Melissani Cave tours: six day tours compared

In short: the rowing boat is the visit and every tour includes it, so what a tour sells is the day around the lake: the drive from Argostoli, a guide who stands in the queue for the group, Drogarati Cave and the Myrtos viewpoint in the same half day. The six listings below cover a half day, a full island day, a cruise morning, a beach afternoon and a private car. Two of them include the cave ticket; every card says which.

Tours fromAround forty euros

Both tickets includedThe four-hour tour

Boat rideIncluded on all six

Shortest day4 hours

Longest day9 hours

CancellationFree up to 24 h before

What a tour does for you

Melissani is about 30 km from Argostoli, 35 to 40 minutes by road on the far side of the island. The KTEL bus goes twice a day and lands you at the lake with the coaches; a taxi is a taxi. A tour is the transport, a pickup at the port or the hotel, and a guide who handles the tickets and the queue while the group finds shade. Four of the six listings also put Drogarati Cave, five minutes down the road, into the same morning, and the light-versus-queue question has its own page, because the turquoise beam and the coach queue arrive at the same hour. With a hire car you can of course drive there yourself; the road and the bus are on their own page.

Which tour, by situation

Half a day from Argostoli, nothing to pay at the caves

The most-booked listing is the four-hour coach tour with a live guide in German, English and Italian: Drogarati, the Melissani boat, the Myrtos viewpoint, back to Argostoli. It is the only one of the six whose inclusion list says “Entrance fees”, so the price on the listing is the whole day. Its own page notes that in July and August, and on days when several ships are in, the caves are busy, which is exactly when a guide organising the visit earns the fare; the reviews say the same and then say it was worth it. The full review.

Check dates for the four-hour caves tour

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on most tours — book now, decide later.

A full island day, with the caves in the middle

Nine hours for around forty euros is the best-value way to Melissani on the platform, and it is not a Melissani tour so much as a Kefalonia day that passes through it: the Monastery of Agios Gerasimos, a Robola winery tasting, Drogarati, the Melissani boat, free time in Fiscardo with lunch at your own expense, the Myrtos viewpoint, and a honey and olive-oil tasting on the way home. Both cave tickets are paid on site. Ashley: “Excellent day, unbelievable value for money.” It is a long day in the sun, so pack water and a hat. The full review.

A cruise morning

Two listings are built around a ship day. The five-hour caves-and-wine coach, around forty euros, is listed as a shore excursion exclusively for cruise passengers and picks up at Argostoli port, cave fees paid on arrival. The semi-private van, sixty-odd euros, meets you at the Argostoli Cruise Terminal with a name sign, does Drogarati and Melissani, then a swim at Myrtos or Antisamos; its reviewers keep saying the van reached the lake before the coaches. It carries a rating of 4.5 from 39 ratings. Both, and the back-to-ship timing, are on the cruise page.

The lake and a swim, no second cave

The five-hour tour, around sixty euros, does the Melissani boat, the Myrtos viewpoint, then about an hour and a half at Makris Gialos beach with the tour’s own umbrellas. The Melissani ticket is included; there is no Drogarati. It is the day for people who want the lake and the sea and not a second set of steps, and the umbrellas are what the reviews mention most.

Your own start time

The private five-hour car from your hotel, over the Ainos road to Drogarati, Melissani and a swim at Myrtos, is priced per person, over a hundred euros each, and comes with a driver rather than a licensed guide. Its reviewers describe the driver moving the stops around to avoid a queue. Rated 4.9 from 16 ratings. Private and semi-private, compared.

All six tours

Entry fees includedBoth cave tickets included

Half a day or the whole island?

The two listings most people weigh against each other are the four-hour caves tour with both tickets included and the nine-hour island day with the fees paid on arrival. Read the live prices on the two listings and the gap is modest; what the half day buys is a guide holding your place in the queue and the afternoon back, and what the full day buys is the monastery, the winery and Fiscardo on top of both caves.

Neither answer is wrong. A full day in the coach suits a first visit to the island with no car; a half day suits a family that wants the afternoon back, or anyone whose ship sails at six.

Three tours side by side

The half day with tickets, the full day without, and the cruise-terminal van. The rows are read off each listing’s own page.

	Tickets includedFrom Argostoli: Melissani Lake & Drogarati Caves Tour	Kefalonia: Melissani, Myrtos, Fiscardo & Wine Tasting	Kefalonia: Melissani, Drogarati & Beach Small-Group Tour
Price per person	~€65	~€40	~€65
Length	4 hours	9 hours	Four and a half hours
Cave tickets	Both included	Both paid on arrival	Both paid on arrival
Drogarati	Yes	Yes	Yes
Beach or viewpoint	Myrtos viewpoint	Myrtos viewpoint, Fiscardo free time	Swim at Myrtos or Antisamos
Pickup	Port, hotels, Argostoli and Lassi	Hotels in the pickup zones	Argostoli Cruise Terminal only
Vehicle	Coach	Coach	Small van
Guide	Live guide, German, English, Italian	English guide	Driver-guide
Rating	4.6 from 652 ratings	4.8 from 317 ratings	4.5 from 39 ratings
Free cancellation	✓ Up to 24 h before	✓ Up to 24 h before	✓ Up to 24 h before
	Book this →	View →	View →

Worth knowing

Every listing here cancels free up to 24 hours before departure. Book the date you want while you are looking at it, then check the hours and the cruise calendar; if a quieter day turns up, move the booking.

Want the full-day version with the monastery and the winery? Check dates for the island tour here.

Check dates for the full island day

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on most tours — book now, decide later.

Read the reviews before you choose

Each listing has its own review page on this site, with the inclusion lists printed as the listing prints them and three reviewers quoted. Start with the reviews hub, or go straight to the two most people weigh against each other: the four-hour caves tour and the full island day. If you are still deciding whether to go at all, that question has a straight answer.

Frequently asked questions

How can I book a tour of Melissani Cave?

Through any of the six listings on this page; each card opens the booking page with live dates and free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Pick by situation: the four-hour tour from Argostoli if you want a half day with both cave tickets included, the nine-hour island tour if you want the whole island and will pay the cave fees on arrival, one of the two cruise excursions if you are off a ship, and the private car if you want to choose your own start time.

Which Melissani Cave tour is the best?

For most people without a car, the four-hour tour from Argostoli: Drogarati, the Melissani boat and the Myrtos viewpoint with a live guide, and it is the only listing that includes both cave entrance fees. It is rated 4.6 from 652 ratings. The full island day is rated higher, 4.8, and costs less, and it is nine hours with the cave fees paid on arrival. The review pages set out what each one includes in its own words.

Do Melissani tours include the entrance ticket?

Two of the six. The four-hour tour from Argostoli includes both cave tickets; the five-hour lake-and-beach tour includes the Melissani ticket and does not visit Drogarati. The other four leave the fees to be paid on arrival, about ten euros for Melissani and a little more for both caves. Tickets, and what each tour includes.

Is the cheapest tour the cheapest way to see Melissani?

Nearly. The nine-hour island tour is the lowest fare on the platform and both cave fees are paid on arrival; the four-hour tour costs more and has both tickets in the price, with a guide in the queue and a half day instead of a full one. Read the two live prices side by side on the listings: the gap is modest, and which day suits you matters more.

How long are the Melissani tours?

Four hours for the caves tour from Argostoli, four and a half for the small-group van from the cruise terminal, five hours for the cruise caves-and-wine coach, the lake-and-beach tour and the private car, and nine hours for the island day. The cave visit itself is 30 to 60 minutes without a queue and one to two hours with one; how long each part takes.