Corfu is a Greek island off the south west coast of Albania (just 30 minutes by fast ferry from Sarande) and a world away from the popular and glamorous Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini we have previously visited further south. Still great food, same stunning coastlines, same relaxed Greek approach to life…….but different. After seven days of navigating most of the island and splitting our accommodation into two areas its fair to say that there is a pocket of Corfu for everyone, and you really need to pick the right spot for you (hint: we didn’t!) to get the best out of it.
Like Bali in our own backyard, Corfu attracts all types: you can spend up big on accom if you want, or go budget. You can get away from the crowds in a secluded rural spot or get in amongst it with bars, nightclubs and neon lights. There are a number of low cost airlines that fly direct to the island from all over Europe, and also the all-inclusive travel companies which are huge in Europe who take care of flights, transfers, hotels and in some cases food options too. This type of tourism can result in small enclaves of nationalities all camped together in a particular town and as it turned out we spent our first few nights in ‘Little Britian’ in the north coast town of Sidari.
A bit like how we imagine Kuta to be (based on what we have read – haven’t been) it was cheap booze, loud karaoke bars and bad souvenirs and dominated by UK passport holders (even the workers!). The north coast beaches were not the best we found on the island but the food was good and the cocktails cheap so we were not complaining.
Our second accomodation option was on the mid west coast on what is alleged to be the #1 beach on the island – Glyfada Beach. Much quieter than Sidari and with a gorgeous sandy beach, we had arrived in the Deutsch pocket of Corfu. Glyfada is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to Sidari – there were about four restauarants to choose from and after the day trippers had gone we guessed about 100 people were staying in the beachside resorts (three in total). It was a little too quiet for our liking being end of September, but it got us an upgrade to a seaview room so again, not complaining!
Corfu is definitely a destination that requires a car for at least a few days, and for three days with wheels we managed to cover most of the island. It was on these adventures we found the really good stuff – stunning beaches (generally the entire west coast), a cliff-side bar for sunset views, and other towns that for us had the perfect combination of great beach, good nightlife and accommodation. As it turned out in the last few hours of our 7th and final day we found our winner – Agios Gordios on the mid west coast. If we find ourselves back on the island one day this is where we would be staying.
The old town of Corfu (or Kerkyra as the greeks call it) is also worth a look and offers so many choices of restaurants and hotels. The streets are typical Mediterranean with beautiful coloured buildings and washing hanging out high above the laneways, and its a very popular cruise ship port. On one day we counted four large ships in the harbour which means way too many tour groups blindly wandering around for our liking but its a lovely little city.
We did have a great week here – the sun was out, the ocean was still warm enough to swim in and of course there was the Greek food. It’s impossible to believe that there could ever be a time when you can get over eating moussaka, saganaki, gyros and kleftiko. The Greeks may not be at the forefront of bathroom plumbing, but they sure can cook! Our fave Greek island adventures are still down south but Corfu, you were alright.
This week signified the end of our Euro-Summer for 2016: for 3 months we have soaked up the sun, battled the crowds and had an absolute blast. Now the bikinis are packed away and the sun baking mats have been discarded. Next stop is Italia where the Festival of Andrew will take place!
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