Corfu Villa Holidays

Welcome to the Villa Holidays guide to Corfu villa holidays and planning your villa holiday to Corfu

Introduction to Corfu

Corfu is a Greek island, situated in the Ionian Sea, to the northwest of mainland Greece. It is the second largest and most northerly of the Ionian Islands and has been a popular tourist destination for many years. It shares the warm climate of all the eastern Mediterranean countries and the residents welcome all visitors who go to enjoy their Corfu villa holidays, with friendship, good food and delightful surroundings.

Recommended Corfu villa holiday companies
james villa holidays florida James Villas have a fantastic range of villas across Corfu all within an hour of Corfu airport

Overview of Corfu

A long, thin island, Corfu is not heavily populated. Of a total population of 108,000 people, almost 40,000 live in the capital, also called Corfu. Corfu city is located on the east coast of the island and contains most of the historical buildings on the island. Despite suffering many earthquakes throughout its history, Corfu city has managed to retain most of its old architecture.

Most other towns on Corfu are around the coastal area, the centre of the island being very mountainous, like much of Greece. There are many small villages around the coast, providing considerable accommodation for visitors enjoying Corfu villa holidays.

Climate of Corfu

Staying in holiday villas in Corfu enables visitors to enjoy one of the most congenial climates of the eastern Mediterranean. Like all the Ionian Islands, Corfu has a warm climate with long hot summers.

Unusually for Mediterranean islands, Corfu has a surprising amount of rainfall, which has resulted in probably the greenest island in the area. However, this climatic fact is unlikely to inconvenience most holiday visitors as the rainfall is restricted to the winter months – from late September to March.

For the summer period, warm temperatures can be guaranteed. The slightly more northern latitude means that the top temperature is marginally lower than some destinations, but summer Corfu villa holidays will still enjoy mid-day temperatures between 80º in June and 88º in August – excellent beach temperatures.

Best Areas for Villa Holidays in Corfu

Although there are very many beaches and bays around the entire coast of Corfu, the sandiest are probably in the north and northeast of the island. As a result, a number of Corfu holiday villas have been built to provide access in these areas. Particularly popular are the areas around Paleokastritsa and Agios Georgios on the west coast, Sidari in the northwest and Kassiopi in the north east. All resorts can offer great beach facilities with all the amenities one could ever need.

Transport

Corfu city has a modern international airport, just two miles outside the town, providing regular direct flights to Athens. Some holiday flights link with Athens whilst others can take visitors directly to Corfu airport to start their Corfu villa holidays. It takes about three to four hours flight, depending on the links to be made during the journey.

There is an excellent ferry service to the port at Patras in eastern mainland Greece, which takes about 6 hours. For trips across the short straits to northern Greece or Western Albania, there are a number of smaller ferries, including the delightfully named “Flying Dolphins” – hydrofoils which make the short journeys very quickly indeed.

Once on the island, travelling around is very easy. There are two major motorways linking the main towns, enabling convenient transfers to the Corfu villas locations on the coast. There are regular bus services from Corfu city to all the major centres.

Things to do in Corfu:

  • The beaches are a major attraction all around the coast, offering lovely sand and sea.
  • A number of Corfu holiday villa resorts offer windsurfing and water skiing facilities, including tuition.
  • For the active there are many walks along the headlands, giving stunning views
  • See the centre of the island with slightly less effort on a horse trekking expedition.
  • For the young of all ages, Aqualand provides all the fun of water at one of Europe’s largest aquatic centres in the middle of the island.
  • In Corfu city follow up the island’s history by visiting the Venetian castles or wander through the winding streets of the old town.

Festivals and events in Corfu

The major festival in Corfu, as in all of Greece, is Easter. Celebrations take place throughout Easter week and include processions, the displaying of the churches’ statues and banners and lots of music, which is a particular feature in Corfu.

At the other end of the period of Lent, the residents and visitors alike join in the Carnival, which has a strong Venetian influence. Fancy dress, wine and music are the order of the day.

Typical cost of living in Corfu

Corfu is not the cheapest destination in Greece and prices have increased since the change to the Euro. A typical, basic meal in a taverna will cost about €20 including wine.

Hiring a car to facilitate travel during a Corfu villa holiday, will cost about €30-50 a day in the low season or €42-65 in the high season.

A bottle of wine will be €3 –9 a bottle, depending on the quality. Local wine is about €7 a litre.

Useful tips when visiting Corfu

  • Check for music events in Corfu city – there are many excellent orchestras and bands.
  • Visit any of the 6 museums in the city.

Corfu Food and drink

Local dishes include:

Sofito – veal cooked in the Venetian style
Bourdelo – cod in a peppery sauce
Bianca – white fish stew
Pastitsada – pasta and meat
Plus one can enjoy traditional Greek dishes and drinks, such as retsina or ouzo during their Corfu villa holidays.