Surrounding Area

Above the villa and just a short walk away are the ruins of the ancient hilltop village of Old Skala. In the other direction the land slopes away for about 1 km. until it meets the sea at your local beaches of Mounda and Kaminia, together known as Turtle Beach, with their scenic backdrop, soft sand and clear water.

This villa is private but it is not remote. The resort village of Skala, with its Blue Flag beach, restaurants and shopping facilities is only 3 km. away by road. Travelling the same road in the opposite direction, you soon arrive at the quaint fishing village of Katelios with boats for hire and a row of seafront tavernas, all alive and bustling at night.

Kefalonia is a large island (the fifth largest in Greece) and, for those who like to explore by car, there is some magnificent mountain scenery to be seen, large popular beaches down to small private coves, beautiful monastries and churches, ruined fortifications and archeological sites, amazingly pretty little ports at Assos and Fiskardo and natural wonders like the underground lake at Melisani. It would be impossible to fit all this in, in one vacation visit, but you could make a start.

On the other hand, if pure rest and relaxation are your aims, just remaining at Villa Athena will answer all your needs.

Beaches

Not all the beaches on Kefalonia are mentioned here, but these are some that may be of interest and some of them are stunning:-

The more popular tourist beaches are at:  Skala, Antisamos, Lassi, Myrtos, Megali Ammos, Lourdas & Trapezaki, Ai Helis.

Less visited, or more secluded, beaches and coves are at:  Foki, Alaties, Petani, Fanari, Agios Nikolaos (AKA Vatsa), Agios Thomas, Agia Efimia, Eglia, Ammes, Avithos, Emblisi, Kaminia & Mounda, Kato Lagada,  Pessada, Vrachinari, Lagadakia, Koroni, Atheras, Kamari, Fteri, Vouti, Kamilia, Agia Sofia, Agia Paraskevi, Koutsoupia (boat approach only).

You will be able to pick these beaches out on an island map available at shops and mini-markets, or the complimentary map supplied with your hire car. Or just search for them on the internet.

Some Places of Interest

Argostoli, Kefalonia’s busy capital, has a long waterfront with a fruit/vegetable market and fishing boats selling their catch. There is good shopping in the town, also banks, post office, museums and places to eat. You will find large supermarkets in the town and also on the main road leading to it.

St. George’s Castle is the old fortified capital of Kefalonia, set high on a hill with magnificent views. There is a coffee shop and restaurant outside the castle walls.

The Caves at Drogorati are vast and awesome caverns leached out of the limestone over millions of years creating amazing arrays of stalactites and stalagmites.

Melisani Underground Lake, said to have been discovered by a shepherd many years ago when the land had collapsed falling into a huge underground lake.

Ruins of Ancient Sami, besieged and sacked by the Romans in 188 BC, who succeeded in overcoming its huge walls and fortifications, parts of which are still visible today.

The Monastry of St. Gerasimos, the island’s patron saint. Festivals are held around these beautiful buildings twice a year.

Fiskardo and Assos are very pretty fishing ports, with some of their original Venetian architecture still intact.