Cruises in Corfu

The port of Corfu Town is the main maritime hub of the Ionian islands, and the timetable shows it: ferries leave for the mainland, cruise ships tie up right below the fortress, and the excursion boats work in between. For a traveller that means something simple: the departure point is a ten-minute walk from the centre, and the return leg does not turn into a separate exercise in connections.

The standard day route runs south, to Paxos and Antipaxos. The first is interesting for its west coast: the cliffs there are undercut, and the Blue Caves formed inside them, entered at slow speed; the water within is lit from below and holds an unnaturally bright tone. The second is smaller and further out, and you go for the swimming — a white limestone bottom turns ordinary seawater into a turquoise that photographs usually get accused of faking.

The second direction is the mainland coast opposite. The Blue Lagoon at Sivota lies in a channel between islets, shallow and calm, and on the way the boat calls at Parga, a town with a Venetian fortress above its tiled roofs. The formats vary: scheduled sailings on large launches with hotel transfer, full-day trips with several swimming stops, and an evening party with music, from which you watch the floodlights come on along the walls of the Old Fortress.