Filming locations in Kefalonia

Visiting Kefalonia: a set-jetting guide. The largest of the Ionian islands wears its drama on its coastline, all white-pebble bays and water that shades from jade to deep blue. Captain Corelli's Mandolin found its sweeping wartime romance here, and the island's two most famous beaches carried much of it. Both are reached by winding coast roads, which is half the pleasure of the trip.

The film's vision of an idyllic Greek island is Myrtos Beach, the dazzling crescent of white pebbles cradled between sheer cliffs. The drive down is a switchback descent, with a clifftop viewpoint on the way that delivers the postcard shot before you have even arrived. There is no entry fee and only a couple of seasonal kiosks, with little shade once you are on the sand, so it pays to go in the morning before the heat and the crowds build.

The other key filming beach is Antisamos, a green-backed pebble cove near the port of Sami. Backed by forested hills and edged with clear, deep water, it is a gentler proposition than Myrtos, with sunbeds and tavernas to settle into for the day. It is a short drive over the headland from Sami, free to reach, and an easy place to let an afternoon slip away.

Set-jetting on Kefalonia is essentially a coastal road trip. Myrtos and Antisamos sit on different stretches of shore, so a hire car turns them into the two anchors of a looping day, with viewpoints, coves and tavernas to stitch in between. The roads twist and climb, so allow more time than the distances suggest and stop often for the views.

Take the island at its own pace, which is to say slowly. Start at Myrtos early for the light and the calm, save Antisamos for a long lazy afternoon, and let the drives between be part of the experience rather than a chore. This is a coastline made for lingering, exactly as the film understood.