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Should I have allotted more than two nights for Corfu, the largest Ionian island off the coast of Greece? Of course I should have!
For me, Corfu was meant to be a stopover en route from Santorini to Albania. I flew there via Athens with two intentions: to see the UNESCO World Heritage-listed old town and to get the ferry to Albania.
I had spent the last eight nights in hostel dorms in Barcelona and Santorini and was desperately craving privacy — a place where I didn’t have to sleep with my valuables in bed with me, where I didn’t have to wait for the bathroom, where I could chuck my earplugs and sleep peacefully without interrupting snores.
I found a Corfu apartment on Airbnb and it looked great — pretty close to perfect, even. Modern, great reviews, wifi, very good price, right in the old town. Sadly, it was only available for two nights.
Hmm. You know what? I thought to myself. You want to get to Albania soon anyway, and it will be much cheaper there. You can just explore Corfu for a day and move on.
And so I booked it for two nights.
Right away, my Airbnb host admonished me. “Such a pity that you’re only staying for two nights! It’s not enough to enjoy this beautiful island!”
“Well, that’s all you had!” I pointed out.
My host’s father picked me up at the airport and dropped me off at the apartment. Finally alone for the first time in over a week, I cranked up the AC and took off my pants. I was HOME!
(Seriously, in the 36 hours I spent in that apartment, I think I spent a grand total of two minutes wearing pants.)
It was a short visit — but very sweet. In between receiving Airbnb message from my host (most of them reading, “You should have spent more time here!”), I explored the pretty and historical old town.
The verdict on Corfu? Very pretty, very historical, and absolutely lovely.
Here are some of my favorite shots from the island.
Immediately I was welcomed with vibrant Greek flags. I love this shot with the many layers of the buildings!
My apartment was on the edge of the old town — and at first I was underwhelmed as I wandered the streets, until I looked at a map and realized I had been strolling in the wrong direction.
Now, THAT’S what I’m talking about! Look at those incredible shutters!
I took that photo with the white balance on “shade,” playing up the warm tones. I love how warm it makes the photos feel.
Read More: 30 Stunning Mediterranean Islands To Visit In Your Lifetime
Corfu’s fortress has Seen Some Shit, let me tell you that. The fort held back three sieges from the Ottomans in 1537, 1571, and 1716.
In 1718, its powder magazine was struck by lightning and exploded, killing hundreds of people. This became known as “The Catastrophe.”
Later, during World War II, the Nazis used the fortress to imprison Corfu’s Jews.
Corfu Town is full of color. It’s also full of souvenir shops, tourists, and cafe signs reading “COLD BEER!”
Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
Spending a hot day underneath one of those umbrellas, enjoying the Ionian breezes? Perfection.
Until you get a beep from your Airbnb host on your phone. “If you stayed longer you would have seen the best beaches!”
I love photographing laundry everywhere I go. Not sure why.
Look at that color of the Ionian Sea. Far in the distance, that’s Albania.
Corfu Town isn’t home to the best beaches — for the real stunners, you’ll have to rent a car and explore the island. But if you’re sticking to town, you can certainly cool off on the narrow beaches.
I have no words for how much I love this photo. That old door. That jungle green paired with yellow. That sassy little fire hydrant!
This is why I love the Balkans. Clearest water in the world, from Greece to Montenegro to Slovenia.
So that’s how I spent my day in Corfu Town, exploring the different corners, sitting in different cafes, drinking lots of iced espressos, and devouring The Martian and Tomboy.
Then I went back to my apartment and took my pants off once again.
I don’t think my host ever got over the length of my stay. Even my Airbnb review from him reads, “Sadly only stayed two days. I hope to host Kate again in the near future for longer.”
I GET IT! TWO DAYS WAS TOO SHORT! YOU MADE IT EXTREMELY CLEAR!
I’ll stay longer next time. I swear.
READ NEXT: Is it safe to travel to Greece right now? Absolutely.
Essential Info: Despite Greece’s economic crisis, it is very safe to visit Greece right now. This post goes into depth on the subject.
I stayed at this Airbnb apartment for $52 per night. It was an excellent rental, central and with all the amenities I needed. There is a washer but there was no laundry soap (a common refrain with my Airbnb rentals in Europe this summer). The host is responsive and communicative, but know that he will want you to stay as long as possible!
New to Airbnb? Sign up here and get $25 off your first stay!
You can find the best prices in hotels in Corfu here.
If you’re traveling onward to Saranda, Albania, there are several daily ferries. You can check the schedule here. If you book with Ionian, keep in mind that the Ionian Cruises ticket office is not at the dock but down the street! Get your tickets in advance or you’ll have to hail a taxi in a panic like I did!
You can also get to Italy and several other Greece islands by ferry.
View all Corfu ferry schedules here.
Never travel without travel insurance! I use and recommend World Nomads.
Corfu looks so cool just to hang out in. Had a wee chuckle at ‘sleeping with my valuables in bed with me’, stayed in a hostel last night for the first time in six weeks, me and the valuables were very cosy :/
Place I stayed not long enough, Lubeck, only had a day before a flight but a couple days to explore further would have been great.
There is something creepy about laundry photos for me.
I wouldn’t go so far as to photograph underwear. I do agree that that feels a bit uncomfortable.
Haha Kate you crack me up! Very funny and very beautiful – how pretty is Corfu? The best way to see the beaches is to rent a little boat, that way you don’t need to wear pants when you’re exploring 😉
Corfu looks amazing! We were hoping to spend Christmas in Greece this year, so maybe we’ll look into Corfu.
Corfu is perfect on Easter, not Christmas. Very traditional easter with alot of local customs.
what a lovely place to visit!
Val
If I remember correctly, you invested in a new camera recently, right? Paying off heaps! Your photos have been killing me more and more each post. Your shots of the laundry, people on the beach and that door and fire hydrant blew me away. Love this post 🙂
Thank you so much! I am so pleased with my Fuji X-T1. Full review here: https://www.adventurouskate.com/best-mirrorless-camera-for-travel-fuji-x-t1/
Great pictures Kate and shame you weren’t able to stay longer.
Whilst I’ve been to Greece a couple of times Corfu I’ve yet to see. However my wife is a massive fan and spent 3 weeks there recently with her mum. They got a great deal with a UK travel agent. So they enjoyed a fabulous 3 weeks on the island whilst I was working away. Hopefully I’ll get there soon though.
Hope you get back soon and with a longer stay planned. It looks magical.
Corfu is beautiful, but if you want to see the best beaches in Greece, and probably all Europe, next time you should visit Lefkada 🙂 In general all the Ionian coast is amazing.
Two days is better than no days. I did an Easy Cruise around the Ionian Islands and *gasp* only had 1 day and 1 night in Corfu. I loved the Old Town and we went to a beautiful beach on the other side of the island as well.
This is funny…
I like maximizing my layover time (I hate layovers!) so 6 years ago I popped into Munich for 4.5 hours, and in July it was Vienna for 2.5… Yes, not quite the same as your actual stay, but enough to be left wanting MOAR!
Lovely post about Corfu Kate and with lots of wonderful sunshine too LOL!
When I first moved to Germany, I got a little home-sick three months later, so I rang up my brothers who live in Cheshire (Northern England) to come and meet me in Southern England (London) so I took a coach (bus) from Berlin to London, spent 23 hours and then took the bus back.
It really helped!
p.s. It only cost 20 DM at the time so I had to do it LOL!
It looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing those wonderful pictures. I haven’t seen a lot of coverage of Corfu on blogs so this was a pleasant surprise. I have been wanting to visit Corfu since I started reading Gerald Durrell’s books way back in the early 80’s. He was a British naturalist who grew up in Corfu. I have visited his wildlife zoo on Jersey and have been wanting to visit Corfu for so long. I’m at the very beginning stages of planning my next “big one” which will be the UK and places in southern Europe from mid March to late May next year…Corfu is on the list. (finally!) I think I should get my act together and see if that apartment i free! I use airbnb all the time and love it.
Corfu is definitely on my list of places to visit! Such a beautiful place!
I‘ve been to Valencia for two nights this year and I really wished I would have taken more time to visit this wonderful city. But it‘s ok, since the city won‘t go anywhere, I can still visit next year!
Wow! Corfu looks great! I share your obsession of painted doors and windows, especially when the paint has partly fallen off. Great post, and it will be on my list of places to go. Next week I’ll explore the mainland of Greece (Athens, Meteora and Thessaloniki).
The littler interludes from the AIr BnB host throughtout this post is hilarious.
I’m such a sucker for nice, clear, blue water. Probably because I’m such water baby!
Hahaha. I hope Spyros got a nice long-staying guest next.
Well, the best season to visit Corfu is in spring, especially Easter time -I mean orthodox Easter when a series of particular happenings takes place such, especially on Good Saturday- and in late summer -early autumn when the tourists are less and the nature still wonderful. Nice beaches, surf beaches, a stylish town, music from the multiple orchestras on Sundays.
Wonderful, but best beaches ever, in my home island Lefkada, another used-to-be island in the Ionian Sea.
Beautiful photos, Kate! I was in Skyros a few weeks back and it made me decide that next summer I want to Greek island hop!
Oh, everywhere I went when I lived in Paris. I would have liked a few more days in Vienna and Edinburgh…and don’t get me started on how I did Italy! I flew into Rome and stayed with a friend in Nettuno, about an hour and a half down the coast from Rome. The next day we spent most of the day in Rome, and the day after that we caught a connecting train to Florence, where we didn’t manage to spend longer than half a day. Never again!
I hope you do return one day! I visited with three others for three nights and that was definitely not enough (come to think of it, I believe our apartment host also told us it was a shame we weren’t staying for longer haha). We had a car, so we saw a good chunk of the northern half of the island, but didn’t come anywhere near the southern half. Beautiful island and so different than the other islands 🙂
In case you are interested, here is how we spent our time on Corfu: http://buissonfamily.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/corfu-greece.html
Corfu is on my bucket list as well! Lovely pictures, Kate!
Great pictures. I especially liked the one of Ionian Sea. You made it look so amazing, and it made me wish I was there. Adding it to my list of things to see/do in Greece. Thanks for sharing.
Gorgeous photos!! I HAVE to get to Greece. Hopefully next year! xx crosses fingers
Gorgeous! You’re really fuelling my fire to get back to the Balkans and explore more towns like this.
Now that I’ve been to all of the Balkan countries, what am I going to do next summer?!?! (Probably Croatia and The Yacht Week. And Exit and Sea Dance festivals in Serbia and Montenegro.)
That’s the thing about traveling – the unexpected always happens.
I love your photos! Looks so gorgeous! Corfu looks amazing! Thanks for sharing this
Corfu looks simply STUNNING! I have dreams of eating greek food on that coast with a glass of wine. It looks like a movie! The coast of Greece and Italy are so high up on my list! Thank you for sharing these gorgeous shots!
Katie @ Katie Wanders
Your pictures are amazing! Corfu looks beautiful
Ha I first I thought you were taking photo of those volvo, volks, crazy parking (are those electric car’s?). Then I saw the caption, maybe it’s the free spirited you that attracted you to notice the hanging laundries rather than the cars. Looking more at it, it’s more artistic and relaxing to view it that way. Nice photos!
Thank you! That’s one of my favorites.
omg!! it looks so beautiful. I really love the photos you took makes me want to go there
All of your pictures are very beautiful! I especially liked the one of Ionian Sea. You made it look so amazing. I thought it was pretty funny how you had to sleep with your valuables, and sleep with earplugs to get a decent sleep. I also find it funny how u like to take pictures of laundry, but it still looks beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
Corfu is the only Greek island I’ve visited! I have the opposite regret from you, though, as we only went straight to the beach and didn’t allot any time for visiting the old town! What a shame it seems from your photos! I hope to return one day and get to explore! (For what it’s worth, your host was not lying, that beach was one of the most idyllic I’ve ever been on!)
Yet another reason for both of us to return. 🙂
Absolutely beautiful photos. I can’t wait to go back to Greece.
greece is incredible i really dont have words is a great place to go and relax
What a place dear, the pictures I can see are so beautiful. I really want to enjoy the beauty of this place.
This town is just TOO cute!! Obsessed 🙂 can’t wait to go back to greece – mostly for the food and spanakoptias! mmmm hehe
I love Corfu, Greece has so much to offer. Next time you should visit Loggos beach, perfect place for pictures!
what a brilliant place. would have loved to have seen more of what the apartment was like, looked like a lot of character (in a good way) from the outside!
This looks amazing! Here’s to adding Greece to my bucket list! 🙂
Hello Hello!
I just wanted to write to say that I absolutely adore your photography! These from Corfu are particularly enchanting. I can’t stop looking at them! Corfu seems to have that “off the beaten path” feel compared to some of the bigger draws in Greece.
Thank you! Parts of Corfu Town did feel like giant holiday destinations for Brits, but you could wander a few streets and feel totally alone.
Very very VERY beautiful pictures kate. what camera do you use? also what destinations do you suggest travelling to? your life must be very interesting! just go places, take pictures and meet new interesting people. please reply so I don’t fail my class.. haha <3
This was with the Fuji X-T1! I have a review a few posts back.
Your host sounds really nice and hospitable! Also, I think he is correct, only two days are not enough to explore this astonishing island. The beaches of Corfu have exotic watercolour,nothing you’ll ever come across in the Cyclades for sure. Next time you should try island hopping 🙂