Corfu in Greece offers so many beautiful and unique beaches across the island! One can easily spend a whole summer exploring them! Depending on what you’re looking for, there is a beach for every taste and every solo traveler, couple or family.
On our recent trip to Corfu, we managed to visit 3 super cool beaches different from one another. The reason? Well, we wanted to experience the most out of our trip. If you are visiting Corfu for less than a week, this plan will be great for you, too!
Paleokastritsa beaches
One of the top beaches on the island are located in a village called Paleokastritsa. It’s included on most of the travel guides and travel blogs I researched for info prior to visiting Corfu. The beaches around have paid umbrella and sunbed zones, as well as free areas. There are several cafes, bars, and restaurants.
Agios Spiridon beach in Paleokastritsa, Corfu
We visited the most famous beach in Paleokastritsa – Agios Spiridon Beach.
Parking nearby can be tricky, but you’ll find your spot at the end. There are several parking zones reserved for some restaurants, plus some free parking lots that are busy. Worst case scenario, you’ll need to walk a bit more to the beach.
Swimming here was a pleasure
Boat trips to the caves
One of the reasons Paleokastritsa is so famous is the nearby caves. Visitors can reach them on a boat trip that lasts around 30 minutes. The price is EUR 10 per person and free for children.
These are the boats that will bring you to the caves around
These trips are run by several local men that operate the boats on Agios Spiridon Beach. They tell everyone that the boat will leave in 5 or 10 minutes, but in fact, they wait and will keep you wait until they have a vessel full of passengers. It’s not that bad, because you wait at a beautiful beach site. In our case, this took around 15 minutes, but it was all good.
The caves were not that spectacular though. You won’t get inside caves, but see a number of small caves and get as far as their entrances. However, getting on a boat is always nice and we were not disappointed with the trip.
Amazing blue waters on our boat trip
Kontogialos
Kontogialos is the hidden gem on this list. We decided to visit this beach after a recommendation from a very nice waiter in the old town of Corfu Town.
Kontogialos is a sandy beach with a free zone, as well as a couple of paid umbrella and sunbed areas. There were a couple of restaurants around, not crowded and nice. Several hotels overlooked at the beach.
That is what I call a nice beach : )
It was a bit confusing going to Kontogialos with a car. There isn’t a proper zone to leave your car, but a small dirt road parking. Still, there were just a couple of local cars, so no drama in finding a spot for our vehicle.
We parked nearby and walked for a couple of minutes to get to the beach
There are some water attractions for kids in the sea, but Anna was too young to play there. Still, she loved spending time playing with the sand and jumping around in the sea. In general, Corfu is a fine place to visit with children.
All in all, the water at Kontogialos was great and we appreciated the fact that we were almost alone here. If you are looking for some peace away from the crowds, you’ll find it here.
Some more umbrellas and water trampolines in Kontogialos beach
Canal d’Amour
Canal d’Amour in Sidari is a popular beach to visit and one that you should not miss! It consists of a charming cove and, as the name suggests, a natural channel of rock formations to swim in. A truly unique beach, Canal d’Amour is a must-see on the island.
Happy me posing at Canal d’Amour
Be sure to come as early as possible, because the sandy beach area is small and narrow. There were just three rows of umbrellas and no free beach zone. We came around 10 AM and were able to find free spots, but soon after every umbrella was taken. The price we paid was EUR 4 per grown-up, using a sunbed.
The tiny sandy area at Canal d’amour
Alternatively, you can stay on the rocks around enjoying the view, or find a place in the nearby beaches.
A smaller beach nearby Canal d’Amour
People exploring the rocks around Canal D’Amour
The tunnel is around 15-20 m (50-65 ft) long and safe for swimming. I am sure that most children will appreciate the experience of coming here.
Swimming through the channel of love
Legend has it that if two lovebirds cross the channel swimming together, they will stay together forever. According to another legend, if a woman swims through the channel, she will be loved back from the man of her dreams. Even if you are not into superstitions, swimming through the channel is a lovely experience. Not scary or dangerous at all.
Couples even put their names on the stones inside hoping for eternal love, I guess. Another popular trend here is to jump from the rocks into the beautiful blue waters.
I was scared to jump off these rocks. Would you do it?
As I said in the beginning, Corfu offers beaches for everybody, but also much more to explore and see. Are you visiting Corfu?