Greece · Ionian Islands
Yacht Charter Kefalonia
The largest Ionian island, with a beach under white cliffs and an underground lake you row across.
Kefalonia is the biggest of the Ionian islands and the least like the others: mountainous, sparsely built and geologically strange. Myrtos, the beach on the north-west coast, sits under white cliffs three hundred metres high and is the photograph everyone knows; Melissani, inland, is a cave lake whose roof collapsed, so at midday the light comes straight down onto the water and turns it the colour of nothing else.
The water and the rock
Myrtos is a crescent of white pebble between two limestone headlands, and the colour comes from the stone rather than the depth. You anchor off it — there is no shelter, so it is a settled-weather stop and worth timing.
Melissani is reached by rowing boat: the guide takes you under the collapsed roof into a chamber where the sun drops vertically onto the lake. It works between eleven and one and not otherwise.
Fiskardo and the north
Fiskardo at the northern tip is the only village on the island the 1953 earthquake did not flatten, so it is the one place with Venetian houses still standing. It is the best harbour in the Ionian for an evening and it fills by six in August.
Assos, half an hour south, is a pastel village on an isthmus under a Venetian fortress, and the anchorage in front of it is one of the calmest on the west coast.
Practical notes
- Fiskardo at the northern tip is the only village the 1953 earthquake left standing, and fills by six in August
- Myrtos has no shelter: it is a settled-weather anchorage and worth timing
- Melissani cave lake works between eleven and one, when the sun drops vertically through the collapsed roof
- Ithaca is twenty minutes east; Lefkada is two hours north
Reached from: Corfu and Athens
Where to dine
A table by the water
Tassia
FiskardoOn the quay in the one village the earthquake missed, and the kitchen the Ionian sends people to.
Vasso's
FiskardoBeside it on the same waterfront, doing the catch simply with the Venetian houses behind.
Platanos
AssosUnder the plane tree in the square on the isthmus, with the fortress above and the anchorage below.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Myrtos
A crescent of white pebble under three-hundred-metre limestone cliffs, with the colour coming from the stone.
Melissani
A cave lake whose roof collapsed: between eleven and one the sun drops vertically onto the water.
Fiskardo
The only village on the island the 1953 earthquake left standing, and the best harbour in the Ionian.
Assos
A pastel village on an isthmus under a Venetian fortress, with one of the calmest anchorages on the west coast.
The fleet
Yachts available for Kefalonia
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Kefalonia
- Why is Fiskardo different from the rest of the island?
- The 1953 earthquake flattened almost every village in the Ionian. Fiskardo is the one it missed, which is why it still has its Venetian houses and why it is the best harbour in the group.
- When should we visit Melissani?
- Between eleven and one. The cave roof collapsed, so the sun drops vertically onto the lake in the middle of the day and does nothing at all outside those hours.
- What does a yacht charter to Kefalonia cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season and the crew, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
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Enquire about a charter on Kefalonia
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.