Nuggets of local info for a day out, best done by car.
Starting from Acharavi, as central point on the north coast, going east, first is St
Spiridon bay, a lovely sandy beach with safe swimming. Great for a change of scenery,
and can be walked from Acharavi in about 1½ hours.
The mainland you see in front of
you is the mountains of Albania.
Next is Kassiopi once a busy fishing village now a busy resort that is still full
of charm with its harbour front bars and restaurants and colourful caiques and yachts.
It is is a lively place for a night out and has a good selection of shops. There
is a good bus service 4 times a day, the last bus back is about 5 p.m., but a taxi
will only be about
17€.
Aghios Stephanos it is 2 km off the main road and remains a remarkably well kept
secret. The view as you come round the bend and descend to the sea is breathtaking.
It comprises a tiny natural harbour, which usually has more than its fair share
of expensive yachts! It has only a small man made beach, but there are many tavernas
where you can practically paddle as you eat.
Driving on through the village of Ag Stephanos you will come to an even better kept
secret; the pebbly beach of Kerassia. The white pebbles lend a brilliant blue colour
to the sea. Though hectic on Sundays, when people in the know descend on it, in the
week it is only visited by caiques that briefly fill the only taverna, and is peppered
with the residents of the luxury villas and up market villa companies that use the
area.
Back tracking to the main road as you head south, be careful not to drive off the
cliff as you approach the stunning views across to Albania!
You will also be able to look down over the postcard view of Kouloura from the view
point with a well placed bench. There is little down there except a harbour and a
little taverna but is a great photo stop, but it s very pretty with a relaxed atmosphere.
On the other side of the same headland is Kalami made famous by it's one time resident;
the author Lawrence Durrell. His old house is now a taverna right on the waters edge;
its terrace is an idyllic setting. There has been quite a lot of development here
of late but its slight inaccessibility has ensured a quiet, appreciative kind of
tourism.
Continuing south is the little bay of Agni made famous by Toya Wilcox who tried her
hand at waitressing here, and since been much lauded by the press as THE place to
eat. The standard of taverna here is excellent and should be visited by all “foodies”!
Though be warned prices are mostly higher than average. The scenery is dramatic too
with olive clad mountains dropping down to the sea and Albania opposite you just
across the channel. Swimming is pebbly as is all the east coast where all these little
coves are lapped by the gentle waters of the clear blue Corfu Channel, it can be
a challenge swimming between the luxury yachts moored at the taverna jetties. Spot
the famous face is a good sport in high season as Agni is a haunt of the rich and
famous.
Kaminaki, Nissaki are other tiny coves and beaches where there are the necessary
lunchtime tavernas, warm sea and more of that beautiful scenery.
Barbati is another lovely pebbly beach, longer and busier that the previous two and
with several tavernas making the most of the views.
An opportunity to explore a combination of beach and mountains would be to turn right
after Barbati, before the hill that takes you down into Pyrgi and Ipsos. Signposted
to Spartillas, test your passengers nerves up through the hairpin bends, to the villages
of Spartillas and Episkepsi. You will be treated to some spectacular mountain views
and beautiful rural scenery.
You can also turn right before Episkepsi and head straight to the island's highest
peak of Pantocrator. Right at the top there is a monastery, (there is the ugliest
transmitter ariel in the middle of it!) and a coffee bar with stunning views into
Albania. The road loops down through Lafki and back into Acharavi.
OR a little further down the hill after the petrol station you can alternatively
turn right , and go through the very pretty old village of Korakiana carrying on
to the next main road turn left to go the main Corfu town to Paleokastritsa road,
or right to come back to Acharavi through the Trumpetta pass.
Ipsos is an unimpressive strip of shingle beach separated by a road from lots of
bars and tavernas. Dassia’s beach is equally unimpressive but does have some good
watersports. It is home to some big hotels.
Gouvia has a man made beach and marina, then it's just busy road all the way into town.
Often known as “Paleo”, like many beauty spots the world over, Paleokastritsa has become somewhat commercial and expensive, but nothing can detract from the magnificent scenery here. There is a byzantine monastery daringly perched on a cliff overlooking the village. It is all that Greece means to the imagination; dazzling white buildings set against sparkling blue sea. There are 6 bays; one is a harbour, from the busy main beach one can take a small boat out to see the grottos. This is a good way to see the drama of the scenery.
On leaving the village why not turn left and return north via Bella Vista and Lakones, the road is narrow and steep and has some good hair pin bends but it also looks down over all 6 bays, the view is breathtaking. It is now possible to drive to the ruins of AngeloKastro, after climbing the steps into the ruins sit and soak up the scenery in one of the tavernas!
North of Paleo on the west coast are some lovely beaches; Aghios Georgios and Aghios Stefanos are reminiscent of Cornwall with a wide expanses of sand and little white houses on the hill overlooking the wide bay. Arillas is similar and has a good fish taverna. Following the road northwards you can take a small diversion to Peroulades known as sunset beach. The 7th heaven Café is set on the cliff above the sandy beach with unrivalled views across all 3 of the Diapontian islands, behind which sets a huge red sun. They serve a mean cocktail and have lovely music until late making the most of the atmosphere of this special spot. Carrying on will bring you to Sidari, a popular and usually busy resort. It has a good sandy beach and lots of water sports, hundreds of bars, restaurants and shops, not to mention the nightclubs. It is probably best known for its “Canal d'Amour”, once a sandstone arch, now just a canal on a pretty sandy beach, there is a myth that you will dream of the person you will marry having swum through the canal!
Between Acharavi and Sidari there is first Astrakeri, another sandy beach with an excellent fish taverna. Its owners have their own fishing boat so the only time there is no fish is when the weather has been too bad to fish or when knowing Greeks or Italians have beaten you to it, mostly on Sundays! Then there is Roda, this at the far western end of the same bay as Acharavi and is an easy half an hours walk along the beach from there; well endowed with tavernas, shops and bars, it has good water sports too.
For those more determined sightseers there is, with a little effort, a lot more to see. Going south of Corfu Town is quite a long drive.
Beside the airport is Perama where there is a causeway across to Mouse Island, this the most photographed spot on the island; a tiny church on a tiny island. The beaches on the east coast are narrow strips of shingle but the scenery is very pretty and once past the busier resorts of Benitses and Messonghi there are some pretty beaches with good traditional tavernas like Petriti and Boukari. Lefkimmi is the biggest town after Corfu town and situated on an estuary fringed by a salt lake.
Kavos has developed a reputation for being a “party “ place for younger holiday makers with all that involves, it is a reputation well deserved; but at least it keeps the noisy fun lovers well away from the rest of the island. Kavos is on the very southern tip of the island and one looks across to the small island of Paxos from its sandy beach, which is always quiet until lunchtime when the revellers start to rise! Some beautiful, quiet, sandy beaches can be found on the west coast, Marathias for instance.
The drive through the back bone mountains of the middle of the island reveal some un-spoilt villages and will bring you to the Achilleon Palace, our nearest equivalent to a stately home with a rich history. Built by Princess Elizabeth of Austria and home to Kaiser Wilhelm (one drives through what remains of Kaisers Bridge, on the east coast,). It was once the island's casino, it is still a museum and has been a location for films and was used in the European Union's summit for a banquet, for which is was substantially renovated.
Back a little nearer to town are the well-known beaches of Aghios Gordios, Glyfada and Ermones, whilst good swimming they are inevitably busy and are backed with hotels, though just north of Ermones is Mirtiotissa a beach of renowned beauty but be warned it is designated naturist! Pelekas, nearby, is a pretty village set on a hillside, with beautiful views and is the site of the Kaiser's throne. Here he used to go to watch the sunsets, usually at their most impressive in July with staggering shades of red and gold filling the sky. There is a hard to reach, but good sandy beach below the village; a haunt of back packers.
This is only picking some of the better-known sights and beaches, there are more and there are some excellent guidebooks to help.
Roads mostly radiate from the town (as do the public bus services which makes sightseeing by public bus tricky), but there is as good network and signs are in Greek and English.
The islands permanent population numbers around 150,000.
The island is only about 50 miles long as the crow flies and varies from 2 ½ to 28 miles wide, but travelling time is slow, as is the pace of life. Drive slowly, allow for wandering goats, chickens and donkeys laden with hay or olive nets, and allow for Greeks drivers who treat the Highway Code as a challenge. They say the shortest measurable moment of time is the time it takes the Greek behind you at the lights, to get his hand on his horn when the lights go green!
Mass tourism is mainly limited to small areas of coastline, most of the inland areas are untouched and the scenery and genuine charm and hospitality of the locals will captivate you. Do not be
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 Use front page.JPG "Kaminaki")
.jpg "Bella Vista")
