Travel // Kefalonia Photo Diary Pt 1

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Myrtos bay, kefalonia

I apologise in advance as this will be a very photo heavy post! A couple of weeks ago I headed to Kefalonia with my University friends Leah & Rachel and my boyfriend John for a relaxing week in the sun full of wine, sunbathing and lots of delicious Greek food. If you are unfamiliar with Kefalonia, it is an island off the west coast of Greece that has the most breathtaking scenery with a mountainous landscape and some of the most stunning white pebble beaches. Compared to other Greek islands, it is a lot less touristy; it's not the place to come if you are looking for a party destination, but it's perfect for an laid back week in the Grecian sun where you can discover and explore what the island has to offer or relax to your heart's content. Now let's get on with the photo diary..

We had an early start at Manchester airport, we all met up in departures full of excitement of finally getting our holiday under way. Once we checked in our suitcases (and Rachel avoided paying for an excess baggage charge) we made our way through security to the departure lounge where we picked up a few last minute items as well as some food and snacks for the plane journey. We had some time to kill so we headed to The Grain Loft for some breakfast and a celebratory drink; after all, airports are the only socially acceptable place to drink so early on! I decided to go for eggs Benedict and a bottle of Bulmer's No17 Cider.

the grain loft, manchester airport

After a while, we boarded the plane and headed off onto our holiday! I must admit I slept for the majority of the journey, but the flight itself is reasonably short - between 3 1/2 and 4 hours, the flight space around Kefalonia is quite restricted as the airport is very tiny, so you could be circling the airport waiting for a landing slot. Once you get off the plane the heat hits you like an 8ft wave, a welcome difference to the drizzly Mancunian climate! We collected our suitcase from baggage collection and then went to find our car hire company. We decided that to get the most out of the holiday, hiring a car would be the best way to tour the island at our own pace and to avoid paying for extra excursions to do something we could do ourselves at a much cheaper rate. It was £150 for a transfer on a coach or 200 odd euros to hire a car for a week, so we thought that was pretty good value between the four of us! 

We got to the car hire office and this is where we hit a speed bump as the car hire company were reluctant to give us a car. We had pre booked a car online where the website stated drivers had to be at least 23 to drive (which is fine as Leah is 23 and John is 24) But at the office they still felt we were "too young to be trusted with a car" because we were a group of young people rather than say a family. Not only were we a bit taken aback by this, but downright offended, both Leah and John have been driving constantly since they passed their tests at 17 and have a good level of driving experience between them. Eventually, the guy let us have the car we had booked, so we got on our way with our first journey. Driving in Kefalonia is an experience, it's very hilly and mountainous with a lot of cliff edge roads and hairpin bends once you get away from the capital, a bit overwhelming when it's your first experience in a European car with left hand drive! 


A very serious face for some very serious driving! We eventually made our way across the island and arrived in our resort, Sami - a beautiful little seaside town that also has the biggest port in Kefalonia. Our hotel, The Pericles, was situated a ten minute walk from the harbour and all of the seafront restaurants, bars and little shops.

Pericles Hotel, Sami, Kefalonia

The Pericles hotel was a basic but lovely hotel, it's a great base if you are travelling around the island and is just what we wanted as we didn't want to be tethered to a hotel by paying for half board/ all inclusive packages. It had wonderful views of the mountains as well as of Sami and had a lovely balcony area which was great to sit on for a few drinks before heading out to dinner. 

Pericles Hotel, Sami, Kefalonia
Pericles Hotel, Sami, Kefalonia

On our first night, we had a drink in the hotel bar before heading out into Sami, it was a really straight forward walk and before we knew it, we were by the sea spoilt for choice for where to eat by all of the restaurants overlooking the yachts and boats in the harbour. We chose to eat at the Mermaid restaurant as I had seen reviews on Trip Advisor and it was very well recommended. 

The Mermaid restaurant , Sami, Kefalonia
the Mermaid restaurant, Sami, Kefalonia

The Mermaid was actually so delicious that we ended up visiting three times during our week in Kefalonia. We started with a range of starters including tzatziki, fresh bread, stuffed peppers, olives and grilled sausages. On this first night I had cod fillet and potatoes which was really good. We also had A LOT of wine, 3 litres between us to be exact! At 5.5 euros per litre you can't say no really! We had a really good time at the Mermaid and the staff made us feel welcome, which is probably why we kept going back for more. What really impressed us is how affordable the food is, our first meal in the Mermaid cost us 60 euros, so 15 euros each for 2 courses and the equivalent of a bottle of wine each in a restaurant is amazing. After all of the wine I kind of forgot to use my camera, but we then headed to a cocktail bar called Willie's, which has an outdoorsey gazebo effect with fairy lights and greenery everywhere and had a really cool vibe. Unfortunately no cheap cocktails here, looking more at 7-8 euros per cocktail, so around £5-6 per drink, which isn't too bad I guess as I've seen cocktails that are £8-15 in Manchester.

Pericles Hotel, Sami, Kefalonia

The next morning we were up bright and early ready for breakfast before heading to the hotel's pool for a few hours. The pool area was quite big, with lots of sunloungers around the two pools, as well as a pool side bar that served a range of snacks and drinks all day. The morning consisted of some sunbathing as well as a dip or two in the pool, taking Leah's waterproof camera with us. 

Pericles Hotel, Sami, Kefalonia
Pericles Hotel, Sami, Kefalonia

I know, I'm just too hot to handle..

After a few hours, we decided to head into Sami to find somewhere to eat and also to track down the nearest beach. For lunch we went to a grill house called Taka Taka Mam and they did the most amazing chicken giros, which is basically grilled chicken, onions, fries and tzatziki wrapped in a pita bread, it's a taste sensation! At only 2 euros it is definitely worth a try and is so filling, it's the perfect cheap lunch.

Taka Taka Mam, Sami, Kefalonia
Taka Taka Mam, Sami, Kefalonia

After lunch we then walked through the harbour to find a good patch of beach to spend the afternoon on. After a 15 minute walk, we came across a beach with some spare sunloungers outside a bar, so definitely the perfect spot! 

Sami beach, Kefalonia
Sami beach, Kefalonia
Sami beach, Kefalonia

 When it got to early evening we decided to head back to the hotel and get ready to go out for dinner, as well as to have a cheeky drink on the balcony to watch the sun go down over the mountains. For dinner, we went to the Dolphin restaurant which is next to the Mermaid as it was another one which was rated on Trip Advisor. We were actually a bit disappointed with our experience here as we after an hour we still hadn't received our starters. There was a big party behind us which we assumed was the problem as to why it was taking so long. In that hour though, we realised that it was actually Theo Paphitis (of Dragon's Den fame), his kids and friends he was holidaying with that were the big party. Once John had determined it actually was him, he wouldn't stop staring at their table! Like so:

Dolphins restaurant, Sami, Kefalonia

John, the master of subtlety..

Dolphins restaurant, Sami, Kefalonia

If Beyonce had been sat there, I would have still been annoyed that she had made me wait over an hour for food. We complained to the waitress who told us that there had 'been a mix up' in the kitchen, which we read as 'they've forgotten all about your order', we had only ordered stuffed peppers and tzatziki etc for starters so not very time consuming to get out. Although the manager did come over to apologise and told us that all of our drinks would be on the house, which was a very nice gesture.

 Sami, Kefalonia

The next morning we took the car for a spin and headed to Antisamos beach, which was only a 10 minute drive away from Sami, although you have to go up and then back down a mountain in the process so not a walkable destination. 

Sami, Kefalonia

 Antisamos is a really pretty secluded beach, it has crystal clear waters with a white pebble beach and is covered with cute raffia umbrellas. There are also two beach bars to grab some lunch or drinks from. They also hold beach parties at Antisamos, although we didn't attend them whilst we were there as due to its' location it would be a struggle to get there and back without using the car (even if we stayed there until the following day we didn't want to run the risk of whoever was driving being over the limit). 

Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia
Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia
Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia
Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia
Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia

After a bit of chilling on the sunbeds, we ventured into the sea, the pebbles do make it a bit difficult to walk so I would recommend wearing some sea shoes (we bought these from one of the supermarkets for 8 euros), although once you are deep enough in the sea, the water holds your weight. When we were swimming around, fish just surround you and swim alongside you, it's really quite cool! I was also trying to go all David Attenborough and tried to take some photos of the fish underwater, which is harder than it looks when both you and them are moving. 

Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia
Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia
Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia
Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia
Antisamos beach, Sami, Kefalonia

We spent the majority of the day on Antisamos beach just lazing on the sunbeds, playing in the sea as well as getting into our holiday reads. Later on in the evening, we headed back out into Sami and chose to eat at the Faros restaurant - which is another restaurant on the strip facing the harbour. 

Faros restaurant, Sami, Kefalonia
Faros restaurant, Sami, Kefalonia
Faros restaurant, Sami, Kefalonia

If you ever find yourself in Sami, you HAVE to make sure you go to So Sweet, which is a creperie that makes both sweet and savoury crepes amongst other yummy and food porn worthy goodies. We went to So Sweet three times (often after too many karafes of wine and cocktails as it was open until late) and they were some of the most amazing crepes I've ever had. 

So Sweet creperie, Sami, Kefalonia
So Sweet creperie, Sami, Kefalonia
So Sweet creperie, Sami, Kefalonia
So Sweet creperie, Sami, Kefalonia

Pictured above is John's Chocolate & M&M crepe and my white chocolate and Oreo crepe. Other ones that I tried over the week were the white chocolate crepe and when I was feeling particularly adventurous (and drunk), I went for a chicken, cheese and French fries crepe - which was everything I thought it would be and so much more! The sweet crepes are very very sickly, but if you have a sweet tooth like me they are so worth it. They have dozens of sweet and savoury topping for people to experiment with and the staff are so friendly and always made us smile. Out of the three crepes I had, none were over the 4 euro mark, so they make the ideal naughty midnight treat. 

As this is the halfway mark of the holiday, I think it's best that I stop here as I have already waffled on too much! But I hope you've enjoyed my first photo diary on Kefalonia and you are looking forward to the follow up post. 

What do you think to Kefalonia so far? Have you holidayed to Kefalonia before?

Amie xx

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7 comments:

  1. WOW it looks absolutely incredible I am craving a holiday now, breakfast and alcohol before a trip is also very acceptable ;) xx


    Blonde of carbs

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    Replies
    1. Kefalonia is absolutely beautiful, I'll have my second half up soon xx

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  2. Very jealous! Kef is my favourite place on earth, I have family out there. Did you get over to Skala? Its so beautiful! X

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    Replies
    1. To be honest, Skala is probably one of the few places we didn't get to see! xx

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  3. That beach looks beautiful, im so jealous. Why cant it just be sunny and warm in the UK all the time? x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha I know right? But just think how unproductive we would be if it was constant sunshine :p xx

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  4. Your photographs look gorgeous. I'd love to go on holiday next year, I will be keeping my hopes high and my fingers crossed. It honestly looks like a beautiful place to visit, the views of the distant mountains are so pretty and that sandy beach that I could so easily relax on right about now - It's so cold in my little university room! I hope you enjoyed the second half of your trip just as much. I will be looking forward to seeing the follow up post!

    Shannon at katepetali.blogspot.co.uk

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