Corfu travel guide

Plan your trip, step by step

• Where to stay
  Choose a coast to base on and a hotel vs a villa.
• Things to do
  Decide which boat trips, sites and day trips to pre-book.
• Corfu in 3 days
  Follow a plan that balances the Old Town, the west coast and the south.
• Estimate your trip cost
  See what a Corfu trip costs in euros and set your style.
• First-timer mistakes to avoid
  Sidestep the errors that ruin a first Corfu trip.
• Corfu on a budget
  See what a lean, comfortable or generous day really costs.

The areas at a glance

Corfu Town (Kerkyra)

Known for the UNESCO-listed Old Town — two Venetian fortresses, the arcaded Liston, the huge Spianada green, the narrow kantounia alleys of Campiello, and the church of Agios Spyridon.

Kanoni, Perama & the near south

Known for Mouse Island (Pontikonisi) and the Vlacherna causeway, the Mon Repos estate, planes dropping over the lagoon, and the Achilleion palace inland at Gastouri.

Gouvia, Dassia & Ipsos

Known for the closest resort strip to town — the island’s biggest marina, watersports, and a bus link into Corfu Town that actually runs frequently.

Kassiopi & the northeast coves

Known for Barbati, Nissaki, Kalami and Agni — clear-water pebble coves under olive-covered hills, small-boat hire, villa country, and Albania visible across the strait.

Paleokastritsa & the northwest

Known for the island’s postcard coast — cliffs, coves and sea caves, the hilltop monastery, the Byzantine ruin of Angelokastro and the Bella Vista lookout above Lakones.

Glyfada, Pelekas & Agios Gordios

Known for the west-coast sand belt — broad sandy beaches, real sunsets, and the Kaiser’s Throne viewpoint above Pelekas.

Deciding which coast to base on? The where-to-stay guide turns these areas into a lodging decision.

When to go — month by month

Average daytime high (bars) and rainy days per month, from 5-year climate normals. Greener months are the most comfortable to visit.

Best months to visit: Mar–May

Destinations with a similar climate

Like Corfu’s weather? These places have the closest year-round climate in our data — tap through for each one’s best time to visit.

• Naples →
• Palermo →
• Sorrento →
• Positano →
• Split →
• Rome →

Know before you go

Currency

Euro (€). Cards work in Corfu Town, hotels and larger tavernas, but village kiosks, beach bars, small boat operators and rural bakeries still run on cash — carry some.

Language

Greek. English is widely spoken across the tourism trade thanks to a long British-holiday history; Italian and German are common in the resorts. Learning “kalimera” and “efcharistó” is enough to be gracious.

From the airport

Corfu International “Ioannis Kapodistrias” (CFU) sits immediately south of Corfu Town on the edge of the lagoon — one of the shortest airport-to-centre hops in Greece. Blue urban bus line 15 links the terminal with the KTEL station, San Rocco square and the port; taxis and the car-hire desks are at arrivals.

Getting around

Two separate bus systems: BLUE urban buses (Astiko KTEL Kerkyras) for the town and near suburbs — Zone A €1.30, Zone B €1.80, a day ticket €5, cheaper from the kiosk than onboard — and GREEN KTEL buses from the Eptanisou Avenue station for the rest of the island (Paleokastritsa, Sidari, Kassiopi, Glyfada, Agios Gordios, Kavos). Green-bus frequencies drop hard on Sundays and out of season, which is why most visitors end up hiring a car.

Best time

May–June and September are the sweet spot — sea warm enough, resorts open, prices below the August wall. July and August are the hottest and busiest. Corfu is far wetter than the Aegean islands (that is why it is green): rainfall climbs steeply from late October and peaks in November–December, and much of the coast simply closes for the winter.

Seasonality & levies

Coastal Corfu runs roughly May to October; Corfu Town is the only part of the island that stays properly open all year. VAT is already inside displayed prices, but a per-night climate-resilience levy on accommodation is charged separately at check-in and varies by property type and season — leave room for it in your budget.

For the best months to visit and a day-by-day plan, see Corfu in 3 days.