Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ì
Pink Panther
Pélekas
T
26610 94360.
Serves quite
a few imaginative dishes, with a refreshing array of
peppery sauces, all at under €10, which can be enjoyed
along with a glass or two of aromatic local wine while
gazing at the splendid view from the lofty terrace.
Easter-Oct.
include breakfast and an evening
buf
et, there
are c
ompact
singles and doubles. Dorms from
€18
; doubles
€50
BENÍTSES
Benitses Arches
T
26610 72113,
W
hotelbenitsesarches
.com.
Pleasant bougainvillea-adorned hotel, just south of the
centre of the resort, with quiet roo
ms se
t a couple of blocks
back from the main road. April-Oct.
€45
O Paxinos
T
26610 72339.
Intimate taverna in the old
village, specializing in Corfiot dishes such as
sofríto
and
pastitsádha
, not cheap at €12 a pop but expertly prepared
and washed down with fine barrelled wine.
Daily
noon-1am.
Stadium
Huge club at the southern end of the main strip.
The interior opens only occasionally, hosting concerts or big
dance nights, but the lively outdoor pool bar is open
throughout the season.
May-Sept daily noon-late.
ÁÏ GÓRDHIS AND AROUND
Ì
Elena's
T
26610 53210,
W
elenasapartments.com.
A variety of rooms and apartments in the village is available
through the seafront taverna, which is painted marine blue
and white and serves excellent home-styl
e cui
sine at low
prices, like beef in mustard sauce. April-Oct.
€30
Pink Palace
T
26610 53103,
W
thepinkpalace.com.
Legendary year-round backpackers' haunt, with pools,
games courts, internet access, restaurants, a shop and a
disco. Apart from the dorms for up to ten a night, which
11
Southern Corfu
Corfu's southwest coast offers perhaps the island's finest stretches of sand, from the
peaceful
Korissíon lagoon
on down, almost unbroken to the island's tip. On the east
side, there is a mixture of resorts, ranging from peaceful enclaves like
Boúkari
to the
full-on party antics of
Kávos
, by way of Corfu's second-largest settlement,
traditional
Lefkími
.
Moraïtika and Mesongí
On the east coast roughly 20km south of the capital, the first real development after
Benítses is
MORAÏTIKA
, whose main street is an ugly strip of bars, restaurants and shops,
but its beach is the best between Corfu Town and Kávos. The original village,
ÁNO
MORAÏTIKA
, is signposted a few minutes' hike up the steep lanes inland and is virtually
unspoilt, its tiny houses and alleys practically drowning in dazzling bougainvillea. The
resort has become very popular with eastern Europeans.
Commencing barely a hundred metres on from the Moraïtika seafront and separated
only by the Mesongí River,
MESONGÍ
continues this stretch of package-tour-oriented
coast but is noticeably quieter and has a range of accommodation deals.
Boúkari and around
BOÚKARI
, linked to Mesongí by a quiet road that follows the seashore for about 3km,
often only a few feet above it, comprises little more than a handful of tavernas, a shop
and a few small, family-run hotels. Out of the way, it's an idyllic little strip of unspoilt
coast for anyone looking to relax. It is also handily placed for the unspoilt wooded
region inland around
Aryirádhes
, rarely visited by tourists and perfect for quiet walks.
Petrití and around
Four kilometres south of Boúkari, the village of
PETRITÍ
, only created in the 1970s
when geologists discovered the hill village of Korakádhes was sliding downhill,
fronts
onto a small but busy harbour. It is mercifully free of noise and commerce, with a
beach of rock, mud and sand set among low olive-covered hills. Barely 2km south of
Petrití, the picturesque rocky coves of
Nótos beach
are little visited.
Korissíon lagoon and around
Over on the southwest coast, one of the island's most distinctive geographical features is
the
Korissíon lagoon
, home to turtles, tortoises, lizards and numerous indigenous and
