Casting Penélope Cruz as a Greek peasant is fantastic. Shooting a World War II movie on an island flattened via an earthquake in 1953 sounds even crazier. And yet Captain Corelli's Mandolin placed under-the-radar Kefalonia (Cephalonia) in the highlight in 2001. The dramatic surroundings nonetheless lives up to the hype: milky-white Myrtos seaside, the island's pin-up; pine-fringed Horgota beach; and the giddying heights of Mount Ainos, a country wide park in which deer and wild horses roam. best greek island to visit Outdoor Kefalonia organises 4-wheel-pressure safaris, if you cannot face the hairpin bends. Surprisingly, the 2 prettiest beach villages - Assos and Fiskardo - did not make the cut. But the yachting set has determined their photogenic charm. Everyone from John Galliano to Jon Bon Jovi has jumped ashore to taste the seafood pasta at Tassia in Fiskardo, washed down with neighborhood Robola and Muscat wines. (We suggest the natural muscat from the 19th century Haritatos Estate in Lixouri, additionally an enchanting putting for wine tasting.) The rocky coastline round Fiskardo is deliciously pristine: pass snorkelling at tiny Dafnoudi or Emblissi, flanked through slabs of limestone that turn the water electric blue.