Away
from the Resort
When staying in the resort, it is well worth considering the odd trip away.
With a car, it is possible to reach the northern-most parts of the island,
although this can be a tiring (and hot) two hour drive - some of the roads and
signs are not that good, so a good map is essential. We would not normally recommend driving in to
Corfu Town - parking is not easy during the summer and sign-posting within the
town is poor!. As indicated
elsewhere (Ágios Geórgios - St George South) there are a limited
number of buses both ways which can provide an alternative to driving.
Other alternatives to driving all the way into Corfu Town (and that also
provide for later returns from town) include driving to Benitses and then
using the local No 6 bus, or walking up to the main road (where you turn down
for Ágios
Geórgios) and picking up a Kavos / Corfu Town bus (these run fairly regularly during the day
/ evening).
A walk up to Argirades village is also to be recommended, but allow plenty of time and wear some sensible
shoes. There are two main routes up to the village. The first is by
taking the main road out of Ágios Geórgios (signed Argirades 4Km) up to the junction with the main road. Turn right (south, away from Corfu Town) - the
village is a few kilometres along the road (but up quite a steep main road, with no
footpath). An alternative that is particularly good if you are going on
foot, is to take the road at the southern end of the resort by the KafSas fish restaurant (signed Argirades 3km) -- follow the road up past some of
the quieter apartments / small hotels and then through the olive groves.
There are also many footpaths at this end of the resort that can be used (see
more details here). This is a lovely walk but beware the heat of midday
/ early afternoon as it is quite steep
(and open) in the latter few hundred metres and
offers little protection from the sun other than the olive trees. In Argirades you will find a quaint, traditional
village - several churches, with great architecture and, unfortunately, some
poverty - many of the houses look as if they have not changed in the last 100
years (and could easily topple over at the slightest wind). The main road through the village is where most of the shops can be
found (including a few tavernas / kafenions - some of these only open
in the winter). There are reputed to be over 100 British people living in this
village, so don't be surprised if you suddenly hear English voices!. Be
aware that if you drive to Argirades from the south end of the resort (up
past KafSas) there is only a small amount of parking space when you
reach the village and, although the road carries on in to the village, it is
very strongly recommended that you do not attempt to negotiate this - it is
very narrow (1.5 Metres in places) and really suitable only for donkeys and bikes (although some locals do
drive through). If you meet another vehicle (or donkey!) you could be in for a hundred
metre reverse drive on the winding narrow road!.
Argirades also has, in terms of shopping, a pharmacy, a greengrocers and a butcher,
as well as two small "mini market" shops. Although there is
a car park in the middle of the village, this was closed throughout 2017 as
the owner refused to buy a till / receipts machine to comply with Greek law.
Driving south from the resort, you can easily reach Lefkimi. This is
quite a sprawling old village that has few pavements and, towards the bottom
/ southern end, a river running through it down to the sea. A number of nice restaurants / bars can be found on the road that runs
alongside the river to the local (sandy) beach. This road passes the many fishing vessels that are moored up following their night out at sea.
Although not strictly in the "Away Day" category, the main road to
Lefkimi also has three of the large Greek supermarkets along it.
If you fancy a trip to the mainland, there are regular ferries from Lefkimi
(the port is a 20 minute drive from the resort) to Igoumenitsa - from here there
is a very good new road taking you east from the port (e.g. Ioannina is
approximately a 50 minute drive), or you could just have a meal / drink on the
front before returning on a later ferry. There are a large number of shops,
restaurants and bars within a stone's throw of the port. As at March 2017, one-way cost for
an Adult was EUR 7.10 and EUR 26.20 for a car, with a journey time of around an
hour - in the latter part of 2017, there were special offers of EUR 5.00 for
each Adult and each car. Given how near the port is at Lefkimi, and the proximity of the port to the town in Igoumenitsa
(right opposite the exit gates!), leaving your
car at Lefkimi port (free!) and going over as foot passengers is quite a viable option. Departure
times can be found on
http://www.lefkimmilines.gr/ - there is a language option on the site
that allows you to switch to English.
There are also regular ferries to Igoumenitsa from Corfu Town although be aware that
there can be quite a significant difference in journey time (and cost) depending on
which operator you take (in February 2016, the one way ferry cost from Corfu
Town was EUR 11 per person and EUR 40 for a car on one of the carriers, with
a journey time of 1 1/2 hours).
If you fancy going further afield, from Igoumenitsa it is an easy drive
to places such as Zagoria, Ioannina, Koukouli, Kipi, the Vikos Gorge,
Nekromantion, Parga and Dodoni to name but a few. Many of these are
fantastically historic places and most are viable for a day trip if leaving
on, say, a ferry around 08:00 and returning around 20:00 in the evening.
In addition to the above, there are daily boat trips from the resort to
Paxos and to the mainland, and local travel agents have organised coach
trips to other parts of the island.
Last revised:
06 February, 2018
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