The viewpoint
The whole bay from the road above before you descend.
Matt Sims — CC BY 2.0 · Matt Sims — CC BY 2.0 · Matt Sims — CC BY 2.0 · Splendid entry — CC BY 3.0
**A white pebble bay between two towering cliffs — the western Myrtos, without the crowds** — at the northern tip of the Paliki peninsula. The resemblance to Myrtos is obvious and deliberately noted by everyone who has seen both: **a crescent of white pebble**, **two cliffs enclosing it**, and **blue water grading into turquoise** along sharp boundaries. ⚠ The difference is that Petani is **on the other side of the island**, away from the coach routes and organised tours — **so it is far quieter**. Its best quality is that it faces **west** — making it **one of the few beaches on Kefalonia where you watch the sun set straight into the sea**. ✅ And there is a **viewpoint** on the road above giving you the whole bay — as at Myrtos. ⚠ The descent is **steep and winding**, and the water **deepens fast**.
The whole bay from the road above before you descend.
The sun dropping straight into the sea — rare on this island.
The same scene as Myrtos with a fraction of the crowd.
Petani, 28100 Paliki, Kefalonia, Greece
**Cross by ferry, not by road — the most useful practical tip on Kefalonia.** ✅ **The ferry**: **Argostoli to Lixouri** in **20–30 minutes**, **carrying cars**, running regularly — **whereas driving round the gulf is about 35 km** and much longer. **Save the road and enjoy the crossing.** ⚠ **Check the timetable and the last sailing** before you cross. ✅ **A suggested order**: cross in the morning, **Lixouri** for a coffee and a short walk, then **Xi** for a morning swim (sandy, shallow, good for children), then lunch, then **drive north to Petani** in the afternoon — **stopping at the viewpoint above it** — swim, and **stay for sunset**, since it faces west. Then the last ferry back. ⚠ **Calculate the last ferry carefully** if you stay for sunset — or plan to return by the land road round the gulf if you miss it. ✅ **An alternative**: **spend a night in Lixouri** — cheaper than Argostoli and quieter.
**Geology — the island is largely limestone, and limestone does not readily make sand.** ✅ **How sand forms**: beach sand is mostly **erosion-resistant grains** — chiefly **quartz** — produced by the breakdown of rocks like granite and **carried by rivers** to the sea over thousands of years. ✅ **The problem on Kefalonia**: its rock is **largely limestone**, **and limestone does not break down into quartz** — it **dissolves** in water or fractures into **smooth pebbles** rather than fine grains. ⚠ **And there are no large permanent rivers** on the island to wash sediment from the interior to the coast. ✅ **The result**: beaches of **fine white pebble** — visually beautiful (and the white pebble is precisely why the water is so clear and so coloured, since it reflects light and does not cloud) ⚠ **but painful underfoot**. ✅ **The exceptions** — **Xi** and **Megas Lakkos** on Paliki — are sandy because **that area's soil is red clay**, different from the limestone of the rest of the island. ✅ **The practical lesson**: **carry water shoes on Kefalonia** — they will change your trip.