July trip to Corfu. With love in Corfu - our honeymoon trip

"The green island was unknown,
We can't reach people's minds
It consisted of white spots,
From bright white, like nowhere else.
Everything around is very simple:
Grass, words, smiles, work...
And I'm flying to a wonderful island,
It's like I was born here...

Despite repeated visits to this green Greek island, reminiscent of a boomerang in shape (perhaps as a symbol of the fact that many who have been on its shores are returning back), it was always good here, as once in childhood in Gelendzhik and Evpatoria: a lot of pleasant impressions , lack of fuss and importunity, measured life, pleasant surroundings, mild climate (especially in spring and autumn), impressive landscapes, historical sites and many other things, as well as something that cannot be expressed and described, and which looks like a sweet dream before the moment awakenings, unclear haze, light fog, pink halo, which are both outside and inside, and which is very individual for the sensations of each person, and therefore it is not desirable and impossible to impose, since everyone has his own perception and vision of what he needs and what he wants, with a certain inner mood, for some important event, especially such an important one as organizing his personal vacation in only once or twice a year.

Practical points

What a tourist wants now, planning his vacation somewhere abroad: 100% certainty that he or she will be where he or she wants and receive the agreed amount of standard and additional services for a certain amount. The standard algorithm of actions is often the following: choosing a place, then a reliable tour operator, and the tour operator himself offers his options. A proven, well-known and often well-working method. But, having visited Corfu for the first time, I saw that the vast majority of middle-income people from all over Europe choose a different path, especially after the unification of Europe and the disappearance of visas. Tourists, if they like it somewhere, simply look for a private person, look at the place of their future residence, agree and go there next year. People have been resting in Corfu this way for probably 20-25 years, since almost all 100% of the population provide housing and other services. With a population of 110 thousand, Corfu is visited by more than 1 million tourists every year, and most of them choose private tourism. I myself saw that the vast majority of tourists (especially from nearby Italy) organize their holidays in this way. Several colleagues or a whole department gather and go all together, or just the two of them in their car. It's easy, as huge ferries run regularly to Corfu from Italy, the Greek mainland, and elsewhere. By the way, therefore, when renting a car, you can visit neighboring places in Italy and other parts of Greece.

What do tourists get from such a holiday? The ability to fully plan their travel budget and get everything they need without overpaying. What are the risks for tourists? Western tourists are practically nothing, since the competition for tourists who have already arrived on the island is quite high, and this makes it necessary to keep the standard level of services at the level of a good 3-star hotel: a small, clean room for two beds, cleaned every 2-3 days, shower, toilet, kitchen with a refrigerator, electric stove and other accessories, a fan or an air conditioner that can be switched off, a cozy balcony and often a small green courtyard, and sometimes a pool. Private pools are provided in villas with a high level of service. For the most part, you can use the nearby public pools near the apartments and studios for free. The price for such standard services is from 25 to 40 euros per day for a room for two people (where, as a rule, you can put an extra bed for a child) and depends on the height of the season, location and ambitions of the owners. The highest prices in the north of the island are near the village of Paleokastritsa, where it is really a very picturesque place where older tourists are taken by bus. But no less picturesque is a less noisy place 11 km from Paleokastritsa - Agios Georgios Pagon. It is quite difficult to find advertisements for such places on the Internet. There are many ads on the Russian Internet for standard hotels and villas, starting from 150 euros per day.

Resting in Corfu, I talked a little with a former fisherman and peasant (people there are very sociable and pleasant everywhere), who abandoned his former occupation and built 2 small houses for 12-14 people each 20 m from the sea in a very picturesque place. He did not have a car, not even a computer, a fax, but only a telephone and an old tractor. He himself built these houses for 3 or 4 years. I regretted then that I did not stay with him. A very beautiful and quiet place (cars practically did not reach there, which was a rarity for the place where I lived), although somewhat in a Spartan style, which did not bother the Italian tourists who come to him every year mainly for underwater fishing. And not without success. There is a problem here (and not only with this fisherman): the level of English knowledge is often low, although of course they do not think so, and because of this it is not easy to understand them. But all this is more than offset by the warmth and cordiality of relations.

Green hills near Agios Georgios Pagon

Long and wide sandy beach in Agios Georgios Pagon

Problems and Solutions

There are a number of problems for Russian tourists. You can offer specific advice and recommendations for solving them, conduct preliminary negotiations with the owner of the chosen house (apartment, villa) to clarify all the most insignificant nuances of the peculiarities of living in each place.

Visas

If the owner of a villa or apartment (or the manager of several private villas) has his own company registered and is known at the Greek consulate in Moscow, then obtaining all the necessary documents from him for subsequent obtaining visas in Moscow is not a problem, as a rule, after an advance payment of approximately 25% tour. There are different managers and managers in relation to tourists. It is no secret that tourists often have additional questions about living conditions, the condition of individual rooms in an apartment or villa, the condition of furniture, kitchen, bathroom and toilet, etc. Often the photos of the respective villas have not been updated for years. Not every manager will be in a hurry to update photos or answer all boring questions in detail and thoroughly and spend enough time on each client. I know a manager (who is the owner of one of the villas) who treats such work conscientiously and very carefully.

Obtaining all the necessary documents for obtaining a visa from a private trader who rents out one of his houses for tourists is more difficult. This host just needs to know how to properly arrange all the necessary documents for an invitation. In addition, he must and want to do it. Not all private traders are interested in drawing up such documents for various reasons. Western tourists have not needed any visas for many years, there are many of them, there is no additional work with them. Only one phone call is needed to confirm the agreement. For repeat and frequent tourists, often the hosts do not require any advance payment. It is not uncommon for tourists to tell the host at the end of their holiday when and for how many weeks they will return to him for the next season. I know private traders who can quickly issue such documents for obtaining a visa. I also know private traders who trust Russian tourists so much that they do not take any advance payment. Full payment occurs upon arrival.

After receiving all the documents from the owner or manager and filling in all the necessary documents and submitting them to the consulate, as it is proposed to do here - http://www.greek.ru, all tourists receive visas every other day. The cost of a Greek visa for April 2011 is 35 euros. There is a lot of talk in the press and among politicians at the beginning of each tourist season about a significant simplification of the procedure for obtaining a Greek visa. But so far, little has changed.

Photo of a Russian passport with a Greek visa

Flights

Arterial flights for the next season to Corfu are usually formed in February-March. In general, airfare prices have been rising strongly or not so much every season for the last 3-4 years due to oil price fluctuations. In addition, all sorts of airport and fuel surcharges and so on are introduced. But, I believe that the price will fluctuate in the most optimistic case from 240 to 280 euros 1-1.5 months before departure (round trip for one person). A few days before departure, it can reach up to 400 euros and more, especially during the Easter and May holidays. This price is offered by some well-known tour operators working with Greece. There are not so many companies from which you can privately purchase tickets for charter flights at normal prices in Moscow, but they do exist. And often these firms are different, that is, there is no stability. Most of them prefer to work with large tour operators. Of course, you can easily buy tickets for a regular direct (or with a stop in Athens) flight from them, but this will often be much more expensive for private traders. For tourists from St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk and northwestern Russia, it is easier and cheaper (often much cheaper) to fly via Helsinki.

To buy air tickets from Moscow (and neighboring regions - 200-300 km), you can offer sites such as www.chartex.ru, (affordable, but not the cheapest tickets), www.skyexpress.ru (here charter flights appear somewhere - then in May-June, unlike the charter, where they appear much earlier), or the Greek airline Aegean Airlines (www.aegeanair.com - usually with a stop in Athens, but there are also direct flights). Russian representative of SkyExpress and Aegean Airlines of Labyrinth and SkyLink (SkyLink). But you can buy air tickets on your own, then only after choosing a place of residence and an agreement with the owner in Corfu, as a rule, after an advance payment of 25% of the cost of renting accommodation.

The minimum prices for tickets to Corfu (round trip) in the 2010 season at SkyExpress were 280 euros per adult with a refund after 2 weeks, 340 euros after 4 weeks. With a return after more than 4 weeks, tickets can be purchased from Aegean Airlines for around 100 euros on top of their standard price. Chartex only sells tickets with returns after 1 or 2 weeks. Last flight from Corfu via chartex on 2 or 10 October. As it is right for the last flight, you need to book tickets in advance, due to high demand. But you can find flights of other airlines that take off later. It is advisable to redeem such tickets for 1.5-2 months.

There is an opportunity to buy very cheap air tickets (50-100 euros round trip) in the middle of the season, when various Russian companies often arrange a kind of sale, after they often raise prices to heaven, scaring off all tourists. But, for such tickets you need “ hunt” on the Internet (sold within 15-20 minutes) and the flight is very inconvenient: landings and long waits in 1-2 places in different parts of Europe. The flight therefore often takes the whole day. This option is not suitable for a large family with small children.

Under the wing of the plane, the green sea of ​​olives sings about something ...

In general, a little effort and every Russian tourist has the opportunity to fly over green Corfu like this:

Just over a minute before boarding...

Accommodations

For studios and apartments everything is more or less standard. The owners try not to annoy their guests. Rooms are cleaned regularly (1-2 times a week) and towels and bed linen are changed. This is a standard service and everything is well established. It is better to unobtrusively discuss the question of the regularity of cleaning with the owner at the meeting. For a small child, all the owners put small beds in the room. The kitchen has everything you need for self-catering.

In order for everything to go smoothly, quickly, it is advisable to start acting in advance: 2-3 months before the intended departure. If the rest is planned in September-October: then everything should start in April-May. If in May, then in January, February.

Problems exist. But they, with a certain perseverance of the tourist, are completely solvable. Those who wish can see photos and descriptions of various types of housing (link to a file hosting service on request at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it), as well as discuss everything in detail and ask any questions on the merits e-mail or SKYPE.

Below are some photos just for example.
You can live in such conditions - at a price of more than about 100 euros or more per day of rent ...

And in such more modest, but no less worthy conditions for only 30 (35 euros in August) euros for two:

Transfer, communication, English and Greek

And so, the tourist looks, asks, thinks, makes a decision, chooses the time and place of rest in Corfu. Negotiations are held with the owner of the house, then air tickets are purchased (see above), consultations are given on the peculiarities of living in a certain place: its pros and cons. The owner sends all documents for obtaining a visa according to the passports of tourists or, if the owner has a registered company, the selected place is simply booked after paying 25% of the cost of housing. Some owners of companies make advance reservations within 3-5 days without payment, but then this payment must be made later. The owner, or a taxi driver hired by him, will meet tourists at the airport, and also take them out on the day of departure to the airport. The cost of transferring a standard car from the airport to the extreme points of the island (35-40 km) is 45 euros. It is possible that tourists themselves can drive home in a pre-rented car. Tourists pay the rest of the money (75%) for accommodation to the owner in Corfu. You can get a check from him. In the process of staying with the owner, in case of any insoluble problems (very unlikely), you can safely contact him. Tourists will have all contact details. An IP-telephony card costing 4-6 euros made it possible to talk with Moscow - 35-40 minutes (2006). Cell phone calls will be more expensive. Most hosts provide Internet access services. The island has the ability to connect to high-speed Wi-Fi internet up to 8 Mb / s. The possibility of working at the place of residence via Wi-Fi Internet and the speed of work must be clarified separately.

Of course, it is desirable that the tourist knows English at least at the minimum school level. This will make life much easier. In Corfu, a law has been passed, according to which, any person providing various services for tourists is required to pass an English proficiency test. And this provision is being fulfilled. And if a tourist can say a few sentences in Greek, then any host will be simply delighted with this, and various pleasant gifts and additional communication with him are guaranteed to the tourist! Therefore, if there is a desire to learn 100-200 Greek phrases, then see the relevant useful links in the subsection Greek language this site in the culture section.

When considering the money issue, the maximum savings are obtained with a longer stay, given the fact that the products on the local market are better and cheaper than in Moscow. Not to mention the air, the sea and everything else. Savings are already noticeable with a 3-week stay and significant for a stay of more than 4 weeks.

Cozy cottage surrounded by greenery

Transport rental

To orfu - a small island. Its length is about 70 km, width - from 20 (in the north) to 4 km (in the south). There are many roads, most of them of good quality, but there are many others, so you should be very careful. There are detailed maps and at each fork there are a lot of pointers where everything is located. It is advisable to rent a scooter with an engine capacity of 49.9 cm3. To ride such a scooter, you need a regular car license. Ordinary Russian rights are suitable (data as of April 2011). The scooter can be re-equipped - an additional plastic box (coffer) can be installed, which will make it possible to load it additionally and the passenger can lean on this box. Pros: low fuel consumption, on a flat track it goes - 60-70 km / h, uphill, however, - 20-30 km / h, it does not accelerate so quickly, but this is an important safety moment. No problems with parking, unlike cars. When traveling in mountainous areas, you must of course calculate the time so as not to drive in the mountains in the dark: this is very unsafe.

The "correct" rental price for such a scooter is 10 euros per day for a rental period of more than 10 days. I can advise where it can be ordered and agreed in advance. Driving a scooter with a certain skill is no more difficult than a bicycle - an automatic transmission and an electronic starter. But the first 2-3 days you need to get used to the features and its driving and local roads. I have seen large groups of people traveling and quite happy. Driving a scooter of this size would require a regular driver's license. For a scooter with an engine capacity of more than 49.9 cm 3 - the right to drive a motorcycle.
See how Corfu in the Lacones area can look like from the driver's seat when driving down the mountain to Paleokastirica - culture-Climate, nature and spirit of Corfu - Green Corfu in the northwest video clip section "On a scooter in Corfu".

Some owners, in addition to renting housing, also offer car rentals (both large and small) at very affordable prices. For example, renting such category B cars Hyundai Getz, Daewoo Matiz, Pegeuot 107 5, all 5 doors, air conditioning for a rental period of 13 days in July-August will cost 33 euros per day.

Can you rent a car

Or this scooter

Travel on a comfortable green KTEL bus

Suddenly you forgot your rights at home,
Or the rain will charge
That bus at San Rocco will defuse the situation.
Save a hundred euros
Everything everywhere you look around
And save your nerves.

It happens that some of the potential tourists do not have the opportunity to rent a car, but want to see everything on their own, without organized tours. That's what green buses are for. These long-distance buses usually leave at 9 am. For more information about the bus schedule and photo impressions of one tourist, see. Many thanks to this tourist for this work! Knowing the schedule of such buses, you can travel around Corfu without renting a car and a scooter, and thus saving money on rent and, to some extent, your nerves when driving in traffic jams at the entrance to Kerkyra in the morning. Although I really like traveling on a scooter. You go wherever you want. Feeling of freedom and joy from direct communication. But of course, you should be careful and not particularly turn your head around while driving, as this is best done on the bus. By the way, I would like to note that such buses also depart from my beloved Agios Georgios Pagon in the northwest.

With this schedule, any tourist can easily plan his trips around Corfu. Of course, it is best to do this when setting off from Corfu. Although, of course, you need to remember the time of departure of the bus and hope that the driver will arrive at the right point on schedule, and will not forget to pick you up in some small village on Friday evening at the end of the working day!

I decided to give the bus schedule anyway, just in case the above page disappears. It should only be taken into account that there are changes in the schedule, as for our Moscow trains. It is better to check possible changes near the bus station. The bus station is located near the walls of the new fortress. Approximately here - 39°37"29.68"N 19°54"51.57"E.

Green buses KTEL

"Western part of Corfu

Afionas, Arillas. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 05.15, 14.00. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 06.30, 15.30. There is no bus on weekends. Ticket - 3.60 euros.

Agios Georgios north (ton Pagon). From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 06.15, 09.00, 13.30, 16.30. Sat: 09.00, 16.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 07.20, 10.15, 14.45, 17.30. Sat: 10.15, 17.30. There are no buses on Sundays. Ticket -3.30 euros.

Paleokastritsa. From Kerkyra to Paleokastritsa: Mon-Sat: 8.30, 9.00, 11.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.00, 18.00. Sun: 10.30, 16.00. Return flights from Paleokastritsa to Kerkyra: Mon-Sat: 09.15, 09.45, 11.45, 12.45, 14.45, 16.45, 18.45. Sun: 11.15, 16.45. There is also a bus that leaves in the morning from Paleokastritsa to the city at about 7 am, but it is not on the schedule. The ticket costs 2.1 euros. The same bus can take you to Liapades (stop at the fork 1.5 km from the village and 3.5 km from the beach). You can leave Liapades for Kerkyra at 07.15 (07.20) from the bus stop in the village, or later from the Liapades-Paleokastritsa junction.

glyfada. From Corfu: Mon-Sat: 09.00, 11.00, 14.30, 16.30. Sun: 11.00, 12.00, 13.00, 16.30, 17.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Sat: 09.45, 11.45, 15.15, 17.15. Sun: 11.45, 12.45, 13.45, 17.15, 18.15. Ticket -2 euros.

Ermones. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 09.00, 14.30, 16.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 10.00, 15.00, 17.00. There is no bus on weekends. Ticket - 2 euros.

Agios Gordis. From Corfu: Mon-Sat: 08.15, 09.15, 14.30, 17.30. Sun: 09.30, 13.00, 17.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Sat: 09.00, 10.00, 15.15, 18.15. Sun: 10.15, 13.45, 18.15. Ticket -2 euros. This bus goes through Sinarades, so you can get off there, visit the folklore museum (open from 09.30 to 14.00, except Mondays), then take a walk to Agios Gordis, taking colorful photos along the way, swim on the beach and return to Corfu.

Northeast Corfu

Cassiopi. From Kerkyra to Kassiopi: Mon-Fri: 05.30, 09.00, 12.15, 14.30, 16.30. Sat: 05.30, 09.00, 14.30, 16.30. Sun: 09.30. Return flights from Kassiopi to Kerkyra: Mon-Fri: 07.15, 10.30, 13.45, 6.15, 17.30. Sat: 07.15, 10.30, 16.15, 17.30. Sun: 17.00. Ticket - 3.2 euros.

A very beautiful road, past the picturesque Gouvia, Dassia, Ipsos, Pirgi, Barbati, Nissaki, Kendroma, Kulura, Kalami, Agni. You can get off at any of the above places. You need to find out in advance how you can then get back to Corfu or to your place of residence at the bus station.

The bus schedule for the Kassiopi-Sidari route may vary depending on the high/low season, so it is best to check the schedule obtained at the bus station. Last year's schedule at the beginning of June:

From Sidari in Kassiopi: Mon-Sun: 11.30, 16.00. Return from Kassiopi to Sidari: Mon-Sun: 10.15, 15.15. Ticket - about 3 euros.

Barbati. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 09.00, 12.15, 14.30, 16.30. Sat: 6 09.00, 14.30, 16.30. Sun: 9.30. Return from Barbati to Kerkyra: Mon-Fri: 10.50, 14.05, 16.45, 17.45. Sat: 10.50, 16.45, 17.45. Sun: 17.45. Ticket - 2 euros.

Pirgi, Ipsos. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 06.45, 09.00, 10.30, 12.15, 14.00, 14.30, 16.00, 16.30, 20.00. Sat: 05.30, 09.00, 10.30, 14.30, 16.30, 20.00. Sun: 09.30, 10.30, 12.00, 18.00. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 07.30, 09.00, 11.00, 12.45, 14.15, 16.30, 18.00, 20.30. Sat: 07.30, 09.30, 11.00, 16.45, 18.00, 20.30. Sun: 11.00, 12.30, 17.45, 18.30. Ticket -1.40 euros.

Ag. Ilias. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 05.30, 09.00, 12.15, 14.30. Sat: 05.30, 09.00, 14.30. Sun: 09.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 07.00, 10.15, 13.30, 16.00. Sat: 07.15, 10.15, 16.15. Sun. 17.00. Ticket - 3.40 euros.

Northern part of Corfu

Rhoda, Acharavi. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 05.30, 09.00, 11.00, 14.00, 16.00, 20.00. Sat: 06.00, 09.00, 11.00, 14.00, 16.00, 20.00. Sun: 09.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 06.55, 10.30, 12.15, 15.15, 17.15, 21.15. Sat: 07.00, 10.30, 12.30, 15.15, 17.15, 21.15. Sun: 17.15. Ticket -3.3 euros.

The bus that goes from Kassiopi to Sidari stops at Roda and Acharavi.

Sidari. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 05.15, 09.00, 11.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.00, 20.00. Sat: 05.15, 09.00, 11.00, 14.00, 16.00, 20.00. Sun: 09.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 07.00, 11.00, 12.00, 13.45, 16.00, 18.00, 21.00. Sat: 07.00, 11.00, 12.00, 16.00, 18.00, 21.00. Sun: 17.30. Ticket is 3 euros.

You can get to Sidari from Kassiopi directly (without a change in Corfu) (this schedule may vary depending on the month, you need to check at the bus station). Mon-Sun: 10.15, 15.15. Return from Sidari to Kassiopi: Mon-Sun: 11.30, 16.00. Ticket - about 3 euros.

Agios Stefanos. From Corfu: Mon-Sat: 05.15, 09.00, 14.00, 16.00. Sun: 09.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Sat: 06.30, 10.45, 15.45, 17.45. Sun: 17.00. Ticket - 3.70 euros. The tourist has a suspicion that this bus goes through Sidari, so you can check at the kiosk. And perhaps, on it you can also get to Peroulades and the fork in the road to Cape Drastis.

Southern part of Corfu

messongs. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 10.00, 11.30, 14.00, 15.30. Sat: 09.30, 11.30, 15.30. Sun: 05.00, 09.30, 15.30. Back to Kerkyra (Messonghi-Kerkyra Crossroads): Mon-Fri: 06.45, 08.35, 09.45, 10.15, 12.15, 13.45, 15.00, 16.00, 17.45, 19.45, 21.45. Sat: 06.45, 08.35, 09.45, 10.15, 11.45, 13.45, 16.00, 17.45, 21.45. Sun: 06.45, 11.45, 17.45. Ticket -2 euros.

Agios Georgios South (Argyrades). From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 09.00, 16.30. Back to Kerkyra Mon-Fri: 10.00, 17.30, No bus on Sundays. Ticket -2.60 euros.

Sparter. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 05.00, 15.00. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 06.15, 16.30. There are no buses on weekends. Ticket - 4 euros.

Kavos. From Corfu: Mon-Fri: 05.00, 06.15, 08.15, 10.00, 11.30, 12.30, 14.00, 15.30, 17.30, 20.00. Sat: 05.00, 06.15, 09.30, 11.30, 14.00, 15.30, 20.00. Sun: 05.00, 09.30, 15.30. Back to Corfu: Mon-Fri: 06.15, 07.50, 09.45, 11.30, 13.00, 14.00, 15.30, 17.00, 19.00, 21.30. Sat: 06.15, 07.15, 11.00, 13.00, 15.30, 17.00, 21.30. Sun: 06.15, 11.00, 17.00. Ticket - 4 euros.

Where else can you get on the "green" buses, except for the above places:

Sinarades- Corfu-Agios Gordis bus. There is also such a schedule of buses going to Sinarades (but I can’t vouch for the reliability!): Mon-Fri: 07.15, 08.15, 13.30, 14.45, 17.30, 20.00. Sat: 07.15, 14.45. Return: Mon-Fri: 07.45, 08.45, 14.00, 15.15, 18.00, 20.30. Sat: 07.45, 15.15.

Agni, Kalami, Kulura, Kendroma, Barbati, Ipsos, Nissaki– Corfu-Kassiopi bus.

Lefkimmi– Corfu-Kavos bus.

trumbet– by bus Kerkyra-Sidari, Kerkyra-Agios Georgios ton Pagon.

Liapades– by bus Kerkyra-Paleokastritsa (stop on the highway 1.5 km from the village and 3.5 km from the beach)

blue buses

Stop at San Rocco Square.

These buses run to nearby Kerkyra routes. Tickets can be bought at a kiosk at the station or at kiosks and supermarkets along the route; tickets are not sold on the bus itself. It makes sense to buy a return ticket at once.

Bus number 2. Kanoni-Manduki(circular). It does not depart from San Rocco Square itself, but from a stop on Alexandras Street, where the post office and police are located (for reference), 200 meters from the square). The bus departs every 30 minutes from 06.30 to 22.00 (Mon-Fri), on Saturdays from 06.30 to 14.30 every half an hour, then once an hour. On Sundays - once an hour from 09.30 to 21.30.

You can take it to the observation deck overlooking Pontikonissi and Blachernae, the Mon Repos Palace (Paleopolis Museum and excavations in the park and the surrounding area). Ticket - about 1 euro one way.

It is convenient to take this bus to the observation deck in Kanoni, and return back to the center of Corfu on foot, visiting the museum in Mon Repos on the way (open Tue-Sun from 08.30 to 15.00), excavations in the park next to the palace and visiting the Church of St. Jason and Sosipatros.

Bus number 3. Analipsis. Daily at 08.00, 10.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.30, 20.30. Return - 08.15, 10.15, 12.15, 14.15, 16.45, 20.45.

Bus number 4. Potamos, Europuli, Temploni. Mon-Sat: 06.00 (E), 06.40 (E,T), 09.00 (E), 10.30 (P), 11.30 (E), 13.00 (E), 14.30 (E,T), 16.00 (E), 18.15 ( E), 20.00 (E), 21.30 (E). Sun: 09.00 (E), 12.00 (E), 17.00 (E), 21.00 (E). Back in 30 minutes.

Bus number 5. Castellani, Couramades. Mon-Fri: 06.00, 07.00, 08.00, 09.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.15, 16.00, 18.00, 19.00. 21.00, 22.00. Sat: 07.00, 08.00, 09.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.15, 16.00, 18.00, 21.00. Sun: 07.00, 11.00, 14.00, 16.00, 18.00, 21.00. Back in 30 minutes.

Bus number 6. Perama, Benitses. Mon-Sat: 06.45, 08.00, 09.15, 10.30, 11.45, 13.30, 14.30, 15.45, 17.00, 18.15, 19.30, 20.45, 22.00. (Fewer buses Saturday pm.). Sun: 08.30, 10.30, 12.30, 14.30, 17.00, 20.00. Back in 30 minutes.

Bus number 7. Kontokali, Gouvia. Dasia. Mon-Sat: in the period from 07.00 to 09.00 - every half an hour, from 09.00 to 14.00 - every 20 minutes, from 14.00 to 22.30 - every 30 minutes. Sun: from 07.00 to 22.00 - every half an hour. Back in 30 minutes.

Bus number 8. Afra, Agios Ioannis. Mon-Sat: 06.15, 7.10, 08.00, 09.00, 11.00, 12.30, 13.15, 14.15, 15.15, 17.00, 19.10, 21.00, 22.30. Sun: 08.00, 11.00, 13.00, 15.15, 18.00, 20.00. Back in 20 minutes.

Bus number 10. Achilleion, Gastouri. Mon-Sat: 07.00, 10.00, 12.00, 14.00, 17.00, 20.00. Sun: 09.00, 13.00, 17.00, 19.00. Return - Mon-Sat: 07.20, 10.20, 12.20, 14.20, 17.20, 20.20. Sun: 09.20, 13.20, 17.20, 19.20. The museum is open daily from 09.00 to 18.00. Also, Achilleion can be reached from Benitses on foot (about 3 km, they say).

Bus number 11. Pelekas. Mon-Fri: 07.00, 10.00, 12.00, 14.15, 16.00, 18.00, 20.30. Sat: 07.00, 10.00, 12.00, 14.15. 17.00, 20.00. Sun: 10.00, 12.00, 17.00, 20.00. Return - Mon-Fri: 07.30, 10.30, 12.30, 14.45, 16.30, 18.30, 20.30. Sat: 07.30, 10.30, 12.30, 14.45, 17.30, 20.30. Sun: 10.30, 12.30, 17.30, 20.30.

The most convenient bus (No. 11) leaves from San Rocco Square at 10 am (the stop is on the right if you are facing the bus kiosk. You need to go to the opposite side of the square and walk a little in the direction of traffic to the Green Bus station (all stops have numbers buses and timetables).

Arriving in Pelekas, you can walk along its narrow streets and climb to the Kaiser's Throne, as well as go down to the Kontogyalos beach. But back you have to climb a steep mountain!

From the experience of a tourist: having arrived in Pelekas, you can go down to the beach, and only then take a walk along Pelekas, and go back to Kerkyra on a flight at 14.45. Even in Pelekas, small buses run from Kontogyalos beach to Pelekas and further to Glyfada. You can ask for the schedule (if it is not posted in the window) at the supermarket next to the bus stop in Corfu. Accordingly, from Glyfada you can get to Pelekas without stopping by Kerkyra.

The only thing is that this minibus (No. 11) runs at the height of the tourist season, and you can find out about its schedule only in Pelekas and Glyfada.

Bus number 14. Alepou, Kanalia, Kobitsi. Mon-Sat: 08.15, 13.50, 17.15, 20.00. Sun: 10.00, 13.50, 19.15. Back in 20 minutes."

I want to once again thank this tourist for all the research done on moving around Corfu on various buses. I am sure that this information will be useful for many Russian tourists.

Additional information on the conditions of short-term and long-term rental of housing in all areas of the island. Corfu (total 124 offers) can be obtained by downloading the file from the file hosting.

Here you can find both a description of various villas, apartments and studios in Corfu (of different price ranges: mainly from 30-45 euros to 90-120 euros per day of rent), as well as a more detailed description of my travels to Corfu with numerous photos, which can serve as a basis for organizing your own tourist excursions on this wonderful island! Specific prices are not indicated there, since rental prices can change every season, both downward and upward.

ATTENTION! Request the file address for uploading and the password at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with a brief summary of your wishes: the number of vacationers, the duration of the trip, whether you need a visa, assistance with air tickets, etc. .

Possibility to eat in some Corfu taverns at special prices

The opportunity to eat in Corfu in some taverns at special prices (30-40% lower than usual) looks somewhat unusual. But some tourists, living with private owners at home, would also like to eat like in good restaurants, or 4 or 5 star hotels, so as not to think every day what and where to get cheaper and then spend time cooking, instead of to enjoy the sunset on your balcony. Daily meals in various taverns are certainly a good option, but for a family of 5-6 people, it can be quite an expensive pleasure. Taking all this into account, a certain marketing survey was conducted among the owners of some taverns in the north of Corfu, which could receive guests on a regular basis (for example, as for a regular lunch (brunch) or dinner) and at the same time they would guarantee a price much lower than the prices given in their menu. The usual cost for an average dinner per adult is 18-25 euros. In the taverns indicated below, its cost will be from 12 to 15 euros, and for children under 11 years old - 6-7 euros. Here you can have lunch from 12:00 to 15:00 or dinner from 18:00 to 21:00. Breakfast is not provided here. The price includes the cost of appetizer, salad, main course and water. All these taverns are located in the north: in the villages of Astrakeri, Acharavi and Almiros, and the quality of their dishes was checked by a Greek living nearby in the village of Almiros. So, below are the names of these taverns (in English and Russian) and their coordinates according to the Google Earth program. For tourists who spend their holidays with private traders in these places, this may well serve as an alternative to eating in various taverns, or preparing dinner on their own. In this case, the family wallet will not suffer so much and time will be saved for other activities. Below are also pictures of some of the dishes from these taverns.

Acharavi settlement

Tavern Arnoea (Apnoea)- 39.797571N, 19.815801E
Lemon garden tavern- 39.791776N, 19.815425E
Tavern Pumpkin house (Pumphouse)- 39.791859N, 19.816208E
Grill-restaurant Filarakia (Filarakia grill-room)- 39.790515N, 19.812893E

Almiros village

Tavern Avra- 39.809243N, 19.833503E,
George Tavern-39.811987N,19.836969E
Tavern Zefiros (Zefyros)- 39.808021N, 19.837393E

Astrakeri village

Tavern Three brothers- 39.795245N,19.756755E, located right on the beach.

Photos of some dishes from the menu of the above taverns

Pastizada

pasticada

Moussaka in Greek

Grilled fish (dorado)

Pastizada

baked cheese

Sofrito

Spetzofai (Spetzofai)

Stifado

Braised zucchini

souvlaki

Frapzala (Trapsala)

Tzatziki
(sauce of Greek thick yogurt, pureed cucumber and garlic, poured with lemon juice!!)

Some names of Greek dishes, the subtleties of their preparation, the coordinates and features of the cuisine of some other taverns in Corfu with a brief overview can be found here.

Where to relax in Corfu with children

I accidentally found a very useful link for tourists vacationing with children. So in any case, the author positions his rather large and full of all sorts of very useful links with his comments, an article, to many of which there is nothing to add. In general, those who want to know where to go, when is the best time to go, how much it costs (possible discounts), how to get there, you should go here. All material is abundantly "fertilized" with a large number of links and original articles and photos. Below are all the points of her review. Each item in her review is disclosed to the maximum extent and is very interesting from both informational and cognitive points of view.

AQUAPARKS CORFU
Aqualand Aquapark (Agios Ioannis)
Waterpark "Hydropolis" (Acharavi)
Sidari Water Park (Sidari)

AMUSEMENT PARKS
Aladdin Children's Center in Kotokali
Children's amusement parks in Corfu Exhibition Center

*Children's shop Jumbo (Jambo)

CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUNDS

Cafe with playgrounds

Cafe "Monkey Business"
Cafe "Mistral Bar - Roda"
Cafe in Benitses

Playground at San Rocco Square (Corfu Town)
Playground at Spilia Square (Corfu Town)
Playground in the park "Bosketto" (Corfu Town)

ORGANIZATION OF CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS
Group "Puppet Magic" "Puppet Magic"

WATER TRIPS

Excursion from the Old Port on a boat with a transparent bottom "Calypso Star".
Walk to the island "Vido"
PALEOKASTRITSA
Boat trip through the grottoes of Paleokastritsa
5-hour excursion from the port of Paleokastritsa on the boat "Calypso Star".
Excursion from the port of Paleokastritsa on the yellow submarine "Sea Discovery"Monastery of the Virgin "Zoodochou Pigi" in Paleokastritsa
Kanoni Peninsula (5 km from Corfu)
RENT a boat, catamaran, canoe, etc.

HORSE RIDING

Sylvia Steen stable (The Silva Project) in Kanoni
Stable in the village of Ano Korakiana 4km from Dassia.
Stable of Dimitris (Dimitris horse riding) Kassiopi
Kostas Horse Riding Club in Roda Roda

Karting in Sidari
Kart Cross: Ropa's Valley near Ermones
Karting in Moraitika
Karting in Kavos

PAINBALL
Paintball in Dassia
Paintball in Kassiopi

MUSEUMS
Soap Museum in Corfu Town (Patounis Soap Factory)
The Sea Shell Museum
Achillion Palace
Folkloric Museum of Sinarades (The Folkloric Museum of Sinarades)
Folklore Museum of Acharavi
Costume Museum (Pelekas)
Olive Oil Museum in the village of Kinopiastis

FORTRESSES
Castles of Corfu Town
Fortress of Angelokastro
Fortress Gardiki
Fortress in Kassiopi

For all this information, I can only say a BIG THANK YOU to the author LeneCh and I can only add that much of the above will be guaranteed to be interesting not only for children, but also for many adult tourists who still retain curiosity and inquisitiveness with a childish outlook on life!

Corfu reviews

Review 1

This year, in the fall, from mid to late September, I spent a vacation with my family, my wife and three sons 15, 5 and 2 years old in Corfu. The impressions from the trip were the most wonderful.

What I would like to note right away is the unhurried and friendly lifestyle of the locals, which you get infected very quickly, you have enough time for everything at once, you manage to do everything, you are not in a hurry. Yes, and the difference with Moscow for an hour in time is somehow felt in profit, if I may say so.

The attitude towards Russians is good.

We lived in a bungalow in Arilas, a two-minute walk from the sea, to be honest, the distance from the sea is not very important when you relax, as they say savage.

So, a bungalow is three houses adjoining each other diagonally in each house there is a large kitchen of 17 meters with all the necessary attributes, a combined bathroom with a shower and hot water. Two bedrooms 14 meters each with full-wall windows simultaneously serving as a sliding door to the loggia, a rather large dining table on it. Beautiful roses climb onto the loggia as if visiting from the site.

All these houses stand on a fenced plot with exotic vegetation for a Muscovite, which is not annoying, but is also noticeably present. On the site there are a pair of handball goals in size, sun loungers, umbrellas, barbecue, balls, etc. All inclusive, moreover, there was a baby stroller, in my case it was very handy.

Practical advice that I could give or if I went there again.

1. I would immediately take a car at the airport (if I had ...) The roads are good traffic compared to Moscow, no, buying an inexpensive map, if you want, you won’t get lost, there is no dependence on one place, you have to go there to swim on different beaches, walk. In one day in different places there can be different water temperatures and calmness of the sea. The British, who live there for months, rent a car for the occasion or for an excursion or shopping. There are shops like Auchan in the capital, the difference in price is very different, it's really profitable once a week.

2. You need to take nonsense with you, for which there is a pity for money fumitoks, in my case coffee, tea, sugar porridge.

3. The weather during my stay there was wonderful, one day it was cloudy for half a day, the next day it was raining, but all this was before departure. The temperature according to the machine indicator was always 33-29 degrees, in the rain somewhere around 25-23. The heat is not felt all the time, a pleasant breeze blows, but the tan is instantly.

4. Children have never been sick for all the time, although they cannot be pulled out of the water. There are plenty of all kinds of entertainment in different places on the island. Pretty moderate prices.

5. You can cook at home tired, went to a restaurant, the prices are almost the same, but they cook where it’s delicious, somewhere it tastes so-so, there are no comrades for the color. You can find out for yourself by the number of visitors where it tastes better. Of course, you need to get to know people more than all the English there, so learning the language is very useful. There are few Russians, but there are.

6. Most of all, the costs were spent on the flight, about 30% of the funds for the rest, this problem must be solved in advance, it can fly through Finland, how else you have to think, it’s a pity for the money when you find out the flight from London exactly this distance costs 40 pounds there and back.

Most importantly, if you are in Corfu, be sure to venerate the relics of St. Spyridon, your vacation will be successful. For the entire time of your stay there, he will take care of you, and if you want to meet a Russian or you are lost, you will always meet a compatriot at the temple.

Review 2

Dear Valentine!

This is our second trip to this island. Two years ago we were on the island and lived in a hotel, but being tied to hotel life, and especially to his restaurant, is extremely inconvenient for us. Having once tried a vacation in an apartment in Spain, we came to the conclusion that this independence is much more convenient and cozier. And such a vacation is our option! ;))))

You, Valentin, have been very supportive of us, helped us orientate ourselves wonderfully. Thank you for keeping us "under your wing" of care and attention until the last moment.

The days spent on the island were very calm, carefree and happy for our whole family!

Arriving in Kerkyra, my family and I (me, husband and son 6 years old) immediately got into the car. It was very convenient that we booked a car in advance via the Internet. I am ashamed to admit that we do not speak foreign languages, but this did not create any difficulties with booking a car, as well as further stay on the island and communication with the local population and with the owners of the apartments where we stayed.

We lived in the north of the island. From the airport or from the capital of Corfu - it's one hour by car. The first time it was difficult to go, but taking a navigator with you is real. The road is beautiful, but there are quite sharp turns in the mountains, the road is narrow and taking into account that local young drivers are quite risky people, you need to drive carefully, not quickly and carefully! For the future, we decided to take into account the departure and arrival at the place so that we would be on the island during the daytime hours, and get to the place of residence during the daytime, without worries and without fatigue.

By agreement with the owner of the apartment, the meeting was scheduled at the villa where we were supposed to live. But getting a little lost, we called our hostess and said " sos » ;)))))) Sophia (that was the name of the hostess of the apartment) immediately realized that we were lost, and immediately came to our aid to take us home. The owners of the villa were very friendly people and not intrusive. However, like the rest of the local population.

The hostess Sofia was very attentive to the order and cleanliness in the apartment, as well as in the garden. Understanding our schedule, she came to us when we were not there so as not to disturb us. She very carefully changed all the linen and towels every three days, and also cleaned the whole house. For me, as a hostess, it was a very important moment! She and her husband also noticed that we were meat lovers and offered us a grill with firewood and coal. They put an umbrella for us in the yard by a table with chairs, and put a rocking chair in the garden for the child. Everything was simple, but so cute and cozy!

I wanted to walk through the places, the nature of which was colorfully described in Darrell's book "My Family and Other Animals", for a long time. But they took doubts: the island Corfu now it is a fashionable resort, and, judging by the reports of tourists, it should have more bars and discos than ancient olive groves and overgrown canals with turtles. Looking ahead, I’ll say that the island has an abundance of both: the question is who is looking for what. But it is better for a nature lover to fly to the island in the spring, before the start of the season. We chose the second half of April.

Almost immediately, a circular walking route was drawn: fly to Kerkyra, along the east coast in a few days to reach Kavos, walk radially along the practically uninhabited southern tip of the island and return back closer to the western coast. In terms of choosing places to spend the night, we were not tied to certain towns (Corfu is rather poor in cultural and historical sights), and therefore we were guided solely by the price, reasonable walking mileage per day, and in places - simply by the very fact of having places to sleep.

Vlaherna Monastery is located on a tiny island

Corfu airport is small. There are almost no high-speed routes here, and instead of using transport to Kerkyra, we went on foot - through the Vlaherna monastery to our first overnight stay in the town Perama. Kerkyra was hooked only by the edge, leaving the historical center for the last day. The quarters far from the center are quite cozy and moderately shabby. Tiny Blachernae Monastery consists of almost one church, occupying the entire island, connected to the shore by a dam. In the twilight, in a shrine closed with an old darkened glass, the famous icon is exhibited, and in the stones of the dam there are many crabs, from which the meaningful part of our journey began with a small photo hunt.

With the exception of large settlements and some highways, the shops on the island are sparse. A small shop about one and a half kilometers from our first home, to which the owners of the guesthouse sent us, did not differ much in assortment from a general store somewhere in the Russian outback in the late nineties. Nevertheless, we managed to get some bread, beer and some kind of ham in it on the second attempt, when the seller noticed us and left the neighboring house.

Castle Achillion considered one of the "pearls" of Corfu. Despite all the antique surroundings, it was built at the end of the 19th century, and the luxurious interiors of the palace and the beautiful garden were decorated by German artists and sculptors. The interiors are not completely recreated: although the central staircase opens in all its splendor, most of the rooms are simply renovated with a certain amount of stylization and are filled with exhibits. You can understand this by looking at small cleared fragments of genuine frescoes, in which something more complex is guessed than fresh ornaments decorating the walls. Like any famous object, it is best to visit Achillion in the early morning: we walked around the palace and park almost alone, but when we moved on, there was already a crowd of tourist buses on the square, and the first ranks of organized tourists gradually filled the entire space.

Not far from the palace is shell museum. The only room contains a good collection of shells, corals and other marine life - both modern and extinct. But there is a problem with signatures: either they simply do not exist, or they are too general, or they represent some kind of fantastic picture of the world. For example, from them we “learned” about the existence of Paleogene ammonites in Greece.

Works of local taxidermists bring a smile
Photo - Elena Maksimkina

The works of local taxidermists evoke a separate smile: stuffed marine life of the preserved bitten roach with inserted protruding eyes are not suitable even for a souvenir shop, not to mention a museum.

From the resort town Benitses a dirt road, turning into a path, rises into the mountains, dipping the traveler into a completely different world. It passes through a small monastery with a spring and an ancient olive tree and winds its way through colorful old villages with stunning views around and an abundance of ruins - not too ancient, but picturesque.

Village children are friendly, but they love to play pranks. After waiting for us to go to a small fenced likeness of an observation deck, they closed the gate and stepped aside to see how we would get out. We just jumped over a low fence, which caused their stormy delight.

The next transition to the town messongs turned out quite long and hot. An attempt to settle down for a rest by the side of the road in an overgrown wasteland led to the first full-fledged macro hunting: a variety of insects disposed to this. I was especially delighted to get a "portrait" of an ant milking aphids.

The transparency of the sea in Corfu is really impressive. Depths of up to several meters, when viewed from above, give the impression of shallow water, and through the crystal, slightly greenish water, you can observe the life of marine life. The long route around the island allowed us to practically not use the equipped beaches (although they are almost deserted at the end of April, with fairly warm water), but each time to find picturesque corners of the coast, not spoiled by civilization and vacationers.

On wild beaches, snakes are often found, and they swim very quickly. I even managed to observe the hunting scene: the olive snake and the small lizard looked at each other for a long time motionless, and the snake was clearly preparing to throw. But, disturbed by the camera lens, he fled from us into the nearest bushes, having managed to demonstrate a little the ability of a swimmer before that.

Walking in the heat to the next place to spend the night, we found a construction site and workers: it did not look like they were going to settle us. We approached, explained the situation, the workers began to call somewhere, and after a while the hostess came. She apologized that nothing was ready for the arrival of the guests, opened a beautiful, in my opinion, room, and with doubt in her voice asked if we would agree to live in such conditions. We, of course, agreed, and, having asked the way to the nearest store, we went in search of it. We walked quite quickly: from the words of the hostess, we realized that the store, it seems, is open until five. After walking a couple of kilometers, we entered the town, which seemed to have died out. There were a lot of establishments around the central square - from cafes to hairdressers, but absolutely everything was shuttered. We clarified with the locals: it turns out that the store is open not until five, but from five. That is, in a couple of hours, it may be opened. So we had to wander through the surrounding fields, climb the abandoned monastery, scare the turtles in the swampy canal and admire the surrounding landscapes, waiting for the end of the siesta.

Most of the way we were accompanied by olive groves. Ancient, intricately twisted olives, although planted by human hands, in some places give the impression of some kind of primeval forest, which is spoiled (or, on the contrary, supplemented) only by green nets for picking fruits spread below. These nets cover vast areas under the trees: in the olive season, all that remains is to shake the tree a little and pour the finished crop out of the nets. In addition to olives, olive wood is also valued - quite hard, with a slight pleasant smell and a unique pattern. In large saw cuts from an array of huge old trees, properly processed (I assume that they are soaked in hot olive oil), whole landscapes are guessed, somewhat similar to the texture of a burl or Karelian birch. Large products are made from a solid mass of old wood dried over many years, and their best examples are very expensive.

Other than olive growing, other agricultural activities on the island are minimal. In some places there are small private vineyards, sometimes with a shop where you can buy wine directly from local winemakers, but we did not come across serious areas of grapes. But in the gardening art, the inhabitants of Corfu surpassed many. Most of the landscape compositions are represented by vertical flower beds: snow-white walls of houses and slopes of terraces that divide the hillside into horizontal sections are covered with compositions of flowers and various, often exotic plants. So the owners at the same time save fertile land and decorate their gardens.

Most of the southern half of the island can be bypassed on small dirt roads or quiet roads with poor asphalt, running along the coast or in close proximity to it. However, when approaching the extreme southern settlement - Kavos - the situation begins to change for the worse (for a hiker) side. The coastal zone here is too indented by numerous crossing canyons and deep crevices, making even a path through which, not to mention a road, is very difficult. Therefore, most of the roads and paths leading to the sea diverge radially from the dusty highway, and when approaching the sea, they become dead ends. I had to endure several kilometers on foot along the autobahn.

Kavos out of season - the town is completely "dead". Despite the abundance of signs for various establishments, including night bars and strip clubs, only a couple of “fast food” type cafes in the whole city are ready to feed a traveler who arrived in April. But this also has its advantages: the surroundings of this party place during the season are unusually picturesque, and in the summer they are probably filled with the roar of numerous scooters and ATVs, the non-working rental points of which come across almost on every corner.

From here, it is within easy reach to the southernmost point of the island - a picturesque steep cape with the ruins of a monastery. From the high clay cliffs, a strip of a huge deserted beach is clearly visible in both directions, to which we managed to go down only after spending considerable time looking for approaches. But it was worth going down to this beach, and not only because of its picturesqueness. Carefully peering into the coastal rocks in between swimming, I finally discovered a worthy addition to the paleontological collection: a small shark tooth soldered into a fist-sized piece of shell rock.

There seemed to be no further way, and the navigator stubbornly sent back along the same route. But, looking behind the nearest rocks, we found a piece of the old road eaten by a landslide and hanging over the sea like a visor. The issue of safety is solved here simply: each driver must follow the road himself, and there were no warning signs or barriers for drivers. It is terrible to imagine the consequences, decide who will move down this path at night to the sea. With some difficulty, climbing up the landslide slope onto the old asphalt, we got the opportunity to return by another way.

Then our path lay in the town Ayios Georgios, which is already on the west coast: having reached the extreme southern point, we began to close the ring from the opposite side of the island. The twenty-kilometer crossing was a necessary measure: the number of settlements on this section is minimal, and no working hotels could be found.

However, we did not regret it, since this day broke all records in terms of the number of things seen - from the house of the local Kulibin, in whose courtyard absolutely fantastic samples of old and made from improvised materials were exhibited, to flowering orchids, distinguished in these places by an exceptional variety of species. Several different forms can be found, literally without getting up from your seat.

On one of the beaches, our attention was drawn to a heap of oddly shaped boulders. Upon closer inspection, this stretch of coast turned out to be an ancient reef: there were corals, numerous fossilized bivalves, and even a sea urchin shell, which, however, could not be extracted from the rock. It is curious that in one of the nearest taverns they know a lot about fossils: its interiors are decorated not with modern shells and dried fish (there are many of these here), but just with numerous finds from this coast.

Surprisingly, among the lush vegetation of the island you can also find desert landscapes. To the northwest of Agios Georgios there is a lagoon lake separated from the sea by a narrow spit. This spit is covered with sand and is a ridge of low dunes. Here you can look at the desert in miniature (however, it was enough for us: the winding path with numerous stops for photography took a good half a day). And closer to the water, lush thickets grow and the air is filled with the voices of birds, especially numerous in this corner of the island.

Desert landscapes of the lake Corisson

But the miniature desert is left behind, and olive groves begin again, in which villages are hiding with small altars-kiots with icons and burning lamps inside in front of the houses. Such structures are very common in Corfu and are diverse. Among the miniature models of temples, there are both obviously serial samples made of concrete, and creations of folk craftsmen.

When moving north towards Ayios Gordios, from where it is already a stone's throw from Corfu, the seascapes are noticeably changing. The mountains here approach almost close to the sea, the coast is cut by numerous bays, and rocks resembling bizarre stone sculptures increasingly protrude directly from the water.

Roads in some places turn into mountain serpentines, opening up new views around every turn. And also - either insects and reptiles felt the approach of summer, or in this part of the island there are simply noticeably more of them, but we took plenty of butterflies, beetles and lizards.

The beach of Agios Gordios was disappointing at first. We were met by orderly rows of identical white deck chairs, a large part of which was occupied by motionless vacationers. It appeared that today's bathing in Ionian Sea- farewell: the next day we had a long transition back to Corfu, and we will not coast, but across the island. I did not want to overshadow this day by swimming in a mass rookery. In order not to swim in the crowd, we decided to go behind the rock. And then - for one more, and another ... And then one of the most beautiful stretches of the coast for the whole trip opened up to us.

Behind a small ridge of rocks, an old fishing boat, washed ashore by the sea, rusted. An unknown artist, apparently after the ship was abandoned, decorated it with a pair of eyes in the manner of ancient Greek galleys. It would seem, how can a pile of rusty iron decorate a beach? It turns out it can. The longboat fit perfectly into the surrounding rocky landscape with a strip of fine sand and stones protruding from it in such shapes that they could become a worthy decoration for any “cichlider” aquarium, if they were several tens of times smaller. On one of the stones, a flock of marsh birds sat, not afraid of anyone. However, when I got too insolent with the camera, they simultaneously rose into the air, putting their long legs back and equally long beaks forward.

The inscription on one of the large stones read: "Nudists only". There were no people around. A natural arch appeared behind the stone, entering which we found ourselves on a tiny personal beach closed on all sides. In addition, the low evening sun shone directly under its arch, covering this secluded corner with a golden light. Having swum to our heart's content in a heavenly place, we hurried on a night hunt.

We were lucky: the hotel was located in a small quiet garden, and there were a couple of lanterns in front of the entrance to our room. Turning them on, preparing the equipment, and sitting on the open veranda, we began to wait: who will crawl or fly into the light? The “catch” in the form of three geckos, a cast-bronze scoop butterfly with a fancy decoration on its head and a small centipede suited us perfectly.

The geckos were especially good. Their soft pink, almost transparent little bodies merged with the uneven walls. The predators waited lazily, motionless, when a mosquito flew too close. One of the geckos was so keen on hunting that he made it possible to film himself several times almost point-blank, and a large “portrait” turned out.

The road smoothly departs from the sea, rising uphill. Around the bend lies the last beach of the west coast, and in return, the peak rises before your eyes Pantokrator- the highest point of the island. Despite its modest height (less than 1000 meters), against the background of the surrounding landscape with cypress trees immersed in haze to the horizon and low mountain ranges, it looks quite majestic.

Kerkyra met us with a noisy multi-lane highway with practically no sidewalks, which, especially after a week and a half in nature, was not very pleasant to walk on. However, on the way to the historical center, we were still waiting for rural landscapes with unchanged olive trees, grazing horses and houses buried in gardens.

A sophisticated traveler should not expect too much from Corfu. Although the historical center of the city is included in the UNESCO list, and the formal list of sights is very large, in general, this town is quiet, bright, but monotonous and rather neglected in places. In addition to two powerful fortresses and a couple of rather unusual churches, there are not too many worth seeing here. So one full day at a brisk walking pace in the city is enough. So old fortress a panorama of almost the entire city opens up, and inside the fortress walls there is a small Byzantine Museum, consisting of only a couple of rooms. Much more and more interesting Asian Art Museum, created on the basis of a huge private collection and very reminiscent of the Museum of the East in Moscow. The exposition, among which a wonderful collection of classical Japanese paintings stands out, is located in a luxurious old mansion, and the creators of the museum brilliantly solved the difficult task of showing both a rich collection of Asian artifacts and palace interiors in all their splendor. In the exposition halls with plain walls and rows of exhibits, large “windows” were made through which you can observe fragments of palace luxury and Western European painting.

Concluding the story about Corfu, I would like to give some practical advice.

Travel more on foot or by bike. With the exception of a couple of central highways, the island's roads are in moderately broken to terrible condition. By car, you will not see much of what is available to a hiker, and the speed of movement will increase slightly. I will not promote quad bikes - as a means of transport that can scare away the entire fauna within a radius of a couple of kilometers.

Stock up on snacks and water in the evening. The daytime siesta is long here, and in some towns absolutely everything is closed, including grocery stores. And many places do not open at all until the start of the massive beach season.

Do not be afraid of high prices in the center of Corfu. It is worth going to the outskirts of the city (not to mention remote villages), and prices reach the level of the average Russian ones. For the same reason, you should not stay in Corfu longer than necessary: ​​one full day to explore the city is enough.

The old fort of Kerkyra and Achillion Palace are best visited in the early morning, before the start of mass migrations of bus tourists. At this time, you will get the absence of heat, beautiful light and an almost complete absence of people.

If you are planning to make a radial ascent to Mount Pantokrator in one day, it is better to book your accommodation well in advance. We were late: at the time of planning the route, there were few hotels left within walking distance from the top, and their prices were terrible - almost like in Iceland. I did not want to drag the tent, and the idea of ​​climbing had to be abandoned.

Be careful with the local fauna. The island is a paradise for a herpetologist: I have never seen such an abundance of snakes, including poisonous species. As a rule, they are not aggressive and try to get away quickly, but at the same time they crawl quickly and swim perfectly. But the scorpions colorfully described by Darrell were specifically searched for, but they did not meet a single one during the entire trip.

Day five Wednesday. On this day, in the morning, they finally drove a rental car to us. We generally asked about it on Saturday evening, but a free car was found only by Wednesday.

In Liapades, not far from the hotel, there was a car rental point called Safety Car Rental, but we decided not to worry and ordered a car through a guide. The guide, by the way, was very adequate - a woman from the Kanulas-Travel travel agency, apparently serving most of the Russian tourists in Corfu - drove up to the hotel in the evenings for dinner, advised everyone on car rental, excursions and other joys, and nothing to anyone did not impose. We ordered a class A car through her, the smallest, that is, from the Odyssey company. We had to drive the car straight to the hotel in the morning. It was supposed to be Peugeot 107 - the same as in Finland they took on a Scandinavian road trip of 2100 km. We paid in cash, but contrary to expectations, no deposit was required from us.

1. The car, which cost 56 euros a day with full insurance, in reality turned out to be a Nissan Pixo - well, also a typical Little Red Car - a clone of the Suzuki Alto, but with a Nissan muzzle and an Indian assembly. In general, the car in terms of capabilities and control seemed like two drops of water similar to the same Peugeot 107. A child seat, if anything, is not ours 🙂

2. The car is not old, the mileage is somewhere around 36 thousand, only the seats were already heavily saturated with sea salt. As with the 107th once, it was difficult to get used to the pedals to this car and its super-sensitive, compared to my old Matiz. The car is really boring. 107 seems to be the same, but somehow more charming. After getting acquainted with the car and refueling (the car was given to us with an almost empty tank and they told us to return it with an empty one - it was cleverly invented - you won’t count a liter per liter, you will have to give a rental office how many liters) the first point of our route was Paleokastritsa where we were already on foot.

3. We arrived not without nerves - in an unfamiliar car and along narrow paths, where you will drive apart with a bus, and you will also stall in the process. In Paleokastritsa, we were interested in an ancient monastery on a mountain, where we did not visit last time. In fact, it’s quite possible to drive there by car, but somehow we didn’t realize, we parked in Paleokastritsa itself near the beaches, and went uphill on foot. The road uphill is even narrower, you can’t pass at all, the entrance to the mountain is controlled by reversing traffic lights.

4. Well, in the process of lifting, we admired the views.

5. The monastery in Paleokastritsa also stands above the sea itself.

6. The Monastery of the Mother of God itself, which has been leading history since the 13th century. However, I don't know much about his history. Quite compact, it is a whole small stone labyrinth. There are many tourists, but the monks did not seem to be seen.

8. In one of the premises of the monastery there is a small museum of olive business, with millstones and a press for olives.

9. The same museum sells wine and kumquat liquor. The wine is cheap and very tasty, as everywhere in Corfu. We bought a couple of bottles (which then rolled around in our trunk all day) and drank with pleasure already in St. Petersburg.

10. And again the bell tower of the traditional form. In the center is a well where everyone throws coins over their shoulders. And I just quit because I was too lazy to over my shoulder.

11. Another typical Greek cat.

12. More thematic museum with various old books and documents. It's not entirely clear which is which. Well, at least you can guess here, the Greek Bible - "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." For some reason, a half-meter sea shell lay in the middle of the room.

13. Having finished visiting the monastery of the Virgin, we went down to the car, left Paleokastritsa, turned to the already familiar village of Lakones, and passing the villages of Lakones, Makrades and Krini, approached the ruins of the Byzantine fortress of Angelokastro - the Castle of Angels - Paleokastritsa was named after her.

In the process of climbing, we got acquainted with the Corfiot serpentines, along which we had to travel quite a lot in the future. The roads in Corfu are quite good in quality, but in width they range from not very wide to those that you can’t pass. Because of the latter, problems periodically arise in villages when you turn around a corner, and SUDDENLY a bus or a garbage truck hits you in the forehead. Since they usually let each other pass on the basis of the principle “whoever has more, he has priority”, you have to turn back, trying to stumble into some kind of courtyard or congress. It becomes quite fun if it is still on the descent from the hill, and they are already supporting it from behind. I don't like such situations. Otherwise, you can drive around Corfu quite normally, traffic is from moderate to one car in 10 minutes. On major roads, slow-moving scooters and ATVs are a bit annoying, but overtaking them is usually not a problem, even if you stay in your lane. Although the locals overtake even through a continuous line, they do not worry. But in general, no one is especially gesticulating, which is probably expected, given that half of the cars are rental cars. Really impudently drive only taxi drivers in old Mercedes with the inscriptions "Radio-Taxi".

14. This is at a small observation deck, where the previous photo was taken from.

15. After driving a few hundred meters and parked on the side of the road among these cars, we began to climb to the fortress. Angelokastro, as I understand it, was ennobled not so long ago - they made a fairly convenient, although still steep, path to the top.

16. Somewhere in one of the places above the cliff there is a monument - someone ten years ago, apparently, did fall and crash.

17. Upstairs. The fortress of Angelokastro was built by the Byzantines and, apparently, unlike the fortress in Kerkyra, the Venetians were not actively used. So now only really ruins remain. But it's worth going here because of the views in the first place.

18. On the top of the mountain, in the middle of the ruins - a tiny restored chapel.

22. After Angelokastro, along a deserted mountain road, we reached the village of Agios Georgios, on the west coast, north of Paleokastritsa. We didn't stay here long. This beach is remembered for its amazingly beautiful surf.

24. And the next village, or rather even the town - Sidari, one of the most popular resorts. This one is not on the western and not on the eastern coast, but on the north - towards the Adriatic Sea.

25. In fact, Sidari is known for its "lovers' canal", wonderful tiny straits among layered rocks. But somehow we went to the beach far from those places, and here we stopped, in a rather unaesthetic place. But I liked the dark blue strip of the sea on the very horizon. We also didn't stay in Sidari for so long - we just wanted to eat.

26. No man's property in Sidari.

27. Main street of Sidari.

28. Our next stop was to be Mount Pantokrator, Corfu's highest peak at 906m. We drove there along the north coast and then on the road up the mountains, but stopped halfway at a small tavern in the village of Lafki for lunch. This is the view straight from the tavern. It was terribly windy though, I had to eat around the corner, without views.

29. The owner seemed to be a little tipsy. In addition to us, there was also a Swedish couple here (I know that it was Swedish, because their owner asked where they were from - but he didn’t ask us - maybe the Russian language is simply difficult to confuse with another). In this tavern, the assortment, of course, was more modest than most, and the prices were a little higher, but still spaghetti with meat sauce is very OK.

30. Right above our heads in the tavern grew grapes. In general, for the first time I see real growing grapes.

31. And they went further to Pantokrator. Closer to the top, the vegetation disappears; this mountain range is probably the only place in Corfu where there are few trees. On the way back, at about the same place, we met a shepherd with a flock of goats, unfortunately we didn’t take a picture.

32. We climbed to the very top - this is the view from above - we drove along this road.

33. Over there across the strait - already Albania. You can swim on an excursion from Kerkyra, although we did not. Albania is one of those countries that have never interested me at all. (Actually, there are not so many countries that interest me.)

34. At the top of the mountain is a tiny monastery. That is, really tiny, literally a few monks (we saw two - one prayed in a small stuffy church, prostrate, the other peacefully talked with tourists; well, maybe there are one or two more, they have nowhere else to live here). Several communication masts were also built on the mountain, most of them aside (behind me in this shot), but for some reason the highest one was built right in the monastery courtyard above the well. The atmosphere certainly spoils a little.

35. The spyglass did not want to work even after feeding her 50 euro cents (however, she returned the coin). Well, okay. The wind around here is absolutely terrible - how do monks live in such conditions all their lives? Unless, of course, they really live here all their lives.

36. Piglet in front of the masts (by the way, you can estimate their number) is the only opportunity to turn around at the top.

37. You can’t really make out from the photo, but in general you can take a look at the whole of Corfu from here - even the sea is visible behind its farthest part.

38. This gallery with benches inside closes the monastery. A couple of toilets are hidden in the corner, not very clean, but still not rural toilets.

39. Holy spring. Beautiful but not working.

40. Monastery cats again - these are fed with fish.

41. Flag of the Greek Orthodox Church.

42. The hill is steep, parking is dumb. This is where my phone was stolen. In my infinite wisdom, I left the passenger window of the car open as we went to see the monastery. Here, I think, after all, 906 meters above sea level, which can go wrong. In the car there was a phone with a navigator in a conspicuous place, and in the back seat there was a bag with things and a computer and even Chepa the hare. Here you go. Came back and no phone. It's good that everything else is in place. Suspicion fell on some youngsters riding scooters up and down this slope. Of course, the rest of the days were a little dark, and it became much more difficult to drive without a navigator (although we had as many as three paper maps). Well, on the other hand, that's why I buy cheap smartphones on Android instead of iPhones, so that it's not a pity.

43. We left Pantokrator through some endless serpentine in the village of Spartilas (at least thirty turns, I think), and finally we stopped, so as not to be too sad, to the beach in the village of Gouvia, already on the east coast of Corfu and not very far from Kerkyra. The village was found without difficulty, but with the beach it is already more difficult. In the end, we hung out on a completely empty beach of some expensive hotel.

44. We found the way back without any problems or incidents. Before Liapades, we dropped in again to the already well-known Lacones, just to admire the evening views.

45. Unfortunately, the sun setting over the sea cannot be seen from this point, so it turned out not as cool as we hoped.

46. Thursday, our second (of two) days with the car. On this day, however, we decided not to travel too much, especially since it’s really not easy without a navigator, but just go to some gorgeous beach and wallow on it all day. We chose the beach on the first try - in the village of Benitses on the east coast of Corfu, south of Kerkyra. In front of the beach, however, for quite a long time we tried to find another monastery, in the village of Kinopiastes. The village was found by force, but the monastery was not. Well, not fate. But after that we stopped at a large local supermarket, and when it turned out that they didn’t accept cards there, they even forgave us for the missing 20 euro cents in cash.

47. Here, right under the palm tree, they lay and bathed nearby. The beach is perfect. I don’t even know what to say in more detail, because everything is really perfect. In the afternoon we went all the way to Benitses, had a great meal in the first tavern that came across, and returned to the same place.

48. On this day, we almost didn’t take pictures - what is there to shoot on the beach. Already in the evening, after the beach, we just swept south, to the town of Lefkimmi, and then back along the mountain road parallel to the main one. Unexpectedly stumbled upon another gorgeous view in the village of Agioi Deka. In the distance, in the center of the frame, the Old Fortress in Corfu is visible, and to the left, the island of Vido.

49. After Agia Deka, it quickly got dark, and on one of the roads we also got into a dead traffic jam - either because of an accident, or because of something else - we had to turn around and go along another road (fortunately, the road network pretty tight). In the dark, I took a wrong turn three times, but in the end we still successfully reached Liapades for dinner and left our Pixo no worse than he was.

50. And the last day of rest, Friday. This time we didn’t think of anything better than to go to Corfu again, and there, right from the bus, to the ferry to Vido. And they didn't regret it at all.

51. This time we examined the island a little more, in particular, we found a Serbian mausoleum. Inside the walls are the ashes of 1200 Serbian soldiers. Several thousand more were buried at sea.

52. A Serbian poet, who was treated here among the soldiers, wrote a poem about what happened, “Floating Tomb” (Blue Tomb), apparently quite famous among the Serbs. Then he also died.

53. Well, otherwise Vido is more than a positive island.

54. Quite unusual - right in the middle of an ordinary lawn is a fire tank and hydrants, away from any buildings.

55. Blackberry. There was a lot of this stuff on Vido.

56. After lying on the Tramuntana beach, we again went to dine at the Melios tavern, from where we admired this liner - the Celebrity Silhouette. It is difficult to estimate the size by appearance, but, apparently, this is the largest ship I have ever seen (the Viking Line ferries, on which we sailed to Sweden, were half the displacement in terms of displacement - I later looked on the Internet) . Local workers even came out to stare.

57. And already returning from the beach for the last time, absolutely by chance, we found the same rabbits, which we no longer hoped for. It turned out that they mostly hang out near the canteen of the children's camp, which is in the middle of the island. We walk through this camp along the path, I look around - I see ears sticking out in the distance under a tree in the shade. Turns out they are actually bunnies.

61. We had supper for the last time, stared at the kittens for the last time, and went to bed. At 4:30 in the morning a taxi came for us. Until 2:30 am I sat on the balcony and wrote a photo report.

62. The taxi turned out to be a luxury minibus, which then drove for another couple to the village of Ermones - quite a long detour. But we were still almost the first in the queue for registration, and then we waited for registration for about an hour. Corfu Airport is quite adequate, and not particularly remarkable. Our plane is in the foreground. He brought us safely, with a load of wine, oil and magnets, into the St. Petersburg heat at about one o'clock in the afternoon. Personally, I'm a little tired even to rest 🙂

In general, the trip, of course, was very pleasant. Of course, landscapes and people in Northern Europe are somehow closer to me, but in Greece, as it turned out, it’s not boring at all, there is something to stare at, and actually lying on the beach without, oh horror, a laptop is quite a pleasant sight recreation. So maybe we will visit Greece again. Or in Italy. Although the most likely destinations so far are Tallinn and Stockholm.

The island once belonged to the British, so now it is very popular with tourists from the UK, as a result, holidays in Corfu are considered to be quite expensive, almost elite. I hasten to dispel this myth - there are enough opportunities to spend a budget vacation here. For example, renting a room in one of the many villas on the island costs from 2,000 rubles. per day for three, and even with breakfast! In my opinion, even in the Moscow region there are no such prices for a long time. On the other hand, one has to be more careful in choosing a habitat on the island itself. The fact is that the water in the Adriatic in autumn is three degrees lower than in the Ionian Sea - for those who like to swim, this can be a decisive factor. Therefore, it was decided to spend the first week in the old fishing village of Benitses, located right on the shores of the "warm" Ionian Sea. The owner of the hotel, looking at the faces of the guests, exhausted by Moscow everyday life, exclaimed: “Dear guests, you need complete relaxation!” Well, I don't mind! First, at sea.

It is very hot outside - about 35o, and you can splash in the sea for at least an hour - the water has warmed up quite well over the summer. The tourist part of the village is typical for such places - a series of hotels, villas, taverns and shops, busy car traffic. And the old and most interesting part of the village is, as it were, fenced off from the tourist bustle. It is a pleasure to wander here - narrow streets, tidy courtyards, in which everything grows: oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapes, quince, figs and many more different, but, unfortunately, unknown to me plants. And everywhere there are flowers - on the windows, along the fences and just in pots right on the ground. And, of course, the Greek grandmothers, with a smile looking at the people passing by. By the way, they are very similar to ours, except that they look happier.

>At our villa, they advised a hiking route deep into Benitses. I’m almost sure that few tourists get there, because not everyone will like the hour-long march uphill, and even in the heat. I ventured on this promenade and did not regret it at all. Who would have thought that just three kilometers from the coast you can get into the real jungle! Huge plane trees and eucalyptus trees are intertwined with vines, and, despite the heat, it is cool here. The path led to a mountain stream, the bed of which is sometimes enclosed in stone tunnels - in the twilight it all looks somewhat ominous. At the end of the road I came across a small church. By the way, despite the fact that Orthodoxy is still the main religion in Greece, the influence of the Old World is felt in Corfu in this matter - there are clearly more Catholic churches here.

Another interesting feature: very often right next to the road you can find memorials - small models of the church, inside which everyone can put candles. Holidays in Corfu provide an opportunity to make interesting car trips. You can get there by public transport, which is represented by two types of buses: Green Bus - they travel mainly for short distances and Blue Bus, which can take you to the other end of the island. Corfu is not a very large island - the coastline is only 215 km - and even long trips do not seem tiring.

Island Corfu is very popular with tourists due to its mild Mediterranean climate. In summer, there is practically no rain on the island, and a light sea breeze and mild sun make staying at local resorts comfortable for almost any category of tourists, including the elderly, children and those who have health problems and who are contraindicated in heat. Since Corfu is located north of the rest of the Greek islands, the beach season here comes a little later. Despite the fact that in June the air temperature can reach 28 degrees, the sea is still quite cold - 21-22 degrees.

But on the other hand, May and June are the best months for exploring the interesting sights of the island, for walking in the mountains and visiting numerous archaeological sites.

The best month for a beach holiday is July, when the sea is already warm - 25 degrees, but there are still no crowds of tourists, and you can comfortably stay on the beaches or walk along the embankments.

August is the hottest month in every sense of the word. This applies not only to air and sea temperature, but also to the number of tourists. Prices for air tickets and accommodation in hotels are rising by 20-30% compared to July, the owners of souvenir shops and restaurants are also trying to earn more this season.

The average air temperature in July and August is 27-30 degrees, rarely rising above 32-33 degrees.

A wonderful time to relax is the beginning of September, when abruptly ... read more

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Weather in Corfu by months:

Month	Temperature		Cloudiness	Rainy days / Precipitation	Water temperature in the sea	Number of solar hours per day
	Happy	At night
January	12.3°C	9.4°C	37.7%	8 days (165.4 mm.)	15.8°C	9 a.m. 44m.
February	13.4°C	10.5°C	40.5%	9 days (147.6 mm.)	14.9°C	10 a.m. 43m.
March	15.2°C	11.8°C	33.3%	6 days (107.4 mm.)	15.1°C	11h. 57m.
April	18.0°C	13.6°C	24.1%	3 days (43.2 mm.)	16.5°C	13h. 16m.
May	21.8°C	16.6°C	18.3%	4 days (46.9 mm.)	19.6°C	14h. 22m.
June	26.4°C	20.2°C	10.7%	1 day (21.4 mm.)	22.9°C	14h. 56m.
July	30.1°C	23.2°C	4.5%	-	24.9°C	14h. 39m.
August	31.1°C	24.3°C	6.9%	-	26.3°C	13h. 41m.
September	27.2°C	22.2°C	10.8%	4 days (67.1 mm.)	25.3°C	12h. 26m.
October	22.6°C	18.7°C	20.5%	6 days (96.2 mm.)	22.8°C	11h. 9m.
November	18.4°C	15.2°C	32.2%	9 days (198.8 mm.)	20.4°C	10 a.m. 1m.
December	14.1°C	11.2°C	29.6%	6 days (128.3 mm.)	17.8°C	9 a.m. 25m.

* This table shows average weather data collected over more than three years

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Corfu island

This year, my family and I decided to go to the well-known island of Corfu and did not regret it a bit! We chose this air tour from the airport of Thessaloniki, which added some spice to our trip, and, of course, additional comfort and time saving! The four of us went - my husband, me and the children and the rest turned out to be very well-planned specifically for our family. We met, told, showed, conducted and everything was at the highest level. Friendly staff, we really liked it) The excursion program is really very well planned and suited absolutely everyone! My husband and I were delighted with the stunning palace of Princess Sisi, and the children enjoyed watching the underwater world of the purest sea and rejoiced at every passing fish)). We were especially impressed by the famous heart-shaped coves located in the village of Paleokastritsa. The view is really amazing and will not leave anyone indifferent. In addition, we visited the store of the Vasilakis family and brought home their delicious jam and olive oil, and we couldn’t do without liquor). I think that such an excursion is suitable for absolutely everyone, but for those who have not yet decided on their place of rest or a one-day tour, our family recommends this particular excursion to the island of Corfu!

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Prices for holidays in Corfu. August 2018.

tour cost

My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Corfu. The trip lasted 7 days. We both live in Vienna, so there is no question of visas. The cost of the flight Vienna - Corfu round trip is 700 euros for two people with a change in Athens. Hotel 4 * Elena Ermones with sea view, breakfast and dinner included 950 euros. Tickets and hotel booked 3 weeks before the trip. Taxi from the airport to the hotel 30 euros.

Corfu is a relatively small island, therefore, having rented a car for 70 euros for 2 days, we decided to explore the sights on our own. The entrance ticket to Achillion Palace cost 10 euros per person, tickets were bought on the spot. We swam to Mouse Island on a boat for 2.50 euros per person. We visited the observation deck of the throne of the Kaiser. Any place on the island can be reached by car from 30-40 minutes.

Food and products

Lunch in any tavern cost about 30-40 euros for two. A popular Greek salad cost 6-7 euros, local beer 3.50 euros 0.5, the same price for a glass of wine (red, white). Seafood was the most expensive. Fish (sea bass, sea bream) 12-14 euros. Bread was served everywhere free of charge and always fresh. Delicious shrimp with tomatoes for 8 euros and of course moussaka for 10 euros. Always big portions.

Souvenirs and other goods

Souvenirs bought a lot of soap with olive oil, 1.5 - 3 euros. All body care cosmetics with olive oil in Greece are very good. Kumquat tincture 8 euro 0.5. And, of course, olive oil 4.5 euros 0.5 and the olives themselves 3 euros.

Cost of services and entertainment

We rented a boat for 3 hours for 80 euros from Ermones to Paleokastritsa. Rent a scooter for 20 euros for one day. Car for 2 days 70 euros. Gasoline on the island is quite expensive at 1.70 per liter.

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Catherine

Holiday experience in September

September Corfu is beautiful! So different, interesting and unusual. Plains, serpentines, mountainous roads and beautiful views!

Vacation with children

If you stay in the south of Corfu (Lefkimmi, Kavos) then I am sure that the children will like the pleasant sandy bottom and the shallow, well-warmed calm sea. Children are happy, parents are calm. Those who love the warm sea will also like it.

Youth rest

If you go out to the city of Kavos (the southernmost city of Corfu) at night, you will easily find entertainment to your liking. Bowling, discos, billiards, all kinds of cafes and parties, such a kind of Ibiza in the Greek version.

Family holiday

On the outskirts of Kavos and in many nearby villages, peace and quiet in the evening. So nice to have dinner or drink coffee, contemplating the calm sea.

What to take with you on vacation?

In early September the weather is always warm, even in the evenings. Therefore, we manage with a minimum of things, a few T-shirts, shorts, pareos, comfortable sandals and a hat - that's all you need! It's not a good idea to arm yourself with mosquito cream, on some nights there were a lot of them, on some there were none at all, which surprised us very much.

Where is the best place to stay?

We settled in Agios Petros - this is the outskirts of Kavos, not far from the port of Lefkimmi. In the neighborhood there are many nice hotels, apartments and houses for rent at reasonable prices. It is not far to walk to Kavos, and at the same time it is quiet at night and the noise of nightlife does not disturb.

What to do at the resort?

Since we are quite active people, we explored all the surrounding beaches, tried to fish on the river in the village of Lefkimmi (we caught several loaches, other local fish, which literally teems in the river, did not react to our bait), walked around Kavos.

I recommend an excursion to the Achillion Palace (built for Elisabeth of Austria in the 18th century). It is located in the strait separating the east coast of Corfu and the mainland, not far from the capital of the island. We enjoyed a walk in the garden of the palace, looking at many monuments and busts, from beautiful views, from exhibits of historical value. The cost of the tour is 8 euros for adults, 5 for children. The capital of Corfu - Kerkyra is located near Achilleion, after a tour of the palace, we enjoyed walking along its streets. Narrow streets, beautiful architecture, houses like in the pictures, cobbled pavements - all this is so beautiful. One evening for a walk around the capital will definitely not be enough! Be sure to visit the Church of St. Spyridon in Corfu - a very beautiful and "strong" place.

The beaches in Corfu are different, there are sandy and pebbly and even ... consisting of algae. We saw such a coastline near the city of Kavos. This is something like a thick pillow of dry algae. They are pleasant to the touch, soft and springy. When you walk along such a shore, it seems that you are walking on an orthopedic mattress. At first it was very unusual for us, but we got used to it. Due to the current, algae are washed near the coast into a thick pillow, which simultaneously serves as a protection for the coastline and perfectly absorbs the sound of waves in bad weather. We have traveled all over Greece, we have never seen anything like this! Kavos also has a traditional long, wide sandy beach, where there is more than enough space for everyone. There are also various water attractions and entertainment.

What can be bought?

Prices on the island are slightly higher than on the mainland. Not far from Kavos there is a Lidl store, Demetra and other supermarkets. It has everything you need for those who prefer to cook on their own, and for those who want to try local products. Souvenirs are like everywhere else in Greece. Magnets for 1-2 euros, cups, ashtrays, lighters, figurines, handmade olive soap can be purchased within 2-8 euros per unit.

About product prices

Olive oil from local factories costs from 7 euros per liter. Handmade soap from 1 euro. Honey is also very tasty and costs from 10 euros for a liter jar. Yoghurt, feta and other local cheeses cost 2-5 euros. Olives in vacuum packaging (200 gr) 2-3 euros. For the first time we tried something like an olive pate here - a small jar with olives crushed into a paste costs 2.5 euros. Freshly baked bread from a local bakery, olive oil, oregano, olives and feta - it's magical and so Greek! Try it, you will like it.

Here you can also buy your favorite pizza for 5-8 euros, all kinds of burgers for 2-5 euros, local Giros - for 5 euros. Dinner of salad and grilled fish will cost 20-25 Euro per person. Ice cream for 2 euros per scoop in a waffle cup.

Pros of living in Corfu

Good, calm warm and gentle sea. Fine, very pleasant to the touch sand. Excellent air and a beautiful panorama of the bay, where many cruise liners, boats and yachts sail. A very relaxing sight!

Participation in the main ritual of the meeting of the “First Easter”: on Holy Saturday, the inhabitants of the island, having gathered on the balconies decorated with red linens, will drop clay pots filled with water at exactly 11 am. Your goal is to take possession of the neck of the broken jug and immediately make a wish!

Tour of the magnificent palace of the brilliant...

Port of departure - Preveza

Total number of main races - 9

One race - night

One race - training

Three races with change of captains

One free day

Meeting of participants on the island of Corfu, excursions around the island from 12.00 to 15.00, then departure to the port of Preveza - 3 hours on the way.

Meeting at the port of Preveza.

Evening program at 20.00 - Welcome drink and introduction of all participants.

Briefing of the captains, one training and 1 main race.

Transfer to the port of Spila Meganisi. (18 miles).

Evening program at 20.00 - opening of the BEACH PARTY regatta.

Second racing day. 3 races of the main standings. Bathing, lunch...

Traditional winery "Ambelonas", Greek evening in the tavern "Tripa"

The program is designed for 6 hours

We invite you to get acquainted with the island of Corfu through the prism of national gastronomy. For a gastronomic tourist, food is, first of all, a category of culture. From this perspective, traditional cuisine is perceived in connection with history, religion, economy, politics, customs, legends and other factors that form the unique identity of the Ionian region.

On this tour, we suggest you visit the traditional winery "Ambelonas". The enterprise was organized in 1600 by a family of emigrants from Venice. To date, the total area of ​​"Ambelonas" is about 74.000 square meters. m., of which about...