Our Corfu & Paxos Adventure

We don’t normally go for all inclusive but Esme loves a kids club, so we opted for a couple of different hotels in Corfu with premium all inclusive offerings and found a lovely villa for our stay in Paxos in the middle of the trip. The all inclusive at Grecotel Daphnila Bay and MarBella Corfu are premium in that they include a la carte restaurants plus wine and spirit options rather than just the basics. Other than the overeating that is hard to avoid when every meal is a buffet or three courses (I have NO will power!) I find that staying at an all inclusive doesn’t really encourage you to get out and about and explore the destination, it’s culture and food though we did get out a little. All inclusive is a great way to try lots of different food and drink and both hotels had an excellent choice of Greek food and wine as well as plenty of other options from around the world. You could easily spend the whole holiday enjoying either of these hotels, but we decided to head out from the Grecotel for a day’s exploration.

We hired a car so we could explore the north of Corfu, heading first to beautiful Agni Beach and then to Kassiopi, which is a lovely town to wander around. We explored the harbour and then took a walk to some nearby beaches. There are also castle ruins to visit on the hill for a history fix in Kassiopi. Corfu town is another beautiful place for a wander, with a selection of museums in the area to cover all interests. Our stay in Paxos was completely different to Corfu. We ended up choosing a villa with a big enough pool to properly swim in, a good choice for this time of year when the water is still warming up. We hired a car so we had freedom to explore, though I don’t think this is really necessary unless someone in the group isn’t too good walking up hills. At busier times of year I imagine that parking is terrible, so as long as you are staying a short walk away from one of the three villages (which would also mean you’re close to some beaches), you could use taxis, or take the local bus which heads up and down the island a few times a day. Each of the three villages would be a great base. Gaios, close to the ferry port, is the largest village with a small but good selection of shops, including a wonderful butchers for your BBQs. There are plenty of restaurants around the town square, which is right on the water and where the boats depart for Antipaxos. Loggos where we stayed is the smallest – still with good dining options right on the water, shops, bakeries and boat hire options (if you fancy hiring your own for a day trip). Levrechio beach is just next door with the typical bright white smooth pebbles and a good size taverna. Lakka in the north has all the amenities and lovely beaches all in one big protected bay. We walked round to Lakka beach after lunch and found that the pebbles didn’t go far into the water before the bottom turned into lovely soft sand – beach shoes are highly recommended for this island to avoid slipping and a snorkel is handy as well to explore the clear water – I wish I’d bought mine earlier in the trip.

We of course went across to Antipaxos - in fact if you tell anyone you are visiting Paxos their immediate reaction is to tell you to not miss Antipaxos. This happened to me so many times and I can see why - it’s a picture postcard destination, with beautiful soft sandy beaches and azure blue seas. There are tavernas for lunch but be warned, just because it is May and 25°C it doesn’t mean the season has truly started and those tavernas may not be open. In fact of the four we checked (across multiple beaches) only one was open – and only serving drinks, but they did have loungers and parasols too. We definitely appreciated our lunch in Gaios straight off the boat at 4.30! This is a beautiful part of the world and less than three hours flight from Gatwick, so even doable for a long weekend. But remember, even if you are staying all inclusive, make an effort to explore. Drop me a line to plan your Greek adventure.