Where to stay in Kefalonia

First, the size problem

Kefalonia is the largest of the Ionian islands and it is mountainous, which means two things that shape every accommodation decision here.

Distances take longer than they look. Roads wind around and over a mountain rather than across the island, so a drive that looks like twenty minutes on a map is often three times that.

You need a car. There is no version of a Kefalonia holiday where a bus network gets you to the good things on your schedule.

So the real question is which end of the island you want to be at, and there are four sensible answers.

This page names areas, not hotels. We have not stayed in Kefalonia’s hotels and will not rank them.

The areas at a glance

Argostoli and Lassi

Area	Best for	Feel	Costs
Argostoli	First visits, connections, year-round life	The working capital	Mid
Lassi	Beaches near the capital	Small resort, convenient	Mid
Fiskardo	Couples, looks, boats	Venetian village, chic	High
Skala	Straightforward resort holidays	Long beach, easy	Mid
Assos	Scenery, small and quiet	Tiny painted village	Mid-high

Argostoli is the capital and the practical base. It has year-round life rather than a season, a waterfront, museums, ordinary shops, and the island’s best connections. For a first visit, or for anyone who wants a real town rather than a resort, this is the answer.

Lassi, just outside it, is the small resort attached to the capital: beaches on the doorstep, easy access to town, and a good launching pad for driving elsewhere. It is the compromise base and it works.

Both sit at the island’s centre of gravity, which minimises the driving problem better than anywhere else.

Fiskardo

The north tip, and the island’s most photographed village - and there is a specific reason it looks the way it does.

The 1953 earthquake levelled most of Kefalonia, and almost everything you see on the island was rebuilt afterwards. Fiskardo largely survived it, which is why it still has Venetian houses in ochre and pink around a harbour while the rest of the island is modern.

It is chic, it is expensive, and it fills with yachts in August. Beautiful, and a long drive from the south.

Assos, on the way, is the other picture-postcard village: tiny, painted, on a narrow isthmus below a ruined fortress. Very small, very quiet, very scenic.

Skala and the south

Skala is the straightforward resort end: a long sandy beach, hotels and apartments, restaurants, and enough to do that you need not plan an excursion every day. It suits families and anyone who wants to unpack once and relax around one area.

The south-east coast around it is the gentler half of the island.

Myrtos, and where it actually is

Worth saying plainly, because it drives a lot of bookings: Myrtos - the white pebble crescent under cliffs that appears on every Kefalonia photograph - is on the north-west coast, between Argostoli and Fiskardo, and it is a drive from all of them.

It is also a pebble beach that shelves steeply, with water that goes deep quickly. Spectacular to look at and to swim from for confident swimmers; less suitable for small children than the sandy south.

Do not book a base “for Myrtos”. Book a base for the rest of your week and drive to Myrtos.

Do you need a car?

Yes, more clearly than on most Greek islands. Kefalonia is large, mountainous, and its highlights - Myrtos, Assos, Fiskardo, the Melissani cave, the south-coast beaches - are spread right across it.

Hire on the island rather than bringing one over. See renting a car in Greece and which islands need a car.

How the areas map onto trips

• First visit, real town, central: Argostoli.
• Beaches with town access: Lassi.
• Couples, looks, and money: Fiskardo, or tiny Assos.
• Unpack-once resort holiday: Skala.

Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best area to stay in Kefalonia?

Argostoli for a first visit - it is the capital, it is central, and it has real year-round life. Lassi for beaches with town access, Fiskardo for the prettiest and priciest village, and Skala for a straightforward resort week.

Do I need a car in Kefalonia?

Yes. The island is the largest in the Ionian and mountainous, so distances take much longer than the map suggests and the highlights are spread across it.

Why does Fiskardo look different from the rest of Kefalonia?

Because it largely survived the 1953 earthquake that levelled most of the island. Its Venetian houses are original where almost everything else was rebuilt afterwards.

Where should families stay in Kefalonia?

Skala or the south-east generally, for sandy beaches and a resort infrastructure. Myrtos, despite the photographs, is steep pebble and deep water.

Is Myrtos beach worth it?

To look at and swim from, yes - it is one of the most striking beaches in Greece. It is pebble, it shelves steeply, and it is a drive from every base, so treat it as an outing rather than a reason to choose accommodation.

How long do you need in Kefalonia?

A week at least, given the driving. Two bases - one north, one south - work well on longer stays.

Next

Read the Kefalonia travel guide, Kefalonia beaches, or compare the island in Corfu vs Kefalonia, Zakynthos vs Kefalonia and Lefkada vs Kefalonia.