Corfu

[kronbel]

Is it worth taking a ship excursion in Corfu, Greece or trying to do it on your own?

[MVPinBoynton]

We had a wonderful day in Corfu taking the Best of Corfu ship excursion. Corfu is a lovely island, very unlike the other Greek Islands in that it is very green. It is very worthwhile to take the tour.

[grannynanny]

Do you know anyone who did the "Corfu Coastal Walk"? We are considering it for November and would love to know more about the tour.

Thanks,

Nancy

[MVPinBoynton]

I didn't hear anyone mention it; but I believe that anything you choose to do in Corfu would make for a great day.

[CAPinBoynton]

Yea!!! The review of our latest Med. cruise is now online at www.thepreismans.com The link to the photo album is in the review. This cruise was so fabulous that we had to do a very long review, and I'm putting the extra pictures into two separate albums. Mike and I took over 4,600 pictures! :eek: No, I didn't put them all on line! A few of the pics within the review are also in the album, but most of them are different. The album is best viewed in the "slide show" format.

 

Mike and I hope that you will read the review and enjoy the albums.

[zagmom03]

Yea!!! The review of our latest Med. cruise is now online at www.thepreismans.com

 

Mike and I hope that you will read the review and enjoy the albums.

 

Excellent job on the album!

 

Thank you for posting. I have thoroughly enjoyed it! We will be on the Emerald Princess on the exact same itinerary and I am getting more excited.

 

Vickie

[CAPinBoynton]

I have finally, finally finished the second photo album from our Med. cruise. The link is at the bottom of Part 2 of the review at http://www.thepreismans.com It is best viewed in the slide show format.

 

If you ever plan to go to Ephesus, take a peek at the pictures of the Terrace Houses. I put lots more pictures of it in the album than we used in the review. To me, the T. Houses were the very best part of Ephesus!

 

Enjoy,

[SusieCruiser]

Just wanted to say I enjoyed the Preismans review it has had me captivated as I am going on the Brilliance of the Seas in September and it gave me LOADS of info!

 

THANKS so much

[kely53]

We have friends that took the coastal walk and loved it! They did write a review of their cruise on here under "brillance". Their name is "lproctor". I dont know if they mentioned the coastal walk on it but they thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

We rented a car and toured the island and visited Glyfada Beach and Paleokistritra beach area(sp?) and the monastery overlooking it. Have a wonderful lunch at the monastery.

[SusieCruiser]

We had a wonderful day in Corfu taking the Best of Corfu ship excursion. Corfu is a lovely island, very unlike the other Greek Islands in that it is very green. It is very worthwhile to take the tour.

 

I decided to take the morning tour of Panoramic Corfu which is Below, Does this sound like its good enough to do in Corfu? We get back at 12:30 so we have 3 hours or so still to do something, DO not want to kill myself though!

I thought if they do not offer to get off in Corfutown that I would just go back...

NOW to figure out what to do in Sicily!

would love to have some feedback

This is a coach tour to some of the most beautiful spots on Corfu Island, with some walking along easy terrain that offers the chance to enjoy and explore the sites visited at length. Drive through the countryside to Paleokastritsa Bay, known as the 'Capri' of Greece. After some free time and your guided tour about this beautiful place, you will board your coach and continue to the Golden Fox Cafe (for a photo stop), perched on the hills in the traditional village of Lakones, famous for its spectacular views over the Bay of Paleokastritsa. Locals know this location as 'God's Balcony' because of the spectacular views it offers of the scenic Paleokastritsa Bay, the surrounding hills, even of the entire island.

 

Following your relaxing break at Lakones Village, the tour continues over the mountain ridge passing through some of the traditional villages on the northern side of the island. After approximately 45 minutes, you will arrive in Corfu Town where you will have a sightseeing coach tour around town, passing by the Palaiopolis (ancient ruins), the summer palace of the ex-King of Greece, Mon Repos, Garitsa Bay, the 14th century Old Venetian Fortress – now a UNESCO World Heritage monument, the Espianade square – once used as drilling grounds for Napoleon Bonaparte’s soldiers, the Royal Palace of St. George and St. Michael built by the first British Commissioner of the island in the 19th century, the Old Port crowded with traditional 'caiques', the New Venetian Fortress built in the 16th century, the open-air flee market and San Rocco square – the commercial center, before driving back to the pier and your ship.

[MVPinBoynton]

SusieCruiser,

That sounds like a nice overview of the island. You will miss out on the Achillieon Palace; but you will get much more time in town, which will be nice. Have a ball.

[coop2]

We rented a car and drove to Paleokastritsa. easy drive- cheap car rental.& had a great time!

[P&C]

We have decieded to rent a car too. Your advice is needed, do we leave getting a rental car until we get there? or can we book from the ship say the day before? or do we need to do so by internet from here?

Many thanks.

[SusieCruiser]

SusieCruiser,

That sounds like a nice overview of the island. You will miss out on the Achillieon Palace; but you will get much more time in town, which will be nice. Have a ball.

 

Mike thanks so much.... Your review was wonderful and I have shared it with others from my cruise to see also, yours has been the best i have seen so far!

I been a TA for 12 years and believe it or not its my first trip to Europe I seem to go the other way! BUT this opportunity came up and I said heck with the long plane ride if need be I get a xanax! Really looking foreward to it

WE are going on the Brilliance of the Seas, You were rightr on with Princess their product in my estimation has gone down a few notches, We found that some of the workers were very rude on the CROWN Princess when we were on last December. Curt is a good word. So back to RCCL and Celeb!

[nole62]

WE were on the Grand Princess with Mike and Carol. Haven't they done a superb job on their journal and picts!!!! The Golden Fox was where we had lunch and had spectacular views of Corfu. We thought Corfu was one of the most beautiful places we went...except for Santorini. They are so totally different, but beautiful. The Terrace Houses at Ephesus were the best part of that tour. Walking on the glass walkway was "interesting" for one a bit leery of heights...but nicely done to allow you to see everything.

 

Happy Fourth of July to all the Americans on the boards!!!!

 

Helen

[CAPinBoynton]

The Terrace Houses at Ephesus were the best part of that tour. Walking on the glass walkway was "interesting" for one a bit leery of heights...but nicely done to allow you to see everything.

 

That's one of the main reasons I was so fascinated by the glass walkway. It wasn't scary at all. Normally, I wouldn't be able to walk on something like that; but I had no problem with this one. It was so sturdy and well built that it didn't even shake. I tried! Also, it wasn't very high up either. :D

 

Helen, thanks for the kind comments. We thoroughly enjoyed your company and hope we can cruise together again.

[GMoney]

When I was in Corfu last month I rented a scooter and zipped all over. I enjoyed the day and felt like I really saw the island.

[txcrusr]

I can't speak about the ships' tours of Corfu although we did do a couple of ship tours in other locations as well as some private tours. We had a wonderful day in Corfu at the beginning of June, in a rental car booked online prior to departure. The car was at the port and we dropped it off there at the end of the day. As we didn't want to go where everyone else was going, we headed out of Corfu town, North along the West coast to Kalami (Durrell house) and Koloura where we enjoyed a relaxing morning of quiet bays and gentle walking along the coast. We were a bit early for lunch, so despite the reputedly excellent tavernas in the area, we headed up a wonderfully windy little road through olive groves and country villages to the top of Mt. Pandokrator, the highest point on the island. There is a small 14th century monastery church at the top with some wonderful frescos (shawls are available for covering heads and shoulders). The views over the island and accross to Albania were spectacular. We had a late lunch in a little village on the way down the mountain - I think it's called Strinilas. There is a cafe/restaurant with tables under a big tree in the small square that the road passes through; this is fine for location but the food is much better at the organic restaurant just downhill of the square which also has outside seating on a private vine-covered patio. We then headed back to Corfu town for wandering the streets and doing some souvenir shopping. On the way back we allowed ourselves to get deliberately "lost" (all roads lead downhill and eventually back to Corfu town) thereby seeing little villages that didn't look as though they'd ever seen a tourist. It was a most enjoyable day. We enjoyed the flexibility of the car, and seeing some less touristy spots. I'm sure the standard tours are interesting, but quite frankly the thought of the contents of several cruise ships descending on Paleokrastritsa or the Achilleon Palace did not appeal. It was also a cost effective option for our family of 4 - about $50 for the car - and driving was easy.

 

I hope you enjoy your visit. Corfu is delightful and definitely a location for relaxing.

[SusieCruiser]

Does anyone on here have suggestions for sicily? I know we can do Taormina BUT I am concerned about all the steps I do not think my BP will allow me all those steps.. SO other then that anything anyone done that was not real physical that was enjoyable??

[grannynanny]

can you please tell me exactly where I can read your friends post, I looked for it but could not find it. Can you ask them more about it if they didn't talk about it in their review?

Thanks,

Nancy

[c bear]

You can find the review by Iprocter that talks about the Corfu Coastal Walk by going to MEMBER CRUISE REVIEWS, Brilliance of the Seas. In case you can't find it, they said it was fantastic, treated to amazing vistas, visited small communities, and had some beach time. Two guides handled their small group well, the 4.5 mile walk took all day and was somewhat challenging due to steep and uneven paths, but very worth it. A big plus was no crowds. We are thinking of doing this in Oct on our BOS Med cruise

[taxatty]

We also rented a car and had a pleasant day driving to the beach at Paleokastritsa, were we spent several hours and had a nice lunch, then drove up to the monastery for an amazing view. We then stopped at a touristy factory to buy kumquat products and drove back to Corfu Town. We rented the car by Internet booking in advance from Sunrise, and they were great to deal with, telling us where to go and how to get there--highly recommended.

Les

[Content@Sea]

Dear txcrusr: Thanks for such a lovely (inspirational) description of your tour. We are 4 pals thinking of renting/driving vs the bus. Where did you rent the car online at that price? Name/URL? Any caveats?

 

Your response much appreciated !

Thanks Content@sea