Отдых на Корфу Holidays in Corfu

My husband and I rested on the island of Corfu, or another name for Kerkyra, from June 10 to 24.2012. We bought a ticket from the Biblio Globus tour operator. The visa was issued by them. We took off from Domodedovo airport at 13-10 by Transaero airline. Check-in for the flight was slow, and passport control was just terribly slow, the hall was crowded, there was nothing to breathe. The inspection went quickly. And then they announced the boarding of the flight. The flight time is 4 hours instead of the planned 3-20, as the pilot announced to us due to the headwind. When we landed on Corfu, we flew along the coast of the island, our eyes were simply splendid view from the porthole. In Corfu, the runway goes out to sea and when landing, it seems that the plane is landing on the water. The airport in Corfu is small. Passport control was very slow and, since we were practically at the tail of the queue, after the long-awaited mark in the passport, our luggage was already lying, waiting for its owners, on the conveyor belt.
The time difference compared to Moscow is 1 hour.
The meeting party is the travel agency Beleon Tours. On the bus, the guide gave us maps of the island of Corfu and a program of excursions with prices. She spoke a little about the history and life of the island. The island is in the shape of a sickle. Kerkyra is the greenest island in Greece. Everything is covered in flowers. There are many fruit trees, olives, pines, geraniums on the island. There are a lot of flowers in pots and flowerpots near taverns, houses, monasteries. Geraniums are not like we used to see with grandmothers, small tortured flowers on the window, but these are huge bushes with caps of inflorescences.

We stayed at the Messonghi beach hotel 3 *, it is located between the villages of Moraitika and Messonghi. The city of Kerkyra is 22 kilometers away, the airport is 20 km away. When I was choosing a place and a hotel to go to, I read a lot of reviews, weighed all the pros and cons, and when I settled in the room, I realized that all the notes in the reviews of tourists were good for me. So I want to express my deep gratitude to all the tourists for their stories. I will try now and I will share my opinion about the hotel. The hotel is located on the seafront. The hotel area is very large and green. Palm trees, olive trees, tangerines, eucalyptus trees, roses grow. The whole territory is clean, the grass is cut short. There is a playground, children's pool. Two swimming pools with sea water. In one of the pools there are two large slides, they are paid for 10 euros per week, when paying you are given a bracelet and you can ride. In the evening, a small train passed through the hotel, you can ride it for free. Small cars for children are available for rent. The sea and the hotel are not separated by a road, which is just great because many hotels in Corfu are located across the road from the sea. And on vacation you don’t want to be concentrated, the traffic is still quite intense, although there are fewer cars than in our country. The hotel consists of several large buildings and bungalows. Air conditioning and TVs are not available in all rooms. The superior rooms have both. When I booked the tour, I chose a superior family room, the price for it was the same as for the superior standard, but the room area is larger. We were settled in a bungalow. The bungalow is divided into 3 parts and each has its own entrance. Our unit had two rooms. In one room there was a large bed (two beds put together), a wardrobe TV, a small table, 2 bedside tables, a mirror, a chair and there was a hair dryer near the mirror. From this room there was access to the veranda (or open terrace). There were four plastic chairs and a table on the veranda. The other room is slightly smaller. It had: 2 separate beds, a small bedside table between them, a wardrobe, a chair and air conditioning. The furniture in the room is not new, but normal. The bathroom is large shared. It had no bath, no shower, no shower tray, it was not even separated from the rest of the bathroom by a step, but only by a curtain, and there was a drain hole, one in place of the shower, and the other in the center of the bathroom. So if you washed, then the water was in the entire bathroom, you can’t even go to the toilet. There was a small refrigerator in the hallway. In the central building of the hotel, a Russian channel was broadcast on TV, and in our bungalow there were Polish and Belarusian channels, but we watched TV all the time 2-3 times. The room was cleaned every day. Bed linen was changed 4 times during our stay. Towels - every other day. When I was driving, I was worried that there would be mosquitoes in the room, I took a remedy for them with me, but there were no these "monsters". Only in the evening after sunset, when we were sitting near the sea, did small mosquitoes bite.
There is a free wi-fi point at the reception, it catches especially well on the first two sofas from the main entrance. The speed is not very high, but there is enough to communicate with the family. You need to connect to the aktimes point, it is it that is free, messonghi beach4, messonghi beach5, messonghi beach6 points are paid. Paid through the terminal. When connecting to these points, a password is required.
The beach is sand and pebble. Umbrellas and sun loungers are paid. We did not take sunbathing on our towels. Closer to the river, the entrance to the sea is rocky and sea urchins hide under the stones, so you have to be more careful. And if you step back a little, then there is a comfortable sandy entrance. There is algae in the sea, but there is still somewhere to swim. The entrance is gentle and shallow. For the whole vacation, I did not see jellyfish in the sea, but there was a girl who burned herself about them. There are small fish in the sea that start to pinch you if you stand for a long time and do not swim. The water is clear in the morning, in the afternoon, as elsewhere, it is unclear, but I did not see any large debris, which is very pleasing. We were lucky with the weather - +30 +32, water +25 +26, there was not a single rain. In the morning the sea was calm, and in the afternoon there were small waves.
There are two restaurants at the hotel. But I was only in the one that is located in the central main building. He was on the 2nd floor. Breakfasts are ordinary: sausages, croissants, Feta cheese, 2 more types of cheese, 2-3 types of sausages, muesli, 1-2 types of fruit (mostly oranges), dried fruits, honey, cottage cheese, butter, buns. I really liked the puffs with dill. At first my husband took them, but I didn’t like them, and then, after trying, I went for more. For lunch: vegetables, pickled vegetables, french fries, 2-4 types of meat dishes, 2-3 side dishes, cold appetizers from vegetables and pasta, fish 1 less often 2 types, also for dinner. Soup was served at lunch, it was only in the evening. From fruits: watermelons, melons, apples, bananas, peaches. Sweets 2-3 types. I really liked the cinnamon puffs. Ice cream for lunch and dinner. The bar was on the ground floor from 10-00 to 23-00 and another one near the sea from 10-00 to 18-00.

There is a supermarket across the street from the hotel. It has very good prices. I strongly advise you to buy a guide to Corfu in this store called "Kerkyra Achillio". It costs 8 euros. Compiled as a description of routes for auto travelers with a detailed and interesting description of tourist sites. And very good prices for souvenirs in the shop "3 euros" - this is a little further from the first store.
The car can be rented from a tour operator or other organizations. But we did not rent, we were afraid to rent transport in another country.
Excursions were ordered from a representative of the tour operator, as there was no alternative. In the village there was one travel agency "Messonghi travel center", which sold excursion vouchers (its prices are lower than from a tour operator), including with a Russian-speaking guide. But it turned out that the tour would be conducted in several languages ​ ​ ​ ​ at once and there were no excursions to the Meteora monasteries, but I really wanted to visit them. The price from the tour operator is not cheap. We bought an excursion to Meteora - 130 euros per person and a sightseeing tour of the island of Corfu - 70 euros per person.
We left for Meteora at 05-15. By bus, collecting tourists from other hotels, we reached the city of Corfu. Then we sailed on the ferry to the port of Igoumenitsa for about 2.5 hours. Very beautiful views opened from the ferry to Corfu: the old and new forts, the seaport, Liston Street and other attractions. From Igoumenitsa on the mainland we drove more than two hours. As the guide told us: now the train takes one day, and a year ago, when the route on mainland Greece was not yet put into operation, the trip took two days. And now our eyes opened up beautiful rocks on which the monasteries are located, and a view of the Thessalian plain. The rocks reach a height of 600 meters above sea level and are a rare geological phenomenon. They were formed more than 60 million years ago and were the rocky bottom of the prehistoric sea, which was located on the site of the plain. As a result of the impact of water, wind and temperature changes, massive stone pillars appeared, as if hanging in the air, called Meteora, which in Greek means “floating in the air”. The first monasteries of Meteora appeared in 1340 and by 1500 their number grew to 24. They flourished until the 17th century, but only 6 of them have survived to this day. We visited two monasteries: the female monastery of St. Barbara and the male great Meteor. Entrance to each of the monasteries costs 2 euros. We returned from the trip at 21-15 very tired, but satisfied with such a wonderful trip.

During a sightseeing tour of the island of Kerkyra, you visit: the palace of Elizabeth of Austria - "Achilleion", a kumquat liquor factory, the village of Paleokastritsa, the Teotoku monastery and a restaurant at an altitude of 600 meters above sea level in the village of Lakones, which offers a wonderful view of Paleokastritsa and Theotoku monastery. On the way back you visit a market with olive products. The Achilleon Palace was built in the Byzantine style in 1890 and is located a little south of the capital of the island, the city of Corfu. It was named "Achilleion" after Homer's hero Achilles. The gardens around the palace are elevated and overlook the surrounding green hills and valleys, as well as the Ionian Sea. The park is decorated with many statues. The central place in the garden is occupied by a statue on a high pedestal depicting a mortally wounded Achilles and a statue of Achilles Triumphant. Inside the palace of Princess Sisi is now a museum. During the tour we visited it. Then we visited a factory where kumcat liquor is produced. We were shown a film about the process of liquor production, a tasting took place in the showroom, and everyone could buy what they liked (not only liquor, but also candied fruits, jam, Turkish delight). Kumquat is a citrus plant with small orange-colored fruits. This fruit was brought to Corfu from the south of China. And settled down on the island. Further, our path lay in Paleokastritsa. Paleokastritsa is one of the most picturesque places on the island. This village is washed by the Adriatic Sea. The water temperature here is 2-3 degrees lower than in the eastern part of the island in the Ionian Sea, but its color is just wonderful. In Paleokastritsa we visited a monastery built in the 17th century on the site of a previously destroyed 13th century monastery. The territory of the monastery is small, but the whole is buried in flowers. There is a wishing well in the monastery, in which you need to throw a coin, turning your back and make a wish. They say it's done.
The tour operator also offers a tour of the city of Kerkyra. My husband and I decided to go to the city on our own. There is a bus stop at the exit from the hotel. From it you can get to Corfu. Bus timetables can be found at the bus stop or at the hotel reception. The branch in this direction is called "green bus", this does not mean that the buses are green, it's just the name of the line. Tickets can be bought on the bus itself. The fare is 2.20 euros. Finding the temple of Spyridon of Trimifuntsky can be easily found on the map, as I wrote above, we were also given a guide when we met from the airport. Looking at the map, we thought that it would be difficult to find the temple, but the city is small and you can easily find your way around. Saint Spyridon is the patron saint of the island of Corfu, his relics are kept in a church built in 1577. The bell tower of this church is the tallest building in the city. You can walk along Liston Street. The name "liston" - from the Italian word "sheet" - "list". During the Venetian rule: the Venetians entered lists of noble families who could walk along this street. Now there are many restaurants and cafes. Walk along Spianada Square. Visit the Old and New Forts and much more. The return stop "green bus" is near the new fort. The ticket can also be bought on the bus.
Guide Margarita was very helpful in solving many issues. During the return transfer, Beleon Tours guides escorted all vacationers to the check-in counter and waited for everyone to receive boarding passes for the plane and check in their luggage to assist in the language barrier.
We flew back with Taimyr Airlines. We flew out 17-25. The runway in Corfu is very short. As we took off, we quickly gained altitude. We flew 3-15. Upon arrival, passport control and baggage claim - everything went quickly.