Kefalonia has been a popular holiday island for years and there can be several charter flights daily during the summer season. Kefalonia airport offers domestic flights to Athens and Thessaloniki but the vast majority of traffic in the summer is charter flights from Europe, most of which arrive on Monday and Friday.
Kefalonia is also a busy port of call for ferries, notably from Italy, that stop by on the way to mainland Patras. Some holidaymakers opt for a cut-price flight to Italy followed by a fast ferry across to Kefalonia.
Fly from all major European airports.
Most European languages and currencies.
Kefalonia International Airport (EFL) is 14km south of the island port capital at Argostoli. The airport has been enlarged several times since it was built in the 1970s but is still relatively small and it can struggle to cope with visitor numbers in the high summer when passenger throughput can be substantial.
International charters have been taking passenger numbers to upwards of 400,000 each year and numbers have been rising in recent years.
Olympic Airways has a daily flight to the Greek capital at Athens all year round and the carrier can run to several flights a day during high summer.
Kefalonia airport has only one terminal for both incoming and outgoing flights and passenger services are limited given the annual throughput.
Holiday visitors can sometimes expect long delays at the airport's meagre complement of just three check-in desks and the two baggage belts.
There is no left luggage facility at Kefalonia Airport and no bank either. There's a post office and first aid centre, some basic shopping, a small gift shop and a café cum bar.
There is no public transport to or from Kefalonia Airport and it is 9km to the main holiday resort at Lassi and another 5km to Argostoli. The airport is about 45km from the other main Kefalonia holiday centre at Skala and about the same distance to the alternative east coast port of Sami.
There are usually plenty of taxis to meet arriving flights but these can quickly disappear so it is advisable to book one in advance. Some Kefalonia hotels offer private minibus transfers from the airport. There are only airport 110 parking spaces so it can get a little crowded at busy times.
• The Liligo search engine finds hundreds of cheap flights to Greece and the Greek islands
• Flightline has been providing cheap flights to Greece, holidays and accommodation for over 20 years.
Kefalonia enjoys a great many ferry links thanks to three good ports and the popularity of the island with Italians, but there are no direct ferries from Piraeus (Athens) to Kefalonia.
Daily ferries connect Patras, in central Greece, to Sami and the trip takes two-three hours. Sami is main port for ferries to other Ionian islands like Zakynthos and Lefkas and the place to catch boats to Italy. Many of the Italian ferries to places such as Venice, Acona, Bari and Brindisi also call at Corfu.
There are also daily ferries from Killini, on the Peloponnese coast, to Argostoli, Poros and Lixouri. The hourly ferry from Argostoli is the quickest and best way to get to Lixouri and there are several boats each day to neighbouring Ithaca. Tour trips to the offshore island of Ithacaare plentiful. For details on Ithaca check out the Ithaca Postcard page.
The Captain Aristeidis ferry does a daily run From Lefkas (Vassiliki) to Kefalonia (Fiscardo) and on to Ithaca (Frikes). There are also daily sailings from Lefkas (Nidri) to Fiskardo and from Pessada on Kefalonia to Agios Nikolaos on Zante.
Summer ferry schedules may not be confirmed until April or May, and not published until then.
The information here is as accurate as I can make it but note that ferry schedules can change at any time.
There is plenty of holiday accommodation of all types on Kefalonia and the surge in popularity in recent years has seen a rise in hotel building, particularly along the popular south-west coast.
The area around Lassi has the most and the most varied Kefalonia holiday hotel accommodation, from luxury all-inclusive hotels to modest rooms for cheap rent. Tour operators tend not to offer packages to the capital Argostoli but the town has at least four large hotels and plenty of studio and apartments in the many side streets.
The holiday beach resorts at Lourdas and Skala in the south-east rival Lassi for holiday accommodation with plenty of newly built hotels and self-catering apartments. The port at Sami offers more sedate and old fashioned accommodation that is handy to the harbour with holiday hotels and apartments mostly on the edge of the town.
Most other resorts offer apartments and rooms with hotels and apartment on the Pali peninsula sited around Lixouri and the popular Xi beach while accommodation in Fiskardo in the far north is confined mostly to smart hotels and luxury villas.
There are a couple of campsites each side of the island. In the west is camping at Katovathres, near Argostoli, and in the west is a beach campsite at Karavomilos near the underground lake at Melissani. Camping is not allowed anywhere else on the island.
The largest and most mountainous of the Ionians, distances to resorts are relatively long. Roads are generally good but driving along precipitous mountain passes can be a hair raising experience with many hairpin bends and near vertical drops. Be prepared for the odd snake sunbathing on the tarmac and herds of goats.
Car and moped hire is not cheap, although smaller outfits expect you to haggle. For free maps and good advice on car and motorbike hire you can do worse than visit the excellent GNTO office at the Argostoli port.
Kefalonia buses are infrequent, but those that cross the island between the Argostoli in the west and Sami in the east offer spectacular views. The west coast road also provides some enthralling scenery and the road north from Sami hugs some spectacular cliffs.
There is bus service between Argostoli to Lassi (Platys Yialos), Poros, Sami, Fiskardo and to the villages along the south coast. Agia Effimia, Divarata and Sami have bus connections to Fiskardo. Check with KTEL bus station at 22281 and 22276 for times.
Visitors have some praise for bus services on Kefalonia. Pat and Dave write: “May we take a chance to promote the service buses on Kefalonia. We went from Argostoli to Fiskardo, all the way up the coast and came back via Sami. For a few pounds you do the whole island.”
Timetables are posted on the bus stops but buses do wander around the villages sometimes as drivers like to drop local people off, even if the village is not on the posted route - so times can vary.
Click here for KTEL Kefalonia bus schedules - the site is in English but it's difficult to negoatiate. Best of luck. Visit Kefalonia.net for more Kefalonia bus timetables - it's easier to read but not as comprehensive.
There are special tours of Kefalonia and other islands. The north Kefalonia tour leaves Argostoli on Wednesday and takes in Katavothres, Fiscardo, Ag Efemia, Melisani, Drogorati, Poros and Skala. An all-island tour leaves Argostoli each Saturday and there are Friday trips to Ithaca, with visits to Vathi, Stavros, Frikes and Kioni. There are also tours to Zakynthos, with visit to Laganas, Zakynthos Town, Volhalio and Kalamakia.
The taxi centre is at Argostoli near the central square. Rates are given by the meter but drivers will offer a standard rate for popular island destinations. As usual, always agree the price before getting in the taxi. There is also a radio taxi service on 028545.
