The sea caves
A small-boat trip that goes inside the rock hollows along the coast.
**Six small bays following one another beneath forested hills** โ on the northwest coast, and the best-known thing in Corfu outside the town. What sets it apart is **green above blue**: unlike most bare Greek coastlines, dense olive and cypress woods come down to the water's edge here, the bays divided between them by rocky spurs, and the water is **exceptionally clear** because the bottom is rock rather than sand. From the water, **small boats run to the sea caves** along the coast โ the best and most worthwhile thing to do in the area. Directly above the bay stands **Paleokastritsa Monastery** on a rocky headland, with the finest view over all the coves. โ But be prepared: **the beaches are small and pebbly**, **July and August are extremely crowded**, and **parking is a nightmare** at peak.
A small-boat trip that goes inside the rock hollows along the coast.
A rock bottom makes the water unusually transparent for Greece.
Dense olive and cypress running right down to the coves.
Palaiokastritsa, 49083 Corfu, Greece
**Yes โ but only if you get the timing and the season right.** โ **In July and August between 10 and 4**: no. The bays are small and you will find them carpeted with loungers and people, parking will cost you half an hour of patience, and the boats have queues โ and the impression you leave with will look nothing like the photographs. โ **By contrast**: the same place **before 9 am**, or **in May, June, September and October**, is transformed: clear still water, near-empty coves, available parking and boats with no wait โ and it is then among the finest things in western Greece. โ **The compromise if you have no flexibility**: come at peak but **go straight to the boat trip** (the best thing here, and it takes you out of the crush), then climb to **the monastery** or **Angelokastro**, where nobody crowds, and save your swim for a quieter bay.
**A short small-boat run along the rocky coast, and the best thing you can do here.** โ **What it involves**: usually 30 to 45 minutes, leaving from a jetty in the main bay, passing hollows and caves the sea has cut into the cliff โ the boat actually goes inside some of them, where the light turns blue within the rock, and others are seen from outside. โ **The decisive difference is boat size.** Small boats (six to ten people) **enter the caves**; large boats only pass in front of them and give you a coastal cruise and no more โ **ask directly before paying**. โ **A practical note**: some boats **stop for a swim** in an isolated cove unreachable by land โ if that appeals, ask, because it is the best part of the trip. โ Trips are cancelled **in wind and heavy sea**.
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