We wanted a week away in July with our children (20-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter), which was very relaxed and restorative. Our prerequisites were no car hire – can’t be faffing with insurance and driving around hairpin bends with backseat drivers! It had to be walking distance from beaches and restaurants, and obviously good weather! Fiskardo (also Fiscardo) is a village and a community on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, Greece, ticked all the boxes. It’s part of the municipal unit of Erisos, at the northernmost port of Kefalonia; Fiskardo is nestled in the turquoise, bright and clear Ionian Sea, a short distance from another island called Ithaca. We all absolutely loved it. Would we go back? Yes! It was an easy, beautiful holiday destination, and we all came back rested and revived. Here’s my blog, and I hope you find it helpful. It’s definitely bougie with visitors arriving in Fiskardo by boat/yacht, etc. Great for people and yacht-watching in the evenings, and people get dressed up for the evenings.
Why Fiskardo in Kefalonia?
My friend Caroline, who visits Fiskardo annually, repeatedly recommended it, so we thought we’d see what all the fuss was about, and we were not disappointed. The EasyJet flight from London Gatwick was 3.15-3.30 hours, and the taxi from the airport in the south was over an hour and cost €90 with Jackos Taxi Transfers – 0030 6945625760
Where to stay?
It’s a small town, so you’ve got to book in advance. We stayed in a lovely (slightly dated decor) house we found on Booking.com. It was in a great location, a five-minute walk to all the restaurants and Zavalata Beach. Fioroula’s Villa isn’t overlooked, has great sea views, and is very quiet as it’s a short walk up a dirt track. The only sounds are those of cats and bells of mountain goats. It has three bedrooms (one en suite) and sleeps six. Our kids didn’t want to share a bedroom with each other, and we didn’t want to share a bathroom with them!
There are some sea-view apartments I would recommend checking out.
Places to eat
Oh my giddy gosh, you will be spoilt for choice! There are lots of lovely cafes for morning coffee, brekky, or brunch and smart restaurants for lunch and dinner. A meal for four: two starters, four main courses, and a round of drinks will set you back around €120-160. We ate brekky at our villa and spent the days out and about, so we packed lunches in a small but great cool bag to eat on the beach or on excursions. Otherwise, it gets too expensive with two teenagers with hollow legs eating out three times a day!
There are two small supermarkets by the harbour where you can get all your provisions and delicious ripe nectarines etc.
Our favourite eating and watering holes
Fiskardo is a small harbour; all these restaurants are on the main strip.
Melina and Milos cafes for coffee, a cheeky slice of cake, Spanakopita (feta cheese and spinach pie), or brunch.
Tassia Restaurant – we went twice, delish fresh fish.
Elli’s Restaurant – great fish and meat.
Roula’s Grill House – obscene portions of delicious grilled meat; the grilled meat platter was for two, but it could have easily fed four!
Panormos restaurant – aperitifs with great sea views, but the meal was disappointing.
Alati Sunset Bar is an all-day bar and restaurant at Alati Beach. It serves gorgeous food and a wicked sunset. A taxi from Fiskardo costs €20 and takes 15 minutes. If you don’t fancy eating here, take swimming gear and beach shoes so you can sit on the rocks and watch the sun go down. Also, after sunset and supper, it’s a lovely little place to have a dip, as the beach is lit up, and the water is warm and lovely—just magical.
Day trip to Ithaca
We went on a boat trip to Ithaca, which was organised by Nautilus Travel, and it was a wonderful day out. The round trip cost €45 euros each, and the boat, the skipper and its team were incredibly kind and helpful as we felt a bit seasick, but all was good after popping a Kwells travel sickness tablet. There are four stops, and you can swim as much or as little as you like, and there’s an opportunity to have coffee and lunch. We had a packed lunch – baguettes stuffed with local goodies that fit in our small travel cool bag.
Hiring a boat
We wanted to have some freedom to explore the glorious coastline at our leisure and visit coves, caves and beaches that are only accessible by boat. We hired a little boat from Regina’s Boats for €120, excluding gas and taxes. I would highly recommend this as long as one of you knows how to steer and drop an anchor! You can pick the boat up from 9.15 am and return the boat by 5.00 pm. This was our boat, and we took our picnic in a cool bag to have on the boat.
The best beaches are within walking distance from Fiskardo.
Emblisi (20-minute walk), Zavalata (5-minute walk), and Foki (25 minutes) beaches are the closest to the harbour. All gorgeous, and our favourite was Emblisi, a white-pebbled beach with a crystal, deep bay and steep rocks scattered on either side, acting as a unique sunbathing spot with a little cafe. Do take beach shoes, these are the ones I bought for the family for years.
Zavalata Beach is the smallest and the closest, and there is some shade, but not much unless you take your own parasol. Foki Beach has a wonderful deep cave, but it’s a big swim from the beach, so we visited the cave on the day we hired our boat and jumped off the rocks outside the cave.
Me at Emblisi Beach.
I hope you found this blog helpful if you’re planning a trip to Fiskardo.
Best wishes,
Anita xxx
