Sidari - Canal d' Amour was the best place (Corfu)

Name: chrisbrn

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Product:	Corfu
Date:	04.10.01 (3358 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and friendly, Great selection of products to choose from to do

Disadvantages: couple of days of rain

This year was the first time that I have been to Corfu and the third time I have been in Greece as I have only generally been to Spain of France.

On this occasion, I decided that I needed a change of scenery to another island and went to Sidari in Corfu with once again Thomson Travel. I stayed in the Canal d’ Amour area of Sidari where there are little private beaches that fill up very fast. Talking to many people, this was found to be the nicest part of the island.

I went this year on the 31st of August for a two-week holiday with my parents so I had the last week of high season and the first week of mid season. Between the two weeks of being there, there was a big difference with the amount of people. As I went during high season, the shops were not giving offers to encourage people to spend their money and the atmosphere was great to say the least (bearing in mind it was starting to quieten down), but as soon as the first week of mid season came in, there was a great influx of tourists going out of Corfu almost making the island deserted. This is when the holiday changed to bad weather set in making high winds, hail stones, rain, etc, etc but even due to this the atmosphere around Sidari was good enough to bear. This bad weather only lasted 4 days though. All I wanted this time round was to have a quite last holiday with my parents, and that is what I got.

All the pubs, bars, and beaches literately everywhere was quite busy until about the time I was departing myself to come back home when there was to be no one in site of the beach, pubs, and bars. I do not know about the clubs, as I did not go in any. Sidari turned into a ghost town, but talking to locals, this had been the busiest season with all accommodation filling up and that this sudden quite spell was to be expected.

Sidari was basically the nature of the Greeks and the English and there are very few other foreigners to cause any trouble. In Sidari, there was n
ot trouble with anyone; it was just like one big family.

During the day, there was plenty to do all the time, weather you like to dine, sleep, being active, or sight seeing. I did a mixture of all these. I even hired out a cycle (which is very unlike me on holiday) and cycled to various parts of the island during the day. This was like an excursion in itself as I saw some stunning sight seeing sites, local taverns, etc and at £2 a day, this was good value.

If you are a water sports person, you will enjoy this location, as there is jet skiing, banana boat, and every other water sport you can think of except jet skiing. As far as the sleep goes, I slept on the beach in full sun (to which you should not do especially during the time of a heat wave), but surprisingly I did not burn, but there were a lot of burnt people. I am quite hard skinned when it comes to the sun, but I was still wearing factor 5, as the sun was very strong in the area.

The beach is ok in places with clean water and golden sand. There are parts where the sand is pebbly, but mainly sandy. If you are on a lilo, or any other inflatable, then be careful, as the wind is strong if you go out too far, and of those that are doing water sports.

There are a lot of day trips that you can do to other islands and countries. These are highly recommended to do. You cannot really do the trips any cheaper elsewhere, as all prices were the same. I went on numerous trips and thoroughly enjoyed them all. I went on the following;

*Sivota Blue Lagoon*

This is a cruise across the Corfu straits to the popular highlight of Sivota, which is a little pretty fishing village located on the edge of mainland Greece. On the way back from this village, you visit the spectacular Blue Lagoon where the boat will stay for about an hour. During this time, you can swim amongst the fish, have a general swim or relax admiring the crystal clear waters. The beach in this lagoon is l
iterally all stones.

*East Coast Cruise*

This is basically a boat trip down the East coast of Corfu where you take the first stop half way down the island to Mouse Island. It is called Mouse Island due to the size and shape of it. Whilst by the mouse island, the boat positions itself under the flight path of incoming passenger flights. This is done by that the end of the runway is in the sea! It was really strange seeing planes flying over you. It felt as if you could early touch them. On the way back, you visited Corfu Town, Kavos harbour, and various other bays, history of the island, etc. Great day out.

*Paxos and Parga*

I did not make it to this one due to bad weather, but this is basically a visit to the two islands, which have been kept to its old way of living with no effects of tourists.

*Kassiopi*

Kassiopi by night is a four hour stay in the village where you can shop, shop, and shop. This has a small harbour where some of the boat trips go from. Well worth the visit.

*Boat BBQ*

This was probably the best trip of them all. You join the caption that is totally mad called Theo and Theo and his crew make this one of the most memorable cruise along Corfu’s Coastline. You can swim in the electric blue Ionian waters, jump off the boat and then you enjoy a fantastic BBQ with wine, beers, and soft drinks for those that cannot handle the pace. As you board the boat, you start having water fights with other boats and amongst yourselves, and get totally covered in shaving foam. Definitely one not to be missed or for the faint hearted.

*Greek Night*

This was the last of the trips. This included a four course meal, all night entertainment, plate smashing, and drinking as much wine as you can. Some wine is ok, others are like paint stripper, but you have a choice of about 5 red and white wines. Once your meal has finished, you are up on the stage where you take to the dance
floor and learn some Greek dancing.

When it comes to dining, try everywhere as all food costs about the same and you get about the same amount in servings. The only difference is the style of cooking and the taste. If you like to dine out, there are nice resturants (the three brothers hotel, the three little pigs) which give magnificant meals. You can choose from italian, greek, english, etc dishes. All meals are about £7 including a couple of drinks.

There are no safe deposit boxes in the apartment that I stayed in, nor were there any in other hotels, but there are little shops where you can store your belongings away and you have access to it about 20 hours a day. This service does not cost anything, but the only catch is that you have to change you currency there, but even these exchange places were very competitive and offered a better price than over here in England. Another piece of mind is that the little shops are owned by Thomson’s who monitor the boxes all hours of the day.

The accommodation is basic in Corfu, and I mean basic but comparing it to other islands, this was luxury. All you have is a bathroom with the usual amenities. The toilet however is very basic (its ok, it is not the hole in the floor). It is the usual basin but no toilet paper can be deposited down them. All used toilet paper must be placed into the bin provided next to the toilet as with all of the Greek islands.

The kitchen is basically two rings (one big, one small), an oven, and a fridge with a freezer compartment, then you sleeping area. It is advisable to take a repellent with you. I got bit about 40 times in the first two days, but locals stated there has been a plague this year of mosquito’s. A bit of advice, eat a lot of onions and garlic. Mosquitoes do not lie the odour of them and also try not where any fragrances or deodorant.

Overall, this is a highly recommended place for those that like a fairly active holiday or a
lazy holiday, but it is advisable to go to Sidari, as this is the best place of the whole island. Kavos is like another Blackpool but a lot worse. It did not seem that attractive or much there, apart from the nightlife (which it is recommended to go on the company’s pub crawl there, but then again it is the 18 – 30’s hot spot).

This is a good choice for anyone that likes a good time. (Personally, I did not want to leave there as I was having too much of a good time even though it was a little on the quite side.) I enjoyed the island so much, that I am going to try Rhodes next year. I will definitely go to Kos and Corfu again.

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