Argostoli excursion suggestions

We will be in Argostoli in November and haven't found much on excursions for this port. We have a group of 14. Thanks for any suggestions/experiences you have.

We were there in October 2017. The ship itself offered some excursions, but we opted to just do our own thing. The town is small and the main strip near the port seems to be devoted to mostly tourist shops. It is possible to take a taxi to a nearby beach for a swim, which is what we did. Our itinerary was changed and we ended up in this port on a different date. Many of the shops in town (except for the tourist ones) were closed and the town seemed quite "dead" the day we were there. I heard, later, that if they are not expecting a cruiseship on a regular schedule, things close, so perhaps that is what happened when we were there. We did enjoy a lovely coffee and pastry in a little cafe near the port. Things were also very walkable from the ship which was good.

This ended up being our ONLY Greek Island port (the other 2 were cancelled because of poor weather in Venice and late departure), so given that, we were very disappointed and quite baffled why this port, with so little to do, was chosen over Mykonos or Corfu (which were on our original itinerary). It is a pretty little town, however, so hopefully your ship might have something interesting in the way of excursions to offer you.

We have booked an island tour with https://kefaloniataxiservice.gr. They get very good reviews on tripadvisor and have bigger vehicles which take up to 19 people. They have a couple of suggested tours on their website.

I do not think you will want to spend much time on a beach in November. Winter will almost certainly have arrived. The tourist season ends in October so the tourist shops and facilities will be closed.

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Watch Captain Corellis mandolin with Nicholas Cage, it is set and filmed in Kefallonia. The island is beautiful, there is an underground lake you can visit, some beautiful towns. I do think it will be too cool for swimming, But rent a car or take a tour. We spent nearly a week on this beautiful island and the white wine is sublime.

I'm from Kefalonia so feel free to ask me anything you need to know about the island! First of all, Argostoli, the capital city of Kefalonia has Lithostroto which is It is the place that local people drink coffee, make serenades and here is the place where the customs of local tradition are revived. It starts from Kampana Square and and reaches almost to the central square of Argostoli, Vallianos’ Square. Apart from the various shops, you will find the church of Saint Spyridon with its beautiful carved gold temple and the Catholic church of Saint Nicholas. At the end of Lithostroto you will see “Kefalos“, the grand theater of Kefalonia. Also near the sea you can see turtles and take some photos. The place has been recently reformed with palm trees and pebbles. Also the main square of Argostoli was recently reformed and has many caffes. The port where you will dock is about 5-10 minutes by walking to the main city. But, in my opinion you shoud try and hire a taxi with other cruisers (the best choice for money around 60 euros totally I think) or take an excursion (costly but safe option). Best places to see is 1. Melissani and Drogarati Caves. Melissani cave has an underground lake which is open from above and the rays from the sun make the water so clear you think your boat is flying and not floating (best time to visit around 12) 2. Myrtos Beach is the most famous beach on the island but I dunno you will have the opportunity to swim there cause of the time limit. But it has spectacular scenery for sure and this place is a must for some photos. 3. Rombola winery and Saint Gerasimos monastery.

You can taste local wines among them the famous Robola first and then you can visit the monastery where the island’s patron saint and his relics are kept in a silver sarcophagus which is opened during services for the congregation to kiss his feet .Set in the Omala valley ,known for its robola vineyards,the monastery is the island’s largest and more majestic ,with a splendid bell-tower build in the architectural style peculiar to the Ionian Islands. This is the top 3 choices of places to visit in Kefalonia in my opinion and I think only by taxi you can visit all of them. Other places of interest: Sami (where Captain Corelli's mandolin was filmed), Agia Efimia (beautiful fishing village), Fiscardo (another picturesque village which many celebrities usually visit every summer but it's the the most time consuming to reach village cause it's too far away from Argostoli) and if you decide to stay in Argostoli you can take the local bus (very cheap) to go to the nearest beaches Makris or Platis Gialos with beach bars and water sports. I hoped I helped you with this info about my island and I wish you a nice cruise! Everything else you need, you can ask me!

Dear SummerinKefalonia,

Thank you for the information. Our cruise ship will stop in Kefalonia Oct 28 of this year. We were thinking of going on a boat cruise, the Queen Bee. They have very good reviews on TripAdvisor, but I am not sure if the weather is warm enough in late October for boating and possible swimming. What are your thoughts?

Thank you,

Nance

Dear SummerinKefalonia,

Thank you for the information. Our cruise ship will stop in Kefalonia Oct 28 of this year. We were thinking of going on a boat cruise, the Queen Bee. They have very good reviews on TripAdvisor, but I am not sure if the weather is warm enough in late October for boating and possible swimming. What are your thoughts?

Thank you,

Nance

Oh 28th? So you must be in Oceania's Riviera! Nice! You know the 28th is an imporatant date for Greece. You can get some info in wikipedia: Ohi Day (There will be some events such as student/local people parades with greek flags celebrating the day). I'm gonna be honest you take a risk by chosing a boat trip in late October. The weather usually is rainy this period and the temperature is around 22-25 C. But we cannot predict the weather from now. You never know! For me the best places to visit in Kefalonia are the caves and also Myrtos beach for photos. It's a big island and it's a bit unforunate just to stay in the Argostoli area.

Thank you for the info! I may have to revise the plans to a land tour. The boat tour takes us to White Rocks beach, Vardiani island and Xi beach. It sounds like a very interesting tripThey would cancel if it is raining or cold, but by then it may be too late to schedule a land tour. Also, thanks for the info on the celebration of Ohi Day. It is good to know what is going on when visiting.

if you decide to stay in Argostoli you can take the local bus (very cheap) to go to the nearest beaches Makris or Platis Gialos with beach bars and water sports. I hoped I helped you with this info about my island and I wish you a nice cruise! Everything else you need, you can ask me!

Hello SummerinKefalonia,

Thank you for all your info.

You mentioned the bus to Platis Gialos. Do you have further info on the bus number, fare and where to get it? We will be in Argostoli in a couple of weeks.

Click on this link for further info!

I don't have the number but the bus (regular and local) going to Lassi leaves you next to the beach. It leaves every one hour or an hour and a half (depends on the date you will come). The bus station is 10 to 15 minutes away by walking from where you will be docked. If you don't wanna walk you can take a taxi from outside. The difference on the price is not very big cause the beach is really near to Argostoli. The ticket on the bus costs I think 1,5 euro per person and If you get a taxi for 4 persons I think it will probably be the same cost around 10 euros.

We will be in Argostoli in November and haven't found much on excursions for this port. We have a group of 14. Thanks for any suggestions/experiences you have.

I was there in August. I booked the Cephalonia Highlights tour offered via Holland America. It took about an hour to get to Melissani lake. There was one busload of folks ahead of us. We stood in line on a downward slope for nearly another hour to board a small rowboat that held about 12 people. The oarsman spoke so fast it was difficult to understand him. He was more busy taking photos of the people onboard trying to increase potential tips. He maneuvered the boat for about 3 blocks length if that pointing to stalactites then turned around. That was it! It was over in 10 minutes. This was the worst shore excursion I have ever taken and I've been on over 30 cruises. I do not recommend wasting your time to go there.

The island of Cephalonia was our favorite place on our cruise.

We picked up a taxi at the Argostoli cruise port for 15 euros to take us to the beach in Lassi at Hotel Mediterranee. We paid 8 euros for 2 very comfortable beach chairs and a large umbrella. You can sit in shade or sun. Beach is not crowded. There is a small restaurant with inexpensive excellent food there. Also shower, changing room, bathroom, wifi on beach. Beach is sandy and calm water. We met people who come there every year for vacation. The hotel called a cab to bring us back and we paid only 6 euros to return. It's maybe 15 min from port.

Shops close in the afternoon for a couple of hours. So when we came back we walked around a bit, then returned to ship for a thoroughly lovely day.

On ‎9‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 2:55 PM, fraudsterbuster said:

 

 

I was there in August. I booked the Cephalonia Highlights tour offered via Holland America. It took about an hour to get to Melissani lake. There was one busload of folks ahead of us. We stood in line on a downward slope for nearly another hour to board a small rowboat that held about 12 people. The oarsman spoke so fast it was difficult to understand him. He was more busy taking photos of the people onboard trying to increase potential tips. He maneuvered the boat for about 3 blocks length if that pointing to stalactites then turned around. That was it! It was over in 10 minutes. This was the worst shore excursion I have ever taken and I've been on over 30 cruises. I do not recommend wasting your time to go there.

That is extremely disappointing to hear.  I thought this sounded like something that my kids would really enjoy, but maybe I should rethink it if it was only 3 blocks/10 minutes.  I wonder if you noticed if the other guides went further and you just got unlucky....or is that pretty standard? 

The Mellissani Lake excursion is short, I think ours was 15-20 mins. It is a small area. We didn’t do a ship’s excursion, but hired a taxi. Our driver took us to the lake, Drogarti caves (which were interesting), the seaside town of Agios Efthemia (had lunch there on our own), Myrtos Beach for pictures at the overlook, and several other photo ops. We paid 40 Euros an hour and had a 4 1/2 hour outing. There were 4 of us. 

He he also got us to the sites ahead of the buses!  We paid to enter the attractions, which weren’t that expensive. 

I would recommend that avenue on Kefalonia. A group of ladies we met on the way did the same thing, different company and were out about 6 hours. I think they paid 30 Euros an hour. 

I used Trip

advisor to find them

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 8:29 AM, BigNance said:

The Mellissani Lake excursion is short, I think ours was 15-20 mins. It is a small area. We didn’t do a ship’s excursion, but hired a taxi. Our driver took us to the lake, Drogarti caves (which were interesting), the seaside town of Agios Efthemia (had lunch there on our own), Myrtos Beach for pictures at the overlook, and several other photo ops. We paid 40 Euros an hour and had a 4 1/2 hour outing. There were 4 of us. 

 

He he also got us to the sites ahead of the buses!  We paid to enter the attractions, which weren’t that expensive. 

 

I would recommend that avenue on Kefalonia. A group of ladies we met on the way did the same thing, different company and were out about 6 hours. I think they paid 30 Euros an hour. 

 

I used Trip

advisor to find them

 

Great info.  Thank you very much!

On ‎9‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 7:55 PM, fraudsterbuster said:

 

 

I was there in August. I booked the Cephalonia Highlights tour offered via Holland America. It took about an hour to get to Melissani lake. There was one busload of folks ahead of us. We stood in line on a downward slope for nearly another hour to board a small rowboat that held about 12 people. The oarsman spoke so fast it was difficult to understand him. He was more busy taking photos of the people onboard trying to increase potential tips. He maneuvered the boat for about 3 blocks length if that pointing to stalactites then turned around. That was it! It was over in 10 minutes. This was the worst shore excursion I have ever taken and I've been on over 30 cruises. I do not recommend wasting your time to go there.

This happened to us before (not in the same place!) sounds identical tho!

On 9/22/2018 at 2:55 PM, fraudsterbuster said:

 

 

I was there in August. I booked the Cephalonia Highlights tour offered via Holland America. It took about an hour to get to Melissani lake. There was one busload of folks ahead of us. We stood in line on a downward slope for nearly another hour to board a small rowboat that held about 12 people. The oarsman spoke so fast it was difficult to understand him. He was more busy taking photos of the people onboard trying to increase potential tips. He maneuvered the boat for about 3 blocks length if that pointing to stalactites then turned around. That was it! It was over in 10 minutes. This was the worst shore excursion I have ever taken and I've been on over 30 cruises. I do not recommend wasting your time to go there.

I couldn't agree more.  It's been some years since we took a Seabourn ship's tour to Melissani and Drogarati Caves, but that tour has endured over the years as the single worst excursion, ship or private, that we have ever taken, on any vacation.

We pre-booked a taxi tour and the driver made a point of saying he always goes to the lake first to beat the coaches from the ships. We did the whole lake thing in 20 minutes from start to finish. Just a short queue.

How did you prebook a taxi tour?  Thank you!

7 hours ago, Tamiblonde said:

How did you prebook a taxi tour?  Thank you!

We used https://kefaloniataxiservice.gr/tours/. My main observation is that they are over-ambitious in what they say you can do in a tour on their webpage. We did the longer tour and it took the whole time but without the wine tasting or the castle and with an hour for lunch. It is a big island!

9 hours ago, marylizcat said:

 

We used https://kefaloniataxiservice.gr/tours/. My main observation is that they are over-ambitious in what they say you can do in a tour on their webpage. We did the longer tour and it took the whole time but without the wine tasting or the castle and with an hour for lunch. It is a big island!

Thank you!