Melissani or Drogarati? Both, in this order
Going without a car?Every tour here picks you up in Argostoli and cancels free up to 24 hours before. Reserve the date now, decide later.
Check tour availabilityWhat each one is
Melissani is a doline: a cave whose roof fell in, leaving a brackish lake open to the sky with a second, closed chamber beyond a narrow passage. The visit is the boat. You go down a tunnel of roughly a hundred steps to a pier, a boatman rows about twelve of you round the open chamber and pulls the boat by a rope into the stalactite chamber and back, and you climb out. When the sun is overhead, roughly 11:00 to 14:00, the water lights up. The boat ride in order.
Drogarati is the cave Melissani would be if the roof had held: about 60 m down by steps, a main chamber 65 by 45 m and 20 m high, stalactites everywhere, a constant 18 °C at about 90 per cent humidity, and no water. It is self-guided, 15 to 20 minutes inside, and the acoustics are good enough that concerts have been held in it, a 2014 orchestral concert among them. It has been open to the public since 1963, the same year as Melissani’s tunnel, and keeps the same hours.
Side by side
| Melissani | Drogarati | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult ticket | about ten euros | a few euros |
| Reduced | about half that | about half that |
| Combined ticket | One ticket for both, a little more than Melissani alone; a reduced combined ticket exists too | |
| Steps | Roughly a hundred, sloping tunnel with handrails | About 150, steep and slippery |
| Time inside | 10–15 minutes on the boat; 30–60 for the visit | 15–20 minutes, self-guided |
| The thing you see | Open-roofed lake, the light, a stalactite chamber from the water | A large dry chamber of stalactites |
| Queue | Up to two hours at midday in July–August | Reviewers rarely mention one |
| Without stairs | A viewing balcony | No alternative |
| Hours | The same, by the same municipal notice | |
Ask for the combined ticket if you are doing both caves; the four-hour tour from Argostoli includes both fees in its price. Tickets, and the free categories.
Melissani
What works
- The open roof and the water: nothing else on the island looks like it
- Ten minutes on the boat suits small children; one reviewer took a four-year-old, another a twenty-month-old
- A viewing balcony for anyone who cannot do the steps
- The boatmen explain, often sing, and take photos with your phone
Worth knowing
- The midday queue in July and August, up to two hours
- The boat ride is ten to fifteen minutes, so pair it with Drogarati or a beach
- The beam needs a high sun; early and late visits get an angled light
- Not wheelchair accessible to the boats
Drogarati
What works
- A big, dry stalactite chamber you walk through at your own pace
- Reviewers rarely mention a queue
- Constant 18 °C: the cool room on a hot day
- Five minutes from Melissani, so the two are one morning
Worth knowing
- About 150 steep, slippery steps down and the same up
- Fifteen to twenty minutes is all there is
- One 2026 reviewer of the semi-private tour rated the day four stars and found Drogarati the weaker cave, with better stalactite caves elsewhere
- The age the guides give, a hundred million years and more, is guide talk
Which first
Drogarati first, early, then Melissani for the midday light; or Melissani at opening for the short queue, then Drogarati after. The two orders serve the two things people want and it is worth deciding which you want before you park. With a car both are done before lunch and a beach follows: Antisamos is ten minutes from Sami. The light and the queue, hour by hour.
The four-hour tour from Argostoli runs Drogarati first and Melissani second, which is the light-first order; its guide stands in the Melissani queue for the group while it lasts.
Which tours do both
Five of the six: the four-hour coach tour from Argostoli, the nine-hour island day, the five-hour cruise excursion with a wine tasting, the semi-private van and the private car. The lake-and-beach tour skips Drogarati and swaps it for an hour and a half at Makris Gialos. Only the four-hour tour includes both entrance fees; the lake-and-beach tour includes the Melissani ticket; the other four leave both to be paid on arrival. All six, with the fee column made explicit.
Book the tour with both caves and both tickets
About four hours from Argostoli: Drogarati, Melissani, the Myrtos viewpoint, entrance fees included. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Read next
- The caves near Sami — and the lake at Karavomylos.
- The four-hour tour, reviewed.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Melissani or Drogarati?
They are different caves rather than better and worse: Melissani is a lake seen from a boat, Drogarati a dry chamber seen on foot. Melissani is the one people cross the island for; Drogarati is five minutes away and worth the a few euros. Most visitors do both. What to expect at Melissani.
Is there a combined ticket for Melissani and Drogarati?
Yes, one ticket for both caves, a little more than Melissani alone, with a reduced version for the same categories. The four-hour tour from Argostoli includes both fees. Tickets, in detail.
How far apart are Melissani and Drogarati?
About five minutes’ drive; Drogarati is at Chaliotata on the Sami–Argostoli road and Melissani at Karavomylos, 2 km the other side of Sami. Roads and the bus.
Do the tours visit both caves?
Five of the six on this site do. The four-hour tour from Argostoli is the only one that includes both entrance fees; the lake-and-beach tour visits Melissani only and includes that ticket. Which includes what.