Corfu is a long and thin island and most holidaymakers stay in the area where they are based, mostly on the north and east coastlines. Corfu island roads are generally good, especially in the heavily populated areas around Corfu Town. Roads can deteriorate in the mountainous north-west and along the less populated western coast.
Corfu roads are not always well signposted, so you nmay eed a decent map especially if you leave the main road system, although even detailed maps may not always prove reliable. Greeks signposts are often not much use either.
Many use water taxis to get around the beaches, although these are only useful where resorts are clustered close together such as along the north-east coast. Car and motorbike hire is available in all the main resorts and cycle hire has become much more popular in recent years.
Walking trails are plentiful and the recently opened Corfu long-distance trail, at around 220km, runs the north-south length of Corfu from Cape Agia Ekaterini to Arkoudillas.
A boat trip to Paxos and Parga is highly recommended. It takes 2-3 hours to get to Parga and then a further 90 mins to get to Paxos. If you are staying on the north coast add a coach trip to Corfu Town of 45 mins. Parga is a beautiful little town of coloured houses with big sandy beach and clear water.
Daily boat leave Sidari and Roda for local islets such as Erikousa, and also from Agios Stefanos Monday to Thursday. Trips leave from Corfu Town, although these take rather longer. Trips can be arranged through San Stefano Travel. Captain Aris does a very popular beach barbecue - see Corfu Castaway for details.
Corfu's long-distance footpath is said to have met all the expectations of the first hikers from the UK when it opened in 2001.
Around 220 km long, the trail runs the length of Corfu island from the southerly white cliffs of Arkoudillas to Cape Agia Ekaterini in the north.
Paths and trails have been cleared and they are well waymarked with yellow signs. There are 11 daily walks and the terrain varies from mule paths to minor roads and beaches.
The best months to follow the trail are from February to June and from September to November. Corfu trail walking holidays are marketed in the UK by hiking specialist tour operator Walks Worldwide.
Corfu has high winter rainfall (more than three times London) but this keeps the island green for most of the year. Summers get very hot with occasional sub-tropical storms.
Early May has uncrowded beaches and wild flowers in abundance with sunny days and temperatures in the low 20's. By June beaches are busy, temperatures hit the high 20's and nights are warm. In July temperatures can hit the high 30's and afternoon breezes are welcome but nights can be stifling. August temperatures stay in the high 30's with high humidity too with some sub-tropical. By mid-September temperatures are in the mid 20's but there are still warm October days, although they are much shorter.
Corfu is cold and wet over the winter. Winter rains are heavy and long-lasting but many days still have pleasant sunshine. January days in Corfu are cool and wet while February is a little warmer and the trees come into blossom.
| JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC | Averages |
| 11 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 24 | 21 | 17 | 12 | Temp °C |
| 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 70°+ days |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | Sun (hrs) |
| 132 | 136 | 98 | 62 | 36 | 14 | 7 | 18 | 75 | 148 | 181 | 180 | Rain (mm) |
| 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 13 | Rainy days |
