I think we saw some vineyards on the way, too.
After a quick walk in Sami, we continued on our way to the third beach of the day. While Myrtos felt a bit isolated and exotic, and Assos was small and charming, the beach of Antisamos was filled with people, and organized. Undeniably, it is a beautiful beach and I loved swimming there. Little A found a few more pebbles to chew on. This was maybe the second time, after Cyprus, that I felt like being on a tourist holiday.
I felt really relaxed when we started driving back to Argostoli. There we had a late dinner (with poor service) and took a long walk after sunset. Little A slept while we had a good conversation at a pub by the sea. This is what being abroad is all about!
Kefalonia really impressed me with its beauty. Initially, we had thought about only staying in Argostoli, but in hindsight, it was a good decision to go on a Kefalonia road trip. After all, the most beautiful places on the island are not in the capital.
Kefalonia looks so beautiful! I’ve not visited Greece yet. I think this will be my first destination when I do.