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Buses etc
There are infrequest buses around the island, near the Drapanós bridge in Argostóli is the KTEL station where they go from. It is also possible to take a ferry boat from Fiscárdo to Sámi and then the bus back to Argostóli, but timings could be tricky.
There is a regular passenger/car ferry from Argostóli to Lixoúri.
To see the island at your own pace and with your own itinerary, you're better off hiring a car.
Car Hire
Before we went on holiday we had a look around on the internet to see what various car hire places were offering. We were attracted to Greekstones partly due to the obvious sense of fun and the pun on the Flintstones, but also due to their competitive rates and great terms. One of the things you want to be sure about when hiring a car is that you get C.D.W. (Collision Damage Waver), this was part of the Greekstones deal, but they went further and also offered F.D.W. (Full Damage Waver) which means that you're also insured for the excess liability on the C.D.W. - this is well worth having. You can also have P.A.I. (Personal Accident Insurance).
We hired a Daewoo Matiz with air con for 5 days. It was a great little car, handled well round the many twists and turns, and was ideal for some of the smaller villages. To be honest we were quite sad to hand back the keys, as we'd had a great time touring the island at a gentle pace and seeing some fabulous sights along the way.
We went into the Greekstones office at Svoronáta and were made to feel really welcome by the very charming Melis. We quickly established that Melis and I were born in the same year and concluded that we were an excellent vintage! We booked the car a few days before we needed it with a deposit of 50 euros, and Melis gave us one of Greekstones' own maps (see above) which show pictures of the main attractions. He kindly spent over twenty minutes suggesting an itinerary for our five days, pointing out things to look out for along the way. When we went to pick up the car Melis carefully showed us all of the controls and features, as well as pointing out the most important control when driving in Greece - yep, the horn. Having reminded us to drive on the right he saw us out of the parking lot and waved us off on our adventures.
The general sign posting and road conditions are very good on Kefaloniá, although it can be useful to familiarise yourself with some of the place names in Greek, in case you come to a vital junction and the English translation isn't present. Many of the blind corners around the towns and villages have obligingly placed mirrors, but if there isn't one give a bit of a hoot as you approach. It gets a bit bumpy here and there where the road has been recently dug up and resurfaced. The roads twist and turn their way up and down the steep hills and mountains, and there are some splendid hairpins on some of the roads down to beaches/villages. Generally just take your time, drive within your comfort zone and enjoy yourself. The locals will overtake at every opportunity, but that's fine, just keep an eye in your rearview mirror and give them room if you can. Every once in a while you'll come across some novelties, such as goats/pigs/dogs/cats/people in the road, just keep an eye ahead and be patient. Watch out for recent rock falls/pot holes and stay on the surfaced roads, as apart from being really bumpy, the insurance may be invalidated if you drive on rough roads.
We had no problems at all.
We also picked up a high detail map in Argostóli to help with the complicated bits, this one was from freytag & bernst ISBN : 3-7079-0015-0.
There is also a map by Road Editions, based on the Hellenic Army map - the Kefalonia one is No.304, 1:70,000.
Our 5 day itinerary was:-
Day 1 : We drove from Avithos to Káto Kateliós, then to Skála and then home to Avithos
Day 2 : We drove from Avithos to Assos and spent several hours there, then to Fiskárdo, back to take a photo of Myrtos Beach and then home to Avithos
Day 3 : We drove from Avithos to Argostóli, took the car on the ferry to Lixoúri, drove to Xi beach and spent the day there, then got the ferry back over from Lixoúri to Argostóli and then home to Avithos
Day 4 : We drove from Avithos to Melissáni, then to Sámi, then to Andisásmos and spent several hours there, then to the Drogaráti cave and then home to Avithos
Day 5 : We drove from Avithos to Argostóli, then up as far as Petrikáta where we took the road round to the Palikí peninsula and on to Petáni where we spent a lovely day, before reversing our course and then home to Avithos
We took the car back late in the evening on the day before it was due to be returned (9am the next morning) as we thought we'd make use of the car to go to one of the more distant tavernas. Melis was still there, cheerful as ever, invited us to drop in for a coffee before we went, and gave us a Lifetime membership card as we left - nice touch.
Next time I think we'd probably send Melis an e-mail before we arrived and have the car from the airport, having got the hang of the roads and the layout.
TIP - While you've got the car pop into LIDL (yeah really), just outside Argostóli and stock up.
Visit the Greekstones
website here