Malbec Pilgrim

"Where? California? That's a bit far away for a 1-week holiday, isn't it? What about somewhere nearer-by in Europe?". I doubt I'm the only one who misheard Kefalonia the first time it was said to me, but it occupies a quiet place in the Greek Ionian islands, hiding discreetly behind it's more rowdy and famous cousin of Corfu.

A couple of friends and I spent a week out in Kefalonia in July 2023, although for some reason I overlooked blogging about it upon my return, probably on account of starting a new job and readjusting to living in London again after my time away on bicycle in Sri Lanka and Jordan in the months before.

Kefalonia isn't a Greek island for your party-hounds, they'll come away a bit disappointed. But if quiet nature, stunning beaches, and good route options mixing up dirt with quiet tarmac sound like your idea of a good cycle-touring holiday, you'll do well in Kefalonia. We even found several places renting decent touring bikes which saved the hassle of dragging our own bikes to London airports in cardboard boxes via crowded train lines, which can often be a crappy start and finish to a week away on the bike. Just jumping on a plane with panniers as hand luggage is so much easier.

Kefalonian backroads were a delight to cycle. As one of Greece's most northerly islands, it is wonderfully green with woods scattered everywhere - quite a contrast to my cycle-tour last year in one of Greece's most southerly isles of Crete, which felt much more barren, dry and rocky in comparison.

Kefalonia only has a regular population of 45,000 people across nearly 800 square kilometres, which further adds to its charm as a quiet recluse of the Greek islands. It's also comfortable in that role, the quiet unassuming character in the corner that just knows you'll enjoy yourself when y'all get to know each other.

Although there were a number of good beach stops, the cake has to be taken by Antisamos beach. Hidden away over a rise from Sami town, the first view of the beach coming over the hill looks like it could go on the front cover of any Mediterranean travel brochure. Water that sparkled in such a way you'd wonder if it was photoshopped, hemmed in by towering hills densely studded by wild green forest. We'd allowed for a whole day to chill out there which turned out to be an inspired move. We had 7 full days out in Kefalonia in total, covering about 200km over 4 days of cycling, a day hiking up Mount Ainos with a bit of other sightseeing, and 2 x chill-out days mid-week (Antisamos beach) and at the end at beaches near Kefalonia's principal town of Argostoli.

Our route offered 4500 metres (14,700 feet) of elevation gain which was sweaty fun in the 30C (86F) temperatures, with the two biggest climbs taking us from sea level up to 635 metres and 525 metres respectively. Enough elevation gain to make us hungry at the end of each day, but as per usual Greece delivers big time on the meat, seafood and vegetarian fronts. Papoutsakia (meaning "little shoes") is always a favourite - grilled aubergines stuffed with various types of cheesy fillings. Another unexpected highlight was a tasting session at one of Kefalonia's leading micro-wineries - Sarris wines.

Current location: the Greek Ionian island of Kefalonia. Full update coming soon, although I should probably do a final trip report from Sri Lanka and a review of my 3 weeks cycling in Jordan first!