How do you spend your time?

Long, languid, sun-filled days watching your skin turn golden brown.

The port of FiskardoKefalonia’s rich history

Fiscardo harbour village

The area around Fiscardo is breathtakingly beautiful and in summer it has a perfect, sunny climate.  The coastline is dotted with rocky coves and a crystal clear sea, so warm you can swim all day. A dense, vivid green forest dominates the area. In the surrounding hills lie half-forgotten villages unchanged for generations, with small tavernas and bars where old men click worry beads, drink coffee and play endless games of tavli, (a form of backgammon).

How do you spend your time? Long, languid, sun-filled days. Pottering about in a little boat to find an extra-private cove or slipping across to the island of Ithaca for a change of scene. Afternoon siestas, which everyone takes very seriously. Breakfasts of delicious local bread and even more delicious Kefalonian honey, late night suppers in tavernas where the produce is local and the service relaxed. Watching the lights of passing ships ghosting past in the strait between Kefalonia and Ithaca at night. Refreshing late night dips in the pool or sea.

Peace and tranquillity

There is late night action in Fiscardo where the party goes on until dawn but most people seek Fiscardo for beauty and privacy; when you are in one of the Dolicha Villas, you would never know that just down the road the very rich are playing with their yachts and private submarines (yes, really!) and that the restaurants and bars are pulsating. It is part of the area’s charm that you can have it both ways – partying or peace and tranquillity.

Kefalonia is in western Greece and lies close to Italy. indeed in history’s long march Italian interests have ruled the island for much longer than the Greeks. There are daily ferry services that allow you to go to sleep in Greece in the night and wake up next morning in Italy.

You are also just a skim away from Ithaca, Lefkada and Meganissi, all islands with their own brand of charm.

Fiscardo is at the northern-most tip of Kefalonia in an area that over the last 15 years has been discovered by the rich and famous – each summer an array of European royalty, A-list celebrities and the super-rich moor outside the tiny harbour on giant yachts and land to dine at one of the port’s restaurants.

For saltier yachtsmen in sail boats rather than superyachts, Fiscardo is an increasingly important stop as they sail from the islands of Corfu or Lefkada to Ithaca and Zakynthos. For for those who like their sea transport motorised, there are small motor boats available for hire, no licence required.  The boats are certified for the sea around Fiscardo and the nearby beaches of Ithaca.

In spite of its popularity Fiscardo and the other villages remains unspoiled, largely because of a government law declaring it an area of great natural beauty where strict building conditions are in place and the surrounding dense forest preserved.

Maganon, the nearest village to Hilltop Villa and Villa Bernice is a traditional Greek village with tavernas that offer Greek salads, lamb or pork on a spit and serve other traditional fare. Manganon stands at a crossroads, convenient for all the local beaches and with a store that has the best fresh produce around.

It is handy for Myrtos beach too which is one of the most famous beaches in Greece, not only because it is very beautiful but because it featured in the movie Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. There’s a scene where Nicholas Cage attempts a controlled bomb explosion and nearly blew himself up, much to the consternation of Penelope Cruz. That’s Myrtos.

Read more about the area