Tales from Corfu

There are two water parks on Corfu, Aqualand and Hydro...something-or-other. We didn't go to the second one, but Aqualand was very good. (See journal entry.) Also, a trip around Corfu town is well worth doing on a day off from the beach! It is a very cosmopolitan place really, and surprisingly sophisticated. There is even a Marks and Spencer shop (which Mum was very happy about!). There are also some older sections of Corfu town where you can wander though narrow, mazelike streets for hours and pick up some cheap bargains too.

Quick Tips:

Before we left for Corfu (me and my boyfriend), Mum warned us that Corfu has a strange microclimate and that even through the middle of summer you would be very unlikely to get a whole two weeks of sunny weather. And she was right! So on the one rainy day we had we went off to the water park, figuring that we'd be wet all day there anyway! And sure enough, the rain didn't bother us and we didn't feel like we'd wasted a precious day of our holiday. A few weeks after we got back, a group of mates was heading off to Corfu, so I passed on the advice...which they followed, and all claimed that they'd felt like they hadn't lost a day as well! The good thing about the rainy days in Corfu is that the storms are very tropical, and don't last for more than a few hours (a day at max), and unlike Britain, it stays warm even when pelting with rain!

Best Way To Get Around:

As with all the Greek islands, the Corfu bus service is quite good, being very cheap and frequent. However, the buses are not air-conditioned and do get very hot and sticky. The taxis are also reasonably priced. We got taxis for €15 for a 20-minute journey (Kassiopi to Genami), which is very reasonable compared to Ireland.

This taverna is situated on Kouloura Bay, on the road down to the harbour, and is well placed for boat-watching and general relaxing. It is a great place just to sit, think, and feel what small sea breeze there is, with the sounds of the water lapping against the harbour wall in the background. The restaurant is very small inside, but that isn’t a bother as sitting outside is much nicer anyway. Outside there are plenty of tables, both covered and out in the sunshine.

This taverna is a perfect place to just while away a few hours of the afternoon and relax - and that is what many people do there! There is something so peaceful about the place, especially if you are there mid-afternoon, after the lunchtime rush. The waiters don’t bother you, they actually disappear inside and play backgammon, and you can sit there as long as you want under no pressure to leave or order more drinks.

The food at the taverna is well worth a mention as well. The menu is extensive, especially in the peak summer months, with fish and traditional Greek meals as specialties. As is usual for Greek restaurants, there are plenty of choices for meat, but more so here for fish-eaters and plenty of veggie meals too (as long as you are adventurous – many of the veggie things are Greek traditional meals). If a snack is all that is wanted, then the choices, again, are extensive. A personal choice of mine (vegetarian) is the cooked, house-special feta – or something like that. Basically you get a huge lump of feta (goats) cheese marinated in tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables cooked in tin foil in the oven. This is very tasty, extremely filling, and only a few euro! We have eaten at Kouloura many times, and the food is always lovely. One of the highest reasons for going is that the taverna is very popular with Greek families. If the locals are eating there, then the food must be good! On the downside, although the food is very good, it is a little pricey. Starters go from around €2 to 6, and main meals are from €10 to 20. Snacks such as sandwiches are around €2 to 3.

Dimitri’s Taverna is perched up on the road that curves around the mountains above Kalami, in the northwest of Corfu. Without hesitation, I would say that this restaurant has one of the best views on the island from its veranda. My boyfriend and I decided to go there for a romantic meal on one of the evenings of our holiday, and I would have to say that the scenery and atmosphere there really did create the perfect romantic ambience. It certainly helped that the food was extremely good, as well, and the service was first-rate. We were advised to book a table in advance, and to specify that we wanted one by the balcony (not for those with a fear of heights—the balcony juts straight out over the side of the mountain…), as the restaurant is very popular, especially at peak season, and these tables were the ones that went first. We were also advised to book for about 7:30 or 8pm, as this meant we would be there in time to watch the spectacular sunset.

We took all the advice and got a table right by the balcony rail, where we enjoyed a completely unblocked view of the mountainside, sloping down to Kalami and the beach, and Albania in the distance. We both had to agree that the view was as good as we’d been told, and it got better as the light faded and the sun set.

The menu was extensive and filled with delicious-tasting Greek and European delicacies, and although we initially gasped at the prices of the food, we resigned ourselves to having an expensive meal and proceeded to order whatever tickled our fancy. The starters ranged from approximately €6-8, and the main meals were approximately €14-24; we both turned down dessert, so I didn’t see the menu or prices. When the food arrived, however, we took back everything we’d said about the prices; the portions were huge and the taste delicious. My boyfriend had the steak, and he said it just melted in his mouth. I had the calamari (squid) and found exactly the same—not chewy at all.

Along with the food, we ordered a steady supply of drinks. I ordered the house wine, and he went with pints of local beer, and once we finished our meal, we lingered on over drinks until midnight, with no pressure from the staff to free up the table. When we went up to pay, we were absolutely shocked to find that our bill only came to €55 (for two starters, two main courses, and many, many, many rounds of drinks)! After checking the bill and finding it correct, we left a massive tip and merrily and tipsily made our way home.

The next day, with soberer heads, we worked out although the food was quite expensive (but well worth it), the drinks were amazingly cheap, thereby making this restaurant an extremely cheap way to enjoy a lovely, romantic evening and spectacular views.

Kalami Beach is a lovely beach for sunbathing, etc., but there’s only so much lying down and baking you can do before getting bored. When that happens the best thing to do is get the adrenaline pumping! Sakis Watersports is based on the lefthand side of the beach (if looking out to sea) on a big floating pontoon, and can’t be missed. They do water skiing lessons for all levels of experience and also ringo and hot rod rides. The company prides itself on having instructors qualified and registered with the British Water Ski Federation.

My brother tried out the beginners’ skiing lesson and had great fun. He paid €30 for a lesson (half hour) and found it very entertaining and good exercise too – he was shattered when he got back to the beach! My mother, who can ski already did the ski tow (€22 per tow – 10 mins approx) and found it really challenging, which must be good. They also do beginners’ mono ski lessons for €25 and it is possible to get discount cards if multiple ski sessions are bought.

The ringos are more my style, so my boyfriend, my little brother, and I decided to try them out. We had great fun! I think with the ringos, the more the merrier, the three of us kept bouncing off each other and that caused more capsizing than the waves alone! The ride lasted about 10 mins, but my heart was still going about an hour later. I’d say it was well worth the money! The ringos cost us €11 each as there were three of us. A single ride (1 person alone) would have cost €18 and per person for a double ride it would have cost €13. Personally I think the triple ride is the only way to go. The boat drivers are very sympathetic to the age and confidence of whoever is in the ringos. For this reason they can be recommended to families as well as young adults. We saw children going on the ringos and they had such an easy ride compared to us!

Sakis Watersports was very safety conscious, which was obviously good. The prices all included insurance. They spent time checking that each person was wearing the correct sized safety jacket and that it was correctly fastened. All their equipment looked new and in good condition, as did their boat (by this I mean I saw no jackets with rips or skis with broken bits).

I highly recommend everyone to have a go water skiing or on the ringos, even people who are not competent swimmers should consider it – with the safety jackets, there is no need to swim anyway!

Sakis have a Website: www.corfuboats.gr and their phone no is 26630 91646 (don’t forget the Greek international dialing code: 0030)

Kouloura bay is one of the many gorgeous and unspoilt beaches lining the northeast coast of Corfu between Ipsos/Pyrgi and Kassiopi, and is easily walked to from Kalami beach in about 10mins. Kouloura bay is owned (I think) by a branch of the Agnelli Fiat family. The family has a beautiful, large villa on one of the headlands and a lovely little harbour for their boats, with extra room for a few owned by local residents and people visiting for the day. Just on the road, about 30m uphill from the harbour is a small taverna imaginatively called the Kouloura Taverna (see separate journal entry), which is a lovely relaxing place to have a drink or ten and a snack or meal. In the bay itself is a lovely but small beach (pebbly), which is shaded the whole way around by cypress trees and an olive grove, and nearly overpowered by the sound of crickets.

Although the entire bay and headlands are privately owned, the public is allowed to use the beach and obviously the taverna is there to be used as well! The beach is a lovely place to relax if an empty beach and some peace and quiet are wanted. There are no sunbeds and umbrellas for hire (although the trees lining the beach are good for shade), or pedaloes or manic watersports disturbing the calm of the bay. The water is as clear and clean as anything, and, as the bay has a rocky bottom, it is brilliant for snorkelling and scuba diving. One warning though - it’s a good idea to wear sandals or other shoes into the water, as we did spot some of those spiky sea anemones lurking around the place, and, apparently, they can give a nasty sting.

The little harbour is as quaint as it is practical. There is a harbour wall that juts nearly halfway across the mouth of the bay and then comes back around, so that the harbour itself takes on a horse-shoe shape when looked at from the road above. The harbour wall acts as a breakwater during the winter storms and protects most of the bay from the storm waves. Thankfully, the harbour is too small and shallow for the larger tourist cruiseboats to dock, which means that even at the peak of the summer, the peace and tranquillity of the area is never ruined.

Aqualand is situated just north of Corfu town. It is easy to find, as there are signs for the place dotted along the roads all around Corfu.

I’ve been to Aqualand on two occasions now, and had a great day both times. The first year we went, it was raining, and the park was a bit less crowded, but the second time we went, it was a beautiful day and the place was wedged! There were good points and bad points about each visit. On the rainy day there were no queues for any of the rides, but it was a bit chilly waiting to go down them. On the sunny day, there were really long queues, but at least it was nice and warm while waiting! I think in general though I preferred going on the rainy day though; we got far more turns on each of the rides, although next time, we’ll take twice as many towels!

The park is massive, and there is so much to do. There are rides for all ages, from paddle pools for toddlers to kamikaze rides for the mad teenagers and young people and a lazy river and huge wave pool for those who prefer a slower pace of life! The park is very well monitored by life guards, who seemed to be everywhere, but at least you knew you were safe in the water. The kiddies pools especially seemed to be well looked after.

The water park is laid out in a garden fashion, with the slides spread out between areas of lawn and patio areas, perfect for sunbathing. There are hundreds of sun beds and umbrellas spread around the place as well, should you need a breather. On busy days, though, it can take a while to find vacant beds!

The park opens from May to October from about 10am to 6pm, and although is a bit pricey, is well worth it for a day out. It works out to about €18 for the whole day (€13 if you turn up after 3pm) for those ages 13 to 65 and less for children (€13 for the whole day, €9 for the half-day) and then food, drinks, souvenirs, and other extras on top. These prices were right for 2004 (I think). The park can be contacted on 0030 2661 052963 or emailed at info@aqualand-corfu.com for up-to-date prices.

It is possible to keep the day a bit cheaper though, by bringing packed lunches and lots of outside drinks (Once in the park, you can leave and get back in again, as they stamp your hand, so lunch can be left in the car until needed). If you feel like spoiling yourself, however, there is a fast food café and a salad bar that sells food all day. Also, scattered around the park are small booths selling chips, ice cream, popcorn, and more, so food is easy to find. There are also bars and booths selling cigarettes dotted around the place as well.

The souvenirs are cheap and tacky and should be avoided as better, cheaper versions can be bought outside the park. Also, they take pictures of you going down certain slides. These are really pricey to buy (you don’t have to though if you don’t want to), but we took it in turns to take pictures of each other and got exactly the same results!

Lockers are provided (€5 a day) and are well worth it for storing cameras, money, and valuables. We had some great days out at Aqualand and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a change from siteseeing or beach worshipping!