Greece · Ionian Islands
Yacht Charter Corfu
Venetian for four centuries, then French and British — the one Greek island the Ottomans never took.
Corfu was held by Venice from 1386 to 1797 and never fell to the Ottomans, which is why it looks and eats unlike anywhere else in Greece: tall Venetian townhouses, arcaded streets modelled on the rue de Rivoli, cricket on the esplanade and a beer brewed to a British recipe. It is also the green end of the Ionian, with three million olive trees the Venetians paid people to plant.
The town
The old town is UNESCO-listed and sits between two fortresses, with lanes narrow enough to stay cool at noon. The Liston arcade was built by the French in 1807 in direct imitation of Paris, and the cricket ground in front of it is genuinely used.
Corfu was British from 1815 to 1864, which left the cricket, the ginger beer they still make and a governor's palace that would not look out of place in Dublin.
Around the island
Paleokastritsa on the west coast is a set of six bays under wooded cliffs with a monastery on the headland, and the water there is the clearest on the island. The north-west has the sea caves and the white cliffs of Cape Drastis.
South-east, the channel between Corfu and Albania narrows to two kilometres, and Ksamil and the Albanian Riviera are an hour across. Paxos is two hours south.
Practical notes
- Corfu airport is fifteen minutes from the town harbour, which makes it the easiest arrival in the Ionian
- Paleokastritsa on the west coast has the clearest water; the north-west has the sea caves
- Albania is an hour east across the channel; Paxos is two hours south
- Two of this fleet's yachts are based in Greece; the rest are positioned
Reached from: Corfu and Athens
Where to dine
A table by the water
Venetian Well
Corfu TownIn a small square round a sixteenth-century wellhead, with a menu that changes daily and no printed copy.
Toula's
Agni BayOn the beach at Agni on the north-east coast, reached by tender, and the prawn pilaf people come back for.
Liston
Corfu TownThe French arcade of 1807, where the town takes its coffee and watches the cricket that the British left behind.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
The old town
UNESCO-listed, between two fortresses, with the Liston arcade built in imitation of the rue de Rivoli.
Paleokastritsa
Six bays under wooded cliffs on the west coast, with a monastery on the headland and the clearest water on the island.
Cape Drastis
White cliffs and sea caves at the north-western tip, reachable from the water.
The Albanian channel
Two kilometres across at its narrowest, with Ksamil and the Albanian Riviera an hour east.
The fleet
Yachts available for Corfu
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Corfu
- Why does Corfu feel different from the rest of Greece?
- Venice held it for four hundred years and the Ottomans never took it. The architecture, the food and even the cricket come from that — Venetian, then French, then British, and never Turkish.
- Where is the best water?
- Paleokastritsa on the west coast: six bays under wooded cliffs with a monastery on the headland, and the clearest water on the island.
- What does a yacht charter in Corfu cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season and the crew, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
Charter here
Enquire about a charter in Corfu
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.