Corfu South: Kanoni Mouse Island Photo, Aircraft Landing Over the Sea, Kayaking the Coast, and Moraitika Southern Beaches
The south Corfu experience covers the Kanoni Mouse Island photography spot, the aircraft landing over the sea approach, the coastal kayaking route, and the Moraitika resort beach circuit.
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Kanoni and Mouse Island: The Corfu Postcard
Kanoni, the peninsula south of Corfu Town with the Vlacherna monastery connected to the shore by a short causeway and the tiny Pontikonisi Mouse Island beyond with the single cypress and the Byzantine chapel, is the most photographed view in Corfu and the primary image of the Ionian Islands in the international tourism media. The Kanoni panorama also includes the runway of the Corfu airport across the lagoon, where the arriving aircraft pass low over the water in the second most famous aircraft-and-sea approach in Greece after Skiathos.
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Corfu Airport: The Sea Runway Approach
The Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport of Corfu, with the runway extending over the Halikiopoulou lagoon that creates the illusion of a sea landing on the final approach, receives the arriving passenger with one of the most dramatic air arrival experiences in Greece. The runway between the lagoon and the Kanoni peninsula produces the aircraft-over-water approach that the spotter community rates as among the most visually spectacular in the Mediterranean.
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Sea Kayaking the Corfu Coast
The Corfu sea kayaking circuit, organized by the kayak operators at Dassia and Ipsos on the northeast coast, covers the Corfu channel coastline from the Corfu Town harbor to the northern villages in a 2 to 4 day coastal paddle that provides the most intimate encounter with the Ionian limestone coast, the sea caves, and the olive-fringed beaches. The overnight stays in the small coastal villages and the evening meals in the village tavernas create the most authentic Corfu experience available.
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Benitses and the South Coast
Benitses, the once-notorious party resort south of Corfu Town that reinvented itself as the quiet fishing village after the 1990s British package holiday contraction, and the Moraitika and Messonghi resort beaches further south, represent the south Corfu resort zone of family accommodation and organized beach infrastructure. The Corfu Trail passes through the south coast villages on its way to Kavos, providing the walking alternative to the beach resort experience.
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Corfu Water Sports: The Ionian Conditions
The Corfu Ionian Sea conditions, with the Corfu channel providing the calm water protected from the Adriatic swell by the island mass and the prevailing northwest wind creating the sailing and windsurfing conditions in the afternoon, make Corfu the most versatile water sport destination in the Ionian Islands. The sailing schools at Gouvia Marina, the largest marina in Greece after Athens, and the SCUBA diving in the north coast underwater caves provide the complete water sport activity menu.
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Corfu Summary: The Civilized Ionian Jewel
Corfu is the most internationally cultivated of the Greek islands, shaped by 400 years of Venetian government, 49 years of French and British administration, and the literary legacy of the Durrell family, the Odyssey connections, and the Lawrence Durrell prose that made the island known to the English literary world. The combination of the UNESCO medieval city, the transparent bays, the olive grove landscape, and the sophisticated food and cafe culture creates the most complete Greek island experience for the visitor who wants civilization alongside the beach.