Melissani Lake

  Included in our round the island trip, beautiful a must see.

This was only a short trip - however it was amazing - never seen anything like it before. The waters were fantastic and the history of the cave amazing!!!

We went mid day the colours have got to be seen to be believed,well worth a visit

  We visited mid afternoon but have been told the best time to go is mid day when the sun shines onto the water turning it turquoise.  Very awe inspiring. You go down a walkway under some rocks which seems to be in the middle of no where (not near the sea!) and then the coolness of the air hits you, lovely.  At the bottom is an underground secret lake  with a small hole in the top of the cave where the roof fell in during the earthquake.  You get in a rowing boat and a chap rows you round the crystal clear water pointing out the different depths, unfortunately we didnt get the serenade but I think the kids would have laughed. Cheap to get in too. They didnt charge me for my youngest son (7) just Hubby, daughter (9) and me. Worth a visit.

My Wife and I really liked this cave and felt that the tour was well worth the entrance money. To enhance the tour they could provide some sort of leaflet with information as our guide spoke only Greek.

Well worth a visit and yes its cheap around 5 Euros.  

Great  - really worth it. A beautiful place, well managed and reasonable. How often can you say that about a tourist attraction? Go.

We saw the lake in the middle of May 2005, which is not the height of the tourist season. We had a day trip from the neighbouring island of Zakynthos, and all the coaches that came across on the ferry basically follow one another. So try to avoid visiting when all the coaches arrive.
The lake is magnificent and our ferryman took a photo of my wife and myself on our own camera. He sang as well as giving the varying depth of the lake as we went around. You do have to board the ferry (which holds about 12 people) and so have to have sufficient mobility.
Well worthwhile doing - take your camera with you!

i felt like a lovestruck teenager again as our boatman seranaded me and my husband in song as we floated around this beautifull lake

brilliant, if you look carefully you might spot one of the eels!
The water is really clear and calm. You have to go and see it. I recommend seeing it if your going to fiskado as it is on the way.
The combo makes a really great day out.

One of those places you want to visit again and again. Would like to see it at a quieter time of year so the boat trip was less rushed, but worth the entry fee. Does need the external facilities improving however.

We visited the lake at midday (as recommended by the guide books as the water is at its deepest blue with the midday sun above). Unfortunately it felt the whole of Cephalonia had read the same guide book and had also decided to visit at midday. As a result, it felt like we were on a conveyor belt and was far from relaxing! Shame really, as the cave itself is stunning.

Chill out

Mellisani lakes are a 'must visit' very tranquil and very beautiful

WOW.............
JUST GO..COLOURS IN THAT WATER
ARE JUST AMAZING,CANT WAIT TO BACK IN JULY

This has to be the most romantic place in the whole world. definatly one for couples! i fell in love in this cave, i'll never forget it!

"Roof fall in, roof fall in. Argostoli, Sami, Argostoli, Sami. Roof fall in." The oarsmes don't really seem to have a grasp of the English language, but it was certainly entertaining. Try and go when there are no coach parties, otherwise you'll end up in a crowded boat, it's much better when you have a bit of space to move around the boat.

Stunning. Not a massive feature but very humbling, eerie and spooky. The view into the water at the deepest part is amazing and the boaters were wonderful. And a bit scary sat in the back of the boat as everyone climbs in and out.

What characters these boatmen are!! The eldest guy rowing is 72 years old. We were lucky they were singing, they were happy as it was coming to the end of the season. The eldest man, who's name escapes me was in fine voice and we enjoyed some of the horseplay.Our rower was knowledgable and took his time to show us to the back of the cave and point out the clarity of the and telling us to look in. He then took our cameras in turn and snapped the couples and families together with good humour and smiles. We left a tip by choice and he didn't raise his hand nor point to the scant change on the side of his boat either as others perhaps had.
Really enjoyed it.

It was certainly relaxing but when we went, the weather was wet. Its meant to be much more colourful when the sun is shining. The guide was quite funny. He kept singing and flicking water at the other boats. We didn't think to take any money down with us though and he gave us a dirty look as we walked past his upturned hand.

Great queue to see the tunnel, many laughs as you wait your turn as I had not been before expectations were high and the tantalising glimps of the lake as you shuffle forward only incease as you get nearer, at last! the boat with your eight or more fellow passengers you are rowed around a small but deep lake,you go up a small siding turn and come out again,I was asked for two euros if I wanted my picture taken with My camera but the sights above and the view is worth it but not the short time there

Great queue to see the tunnel, many laughs as you wait your turn as I had not been before expectations were high and the tantalising glims of the lake as you shuffle forward only incease as you get nearer, at last! the boat with your eight or more fwllow passengers you are rowed around a small but deep lake,you go up a small siding turn and come out again,I was asked for two euros if I wanted my picture taken with My camera but the sights above and the view is worth it but not the short time there

This is a must do...but not on a wet dull day, can really dampen atmosphere aswell as yourselves. And can dull the beauty of it a tad. Not saying avoid, it's a definate must do, just don't be put it off until a poor weather day.

We visited in te afternoon and there was a queue but it was good to be out of the sun.The boatmen are the best part ,very funny and make the trip intersting even though they must have done it thousands of times andbe bored silly.Lake was fantastic too.Well worth a visit

First, I LOVE GREECE! This year we have been to Kefalonia & Zakynthos. -GREAT!!! Everything on this isle (Kefalonia) is great! ;-)))

We visited in August - arrived about 11am before all the coaches so it was very peaceful and cool. A funny Greek man was our guide, he mumbled a funny tune and said 'five thousand years' and 'underground cave'. Worth a look but not a must see sight.

This place is wonderful...so relaxing..its like another world. The waters are so beautiful, so many different colours. A wonderful experience. This is a must to visit.

Magical Place, definately go, especially in June and July, no queues,and much more atmosphere.

Be warned, arrive early to avoid the big queues waiting to get down to the lake. We arrived at 11am, and had to wait about 15 minutes in the cool dark tunnel that leads down to the lake. The entrance cost was 5 euros. There are about 5 boats that take 10-12 people at a time around the lake. Some of the oarsmen are chattier than others, and one or two sing. The one we had explained the history of the lake in great detail in Italian & English. Well worth seeing. Bring a camera.

Visited the lake on the second week of my holiday, had a little queue in the tunnel leading down to the lake, but as the weather was very hot, the tunnel was very cool, and took some great pictures as we got closer and closer to the opening to the boats and the lake. The lake looked fantastic with the sun shining down onto the water at the eginning of the boat trip. This made the water shine a brillaint blue before heading into the main part of the dark part of the cave in the lake. My only disappointment is that the other boats appeared to have some great oarsman who sang and laughed there way through the short boat ride. Unfortuntely our oarsman appeared to be a strong silent character who grunted a few words of greek & broken english and the occasional little greek verse (when taunted by the other oarsman), but at least he did not mind having his photo taken to remember him by lol I would recommend this trip for a short visit to see a beautiful lake, and hoefully experiance some great singing

This is a must see. We to had the mad oarsman with the mole in
centre of forehead. We seem to attract excentrics! Keen to show
us stalagmite thats appears to resemble a piece of male
anatomy! Get there before 12 miday to avoid coaches.

We drove our hire car up and arrived at about 1.00. thought it was very good valur for 5 euros each, and you get a nice little book telling you about the caves. there was a long cue, but it did move quite quikly and it was quite nice cueing in the cave as it was cool.
The boatmne were fantastic....they talk in Greek and English and are willing to stop the boat to take photograps of you. Our boatman never hinted at us to leave a tip although we did as we had enjoyed it very much.
It is worth going to see the colours of the waters....magnificent. I would definetly go again.

The atmosphere, the history, the singing boatsmen all added up to a sweet little visit.

my family have been to kefalonia 4 times now and we visited the lake many years ago and enjoyed the trip, unfortunately i feel that the lake has become much more touristy and more expensive and the queues were longer. Having said that if you get the boat with the singing greek it makes it all worth while, he may lack info but he is HILARIOUS!!!!

Beautiful place....a bit of a queue but if you get the old fella with a mole in the middle of his forehead....he makes the trip all worth while with his comedy singing and constant greek babbling........

Worth the trip....

This attraction is well worth a visit. Beautiful location with funny men who row the boats!

Went by car and arrived around 12.00. There was a Q about a mile long with all the coaches so we went up the road and had some lunch - figured the coach trps would be going for lunch at 1.00. When we got back still had to Q for about 1/2 an hour but it was worth it. There are not many touristy places on the island and this seemed to be the most busy. Probably because it is the most attractive. I don't think the cost is unreasonable given that you are given a booklet. Think what it would cost in UK.

Beautiful place. Well worth the euros. Felt the boatmen deserved a tip as they were old men who were constantly hauling boat loads of tourists around the lake, small as it was. You can get a large photo of yourself on the boat for about 7euro if you wish. The acoustics in the tunnel down to the lake were so good that the local greeks tourists queing with us couldn't hold back from bursting into song. That was the only annoyance of the experience.

Interesting and enjoyable, but a bit over priced for how long it lasted. The boatman dropped that many heavy hints for a tip, it's the wonder the boat didn't sink! Ended up costing us 12 Euros in total for about 10 minutes! Worth a look though.

Good value for 5 euro and you get a booklet explaining about the
caves of Kefalonia. Go in your own time with a hire car as all the
coach parties turn up at once at about 12.00 midday in their
hundreds!!! Germans and Italians all pushing and shoving down
the narrow entrance(and exit) tunnel. We got there about 11.40
and were in the boat by 12.05 making the most of the midday
sun on the water — beautiful!! oh and just sit back and enjoy the
singing boatmen, they obviously love their job!

Not over impressed but if you go around midday the light is fabulous. Just over a bit quickly as it's not very big and we got the "singing" boatman. Form your own opinion on him! Personally I envied the people in the other boats thinking how lucky they were! We preferred Drogerati cave just down the road

We had to queue for a while but the lake itself was well worth the wait. The colour of the water is amazing. The boatmen sometimes sing and, I agree that it is difficult to understand what they're saying, but thats our fault for not learning Greek.

This trip doesn't last very long but is worth the money as its simply beautiful......the water is like your in a swimming pool and sometimes the men who take you through sometimes even sing to you! Nice! Take a video camera on this one as you will wanna look at it again!

We went here at about 11.30, just before the coaches turned up, and got a boat to ourselves ( 4 of us ).Our boatman spoke reasonable english and gave us a running commentary of the history of the lake and where a lot of the water comes from ( Lassi, where we were staying,site of the water wheel - Katavothres ).
We thought it was well worth the price of 5 euro's each,and our boatman took pictures of us for free - don't pay the 8 euro's asked for at the lakeside.
It's lovely and cool down there, which is worth the entrance fee on it's own!

WE THOUROUGHLY ENJOYED THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE LAKE ALTHOUGH OVER IN 15 MINUTES. yOU REALLY SHOULD HIRE A CAR TO GET THE REAL FEEL OF KEFALONIA AS THERE ARE NOT MANY PLACES LIKE THIS THAT ARE RELATIVELY UNSPOILT. yamass.

We went to the lake as part of the Natural Kefalonia island tour. We only paid 4.50 euros to get in but even that seemed a lot for how long we were there. The singing boatmen were quite amusing, but couldn't understand him when he was explaining the history of the caves. Our guide told us that there is a website for more info about the lake on the kefalonia university of geology site. It might be worth a look before you go and visit so you are not disappointed.

Okay the boat trip doesn't last much longer than ten minutes but that doesn't diminish the beauty of the place. You're given a pictorial guide booklet as part of your admission which tells you everything you want to know so just sit back in the boat and enjoy the banter and singing of your boat-man - all the better for being in Greek. With a hire car you can do this, the caves and Sami and have a great day out.

This trip was very short but the price was hardly extortionate. We went at about 11.30am and were in and out in 20 minutes.
The beautiful colour of the water was a sight to behold and we got plenty of lovely photographs.
Well worth a look if you aren't staying too far away. It's a short drive from Sami or Aghia Efimia.

Fantastic. Forgot to take camera and that was my greatest regret of the whole holiday.

Thought it was very beautiful but very overrated, the trip only lasted 5 minutes and that included him taking photos of everyone in the boat. Expensive for what it was. We were not given any information at all and the boatman couldnt speak English except to ask for a tip. I suppose worth a visit to say you have been but we much preferred the caves, we thought they were more impressive.

Well worth a visit, absolutely fantastic when the light hits the cave. Only 5 Euros, and no obligation to tip the boatmen although they do look for it. They will also take your photo free of charge.
Don't miss this attraction you must visit.

It's no huge theme park, just a site of extreme beauty. The sun 's reflection shimmering from the crystal clear water on to the cavern walls in which the lake is situated is magical. The amazing colour and depth of the water is marvellous. The singing Greek boatman is amusing, (leave a nice tip). Use your imagination to marvel at the forces of nature that resulted in this lake, enjoy the unique experience for what it is, and you won't be disappointed.
Maybe not so easy to do if the sun isnt shining, if you have been queuing for 30 mins or if there is a large and loud party of tourists present, but still worth the cost, including souvenir booklet, just to say you have been there.

I thought this was a bit over rated. Pretty enough but the whole visit only took 20 mins from parking up to driving away. Toilets on site were awful so go before you go!!

This was a really good trip - you have to go at midday because thats when the sun really shines down and it looks nicest

One word of advice - read the book they give you before going on the boats. As we went in October, there was no queue and I didn't get to read the booklet before we went on the boat. I felt it was nothing special. After reading the history, I would have loved to have gone back to experience it knowing what I had learnt, it would have been much more magical. Its not as big as you would imagine a "lake", also go on a sunny day to get the full effect of the caved in roof on the water.

Queued for no more than 5 mins. This was breaktaking, even my 6 year old though this was wonderful. How could anyone not feel this was extremely magical.

Fantastic if you enjoy queing for hours in a dark, dank tunnel. Followed by a whistle stop tour of an underground lake, in an overcrowded boat, rowed by a man who hasn't washed for weeks despite his proximity to all that water. In a nutshell overated and underground!

Very nice - the water was a gorgeous deep blue and boatmen enteraining (though not knowing much english!). Not as big as I'd expected - perhaps a little disappointing, but the view was spectacular.

The lake is absolutely beautiful, and we liked the singing boatman. He was also very informative despite knowing only three english phrases. Also, he took our picture for free, using our own camera - so don't pay 7 euros for one.

Beautiful cave - but overpriced at €5 + tip for a 10 minute trip. The singing was embarrassing. To understand the hydrology visit: http://www.showcaves.com/english/gr/karst/Katavothres.html

The lake was beautiful but outshone by the boatmen, who were the biggest attraction! Loud and joyous singing and banter between boats and, through broken-english, some interesting facts. Our boatman stopped and offered to take photos of us with our cameras. He even managed to get an extra tip from the people sharing our boat - they had money ready to pay for the offical boat photo (as you get into the boat), but he took it from them as a tip!! - A very funny man.

my sister susan and i thought it was amazing the most gorgeous coloured water we had ever seen and singing greeks were great,well worth the trip

Visited the lake at the beginning of October. Very enjoyable but found it too quick, we were only on the boat for about 8 mins, enough time to go into the cave turn around and go back. Charge is 5 Euros per person for the boat, 4 Euros(I think) for the optional photo plus a tip for the boatman who, as the previous comment says, are not subtle in asking (ours looked like Einstien with bad hair).

We enjoyed this more than the caves, but both are a must. Beautiful lake and very tranquil. The colour of the water is amazing. The boat men are a bit crazy, singing and yelling to each other in greek! They may pressure you for a tip, and they aren't subtle!

breathtaking, not the singing boatman, no queue when we arrived but as left coach party arrived so very large queue. Try to get there before midday to avoid them.

If you don't go to anywhere else on the island you must go here. We arrived at 11.30 on a dull day but even then the different hues of dark blue were stunning as was the clarity of the water and the vastness of the cave. The boatmen were fun but informative. To the previous Steve , next year stick to Ibiza

Another fasinating spot. We got one of the singing boatmen - very funny guy.

No queues, the waater was beautiful and the boatman was amusing with his singing and chatter - well worth the visit

absoultely wonderous. no queues, (September). An experience not to be missed even though short and sweet. The boatmen with their singing and friendly chatter add an essence of true Greek culture.

Sorry you didn't like it Steve, but we didn't queue at all and found the boatman charming, yes he rambled abit and hard to understand but just to prompt your memory you were on a greek! island, hope your ice lolly was not to greek sounding.

Crap!!!! Queued for an hour and then got in a rowing boat and listened to a local chirp nonsense about the cave / lake and basically get up my nose! The best bit was getting out of the boat and jogging back up the tunnel for an ice lolly...

Picture postcard beautiful and an experience to remember. The boat trip is brief and they expect to be tipped but still worth the money. There can be quite long queues at peak times when the sun is directly overhead but it's the best time to see it and worth the wait

another must,footwear with a grip needed again and for the five minutes your down there it can get cold. if your lucky you ll get the singing walls ice cream man who informs you of the depth of the water by shouting at you at regular intervals, stunning scenery presented with greek humor

Yet another stunning place to go to. The stalactites are awesome. We stayed in Fanari and were close to the Water Wheel where the sea water first enters the island before (after 4 weeks or so) arriving in the underwater lake!