Skala's fishing harbour became a departure point for coastal excursions in 1987, the year the Melissani Cave lake reopened to commercial boat traffic after a decade of geological surveys. The village sits at the southern tip of Kefalonia, where the Ionian coastline curves west toward Mounda Bay and the protected nesting beaches of the loggerhead turtle. By the early 1990s, local operators were running half-day circuits to Ithaca's Vathy harbour and full-day sailings north to Fiskardo, the only Kefalonian settlement to survive the 1953 earthquake with its Venetian architecture intact. Today, kefalonia boat trips from skala depart from the same stone jetty that once served sponge divers, most leaving between 09:00 and 09:30 to catch the morning light on the Drogarati Cave entrance and the turquoise stillness inside Melissani's collapsed dome. The routes divide into coastal circuits and island crossings. Coastal trips hug the eastern shore, stopping at the Blue Caves near Cape Mounta, where sunlight refracts through submerged limestone arches, and the beach at Antisamos, recognisable from the 2001 film Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Island crossings sail west across the three-kilometre channel to Ithaca, Homer's contested home of Odysseus, where the harbour at Vathy opens onto a fjord-like bay lined with neoclassical mansions in ochre and rose. A smaller number of operators run northern routes past Poros and Sami to Myrtos Beach, the white-pebble cove hemmed by cliffs that drop 300 metres from the Ainos mountain ridge. Most boats are wooden kaiki, traditional Greek fishing vessels between eight and twelve metres, repurposed with bench seating and canvas awnings. A few operators use rigid inflatables for cave access, where the kaiki draft is too deep for the Melissani entrance. Skala beach boat tours typically include a Melissani Lake visit, though cave access depends on swell conditions at the collapsed roof opening; the lake sits 20 metres below sea level, fed by underground channels that run beneath the Ainos range. Lunch is served on deck or at a harbour taverna in Fiskardo or Vathy, usually grilled octopus, horiatiki salad, and Robola wine from the Omala valley vineyards. Return legs often detour past Zola Beach and the sea caves at Skala's northern headland, where monk seals were sighted as recently as 2022. September and early October bring calmer seas and thinner crowds, though water temperature remains above 23°C through mid-October. The departure jetty is 150 metres south of Skala's main beach; most boats moor stern-to along the harbour wall, boarding directly from the quay.