A WEEKEND IN CORFU

Just a direct flight away from many major European and UK cities, Corfu is a bustling island of varied landscape and rich history. Whether you are a foodie or an adventure seeker, follow along to discover the best restaurants and places to visit over a long weekend.

PALEOKASTRITSA

Basing ourselves in Corfu Old Town (Kerkyra), we headed to a Green Bus Stop (maximum 15 minute walk from wherever you will be staying in Old Town), and boarded the A9 bus due northwest to the rugged coastline of Paleokastritsa. With plenty of picturesque beaches and hidden coves, a water-bug like me was fizzing to get on, then off a boat, into the crystal clear waters of the area. Fair warning, the ocean here was much colder than other parts of the Ionian Islands (later blog posts to come), but with an air temperature of 30°C, this lended to refreshing dips in the salty sea.

Carefully following our blue dot on Google Maps, we disembarked the bus at La Grotta Bay, a neat little cove from where we rented a motor boat for the day. We stocked up on snacks at the nearby supermarket (200m south of the bus stop) and headed down 140 steps to the small rocky beach. Complete with its own lounge/pub, diving board, and various rocks to jump from, you can easily spend an hour or two here, or alternatively, hire a boat from Michalas Boat Rentals to explore the nearby caves and beaches. The A9 bus takes you all the way to the Monastery of Paleokastritsa from where there are beautiful coastal views. 2.5€ cash one way

After some quick instructions on how to drive the boat, we made a beeline to Paradise Beach (also known as Homos in Greek) with its wonderful towering cliff face, full of diagonal bedding. There are some larger caves to explore in this area and the water is incredibly clear as the beach is stony. There are plenty of large rocks leading right up to the beach so do take care when anchoring up and try to find a patch of smaller stones/pebbles/sand.

Taking the boat to the southernmost boundary, we stopped at Kolovri Island for a snorkel swim stop. As Robyn tells it, you can see almost 20 metres underwater where the rock drops off and plenty of fish. We continued back up the coastline, manoeuvring into various coves and caves until choosing Limni for our lunch stop. There are staircases at many of the beaches along this coast that lead up to a main road, so if you prefer to stay in the area and explore by car and foot, it’s a good alternative to the busier Old Town centre.

We ended our rental session at the northernmost boundary in Agios Petros Bay, at the foot of the cliff where the monastery is perched. From here back to La Grotta, there are many hotels with private access down to the rocky coves, and beaches where you can rent kayaks. It cost us 50€ to have the boat until 4pm, and we used 20€ (2€/L) worth of petrol to zip around the entire area from Kolovri Island to Agios Petros Bay

KERKYRA (Corfu Old Town)

Now here is where I get into the nitty gritty of food recommendations, wooo! We stayed in Airbnb’s at both ends of the Old Town that I can recommend, the first, a 2 bedroom apartment for four people with THE MOST accomodating host. Athina helped us organise airport/port transfers and car rental, and was always just a moment away on the Airbnb app. We found a hole-in-the-wall cafe around the corner selling the best chocolate croissants I have ever ingested (crispy/glazed on the outside and warm and soft on the inside) for 1.4€ called Bread and Coffee.

The second Airbnb for eight people was located in the Liston Square area, steps away from the Old Fortress. This spacious 4 bedroom apartment has its own rooftop patio in the heart of the city, and a taxi line for your convenience at Liston Square. Both apartments have a washing machine (perfect post-sailing!), and are a short walk to two highly recommended restaurants, Salto Wine Bar and The Venetian Well. You MUST try the ‘Haloumi Saganaki with Pistachio Crust and Honey’ at Salto, where we had an accomodating and knowledgeable waiter, and although The Venetian Well is harder to locate through a maze of narrow streets, for the same reason, the quiet alfresco setting is just perfect – as is ALL the food. Expect to pay ~30€ and ~50€ for two courses and a drink at the respective restaurants, with the latter bringing out gazpacho, an amuse bouche, bread with dip and a small dessert free of charge 🙂

There are so many coffee and ice-cream shops in the Old Town, with some standouts being Mikro Cafe (a local favourite) and Papagiorgis (ice-cream, cakes and local treats). An early morning freddo espresso just can’t be beat! When you have finished shopping and wandering the many streets and alleyways, head on over to the Old Fortress (6€ entry), climb to the highest point, and check out the view of Old Town in its entirety.

SIDARI, CAPE DRASTIS & LOGAS BEACH

We set our sights on the northern tip of Corfu and hired a car to explore the impressive beaches and cliffs this region has to offer. Sidari has a laidback beach vibe with tourists spotted ambling down various dead end streets to find their own piece of paradise. Canal d’Amour is perhaps the most famous beach, with plenty of spots to cliff jump off, followed by a swim through a cave or the canal itself. A tad crowded and overpriced, we headed back to the main street for lunch at a kitschy traditional Greek restaurant called Katerina’s Taverna. The host and setting were lovely, and the food simple, fresh and tasty.

A ways to the west lies Cape Drastis, with its dramatic views and semi-steep walk down to the bay. This is a popular spot for hiring a motor boat for the day, as there is plenty of interesting coastline to explore. Further south is Logas Beach, a sandy orange beach backed up by some steep, white-stone cliffs. Also known as Sunset Beach, the cliff-top restaurant there offers panoramic views at dusk with a drink and some grub in hand.

AFIONAS

We continued our narrow and windy road trip up to Afionas, a picturesque mountain-top town with hiking trails down to a double bay. With limited street parking in what appears to be an on-foot only town, we parked our rental at a makeshift and manned carpark for 4€, a few hundred metres down the hill. Tip: we discovered a road to the left of the yellow house at the entrance to the town that leads all the way to a small carpark at the top of the hill (where the hiking trails begin).

The town itself has a few restaurants and modest properties with beautifully manicured plants and gardens. The hiking trail forks with a sign pointing down to the double bay/Porto Timoni, with the right hand trail climbing gradually to a sketchy lookout point. Both trails are slightly overgrown with prickly bushes and the odd rock here and there, so mind your step!

Corfu is a great jumping-off point for boarding a sail boat or ferry to explore the Ionian Islands, or a flight via Athens to visit many of the other beautiful Greek Islands. Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts on sailing around the islands and Kefalonia, as well as the Corfu video 🙂

Approximate transfer costs between Corfu Airport and Corfu Old Town are 1.2€ for the Blue Bus, or 15-20€ for a taxi.

Our 5-door hatchback car rental (automatic transmission) for the day (12 hours) was 80€.