Avlaki Beach Corfu: Kassiopi’s Quiet Bay and the Wild Erimitis

You can spend a week on Corfu on a beach with six bars, two hundred sunloungers and music cranked up from eleven in the morning. Or you can spend it on a beach with two tavernas, green hills behind you and a steady sea breeze every afternoon. Avlaki Beach Corfu is the second kind, and it’s one of the few spots on the island’s northeast coast that tourist development still hasn’t reached.

There’s a catch, though. Several places in Greece are called Avlaki, and even on Corfu itself it’s easy to mix it up with the beach next door. So let’s start by making sure you’re heading to the right one.

Which Avlaki are we talking about?

In Greek, avlaki means something like “furrow” or “ditch”, and the name crops up all over Greece: there’s a beach on Hydra, a village called Avlakia on Samos and a handful of smaller places. That probably won’t trip you up when planning a Corfu holiday, as search engines work it out from context.

Where you’re far more likely to go wrong is on Corfu itself. Just round the corner in the same bay is a beach called Avlaki East, and it’s a different place: smaller and with no facilities. A few kilometres to the south lies Agios Stefanos Sinies, a tiny yacht harbour that’s easily confused with Agios Stefanos Avliotes at the opposite, northwestern tip of the island. Two villages, one name, an hour and a half’s drive apart.

What Avlaki Beach Corfu is like, and who it suits

Picture a narrow strip of shore in Bolana Bay, open to the north and northwest, with wooded hills rising straight behind it. Lovin’ Corfu puts it at about 500 metres long and only ten metres wide on average. It’s worth knowing that before you go: in high season the beach fills up much faster than its length suggests.

The surface is where the guides part ways. The British guide Discover Corfu talks about white pebbles, the Greek site Greeka about large pebbles, and Lovin’ Corfu about a mix of sand, pebbles and stones. What they agree on is that it’s not a sandy beach, and for us that boils down to one practical tip: bring water shoes and leave the inflatable lilo at home, because carrying it across the stones is no fun.

They don’t agree on the seabed either. One source describes a gentle slope and shallow water for the first few metres, another says it gets deep quickly. That’s common on pebble beaches, as winter storms reshape the shoreline every year. Expect the depth at Avlaki to vary from one year to the next, and if you’ve got small children with you, test the water carefully on the first day.

Avlaki is a good fit for:

• People who want peace and quiet and don’t mind doing without five bars and a water slide.
• Swimmers. The water here is famously clear, and you can swim straight from the shore without wading through shallows.
• Sailors and windsurfers. The afternoon wind is so reliable that courses are planned around it.
• Walkers, because this is where the trail starts into the only real wilderness on the island’s northeast.

And it’s not great for:

• Families with toddlers who need warm, shallow water and sand to dig in. The south coast is far better for that.
• Beach party fans. Two tavernas and that’s your lot.
• Anyone without a car or scooter. Getting here any other way is impractical.

Facilities on the beach

Avlaki is a “partly organised” beach, which in Greek beach terms means there are facilities, but they don’t take up the whole shoreline. Specifically, you’ll find:

• sunloungers and umbrellas for hire,
• two small tavernas right by the water, which most guides reckon are the main reason people come for the whole day,
• showers, public toilets and changing cabins,
• boat hire and, in season, water sports,
• a free car park right by the beach, plus space to park along the road.

What you won’t find: a shop, a cash machine, cocktails brought to your lounger or anything resembling a resort. The nearest supermarket is in Kassiopi.

In our view, hiring a boat here is the best money you can spend on the whole northeast of the island, because the Erimitis coast is hard to reach from the land and looks completely different from the water. Just go in the morning. Once the wind picks up in the afternoon, it’s a different sport altogether.

Erimitis: the best part is beyond the beach

Most guides to Avlaki dismiss this in a single sentence, yet it’s the main reason to come.

Erimitis is the peninsula between Kassiopi and Agios Stefanos Sinies, and according to local sources it has the highest biodiversity anywhere on Corfu. The reason is historical: the Venetians, who spent centuries turning Corfu into one giant olive grove, never touched it. They planted no groves here and built no forts, so the ecosystem has survived in a form you won’t see anywhere else on the island: dense woodland, wetlands, reed beds and three small lakes.

One of them, Savoura, sits right next to Avlaki, just to the southeast. The other two, Akoli and Vromolimni, lie deeper in the peninsula by the beaches of the same names.

Officially, Erimitis is not a designated nature reserve. It’s simply undeveloped, and on an attractive stretch of Greek coastline that doesn’t stay that way forever on its own. If you want to see northeast Corfu as it used to be, we think now is the time.

Nine beaches you can’t drive to

Besides Avlaki, Erimitis has several more named beaches: Avlaki East, Vrachli, Vouvalomantria, Tzoufaka, Arias, Akoli, Vromolimni, Korfovounia and Aspalathra. Plus a few nameless coves.

All of them except Avlaki are completely wild. No sunloungers, no bar, no drinking water, and no shade except what you bring yourself. The only ways in are by boat or on foot.

The Erimitis coastal trail

A trail runs along the entire coast of the peninsula, linking most of these beaches. It starts at Agios Stefanos Sinies beach in the south and ends at Avlaki in the northwest. A forest track also crosses Erimitis between Agios Stefanos Sinies and Avlaki, with several paths branching off it to individual routes, so you can walk the whole stretch or just pick a section and head back to the car.

Don’t expect Alpine-style waymarking. This is a Greek coastal path, which means rocky ground, hardly any shade and nowhere to buy a drink along the way. Sturdy shoes, two litres of water per person and an early start: without those three, it’s not a good idea.

How to get to Avlaki Beach Corfu

Getting to Corfu from the UK. Corfu is a classic British holiday island, and in season direct flights leave from a whole range of UK airports, mostly with package operators and low-cost airlines. Routes change from year to year, so check what’s flying from your nearest airport when you book. Corfu airport is right next to Corfu Town, so for Avlaki you start from there. In winter, direct flights practically disappear and you fly via Athens.

By car. From Corfu Town it’s roughly 34 km (figure from Lovin’ Corfu). Take the 2217 via Tzavros towards Kassiopi, turn off at Agnitsini and carry on through the Erimitis woods down to the sea. There’s a free car park on your right, just by the beach, and you can also park along the road. From Kassiopi it’s two kilometres.

By scooter. Lots of people get around the northeast of the island this way, and for this distance it makes sense. The roads are narrow and winding, but nothing dramatic.

By bus: not really. There’s no direct service. The nearest stop is in Kassiopi, served by the green KTEL intercity buses, lines A4 and A12 from Corfu Town. From there you’ve got two kilometres along a road with no pavement, by taxi or on foot, and on foot in the midday heat it’s no stroll.

By boat. Seasonal excursion boats leave Kassiopi to cruise the coast, and you can hire a small motorboat either there or right on Avlaki. For us, it’s by far the nicest way to get to know this part of the island.

Where to stay near Avlaki

Nobody actually stays on the beach. Avlaki has no village and no hotel, just a car park, two tavernas and the woods. That’s good news for the atmosphere and bad news for planning, so you’ll need to pick a base nearby.

Kassiopi: the most sensible choice

Two kilometres from the beach, Kassiopi is a fishing village that has turned into a pleasant resort without becoming another Sidari. It has a harbour lined with tavernas, the ruins of a Byzantine castle on the hill above the village and several small pebble coves right below the houses. You’ll find a supermarket, a cash machine, car and scooter hire, and buses to Corfu Town.

Accommodation is mostly apartments, studios and smaller family-run hotels. There are no big all-inclusive resorts here, and that suits us fine. Browse places to stay in Kassiopi

When Kassiopi is full

In July and August the good apartments in Kassiopi get snapped up well in advance. These alternatives make sense and still keep Avlaki within easy reach:

• Agios Stefanos Sinies. A small yacht harbour south of Erimitis, quiet and rather upmarket. It’s pricier and there’s not much choice, but from the other side of the peninsula you’re just as close to Avlaki, and the coastal trail starts right here. Places to stay in Agios Stefanos Sinies
• Acharavi and Roda on the north coast, ten to fifteen kilometres to the west. More choice, lower prices and long beaches, but the feel is more touristy and the sea is shallower.
• Barbati and Nissaki on the east coast below Mount Pantokrator. Pebble beaches with views of Albania, lots of greenery and peace and quiet. Avlaki is about half an hour away by car.
• Corfu Town, if you want more from the island than beaches. The round trip to Avlaki takes an hour and a half, but the town itself is worth it. Places to stay in Corfu Town

Best time to visit Avlaki

The northeast coast has a shorter season than the south of the island, because there’s less infrastructure and many businesses don’t open until May.

• May and June. Erimitis is at its greenest and in flower, and you can walk the trail without risking heatstroke. The sea is still cool, but fine for swimmers.
• July and August. Ten metres of beach width gets packed, and the afternoon wind blows at its strongest. On the other hand, it’s the best time for sailing.
• September. Our pick. The sea is at its warmest of the year, the crowds have thinned and the tavernas are still open.
• October. Great for the Erimitis trail, but swimming is a gamble by then. The beach facilities gradually shut down.

Air and sea temperatures, rainfall and wind month by month are covered in our guide to Corfu weather.

What we’d do differently

If we went back to Avlaki, we’d flip the order of the day.

Trail first, beach second. The first time, it feels natural to turn up at around eleven, lie down, and then discover in the afternoon that the wind has picked up and it’s too late and too hot to walk through the woods. Yet the best thing about this part of Corfu isn’t the beach itself. The beach is nice, but narrow and pebbly. The real draw is that you can set off from here and walk the coast for hours without meeting anyone. Leaving at seven and being back on a lounger by eleven makes for a completely different holiday.

We’d hire a boat on the first day, not the last. Erimitis looks different from the water than from the shore, and afterwards you understand much better where you’re walking during the week. We did it the other way round, and it was a shame.

We wouldn’t try to tick off all ten beaches. On the map they look like a collection waiting to be completed. In reality most of them are very similar, and what matters is the silence, not the number. Better two coves with lunch and a nap in the shade than six ticked off a list.

And we’d have that lunch at the tavernas on Avlaki. They don’t look like much, just two shacks by the water, but in this whole part of the island they’re the best combination of food and view we came across. No photos, no plans, just sit and watch the lighthouse on the horizon.

Avlaki Beach Corfu: FAQ

Where next

Avlaki is just one piece of northeast Corfu, and the rest of the island looks quite different: long sandy beaches in the south, dramatic cliffs in the west. To get a feel for the whole island, our guide to planning a Corfu holiday breaks down the coasts, prices and transport.

For Corfu we also have a rundown of things to do in Corfu and a month-by-month look at Corfu weather.