Area Guide
Kontokali, Gouvia and Dassia
The villa sits in Kontrakia, on the hillside above Corfu’s north-east coast. It is a quiet spot with a very short drive to three distinct villages and to the Old Town — close enough to be convenient, far enough up to be peaceful.
Kontrakia and the view
Kontrakia is residential and quiet, set back and above the coastal strip. That elevation is the point: from the villa the ground falls away towards Gouvia Marina and the sea, with Corfu Town and its fortresses visible along the coast. Evenings here are notably still, and the sunsets over the ridge behind are worth staying in for.
It also means you are removed from the summer noise of the resorts while remaining about five minutes from them by car.
Kontokali
The nearest village, and the most useful day to day. Kontokali has an organised beach with calm shallow water, tavernas along the front and the practical things you actually need on holiday — a supermarket run, a pharmacy, a cash machine.
It is about five minutes down the hill, which makes it the natural choice for a morning swim or an unhurried dinner without committing to a drive.
Gouvia and the marina
Gouvia is home to the largest marina on Corfu, and it gives the village a different character from its neighbours: a working waterfront of yachts and masts, with restaurants and cafés along the quay. It is a pleasant place to walk in the evening, and the setting does a lot of the work.
There is a beach here too, smaller and more sheltered than Kontokali’s. The marina is roughly five minutes from the villa.
Dassia
A little further north, about ten minutes away, Dassia has a longer stretch of beach and a livelier feel. This is where to go for water sports — the operators along the beach run the usual range — and where the beach bars stay busy later into the evening.
It suits a longer beach day better than Kontokali, simply because there is more of it.
Corfu Old Town
About ten minutes by car, and the reason many people come to the island in the first place. Corfu’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its Venetian street plan is unusually intact: tall shuttered buildings, narrow lanes opening into small squares, laundry strung between balconies.
The set pieces are the Spianada — the largest square in Greece — the arcaded Liston along its edge, and the Old and New Fortresses at either end of the town. The Campiello quarter behind them is the oldest part and the most rewarding to get lost in, which you will.
Parking is easier on the fringes than in the centre. Going in for the evening rather than the middle of a hot afternoon is the local habit, and a good one.
Practicalities
Supermarkets, pharmacies and cash machines are all within a few minutes in Kontokali and Gouvia, so a big shop on arrival day is easy. The villa has a fully equipped kitchen, a washing machine and a dishwasher, which makes self-catering for a week genuinely practical rather than merely possible.
There is a bus stop about 100 metres from the villa if you would rather not drive into town, though we do recommend having a car for the island as a whole.