Sidari so goodi (Corfu)

Member Name: buttonman

Product:	Corfu
Date:	21/10/00 (276 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gyros, yet to be spoiled,latest films

Disadvantages: Screeching mopeds all night,dangerous Main Street

I've just returned from a week (Oct13th/20th) in Sidari on the north coast of Corfu and had a great time.The resort is about as far from lads' paradise Kavos as possible and that's no bad thing.Going very late season we were concerned about the weather,but on the whole it was good.The rep said they had several inches of rain the week before so it's a bit of a lottery weatherwise if you go late season.As it was we had sunshine most days and a temperature of about 75c which is pleasant for shorts wearing.

The resort appears to be in it's infancy and has the appearance of a frontier town.The main street has no pavements and is'nt very wide so tourists,coaches,cars and mopeds all vie for the same space.There was also a large pack of largley friendly but mangey dogs which wandered around and barked at the traffic.A lot of building work is in progress and I don't doubt that a lot will change in short order.

The resort caters mostly for families and I never saw any lagerlads(except me!) and the resort generally wound down after midnight.The main street is awash with pubs,restaurants and giftshops most of which offer the same tatty array of fridge magnets,smutty playing cards and ceramics.

The food was generally good with most places promoting English grub.We wer'nt too adventurous but Greek food is available and their salads with fetta cheese were great.The best however was the gyros.These are what we call kebabs but they are far superior to the botchulism on a stick we have here.The bread is soft and flavoured,to this real meat (chicken or pork)is added along with sauce,sour cream,tomatoes and chips.Yes our contribution is a few fries added for good measure.At 450drx-800drx(75p-£1.20)these are great value and very tasty.

With beer prices coming down here due to the "pub wars "I did'nt find the drink very cheap but at the equivalent of £1.20-£1.50 a pint it was'nt bad.An advantage is that
the pubs show the latest movies on big screens.Gone are the days of the dodgy pirate,the showings I saw of Gladiator,X-men and The Perfect Storm were excellent DVD copies allbeit with Japenese subtitles.More intreguenly were the boards advertising films that don't yet exist like Scream 4 and American Pie 2(possibly Scarey movie and Road Trip).

Lots of excursions were offered including a trip to Albania which is only 3km away by boat.We wen't on the cruise to Corfu town which is highly reccommended.It cost 5000drx for adults(less than £10)and took up most of the day.Although the bus was 30 minutes late we made the boat at Kassiopi.From here it was an hour and a half to Corfu with an English commentary on the way.

Corfu town offered better shopping and historical sights.We paid 500drx(£1)to get into the new fort (still 300 years old)and this gave great views although nothing else-tourist exploitation still in it's infancy clearly!.The trip home was more choppy but we did get a brief respite on a lovely private beach.

Something not to miss is the great beaches of Sidari.There are a chain of small inlets with golded sands and stunning cliffs.We hired pedalos to tour the bays and it was good fun.A refreshing change was the free sunloungers,although the local bar usually expected some trade in return - not a problem.

I'd recommend Sidari for the traveller witha family who wants to take it easy and is'nt too keen on the bright lights.I'll probably go back but not for a few years by when they'll hopefully have made the main street pedestrianised and fitted silencers to the mopeds!.

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