When most people think of the Greek islands, they mostly picture blue skies, and sun drenched islands filled with white washed houses. While, that image may be symbolic of other Greek islands, it's not an accurate representation of Corfu. Corfu is the second largest island of the Ionian island chain and it actually lies just west of Albania. It is also one of the most lush and verdant of the Greek islands. Everywhere you turn, there's green: the trees, the grasses and the mountains. To me, that was the most surprising part thing I discovered about Corfu, it wasn't an arid, dry and barren island made from volcanic rock such as Santorini. Instead it was a contrast of pretty beaches along the coastline and tall jagged mountains with peaks and valleys inland.
For the first time in any of my cruises, I decided that this was the best place to rent a car. The price of a car rental, that included insurance, and pick up/drop off at the pier was reasonable, along with putting gas (or petrol, as they call it) in the car, was very reasonable. And as my research had indicated, driving around the island was relatively easy with very few main roads and everything within driving distance. After some research on various car rental companies, I booked a small 4-door automatic gear car months in advance of our arrival in Corfu.
Upon arrival in Corfu, we disembarked the ship and hopped on the free port shuttle that transported passengers from the ship to the port entrance. Though the distance wasn't that far, and certainly very walkable without the shuttle. Once we exited the port building, we were greeted by a man holding a sign with my name on it. He took us in his car directly across the street to the car rental agency's offices. Within minutes, we had our paperwork filled out, we paid the agent in cash, we were given instructions on the use of the car, and with map in hand, we were off!
We started off heading south until we came to a small bay where we stopped for some pretty pictures of the Old Fort situated on the opposite side of the bay. Our plan was to head to the southern end of the island. We found that the trickiest part of driving around the island was driving through Corfu Town. There is a maze of streets in Corfu Town that sometimes aren't well marked, or are sign posted with signs that are unfamiliar to us in the United States. That coupled with the fact that the map we had was a very generic broad map, at times made navigating our way through traffic in Corfu Town a bit of a challenge. However, once we found our way south of the town and on the main shoreline road heading south, we were set.
The main southern road hugs the shoreline the majority of the ride and provides for some spectacular glimpses of the beaches and the oceans. All along the drive there are small coastal communities that are filled with big and small resort hotels and filled with tourists. Every possible small patch of sand is turned into a beach filled with umbrellas and chairs to rent from entrepreneurial business people.
When we really hit the southern 1/3 of the island, the topography started to change. On one side of the car was the surf and the sand, and on the other side of the car were huge towering mountains that seemed to jut out from nowhere. It was quite the contrast in scenery. Once the road started moving away from the shoreline and more inland, we began to see the olive trees that the Greece is so famous for.
We made it all the way down to the southern city of Lefkimmi. It was actually a bit of a disappointment as the map had showed that there was a lighthouse down at this end of the island. However, when we got to the end of the road, we saw no signs of a lighthouse, though there was a walking path that went further down towards the shoreline, so it could have been there. Nonetheless, we decided to chalk this one up to driving adventure. We didn't see what we wanted to see, but we did get a good view of the southern half of the island.
On our way back towards Corfu Town, we did pass by the famously popular Acheillon Palace only to discover that it was extremely crowded with tourists, so we opted not to even try and stop.
In the afternoon we made it over to the two most popular spots on the island that the majority of tourists go to: Paleokistritsa and Glyfada Beach. Both of these locations are situated pretty much northwest of Corfu Town, so we had to take some time navigating back through Corfu Town.
It's easy to see why Paleokistritsa is such a popular tourist destination. As you approach the beach from the East you drive through a mountainous area before you make the descent through numerous switchbacks down to the shore. Each curve of the road brings into view different glimpses of the enticing beach below. Paleokistritsa is considered one of the most beautiful locations on the island due to the pristine jade-turquoise color of the water that makes up the 6 coves of this area. From any vantage point, other than the air, it's impossible to see all 6 coves of Paleokistritsa all at once.
Other than taking to the water and either relaxing or participating in water activities, the only other thing to do in the area is go to the famous monastery located at the top of the hill that provides one of the prettier views of Paleokistritsa. The road to the monastery is a bit tricky as it is a small, narrow and winding road that is only wide enough for cars to drive in one direction. Therefore, at each end of the road, at the top and bottom of the hill, there are signal lights that allow or prevent cars from going so that cars coming in the opposite direction can make the ascent or descent. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the Monastery it was closed until much later in the afternoon and we weren't about to wait around for it to open. However, we were still able to drive to the top of the hill and admire the beautiful views of 2 of the coves below from up top. We later went back down the hill and found some free parking at the Marina area so that we could enjoy the beach at Paleokistritsa. We had heard that the water at Paleokistritsa is colder than anywhere else on the island. And while it was cold, it wasn't colder than other areas I've experienced before. Besides the fact that the cold water felt good after trekking through the burning hot sand.
From Paleokistritsa, the drive to Glyfada beach is no more than 20 minutes. Like Paleokistritsa, you approach Glyfada by driving through a mountainous region and navigating your way through numerous switchbacks down the mountain until you reach the shoreline. If you want to park at Glyfada for free, you need to parallel park on the side of the road where you see everyone else park just before you make the final descent to the beach. This is also the area where the public buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers at Glyfada. 
The beach at Glyfada is different from that at Paleokistritsa. For one, the view is different, rather than being a protected cove, this is a long stretch of sandy beach. The colors of the water are much more muted here than they are at Paleokistritsa. But the beach is much larger and there are plenty more activities to partake in. The sand is fine and more my idea of what sand on a beach should be like. But the water currents are rougher as these currents flow direct from the ocean to the beach, and not protected in a cove setting, so actually swimming in the water is more difficult. Of the two, I preferred Paleokistritsa, but that is purely based on personal preference.
As it was already late in the afternoon, we didn't linger in Glyfada long. We wanted to make sure that we made it back to Corfu Town in plenty of time to return our rental car in the event we ran into any sort of traffic issues. Luckily, there was no traffic at all and our ride back to Corfu Town was a smooth one.
Corfu was an interesting stop. While I'm glad I've had the opportunity to visit the island, I don't think I'd ever plan a trip back to specifically visit the island. There was not enough here of interest to me. The best part of our day on the island was probably the fact that we rented a car and got to explore the island on our own. I'm sure if I was more of a beach person, I probably would have enjoyed the day more than I did. While Corfu is certainly different island experience than you would imagine when you conjure up thoughts of the Greek Islands, for my taste, it's an experience that I probably only need once.
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