Wonderful Corfu - sun, sea and a break from reality

This was an unexpected holiday as originally, we had booked to stay at the in-law’s apartment in Spain. As time went on and it became clear that we couldn’t visit Spain and seeing myself and my brother’s businesses suffering due to Covid, my mother kindly offered to take both our families to anywhere of my choice.

Marbella Corfu has been a popular choice for many of my clients for a while now. I wanted to see what the fuss was about!

I last went to Corfu when I was a 22-year-old backpacker. After spending close to a year in South America, I decided to travel round Europe before heading home. A few school friends and I interrailed round Europe and went by boat to Corfu, staying in a rather dodgy establishment called the Pink Palace. Fast forward 20 something years and this time flying rather than sailing, we stayed at a far nicer hotel and location. Sadly, this time, we were not greeted by toga wearing Greek waiters bringing us ouzo shots as we checked in (probably for the best!)

Firstly, I think a lot of people are worried about the airport and social distancing. We went to Gatwick and I felt very safe. Everyone is very respectful of keeping their distance and no one touched our passports, instead asking us to flash the relevant page or boarding pass and to remove our masks only when checking the photo. Most of the shops were open but not all the restaurants were. However, the ubiquitous Weatherspoons was of course open for those who need some fortification before flying.

Masks are mandatory in the airport and onboard the flight for everyone apart from small children and you can only remove them to eat or drink. The toilet system is interesting as you cannot have more than two in a line but somehow this worked fine most of the time!

We felt safe travelling with EasyJet and arrived in Corfu in high spirits ready for our adventure. Marbella Corfu is a beautiful hotel with several different room types situated on one the most beautiful stretches of water I have ever seen. The Greek mainland is visible across the Ionian Sea and the crystal-clear waters give the impression of a vast, fish filled, azure swimming pool. The beach at Marbella Corfu has decking which the kids (and adults) loved launching themselves off to snorkel among the abundant and magnificent fish found there. Personally, I preferred to watch from Marbella’s beach restaurant and bar, soft drink or cocktail in hand!

The hotel has three a la carte restaurants and a buffet style one as well as a beach side restaurant and beach/pool snack bars – the latter two only serving food at lunch. The diner style a la carte restaurant was closed due to Covid, but we ate in the other two and at the beach restaurant several times. The choice was a bit limited for a two week stay but the buffet did change its food choices daily.

We ventured outside of the hotel a few times and found Corfu Town in easy reach with a regular bus service from outside reception. The nearest town is probably Benitses, the old party capital of Corfu (very sleepy now!) and is a 5-minute taxi ride away. In addition to this, there are a few tavernas walking distance from the hotel.

We did an excursion one day which I highly recommend. A lovely lady works in collaboration with the hotel and advertises boat trips on her father’s boat. The company is called Dimitra J and we spent a very happy day visiting and snorkelling in the blue lagoon, caves and shallows and visiting mainland Greece.

All in all, we loved our trip to Corfu. I would love to return for a third time and perhaps see more of the island.

In the meantime, I will get through the UK winter by imagining I am back by that azure sea and sipping a cold drink. Holidays are for fun and memories and we made many of them on this unexpected trip to beautiful Corfu.