Agia Efimia is a small village near Sami and Karavomylos,,
You will definitely need a car, this is the biggest of the Ionian Islands, and if you want to explore the island it won't be convnient with public transportation.

Personally i don't find the area very inviting, but if the hotel is nice and you have the flexibility of a car you will discover many great places and beaches.

Generally speaking Kefalonia has not too many upper class hotels, compared to other islands.

You haven't mentioned at what time of the year you will be visiting....

Clauser, Thank you for your quick response. We will be in Kefalonia from May 29th until June 5th.

What is the best area on the island for a base? We like exploring and if a car is a must then we can rent one if need be. We just don't want to driving a long way from are hotel in the dark on windy, curvy, dangerous unfamiliar roads just to go and get dinner.

We are 55 and 60 so driving is fine with us. Would we be better off in Argostoli or Skala?

Karen

Agia Efimia is a little bit out of the way, Lassi is very close to the capital city just a 20 min walk away along good road pavements etc but both of these places are more commercial than the rest of the island (nothing like as much as say Corfu and places like that)The island is very lade back everywhere. A mixture of both would be Skala or Katelios Google them both and see which would suite you. If you were doing a lot of driving I would say Lassi as it is mid island for getting to most places. My husband and I have been going there for the last 12 years and hire a car from a company called "Cefalonia Rent a Car" you will find there web site cefaloniarentacar.com for more information, there is lots of general information about places to visit ect as well as car info.

Lassi is very close to Argostoli, and the most touristy place of the island.

It has the advantage of being close to nice beaches , and also to the bus station of Argostoli, form where you can explore the whole island with the public bus ( if you decide not to rent a car)

I do like Skala, but find it personally a bit remote, it has some good hotels though ....

I would like to add a comment about the bus services that run on the island. There are good connections with mainland Greece and there are also routes to the resorts on the island but do not rely on the frequency and timings, sometimes the service just does not run. The service is not really about tourists it runs mainly for the locals to get to work and back, having said this they are a very cheap way of seeing the island if you can work to there timetables. That could be why there are so many car / bike hire companies.

Kefalonia like every other part of Greece has an excellent bus system, served by the private company of KTEL.

The bus run according to a reliable timetable, and the company has a website where you can see all the details, including routes and price of tickets.

Here is the link to the english version :

http://www.ktelkefallonias.gr/Default.aspx?tabid=69&language=en-US

Thanks everyone for your comments, my computer was down so I could not get back here. It sound like renting a car may be the most convenient way to go. I'll look into that and also see if my hotel reward points are good anywhere else. I did see something in Skala I believe. Thanks for your help.

Karen

Hi I just stumbled upon this topic...

Agia Efimia is one of my favorite places in Kefalonia, but when I was there I stayed in Sami, which was a bit more crowded, but definitely a lot quieter than Argostoli. Personally, I like less touristy areas and more relaxing sites so I prefer the Northeastern side of the island such as: Sami, Agia Efimia, Fiskardo, Assos.

I based myself in Sami/Karavomylos, as some of the sites I was keen on visiting were nearby there: The Drogarati cave, Melissani lake, Myrtos beach. Plus, the ferry to Ithaca leaves from Sami port too.

I rented a car from the airport, and I'm really glad I rented a car because it really gives you flexible mobility across the island, as it is a pretty big island! If you're good with driving manual, they definitely always have availability on site without reservation, but if you can only drive automatic, you should reserve in advance.