South of Corfu Town  

Travelling South East from the airport down the main Lefkimmi road this area at first is well  built up. It consists of garden centres, furniture stores, supermarkets, industry, The Coca Cola Factory, The British Corner Shop(where you can buy your favourite UK brands) and warehouse shops selling everything from garden furniture to cups and saucers.

 

 

   The Interior of the island then develops  into a scenic, green, fertile hilly landscape with its pine clad mountain which overlooks the pleasant village of  Aghios Matheos.

 

 

   The picturesque east coast road follows the sea and takes you through the coastal village resorts of Benitses, Moraitika and Messongi (the last commercial resort ) until you reach Boukari bay (which is a distance of 25 km's from the airport about a 35 minute drive) and Petriti.

 

 

 There are the inland villages of Hlomos, Kouspades, Korakades and Argirades not forgetting further south the old town of Lefkimmi.

 

 

   In the west of these areas are the sandy beaches of Gardeno., Marathias, Aghios Georgios, Issos and Korission. The coastline then stretches northwards with various other beaches to the resort of Aghios Gordios.

 

   Also situated on the south west side of the area is Lake Korission which is a lagoon. It is long and narrow with an area of about 6000 sq. Metres. It is separated from the beach by a narrow strip of sand dunes and a dirt road. The dirt road continues southward until it reaches a small wooden bridge over a channel, next to the rangers cabin, which takes you into woodland. Many types of wild flowers can be found here, especially in spring and autumn, including many types of orchid. The lake itself and surrounding wet land provides an ideal winter habitat for numerous species of birds. It is remote and a very peaceful place to visit.

 

 

 

      On the road at the northern end of the lake there is a ruined Byzantine Fortress of Gardiki.

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Further  along the road is the Rock shelter of Grava Gardikiou, an ancient site of caves, which can be found at the top of the hillside. It is a scramble up through the olive grove but well worth a visit. It was the occupation site of hunters and food gatherers in 20,000 B.C.

 

 

 

     There is no admission charge to either the castle or the caves.

                   

 

            Restaurants and Tavernas

 

  Boukari Bay has a good choice of restaurants and the following is some that we have eaten in.

 There is a fish restaurant on the harbour front that serves mainly fish.

  Along the unmade coast road towards Petriti is another taverna Kalami  that serves a variety  of good  food.

 

 

 

 The Sunset Hotel restaurant overlooking the harbour is one of our favourites as they serve a variety of traditional Greek food which is very good.

 

 

 

 

 

  The Potamaki taverna is situated right on the waters edge and is a nice setting to while away  an evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The Boukari Akrogiali taverna served us up tasty grilled Souvlaki.

 

 

 

  The Boukari Beach restaurant we also like. It is also good for fresh fish and a selection of traditional Greek food. It is owned and run by  the Vlachopoulos family  who also own the local Penelope Hotel (satellite TV).

  

 

 

 

 Further along the coast road towards Messongi is the Gialos taverna. It is situated up a track just off of the coast road. This is also good, serving a vast selection of traditional Greek food.

   On the outskirts of Messongi at Psara are the Dionysos restaurant and the Fisherman's Haunt.

   The Dionysos is very good . There are different and unusual things on the menu.

   The Fisherman's Haunt  is situated right next to the sea  and is a pleasant place to while away a hour or two over lunch.

   

 

  Situated in Old Moraitika is the Tassos Village Grill that we found to be very nice and friendly. The food is very good with a good selection of Greek dishes , grilled meats and fresh fish and all at reasonable prices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 On the main Argirades to Lefkimmi road at the junction to Marathias is the Village taverna. We found this to be very nice serving lovely food. It has a traditional and more extensive menu including different recipes of Greek food.

  

 

 

 

 

 There are also several  restaurants in Petriti that we have eaten in.

 

The Lymnopulas taverna is very good and is situated on the sea front.