Corfu 2019 - Friend Therapy Holiday

We flew with Easyjet from Gatwick on the early 6am flight, arriving to be met by our private taxi so we could avoid the time consuming hotel drop off’s (very important when you’re on a short break). A swift 50 minute taxi journey and we were at our hotel in time for lunch.

The hotel is situated on the beautifully mountainous north coast of the island, with views across the Ionian Sea to Albania. An attractive hotel, spacious lobby, pretty manicured gardens, cobbled pathways, selection of bars, restaurants, ice cream parlour, creperie/dessert bar (I liked this area!), good quality food – all boxes ticked for us.

The main pool was large with different areas for little kids, water slide, nice design with a walkway over the top. We had swim up family suites, which suited us as we enjoyed the relaxation of our quieter area, with it’s own bar and amazing Dionysia who took to serving us poolside – I’m not sure that was her job spec but very nice customer service it was. She took the effort to remember our names and was pleasantly sociable.

At night the hotel pools were under lit with an exotic blue haze, it really did look very pretty. The walk along the beach, east is 15/20 mins to the main part of Roda (quite small and quiet) where you come across a few beach taverna, which have sun loungers for rent (5Euro per day), boat trips, kayaks for hire etc. One morning we went for a cuppa to Laluz Taverna, a very pleasant start to the day, also a good option if you want a change of scene to eat out (breakfast/snacks 4-8Euro, mains 6-19Euro).

In the other direction along the beach for 10mins is a cliff, it’s easy to wade out in the water around the peninsular, just heads to more little beaches, just good fun for a paddle, kids would love it.

The main aim of this holiday was to fly and flop, read, chat, laugh, eat, drink, sunbathe - but I get itchy feet, I need to see what’s beyond the hotel gates! I hired a little car for the day (35 Euros) and embarked on a full day trip.

First stop 30 minutes drive to the east the charming harbour town of Kassiopi, unique among Corfu resorts in having both a very picturesque setting and a fair amount of history. It is an attractive resort with traditional narrow streets and overlooked by the ruins of an ancient castle. The magnificent backdrop of Mount Pantokrator and hills covered with olive groves, vines and citrus plantations make a very pleasing vista. We stopped for a walk and a drink in a harbour front café (fresh OJ & sparkling water 6Euro).

Driving on to visit The White House in Kalami, home of the famed Durrell’s, now a restaurant. A very picturesque setting to dine in but you pay for the view and history (mains were 15Euro+). It would make for a lovely venue for a treat. We didn’t have time to eat as I’d scheduled a meeting (yes, a bit of work whilst on hols) with the Sales Director at the IKOS Dassia to learn about the hotel.

IKOS Dassia is a stunningly beautiful property, earning every bit of it’s 5* rating. From the long sandy beachfront, the level of service and inclusions, the variety of dining options, quality of food, and if you like your wine, each restaurant has it’s own chiller room on view for storage – I was in heaven! Staying here is Ultra All Inclusive and even includes car hire. If you want to dine out, the hotel has arrangements with a selection of local restaurants to get that local dining experience. I’m sold on the hotel, so am plotting when I can book!

We visited Paleokastritsa, the Monastery (donation) and did a 40ish mins boat trip to the caves (10Euro), both interesting/fun things to do. Along the drive back to Roda we took the back roads, a maze of tiny single track lanes, through pretty little villages, with rustic churches and homes, village squares where the locals were just sitting out. A few wrong turns, a few educated guesses and we found ourselves closer to home than we thought. I’m so pleased to have been out to explore, it’s dead easy to drive, had a great mini adventure and a few more of my travel boxes are now ticked.

I really recommend a stay on the north coast of Corfu either at Roda Beach Resort & Spa, or Kassiopi harbour town. If you really feel like splashing out, the IKOS Dassia is the one for you.

I certainly aim to return to Corfu again – I want to do a boat trip to Paxos & Anti Paxos – the more I travel, the more I add to my list!

Get in touch if you’d like to chat through some Corfu holiday ideas. Look forward to advising you.