Corfu Town
From CruisersWiki
| Corfu Town Port of Entry
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 Corfu Town has some attractive out-of-the-way spots |
Corfu Town, capital of the island of Corfu, is the largest port in the Greek Ionian and a major transport hub for ferries across the Adriatic to Italy and to the Greek mainland at Igoumenitsa. Its international airport is also one of the busiest in Greece, with daily flights to most European destinations. The island has long been popular with European tourists, especially British as a consequence of British rule in the 19th century, and Corfu Town reflects this long tradition, with more tavernas, shops and cafes per square mile than almost anywhere else in Greece. Its architecture is a hectic mix of Venetian, classical and British colonial and in spite of the huge numbers of tourists that throng the town’s streets in summer, Corfu Town is still a delight to explore, with its narrow, sleepy passageways lined with atmospheric Italianate apartment blocks. The visiting yachtsman is perhaps less well served than the land tourist, with limited berthing opportunities consisting of the grimy east basin of the commercial harbour, the cramped, yacht club-managed basins of Mandraki on the N side of the Venetian castle and NAOK on the S side, a couple of reasonably sheltered anchorages and the marina at Gouvia three miles to the NW.
Charts
- BA
- 189 Nisos Sapiénza to Nisos Paxoi
- 203 Zakinthos to Paxoi
- Imray-Tetra
- G11 Nísos Kérkira to Nísos Levkas
- NIMA
- 54280 Corfu Channel to Nisis Proti
- Greek
- 212 Othonoi I. to Amvrakikos Gulf- Kerkyra I. And Paxoi I. Inset: Northern Kerkyra Strait
Weather
- See Ionian Sea Weather
- Also see Ionian Sea Currents & Tides
Passages
Islands
- Paxos
- Othonoi
- Erikoussa
- Mathraki
Communication
- Coast Guard - VHF channel 12
Also see World Cruiser's Nets.
The approach to Corfu Town from all directions is largely free of dangers, though there are shoals to the N of Nisos Vidho, the small island half a mile due N of Corfu Town.
Entrance
Corfu Town is a port of entry. The customs and immigration and port police are situated on the W side of the commercial harbour. Note that there is no longer any customs office at Gouvia Marina, so it will be necessary to travel into Corfu Town if clearing into or out of Greece.
Berthing
As mentioned above, the visiting yachtsman has four main berthing options: Mandraki harbour; NAOK yacht club harbour; the commercial harbour or Gouvia Marina to the NW of the town.
Mandraki Harbour
Mandraki Harbour [[Corfu Town#Mandraki Harbour|Mandraki Harbour]] (Μανδράκι) 39°37.480'N, 019°55.650'E Situated right under the N wall of the prominent Venetian fortress on the headland of Corfu Town, Mandraki harbour is protected from the prevailing NW winds by a long breakwater enclosing laid moorings tailed to buoys or the quay for around 60 yachts. The berths are distributed between the harbour’s S quay and N breakwater. Yachts usually go stern-to the quay and bows-to the breakwater in view of the depths at the latter. Depths at the quay are 1.5 and 3.0 metres (the deepest water being in the centre) and at the breakwater 1.25 – 1.5 metres. Larger boats drawing no more than 2.0m can sometimes berth bows to on the breakwater with care, providing you don't mind seeing just a few cms extra showing on the depth sounder where your keel is.
The moorings are owned by two separate yacht clubs and visitors are only permitted when members have temporarily vacated their berths. A sign on the breakwater gives a VHF frequency (68) and asks that you contact them prior to entry tel +30 6945377674 Andreas Doukakis. Expect to be met by a harbour official who will guide you to a berth and take your lines. In 2013 the charge was approximately €20 per night inclusive of water and electricity. April 2018 - €70 for Lagoon400 (incl. water & electr.)
The showers and toilets are not in the best of conditions to say the least but the bar and restaurant fair much better.
Foot access from Corfu town to the harbour is through the Venetian Castle and may be restricted outside the castle’s opening hours. If you are welcoming crew on board then carrying heavy bags from the castle down to the marina is not an easy task. Taxi's can enter the castle up to a parking spot 200 meters from the harbor. Equally, it is not the most convenient place to re-stock a boat.
Shelter here is good in the prevailing winds but is likely to be uncomfortable in very strong NW winds.
NAOK harbour
Commercial harbour
Marinas & Yacht Clubs
Corfu Marina
This is a "future" marina.
Gouvia Marina
Gouvia Marina is few kilometers to the N.
Anchorages
Garitsas Bay
Garitsas Bay lies just S of the Venetian Castle and the NAOK yacht club harbour and has good access to the old town and nice clear water. It offers good shelter from the prevailing NW winds but is open E and S. Anchor in 5.0 – 8.0 metres wherever there is space. Holding is good in mud, but only once you are well dug in (look for the sandy patches to drop the anchor in). There are steps from the sea up to the road at the root of the NAOK YC mole. Note that these are commonly used by older people to go swimming, and dinghies are a nuisance for them. There are also steps at the elbow of the NAOK YC breakwater and these are better for dinghies. Exit from the YC breakwater to the street is no problem.
If there is space, even better shelter can be obtained by anchoring under the castle walls just E of the NAOK harbour, taking a line ashore to the rocks if necessary. Depths here are 3.0 – 5.0 metres and holding is good in sand and weed.Kammeno Bay
Amenities
| Facilities | |
|---|---|
| Water | At Gouvia Marina, NAOK harbour, and Mandraki Harbour |
| Electricity | At Gouvia Marina, NAOK harbour, and Mandraki Harbour |
| Toilets | At Gouvia Marina |
| Showers | At Gouvia Marina |
| Laundry | At Gouvia Marina |
| Garbage | Bins at Mandraki, NAOK harbours, and in Gouvia Marina. |
| Supplies | |
| Fuel | Fuel station in Gouvia Marina. It is also possible to arrange tanker delivery to NAOK yacht club harbour |
| Bottled gas | ? |
| Chandlers | In Gouvia Marina |
| Services | |
| Repairs | Numerous repair facilities at Gouvia Marina and in the town |
| Internet |
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| Mobile connectivity | Good 4G signal |
| Vehicle rentals |
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Provisioning
- It is hard to find provisions in Corfu Town since most of the supermarkets are out of town
- Good supermarkets on the road outside Gouvia Marina
Eating out
- Enough bars, cafes and tavernas in the town to satisfy all tastes
- Good choices in the Liston area are Pomodoro (Greek), La Cucina (Italian), La Famiglia (It), and Del Sole ( It). Two others a walk away from the Liston but excellent are Venetian Well (Gr) and Salto Wine Bar (Gr Mezes). -- Monterey 2014
Transportation
- Internal and international flights from Corfu airport.
- Ferries to Igoumenitsa on Greek mainland, Paxos island and to Bari, Ancona and Venice
- Hydrofoil to Sarande in Albania and Paxos island (seasonal)
- Long distance buses to Athens and Thessaloniki
- Local buses to most island destination.
Tourism
Corfu Town has several good museums, including an archaeological museum and a museum of Asian Art. The Venetian Castle is a must; although there is not much to see inside, the views from the battlements are spectacular. The church of St Spiridon in the townhouses the remains of the saint in an ornate silver sarcophagus and boasts a beautifully painted ceiling. Further south, the villa of Mon Repos, the birthplace of the Duke of Edinburgh, consort of the British Queen, can be visited. At the end of the peninsula on which it sits is the view everyone knows, out over the tiny former monastery of Kanoni on its island joined to the shore by a narrow causeway. With transport, it is possible to visit the Achilleon 6km S of the town, a pseudo-Hellenic palace constructed for Empress Elizabeth of Austria in the 1890s and filled with specially commissioned statuary and colonnades.
Friends
Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.
Forums
List links to discussion threads on partnering forums. (see link for requirements)
Links
- Corfu at the Wikipedia
References
See Corfu.
Comments
We welcome users' contributions to the Wiki. Please click on Comments to view other users' comments, add your own personal experiences or recommend any changes to this page following your visit.
- A great place to visit. Anchor and swim in Garitsas Bay, leave your dinghy at NAOK, enjoy the restaurants and the street life in the Liston. Take a tour of the Achilleion Palace. --Monterey June 2011
Verified by
Date of member's last visit to Corfu Town and this page's details validated:
- July 1988 --Istioploos
Travels with S/Y Thetis
- June 2010 -- CORFUBOAT
- August 2010 --Wayward
- September 2012 --Athene of Lymington
- September 2013 -- Fair Game
- Sept 2014 -- Monterey
- April 2016 -- Salacia
| This is a usable page of the cruising guide. However, please contribute if you can to help it grow further. Click on Comments to add your personal notes on this page or to discuss its contents. Alternatively, if you feel confident to edit the page, click on the edit tab at the top and enter your changes directly. |
 Contributors to this page |
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Names: Lighthouse, Istioploos, Atheneoflymington, Wayward, Haiqu, Monterey, CORFUBOAT, Fair Game |
