PlanetSKI in the Summer

seventh July 2024 | James Cove, Kefalonia.

What has a seaside vacation in Greece bought to do with snowboarding? Not a lot, however maybe greater than you would possibly suppose. Particularly because the nation has 25 ski areas. NEW

It’s a query we are sometimes requested at PlanetSKI: “What do you do in the summertime?”

We head to the mountains for mountaineering, biking, glacier snowboarding and stand up to some different actions.

The Alps come later, and we’ll be ending off strolling the South Downs Means, then there’s watersports & biking in Devon plus mountaineering up Ben Nevis, to say only a few.

Don’t get us mistaken – PlanetSKI lives for winter.

However there’s lots to do and submit about in the summertime months.

Us skiers have wider pursuits.

Presently we’re in Greece, having fun with the island of Kefalonia and planning to go to Greece’s ski resorts subsequent winter.

Greece has various resorts and we’ll be writing about them within the subsequent a part of this rolling weblog.

First cease, Kefalonia.

It’s been a number of months since we had been had been within the Alps – we left our alpine base in Innsbruck within the Tirol again in April.

PlanetSKI leaves Innsbruck. Picture c/o PlanetSKI

The temperatures had been within the 30s, the identical as we had been set to expertise in Greece.

It was pleasing to see that regardless of the warmth in early April within the Alps, some snow stays at altitude within the Alps as we flew over the mountain vary on our strategy to Greece.

Flying over the Alps. Picture © PlanetSKI

After the early April warmth winter returned with a vengeance at altitude into Could.

You’ll have learn elsewhere on PlanetSKI of the great summer season circumstances for glacier snowboarding:

The airport in Kefalonia airport truly bears greater than a passing resemblance to Innsbruck airport – small, easy and straightforward to get by.

Kefalonia airport. Picture © PlanetSKI

Flying into Innsbruck. Image © PlanetSKI

Flying into Innsbruck. Picture © PlanetSKI

Innsbruck airport is 10-minutes from town centre.

Kefalonia airport is simply 15-minutes for the capital, Argostoli, our first port of name.

Within the metropolis’s important sq. for some purpose one cafe was named after a kind of ski raise.

Argostoli, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

The principle attraction of the island is its seashores.

Like runs and areas in ski resorts, one quickly finds one’s favourites.

There are huge ones:

Petani beach, Kefalonia. Image © PlanetSKI

Petani seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

And small ones:

A beach at Asos, Kefalonia. Image © PlanetSKI

A seaside at Assos, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

Vouti was a favorite.

Vouti beach, Kefalonia. Image © PlanetSKI

Vouti seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

And sitting at seaside taverna for lunch shouldn’t be dissimilar to sitting in a mountain restaurant.

Zell am See/Kaprun, Austria. Picture © PlanetSKI

However as an alternative of surveying the slopes and the snow, one surveys the sand and the ocean as time slips gently previous.

Vouti seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

And like in some small ski resorts (particularly in Italy) the amenities at Vitouri stay considerably primitive.

Vouti seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

One in every of Kefalonia’s, if not Greece’s, most well-known seashores is Myrtos.

Myrtos beach, Kefalonia. Image © PlanetSKI

Myrtos seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

The strategy is gorgeous, and like a wonderful mountain view it’s value stopping, admiring and easily soaking in a single’s environment.

Myrtos seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

It’s between the 2 mountains of Agia Dynati and Kalon Oris that each attain 901m.

Many of the seashores in Greece are off the primary roads and reached by easy roads, typically single monitor.

Road to Myrtos beach, Kefalonia. Image © PlanetSKI

Street to Myrtos seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

Their twists and turns with some sheer drops to the aspect are like some alpine roads we all know nicely.

Myrtos seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

However sadly like some ski runs and resorts Myrtos could be somewhat over-run with folks and vacationer buses, and never fairly the idylic seaside expertise it needs to be.

On our go to it was packed and was a bit like being in one of many French mega-resorts with their over-crowded slopes.

Like well-known ski resorts and well-known ski runs there are often significantly better ones if one is aware of the place to look.

Or simply head to the areas of the packed seaside which can be a bit difficult to get to on the far extremes, the place most can’t be bothered to take the time to achieve.

Myrtos seaside, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

I’m happy to report that meals and drinks are nice worth in Kefalonia like many a resort in Austria and Italy, somewhat than France and Switzerland.

The summer season costs should not these of the Cote d’Azure or the Carribean.

Giant beer – €6 (£5)Glass of home wine – €4 (£3.40)Greek salad – €8 (£6.80)Native fish dish – €20 (£17)

Eating in Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

Like in ski resorts my recommendation is to hunt out the bars and eating places barely off the overwhelmed monitor, and the costs will probably be higher and the expertise extra pleasurable.

The gorgeous village of Assos was our second port of name after Argostoli, and a easy 40-minute drive.

Assos, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

It’s well-known for being the setting of the movie, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and it’s straightforward to see why it was chosen.

Assos, Kefalonia. Picture © PlanetSKI

Just like the chocolate-box ski resorts Wengen in Switzerland or Alpbach in Austria it’s a gem of a Greek seaside resort.

Now I discussed earlier that there’s snowboarding in Greece within the winter months, and PlanetSKI is intending to go to subsequent winter so we’ve been doing a little bit of analysis whereas right here.

Greece provides snow in addition to sand.

There are 25 ski areas in Greece with 117 ski lifts that give entry to 190 kms of marked slopes.

The principle ones are:

ParnassosKalavritaKatafygio-OitiVelouchiHelmosVasilitsa MainaloZiriaVelouchiPertouli

They cowl a lot of the mainland.

Picture c/o Snowreport.gr

Snowboarding began for the primary time in Greece within the 1920’s with primitive lifts and runs, however has had slowly rising numbers ever since.

“Though Greece is a rustic the place the solar shines a lot of the yr, it may possibly additionally boast some excellent snowboarding resorts with extremely fashionable amenities that may fulfill even essentially the most demanding skiers, providing an unforgettable expertise down spectacular ski runs the place the fantastic thing about the alpine panorama is assured to take your breath away,” says snowreport.gr.

“Take pleasure in a ski run in a few of the greatest identified snowboarding resorts of the nation, and feast your eyes on the fantastic thing about snow-clad mountaintops as you expertise an awesome feeling of freedom.”

Extra concerning the snowboarding and snowboarding in Half Two of this rolling weblog as we give attention to the snowboarding.

Greece is now very a lot on our checklist of locations to ski.

It borders Turkey the place we had an enchanting time visiting and snowboarding final winter.

Proper, again to the seaside.

Now we don’t wish to push the similarities with snowboarding an excessive amount of, however there’s a little custom in Assos the place hosts depart home-made cake for visitors to get pleasure from on the finish of the day.