GLYFADA: The cosmopolitan choice
Corfu's most famous beach. Apart rom its blue flag, it has also earned the title of the fourth most popular beach in Greece (according to a survey carried out by the Ministry for the Environment). You'll come here for the blue water, the fine golden sand, but also to see and to be seen - there is no trendier beach in Corfu. And it's always packed, mostly with Greeks. Grab one of the front recliners, play some beach volley or beach tennis, slip into your new swimsuit and head for the water. Stick to the left end of the beach - there's a public parking lot and a snack bar. The other end is where all the tavernas are, each one with its own parking area. Glyfada is an organised beach with facilities for disabled people and you can hire pedalos or canoes. There are a few hotels and rooms to let scattered along the length of the shore. When you've had enough swimming, join the crowd on the wooden deck of Aloha (one of the island's most famous beach bars) for a bite to eat, a cocktail, or possibly a water fight. To get to
Glyfada, follow the signs from Pelekas or
Agios loannis. (18 km from Corfu town
Myrtiotissa: A beautiful alternative
The steep dirt road has never been surfaced - as if on purpose to keep Myrtiotissa as untouched as possible. But this doesn't discourage the dozens of faithful devotees of this beautiful beach, who make their way down the bumpy road by car (10 minutes) or on foot (30 minutes), in the sun. The crystal clear water, the greenery, the sheer rocks around the beach and in the sea, combine to give it a wild, virgin beauty. The nudists who used to dominate the place now tend to gravitate to the left-hand end of the beach. The current population is more varied: islanders, foreign fans of alternative tourism, gays, naturalists, adventure-seekers The bottom drops away sharply here, and you have to be careful of the currents. A little to the north of the beach is the (16th century) monastery of the
Virgin of Myrtiotissa, from which the place takes its name. There is a little taverna near the monastery, and two or three makeshift snack bars on the beach that rent out recliners and sell pareos, chilled beer and delicious sandwiches fragrant with fresh oregano from the mountain. (20 km from Corfu town).
Agios Gordios: Buckets and spades … and scuba divers
German toddlers playing with their buckets and spades in the sand, groups of scuba divers setting off by the boatload to explore the local waters, English visitors enjoying lavish breakfasts in the beach pubs, curvaceous Scandinavian women sunbathing... Every day the broad sandy beach of
Agios Gordios attracts a colourful horde (from families of Germans to American students) from the nearby hotels and rooms to let. The organised beach also has a collection of shops, pubs, restaurants, a mini market and a private parking lot. Andreas
Doukakis' "Calypso
DivingCenter" offers diving lessons and organises dive trips to grottoes and sunken wrecks on the western coast. (20 km from Corfu town).
Ipsos: Youth and watersports
You'll see the wooden docks with their flags and banners, the jet skis and the colourful balloons before you turn off the main road. Ipsos, with its long narrow beach, has become synonymous with water sports and young English people. In recent years, of course, more and more of the hotels in the area have been renovated, aiming to attract other types of guests as well. Along the beach you'll find dozens of bars, ethnic restaurants, mini markets, hotels and campsites. Boats and zodiacs are available for hire (2661093914), and every day there are day trips by caique to different parts of the island.
(16 km from Corfu town)
Dassia: All time classic
Luxury hotels, campsites, one of the best Club Meds in
Europe, beach bars, tavernas and facilities of every imaginable kind make Dasia one of Corfu's most popular beaches. The narrow sand-and-pebble beach is dotted with umbrellas: some of these belong to the luxury hotels like the Corfu Chandris, some to beach bars, like the Eden (one of the hottest spots on the island), some to the Club Med, some to the tavernas and snack bars. The beach is fully organised, from one end to the other, and attracts a variety of patrons: from French youngsters who come to enjoy nature to English fans of water sports. Along the length of the beach you'll find mini markets, water sports, as well as boats and mini sailboats for hire. Day trips by calque to different parts of the island are organised every day. ( 13 km from Corfu town)
Gouvia: Yachts and fish taverna
Yachtsmen will have certainly heard of Gouvia, which has one of the best-organised marinas in Greece. So will fish-lovers, since its fish tavernas (e.g. the Gorgona) are among the best and most popular in Corfu. Scuba diving fans will find just the man here: Christos Mourikis, of the Professional Diving Center, located right at the Gouvia marina, sets off for Nisaki every morning at 09:30 with groups of diving enthusiasts. For less active types there is the Lagoon, a waterland with swimming pool, waterfalls, bar, Internet cafe, aquarobics, happenings and pool parties. The shores around the marina at Gouvia and also towards Kontokali are sandy, with organised beaches offering all kinds of water sports. They are surrounded by hotels, rooms to let, restaurants, shops and clubs of every description. Most of the people you meet on the beach will be young foreigners from the nearby hotels, but there will also be Greeks, coming for a swim near the town. (9 km from Corfu town)
Messonghi & Moraitika: For everybody
Seaside hotels with their own private waterfronts, pebble beaches with organised facilities, tourists turning brown on their recliners, enjoying the water sports or learning how to scuba dive. The expanses of shoreline that stretch out north and south of the Mesonghi river are not strictly parcelled out. Rather, this is a single beach, which embraces the private waterfront areas of the hotels in the twin resorts of Moraitika and Mesongi. Ever present are beach umbrellas, fine pebbles mixed with sand. Water sports are available at various points along the shore, and Messonghi also has a diving centre. Caiques leave from Mesongi every morning for Paxoi, Antipaxoi and Syvota. Along the main shore road between the two resorts you'll find everything you could need: municipal information bureau, banks, ATMs, restaurants, a mini market. (22 km from Corfu town)
Paleokastritsa: The beach with the Monastery
Small bays, deep green water, bare rocks thrusting out of the sea (can you see Ulysses' vessel, turned to stone?), verdant slopes reflected in the waters, gorgeous grottoes just waiting to be explored. The setting at Paleokastritsa, with the monastery of the Virgin standing dominating the tree-clad hillside, is quite unique for Greece. But as you snake down the asphalt road that takes you to the central bay of its six little bays, you have to wonder why the developers couldn't have shown more respect for this glorious landscape. Mini markets, hotels and rooms to let on pop up on either side at every turn, making the driving extremely difficult. The stands selling souvenirs and beach gear are yet another eyesore within this image of natural beauty.
But from the moment you set off by boat for one of the grottoes, you forget it all, engrossed in the marvellous blue-green seascape. Boats and water taxis are available from the main harbour, and at Alipa, a small pebble beach to the left of the main bay. One of the best spots for swimming are the rocks underneath the La Grotta beach-bar - those who love diving will enjoy it the most Apart from the grottoes, also ask the boatman to take you to one of the virgin beaches out towards Liapades and below Angelokastro. Paleokastritsa is always crowded: apart from the guests (mainly English) in the nearby hotels, coach loads of people are constantly arriving - the place has been on the must list for visitors to Corfu since the 70s. Of the many waterfront restaurants our favourite is The Rock, at the edge of the cliffside. There are also 3 diving schools and a mini market. At Agia Triada, a lush green pebbled bay to the left of Alipa, you'll find a beach bar, tennis court, small pool, boats, water taxis and various water sports (parasailing, water skiing, banana / rings, pedal). (25 km from Corfu town)
Sidari: The photographer’s dream
Lacy, sculptured rocks, small fjords, stone "recliners", canals and natural pools. It is not by chance that Sidari has been called the "Canal d' Amour", and has become a trademark of Corfu. The coastline here is one of the most striking on the island, but the heavy tourist development has spoiled the beauty of the landscape. The beach chairs cover the stone sculptures and the multi-coloured backdrop of the all-day bars, restaurants and hotels, like a cheap stage set, blocks out the lacy coastline. To get to the lacy rocks, follow the signs for Melitsa, left from Sidari in the direction of Peroulades. Just past the bridge, you'll see the "Canal d' Amour" on your left. The beach is very popular with the English who stay in the hotels in the vicinity, but it also attracts visitors who come simply to enjoy the unique spectacle. Try to come late in the afternoon, when it's relatively quiet. (36 km from Corfu town).
Roda & Acharavi: Family resorts
Luxury hotels set in gardens that run right down to the beach, waterfront tavernas and beach bars, colourful umbrellas, beach sports, water slides, tanned blonde families, ambulant doughnut vendors, pony rides, souvenir stands selling articles carved out of olive wood. Certain sections of the beach belong to the waterfront hotels with their clientele of (mainly) German families. Among them are the various organised beach facilities, with tavernas, beach bars (the Veggera in Acharavi is a must), mini markets and souvenir shops. Just after the centre of Acharavi is the Gellina Hotel's water park that will drive the kids wild. As you move farther eastward from Acharavi, at the level of Almyros, the beach becomes quieter, with just a few rooms to let and some fish tavernas - this is the territory favoured by the nudists and lovers of free camping. (35 km from Corfu town)
Agni: Eating fish on pebbles
Do pines grow on pebbles? Of course they do! And so do fish tavernas. A jaunt as far as the delightful little harbour of Agni, between Kaminaki and Kalami, will be enough to convince you of the fact. The fish tavernas that flourish here are the principal feature of this shore, and the reason why the Corfiots come back repeatedly throughout the summer. Periklis, the proprietor of the taverna Nikolas, will tell you stories about the days when his grandfather had a cafe on the same site and would put out plates of bread and olives for the merchants who came ashore from the "kaiki tis Postas", with which they travelled so as to sell their goods in the town. Even today, when the road to the beach has been surfaced, many people continue to come here by boat or tourist caique. Go to Toula's taverna for home-style Corfiot dishes. Every taverna has free parking and beach chairs for its customers, and there is also a municipal parking lot. (29 km from Corfu town)
Kavos: Party beach
Beach sports, scuba diving, pubs, mini markets, caiques loaded with fruit for sale, hotels, bright umbrellas, fast food stands and all day cafe bars with karaoke and satellite TV spread out like a movie set around Kavos beach. What more could an English teenager want? The British kids who flock to the island's southernmost resort every year come to drink, party, sunbathe and play in the warm, shallow water. You'll find them everywhere along the organised beach, enjoying the dozens of beach sports and happenings like wet T-shirt contests, and in the pubs that line the road behind the shore road, watching their favourite soap operas. (49 km from Corfu town)
Agios Georgios (Argirades): The southern resort
Beach sports and travel agents, simple rooms to let and hotel-villages, fish tavernas and Chinese restaurants - this large beach below the traditional village of Argirades has everything. Along the broad beach of fine damp sand is a fairly well-developed tourist resort, which attracts mainly family groups and low profile visitors, chiefly from Belgium, England and Germany. The road down to the beach (3 km of asphalt road in from the Lefkimmi highway, shortly before Argirades) ends at a small harbour, where you can leave your car. On either hand stretches the organised beach, where you will find both water sports and a diving centre. When you get hungry, go to Kafesas' fish taverna, which is famous for its fresh fish and mezedes. At the Malibu, you will enjoy the view and the varied menu, or have a snack meal at the Evergreen, a cafe with a funky atmosphere and delicious sandwiches, crepes and sweets. Along the shore road you'll find foreign exchange booths, card phones, rent-a-bike / moto, pubs, etc.
(33 km from Corfu town)
