Corfu Airport is situated 2km south of Corfu Town centre. Please be careful with internet based companies offering airport transfers. They are often very over-priced. A taxi from the airport to Dassia should be around 20-25 euros.
Facilities at the airport include a bar and cafeteria, duty free shop, exchange, car hire and information services. Snacks and light meals are available but can be quite expensive.
The airport is remarkable for its situation - built on land surrounded by the Chalikiopoulos lagoon, the runway extends into the water.
Plane spotting is best from the cafeteria balcony of the Hotel Royal in Kanoni or you can stroll across the causeway right at the end of the runway.
Unfortunately delays for getting your baggage once you have arrived can be pretty bad so please be prepared and take a suitcase full of patience with you!
The main banks are situated in Corfu Town and are open every morning Monday to Friday. Some resorts have sub branches and most resorts have cash machines. Exchange facilities are widely available in all resorts. Dassia has several ATM machines and plenty of places to exchange money and travellers cheques.
Corfu has some beautiful beaches. The south and west coast are mainly sandy, while the north and east coast are mainly shingle and pebble. There are beaches for all here, whether you are looking for a huge beach with plenty of sports and facilities or a quiet secluded cove. The beach at Dassia is especially good for watersports facilities.
There are two types of buses in Corfu. Green buses are long distance and blue buses are short distance. The blue (local) bus service from Dassia to Corfu Town is excellent and as regular as clockwork. The green (long distance) service runs through Dassia connecting with the north west coast of the island. There is a main long distance bus station in Corfu Town connecting with the rest of the island.
Corfu is a beautiful island and we would highly recommend a car for a few days to explore the area. There are plenty of places within Dassia to rent a car from.
Open normal shop hours and on a 24 hour rota basis outside business hours. The pharmacists in Corfu can be extremely helpful when diagnosing minor problems and it is often worth visiting one before seeking medical help. The chemist in Dassia is extremely knowledgeable and very friendly.
The Greeks are extremely family orientated and adore children - most bars and restaurants welcome children when accompanied by parents and many offer children’s menus.
Despite popular belief, Corfu is not always sunny! There is more rainfall here than on the Greek mainland and the wet season extends for a longer period which is why the island is so green. Winters can be wet and cold, but sunny, warm weather lasts from April to October. Frost is rare, but there is often a light dusting of snow on Mount Pantokrator and the mountains of Albania and Epirus are usually covered in snow during the winter. The weather during summer in Corfu is generally sunny. May and September are very warm and pleasant but can be quite cool in the evenings so woolly pullies are a must! June is hot day and night and July and August reach boiling point! October cools down a little and will be chilly in the evenings.
The British Consulate is situated in Corfu Town and is open Monday to Friday 08.00-13.30. Tel: 26610- 30055, 23457 Fax: 26610–37995 corfu@british-consulate.gr. The consulate can issue emergency passports, and offer advice on the transfer of funds in cases of emergency. They are not authorised to pay bills or interfere in civil litigation or provide legal advice or translations.
There is very little crime on the island and the Corfiots are by nature an honest race. However, you can never take too many precautions and it is worth locking valuables away in safety deposit boxes. Even criminals take a holiday and who's to say they won't visit Corfu!
Greece uses the Euro.
Laws introduced in 1987 give severe sentences for drug offences. Even possession of a very small quantity carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years and heavy fines. Anyone convicted of causing the use of drugs by individuals below the age of 18 may be imprisoned for life. The use of the following prescriptive drugs must be with the full permission of the Greek authorities: Cocaine; codeine; opium; morphine; demoral; methodine; all synthetic narcotics; opium derivatives and amphetamines.
Unfortunately few provisions are made for the disabled but there is suitable accommodation available and certain facilities with access for wheelchairs. Local agencies should be able to offer advice and the Greek National Tourist Organisation will have further details. There are public toilets situated on the Esplanade in Corfu Town with lifts for wheelchairs.
Voltage here in Corfu is 220 volts/50HZ and two pin plugs are used.
There are many excursions available, some of which are excellent value for money. The Greek night for instance is a must. Island tours and boat trips are also widely available.
Travel offices, as well as banks, offer exchange facilities. You will need your passport when changing travellers cheques. Although most banks are situated in Corfu town, there are plenty of exchange facilities in all resorts.
The tourist season in Corfu is from May to October. Early May can be very quiet but from mid May to June it is pleasant and uncrowded. July and August are the two very busy months and September can be very busy without being crowded. The first two weeks of October are pleasant, but please be aware that the last couple of weeks of October sees many places closing so you may be limited for choice of places to go.
Most of us see insects as pests, especially mosquitoes and wasps, but there are various products to combat them. The big, black wasp, (which resembles a flying olive!) is not aggressive to humans unless you aggravate it. The sting of the large and nasty hornet can be extremely painful. One of the most exotic insects in Corfu is the praying mantis which Gerald Durrell fondly refers to as one of his ‘pets’ in his book ‘My Family and Other Animals’. It may be advisable not to upturn rocks and stones as it could be the home of a sleeping scorpion! Although they are rarely seen, their upturned tail can give a nasty sting.
Some places do offer internet access. We have Wifi available in Shakes if you bring a laptop and we also have computers available for our customers.
One thing the British find particularly gruesome is the toilet paper goes into a bin and not down the loo. This is because the pipe system is very narrow and cannot cope with large amounts of waste. However, if you complain about it, just remember the British introduced the drainage system during their rule of the island so we only have ourselves to blame!
Bars are licensed to sell alcohol from early morning till late evening and there are places open until the early hours of the morning in Dassia. Breakfast and snack bars usually open about 9.00am and evening meals in restaurants are usually served until around 11.00pm, although there are grill rooms open until the early hours of the morning.
There is one market in Corfu Town which sells a wide range of fresh vegetables, fish and fresh herbs.
The most detested living thing on the island! Mozzies are a pain in the backside but are here to stay! The shops here have a wide range of insect repellents as well as machines that can be plugged into your room in the evening. These items are usually cheaper here than in the UK.
The hot summers and mild wet winters have made Corfu the greenest of all the Greek islands and the island is covered in olive and cypress trees. July and August are the hottest months of the year and yet some of the islands most spectacular flowers are in full bloom then. A variety of orchids grow wild around the island and rare plants such as campanula can only be found in Corfu and parts of northern Greece. Oranges, lemons, apples, almonds, figs and apricots all grow well.
There are several police forces in Corfu and the Tourist Police are there to help visitors with various problems and complaints. The main tourist police office is in Corfu Town, tel: 22610-39503, 30265. There is also a local branch located in Ipsos - tel: 26610-93204
The main post office is situated on Alexandras Avenue in Corfu Town, although there are some sub post offices in various villages. The main sorting office for the Dassia area is located in Tzavros, just a few miles away. Post boxes in Corfu are yellow and are normally affixed to walls. Shops and kiosks usually sell stamps, but there is sometimes a small charge on the value price.
Obviously prices range from place to place, but Dassia on the whole is a good value for money resort. A large glass of wine in Shakes is around £1.80 Spirits are £3.00 for a double measure including mixer; Draught and bottled beers obviously depend on the brand but a pint of local lager is around £2.50 and imported beers such as John Smith’s or Strongbow are just over £3 a pint. Soft drinks start from about 70p. As with anywhere in the world, bars in some of the hotels can be very expensive.
Eating out can be as cheap or as expensive as you like. There are a few very cheap tavernas in Dassia and a three course meal can be had for around £10, it does of course depend on what you order. Restaurants are generally very reasonably priced with starters from around £1.50 and fillet steaks for instance start at about £8.00. The quality of fresh meat here is superb and some of the local Corfiot dishes are delicious. There are numerous excellent restaurants to try which is the main reason we would not recommend any of the all inclusive options.
The main religion of the Greeks in Corfu is Greek Orthodox. The Holy Trinity Anglican Church is situated in Corfu Town and the church's permanent Chaplain is the Rev. P. Clifford Owen. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St James is situated in Town Hall Square and holds regular mass.
Most shops in Corfu Town are open 8.00-14.00 Monday to Saturday and there are late night shopping hours of 17.00-21.00 on Tues/Thurs/Fri. There are also tourist shops that stay open all day and on Sunday.
Shops in resorts are usually open from early morning until late evening. There is a good choice of souvenir shops and supermarkets in Dassia most of which are open from early morning until late evening.
Taxi prices have improved dramatically over the years and are now far more controlled than they were. Unfortunately taxi drivers did gain a bad reputation for 'ripping off' tourists but hopefully that is now a thing of the past. Guideline price lists are now available, letting you know roughly how much you should pay. The airport to Dassia should be 20 to 25 euro's and there are plenty of taxi's right at the airport.
There are plenty of telephone boxes around the island that accept phone cards. The cards are available from most shops and kiosks. Travel offices usually have telephone facilities available.
Greece is two hours ahead of Britain.
The tap water in Corfu is safe to drink, although it has a high mineral content that may upset some and it often doesn't taste very nice. Bottled water is widely available and inexpensive. Fresh water is also available, free of charge, from public wells. The tap water is perfectly safe for brushing teeth and washing.
There is a very good article written by the Holy Trinity's permanent Chaplain, the Rev. P. Clifford Owen, which you will find here: Corfu Weddings
The lush green vegetation covering the island provides a haven for a wide variety of wildlife. You may spot a wild tortoise meandering about and terrapins, toads and frogs are plentiful. There is also a variety of snakes on the island, most of them harmless, with the exception of the sand-viper, recognised by a horn on its nose, which inhabits bare, rocky terrain. There are also many lizards and, although most of them shy away from human contact, the most common you will see is the dalmation algyroides with its blue throat and orange stomach.
|
