Cave of Melissani (Kefalonia)

Fiskardo Reef (Kefalonia)

Gidaki Beach (Ithaca)

HMS Perseus Wreck

Sami Wall (Kefalonia)

White Rocks (Ithaca)

Kefalonia’s food centres on the sea and the garden: fresh grouper and red mullet, the local meat pie (kreatopita), and the island’s Robola white wine are highlights. Ithaca adds a quieter taverna scene with goat, honey and olive dishes. Seafood is simply grilled and dressed with local oil and lemon, and the villages produce good cheeses and preserves.

F Zeen Retreat

Emelisse Nature Resort

Sami Beach Hotel

Cosmopolitan Hotel

Perantzada 1811 Hotel

Kefalonia and its smaller neighbour Ithaca form the heart of the central Ionian, a region of dramatic limestone coastline, sea caves and pristine reefs. Kefalonia’s Melissani is a partly collapsed freshwater cave famous for the shaft of light that strikes its turquoise water, while the Sami Wall is a sheer drop crowded with gorgonians, lobsters and groupers, and occasionally visited by tuna. Off the south of the island lies the HMS Perseus, a WW2 British submarine and war grave resting at 48-52 m, a serious technical dive for those trained to penetrate it. Ithaca is quieter and more rugged: White Rocks is a steep, current-swept drop-off with barracuda and amberjack, Gidaki is a gentle training reef, and Fiskardo in the north is a pretty harbour with rocky reefs full of scorpionfish and octopus. With clear water, friendly harbours and a strong food culture, Kefalonia and Ithaca are a relaxed but rewarding base for divers who want geology, wrecks and typical Ionian life.

Ionian Islands – Kefalonia & Ithaca