Travel Report Corfu
Is Corfu worth a visit? What could a 7 days photo tour look like?
Our Corfu travel report summarizes the highlights of our photo trip and gives you valuable tips on how to prepare. Here are our highlights in short form:
1.Day: Munich > Korfu > Moraitika > Hotel: Domes Miramare Resort
2.Day: Agios Gordios Beach > Pelekas > Glyfada >
3. Day: Paleokastritsa > Timoni Beach
4.Day: Kavos > Mikro Nisi Beach
5.Day: Achilleion (Sissi Palace) > Prasoudi Beach > The Governors Olive Mill
6.Day: Korfu Town
Where is Corfu?
What you should definitely think about when traveling to Corfu
Local currency: Euro. For payments or cash withdrawals you can use your credit card everywhere in the country. Cash is more needed for tips.
Vaccinations: Coming from Germany, no vaccinations are required. However, the standard vaccinations are recommended, see suggestions from the Foreign Office.
Luggage: Only observe the luggage restrictions of the airlines. Otherwise everything is unproblematic.
Important documents besides passport
Visa: As a German citizen you do not need a visa (!)
Driving license: EU driving license is sufficient.
Clothing: Take light and airy clothes and don’t forget your bathing shoes, as there are often stony beaches.
Detailed travel report Corfu - important questions:
Is a short visit to Corfu worth it at all?
Corfu is always worth a trip. It is Greece’s greenest island, which reveals its true beauty at first sight.
Corfu has a lot of culture and history to offer. In addition, you should know that in summer it gets hot up to 40 degrees and due to the geographical location of Corfu can also have high humidity.
Do I need a rental car on the island?
Our recommendation is definitely a rental car, even if they can be sometimes very expensive. But if you want to see a lot and not lose too much time with cab or bus, there is no real alternative. Unless you want to ride a scooter or quad.
We recommend the Premium All Inclusive Package from Check 24, then you don’t have to worry about anything.
Which places are suitable for staying overnight?
Basically, the answer depends on personal budget and interests, which is why it is difficult to give real tips in our Corfu travel report.
A number of really good hotels can be found in Corfu Town, Paleokastritsa and Glyfada Beach in the west. Alternatively in the east e.g. in Moraitika. We chose the Domes Miramare Resort. It is – as the name says – a resort and adults only (minimum 16 years of age). Apart from that it has 2 good restaurants, an excellent location and offers the usual Marriott comfort of a 5 star hotel.
There is no lounge for status members and also the villa area, with its own pool and restaurant is denied. However, you get the free breakfast from Platinum status and above.
We found the location in Moraitika very pleasant, because you can walk from there in the evening to the village, where there are many delicious restaurants.
How to get to Corfu?
Flights go directly from Munich to Corfu (Kerkira). The flight takes less than 2h and yet you are quickly in a whole different world. Corfu airport is small, very small. The rental car counters are almost all located directly in the terminal. You find the rental cars outside the terminal on a small parking lot in front of it (5 min walk).
Domes Miramare resort can be reached after a 30min drive from the airport. The time difference to Germany is +1.
Restauranttips Moraitika
Domes Miramare Resort has 2 restaurants of its own, but we recommend the following restaurants in Moraitika, which are all less than 10 min walk from the hotel:
- Bella Vista (see picture with view over Moraitika).
- Rosegarden
- The Village Taverna
- Sul Posto Pizzeria
Agios Gordios Beach can be reached from Moraitika after about 30m in drive through the mountains and has spectacular views of the coast. From there you can continue to Pelekas. It is a small sleepy mountain village, with narrow streets, partly abandoned houses and a beautiful viewpoint (Emperor Throne) from which you have an almost 360 degree view over the island.
For lunch, the bay of Glyfada is recommended. Here, if you drive to the right bay, there is a restaurant directly on the beach. It looks like a cheap tourist restaurant and is rather simple, but the view and food are excellent and definitely worth a lunch visit. Incidentally, here is also the newest Marriott (Domes) Hotel on the island.
Paleokastritsa another highlight of our travel report Corfu
On Corfu there is practically only one main road, which runs from north to south. Everything else are small and yet quite narrow roads, if you want to call tarred dirt roads so. In addition, from east to west and vice versa, you almost always have to cross the mountains. Thus, the drive from the hotel to Paleokastritsa takes a good 1h20min.
The 5 bays are beautiful and therefore extremely crowded. You see many tourists and also the beaches of the bays are full. However, it is the ideal starting point for any kind of boat trip, especially to the 2 beaches bay (Timoni Beach), which is difficult to reach on foot.
If you are looking for a restaurant with a nice view, we recommend Alipa.
For drone pilots: from the harbor you can start a wonderful tour through the bays.
Port Timoni and the 2 Beach Bay
From Paleokastritsa you can continue to Port Timoni and the Timoni Viewpoint. Shortly before the destination, a paid parking lot attracts, but just leave it on the left and continue to the end. There you can also park for free (!).
Unlike the name suggests, the road goes uphill to a small village with really picturesque alleys. Most visitors have only one goal, the trail to the 2 beaches bay (Timoni Beach). Here you should wear sturdy shoes.
We go only the first meters to the viewpoint and that is already in many places an adventure with “umknickgefahr”. The viewpoint itself is a rock on which you have to climb and quite honestly not worth the walk. Brave drone pilots simply fly from the start of the trail over to the bay and save isch the climbing.
As a restaurant for a break we recommend Avefios. Top quality, extremely friendly and the price is absolutely ok. A wonderful stop for lunch with a great view.
The south of the island Corfu
In the south of the island lies Kavos. The beach is a bit disappointing, but waits with a nice beach bar called Cavo d “Oro (sea the difference), which invites you to stay. The place is nice and firmly in English hands. However, many stores and bars are closed and look as if they have been closed for some time.
From Kavos we continue to Legkimmi, a beach in the southwest. Here we are surprised by a beach bar that we would not have expected, the Mikro Nisi Beach. A modern Greek beach house, with its own beach. Stylish, great service, simple but delicious dishes and an absolute must when visiting the southwest. Also a great spot for all drone flyers.
Corfu is divided into east and west beaches. Almost all beaches in the east have stony beaches, while in the west it is more sandy beaches. The water on the eastern beaches is much clearer.
Achilleion, Sissis Palace
The Achilleion, the palace of Sissi, is one of the main reasons for most tourists and especially cruisers to come to the island. Accordingly, there is always a lot going on. The entrance fee of 10€ seems reasonable until you come across the small sign at the entrance that practically everything except the basement and parts of the gardens will be closed for renovation for the next 4-5 years (starting July 2021).
Prasoudi Beach, only for Insider
The visit to Achilleion can be perfectly combined with a visit to Prasoudi Beach in the west of the island. This is a real insider tip of our travelogue Corfu, just like the Avra Okeanos Taverna. The place is simple but Illias the boss is great and the food is excellent. It is also a good spot for sunsets, which you can only see well in the west of the island.
From here you can also make a detour to one of the world’s best olive oil mills (The Governors Olive Mill) and do an on-site tasting. Likewise, a tour of the mini-museum and the production plant is possible.
Corfu town is another highlight. There it is already extremely crowded in the morning (yes, also because of the cruise ships in the port) and so it is not easy to find a good parking space. The small, bustling streets are fantastically beautiful and at the same time you have the feeling that nothing has been renovated for many years, unfortunately!
PHOTOTIP:
Kanoni, a peninsula off Corfu Town, is the place of places for airplane fans. The highlight here is the airport’s runway, which is easy to see. The spectacular thing is that the planes land or take off just above the monastery Vlacherna a small chapel in the sea.
If you want to have lunch here, we recommend the Flisvos, directly at the monastery. You eat directly on the beach, with a view of the island of mice and the planes and again extremely tasty and fresh food, eg the linguini with gambas.
For coffee after lunch, a change of perspective is recommended (also works well in the evening), namely the Royal Grand Veranda, which is located practically above the Flisvos and once again allows a spectacular view of the arriving aircraft.
Fazit of our Travel Report Corfu
Corfu is worth a trip and the Domes Miramare Hotel is an absolute highlight. The hotel is fantastic in every respect and a good starting point for Corfu excursions. From a photographic point of view you should consider that on the east side of the island you only see the sunrise and in the west only the sunset. Only at the southern tip and in the north both are possible 🙂
The island has many beautiful bays and invites you to relax. Interestingly, modern buildings alternate with absolutely run-down buildings on the island constantly. Every place has ruins and beautiful buildings, often next to each other. Overall, not much has been invested in Corfu in recent years and you can see that (unfortunately).
Life runs a bit slower on Corfu, which is ideal for a great vacation.
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Which Photoequipment for Korfu?
The photo equipment we took to Corfu is listed below. In addition, you have the possibility to order the used photo equipment directly via our Photo-Shop and to request further technical details. There you can also find a lot of extras.
Cameras:
- Nikon D500
- Apple Iphone 12 Pro
- DJI Mavic Mini
- Go Pro Hero 8
Lenses:
- Nikon 70-200mm f/4
- Nikon 18-105mm
Rucksack / Trolley:
- Lowepro Pro Runner RL x450 AW II
- Manfrotto MB SV-M-30BB Allegra 30