Crowd control ... peace reigns at the village of Assos on Kefalonia.Credit: Getty Images
As the nation grapples with financial crisis, Gemma Bowes finds empty beaches and great deals on the island of Kefalonia.
The little fishing harbour of Fiscardo, in the north of Kefalonia, is often described in guidebooks as Greece's prettiest village. The Venetian houses that line its waterfront are painted in sugary shades with contrasting doors and windows - blush-rose and green, lilac and pink, orange and red - lit up like a twinkling rainbow at night. They form an enchanting, if slightly twee, setting, where holidaying couples and yachties potter from taverna to taverna to ponder whose bream might be freshest, which rabbit stifado the more traditional. A 30-minute drive south, beyond the equally pretty Assos, is the curve of perfect white sand, leaking into water the bright turquoise of antifreeze, of Myrtos beach - one of Greece's most photographed.
These treasures, along with the Ionian island's legacy as the setting for Captain Corelli's Mandolin, have made Kefalonia one of Greece's most popular holiday islands. And yet, when I visited in mid-May, it seemed rather empty. It has been a dire time for Greece's tourism industry: the riots in Athens at the start of May, strike action affecting ferries, flights and goods transportation, financial meltdown and then - to top it off - the ash clouds interrupting flights. One Fiscardo barman concludes, as he serves our mojitos in an empty bar, "This summer, there will be no summer."
Volcanic ash prevents the Manchester flight delivering that week's northern tourists and the weather is a bit iffy. According to Tassos, the owner of our villa, Trizoni, Kefalonia's holiday villa owners are worried about the coming season and struggling to fill their properties.
About 27,000 hotel nights were cancelled in the Athens area in the three weeks following the riots and many tour operators reported a nosedive in bookings.
"We undoubtedly saw a slowdown in bookings to Greece," says the managing director of Greek sailing specialist Seafarer, Chris Lorenzo. "But media coverage has grossly exaggerated the riots and other problems, which has turned people away."
The director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, Sophia Panagiotaki, insists travellers would enjoy their holidays this year as much as any other. "Prices are competitive, the service friendlier than ever and visitors are not at risk in any way," she says.
Certainly it didn't cross my mind to cancel my own trip - I had been dreaming for weeks of the infinity pool at my stylishly converted farmhouse, grilled calamari and that unique thyme-and- pine scented air.
"Dafnoudi beach is one of the nicest on the island," reads an entry in our villa's guestbook, "though it can get very crowded in the summer." Not on our visit. We turn off the empty main coastal road, park beside a pine forest and see not a soul on the shady 20-minute walk down to the beach, a pretty curve of smooth, white pebbles, totally deserted. We snorkel, explore caves, lie around reading, eat a picnic of spinach pie and almond cake from the Fiscardo bakery and drink a couple of local Alfa beers. A perfectly simple, typical Greek holiday afternoon, made so much better by no one else being around.
Even more unbelievably, at Myrtos, the island's most prized beach, we find just one lone swimmer and two couples in campervans.
Finding yourself alone in such spots is unheard of in high season on such a popular island as Kefalonia, so if this summer is to be less crowded than usual, it could be the perfect time to experience Greece as it used to be, when holidaymakers first fell in love with the possibilities of discovering deserted coves and traditional villages.
One day we hire a motorboat and zip to the nearest, more traditional, island of Ithaca, where a steep walk up from the harbour brings us to the village of Stavros. We had been urged to try the Corelli movie cast's favourite restaurant, Polyphemus, with a leafy garden strung with lanterns.
It's run by a communist chef, Lazarus, who has covered its walls with pictures of Che Guevara. A pair of house martins swoop in and out through the patio doors while we eat a fine lunch of sundried octopus, sea bream with herbs and currants, and light, cheesy pitta.
Afterwards, Lazarus and his Swiss partner insist we drink some brandy with them and drive us back to the harbour.
The tavernas on Kefalonia can't match that experience but we discover a wonderful unassuming roadside cafe, To Pethko, in the village of Anti Pata. It plays Guantanamera and has plastic awnings separating us from the road but serves the most delicious fried zucchinis, pork souvlaki and local Robola white wine (no need for retsina here: Kefalonia produces Greece's best wine, a legacy of the Venetians).
The road from our villa leads down to another great taverna at Alaties beach, where we tuck into eggplant dip, taramasalata, salt cod balls, sardines and perfect Greek salad. It's not cheap - €45 ($65) for a simple lunch for two (we share the dishes and have a beer each) - and therein lies another of the problems facing Greece's tourism recovery.
When Greece joined the single currency, it lost its selling point as a cheap, sunny destination. To compete with destinations such as Egypt and Turkey, it needs to match them on price.
Operators say hotels and restaurants will be dropping their prices this summer to encourage holidaymakers to return. "The current situation is causing concern for hoteliers," says Photis Lambrianides of Olympic Holidays. "But they are determined to attract holidaymakers back and are therefore coming up with some great deals for us to pass on."
One representative told me that the island's summer season had shrunk from five-and-a-half months to three in the past decade and the current crisis would only threaten it further.
Tourism businesses that offer something new and different are perhaps more likely to weather the storm and those that are more upmarket - offering stylish villas and hotels reminiscent of Ibiza and Mallorca - might prove more resilient than the bucket-and-spade market.
Tassos, the owner of my villa, has converted his family's three derelict cottages into stylish pads - a rare find on the island - with infinity pools, funky designer furniture and sun terraces decorated like hip beach bars. He says his summer bookings are bucking the trend that is causing the rest of the island to struggle.
- Guardian
FAST FACTS
Getting there Thai Airways flies to Athens for about $1950, to Bangkok (9hr) and then Athens (11hr). Fare is lowseason return from Melbourne and Sydney, including tax. Olympic Air flies from Athens to Kefalonia (1hr) for about $330 return, including tax. There are daily ferries to Kefalonia from Patras and Killini; none from Athens.
Staying there There is a range of Kefalonia villas for rental, minimum fournight stays, on Agni Travel's website, agni.gr/travel/kefalonia. For example, Villa Aetos in Fiscardo has three bedrooms, a pool and one of the best sea views on the island; from €1428 ($2509) a week in July. Villa Trizoni sleeps up to six people and comes with a jeep; weekly rental from €4100; see exclusiveescapes.co.uk.
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