Have you been wanting to travel with kids out of the country, but your afraid to do it? Please, don’t be! Traveling with kids has been the highlight of my life. Showing them the world is such an amazing experience. The last trip we did was to Greece, Albania, and Paris, in that order. Today I’m sharing the first leg of our trip to Corfu, Greece, one of the Ionian Islands.  Greece with kids is amazing! After you get over the jet lag…

One of my best friends from childhood got married in Corfu, Greece, and asked my daughters to be her flower girls. Of course, we wouldn’t miss the wedding and were honored to be included! Such a great excuse for a memorable adventure with the kids. Greece has always been on my bucket list and I got to put a check next to this box!

Why Greece?

If you like culture, warm calm water, and seafood, Greece is definitely for you! Corfu, Greece is such a beautiful island full of surprises!

What to see in Corfu, Greece

(in no particular order)

Old town Corfu – If you like to shop while on vacation this is the spot. We didn’t spend time in Oldtown Corfu, just drove through it a few times. But shopping isn’t typically something we do on vacation with young kids. Some friends said the shopping was amazing. For me, it was the architecture of the maze-like streets that made it amazing. 

Pontikonisi- Is a Greek islet only a very short boat ride from the island of Corfu. It is a very small islet with nothing but the Byzantine chapel of Pantokrator on it, a tiny gift shop, and a window where you can purchase their signature drink, a Greek Frappes. The chapel is from the 11th or 12th century. This was where my friend’s marriage ceremony took place and it was stunning. There is something so magical about this quaint islet with gorgeous views, a pretty white chapel, and the one friendly peacock that lives there.

The Achilleion Palace and Gardens– The ride to this palace itself is an adventure. The streets are windy and lush with greenery. The palace and its gardens are beautiful. The palace was built for Queen Elizabeth and each detail is breathtaking. 

 

Castles and Fortresses-  There are several castles including Kassiopi Castle and Gardiki Castle. And 2 fortresses,  Old Fortress (a Venetian fortress from Byzantine times) and New Fortress built during the British rule in 1815–63. 

Beach Towns and Beaches- We spent a lot of time laying low and playing in the water with the girls. The beaches are beautiful on the island of Corfu. Right in front of the house we rented the sea was calm, warm, and shallow making it the perfect place to play and relax. Each beach town we stopped in was like somewhere fairy tales are written about. The buildings along the water are so charming.

Things to know:

There are estimated to be 6,000 islands and islets of Greece scattered across the Aegean and the Ionian Sea. Only 227 of the islands and islets are inhabited and the islands are not close together. Getting from one island to another requires an airplane ride or an overnight ferry. It isn’t easy to get from one island to another. I wasn’t aware of this until planning our trip. The closest place to visit from Corfu is Albania. You can get there on a ferry in just one hour.

Languages

Most people under 40 years old speak enough English to communicate with you very well, they teach English in schools starting in 3rd grade. Greek is the native language but many people also speak English or Italian. Communication should not be a problem, it wasn’t for us.

Renting a car

You’ll want to rent a car if you are traveling to Corfu. Things are far apart and finding a taxi is difficult to do.

Before you leave for Greece!  You need an international driver’s license to rent a car. If you are from the US you can obtain one quickly at AAA in person or online. It only costs $20. The rental companies will not let you rent a car unless you have this document. Here is the link to more information on an International Drivers Permit (license).

Navigating the Island

Using GPS on your phone. You’ll want to start your GPS somewhere where you are connected to WIFI. It will stay on track without using your data plan until you go off course. The street names are written in Greek so they are difficult to navigate if you don’t know the language.

An old fashioned map is always good to have on hand when traveling. Especially when you are abroad without good cell phone coverage.

Flights

Norwegian Air has great deals on flights. We flew from San Francisco, CA to London then London to Corfu. On the flight from SF to London, we were able to see the Northern Lights from the window. It was magical. I hope to see them from the ground one day.

 

Where to stay

We found the perfect Airbnb for our trip. It was right next to the water, not far from a small town, and fit the four of us plus 2 more friends perfectly. The location was perfect and having a kitchen to cook in is always a major perk while traveling. This home had an indoor and outdoor kitchen, indoor and outdoor showers, paddleboards available for rent, and the hosts were so nice and accommodating. Check it out for yourself here. I highly recommend their property, just make sure to rent a car so you can get around.

This link gives you up to $65 off your first booking on Airbnb!

 

There are many beautiful resorts to stay at in Corfu as well but most of them do not allow children.

 

What to eat

If you like fresh fish you’ll be in love with Corfu! Make a trip out to Boukari Spiros Kardis Fresh Fish, which is down the street from where we stayed. They pulled Pat and our friends into the kitchen to pick the fresh fish we’d share for dinner from their huge selection of fish. It tasted amazing and I’m not a huge fish person at all.

Horiatiki Salata or Greek Village Salad is my absolute favorite. Made with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, olives, red onion, and fresh feta cheese. I could eat this every single day it is the perfect salad and in Greece, they make it so much better than in the US. It must be the feta.

Souvlaki is always an easy delicious dish.

Beat Salad from Flisvos Seaside Restaurant next to Pontikonisi Islet was presented beautifully and tasted amazing. Friends said the fish was also amazing of course.

 

A Random fact you should know

Toilet Paper – You are not supposed to flush toilet paper in a toilet in Greece. There is a wastebasket next to each toilet when you are to dispose of toilet paper. Odd I know, it definitely threw me off guard. The plumbing wasn’t built to handle paper across all Greek Islands.

 

The challenges of Corfu, Greece with Kids

While traveling with small children there will always be a few challenges. But believe me, every small challenge is worth the adventure. Don’t let these things deter you from taking your little ones with you to Greece. I want you to be prepared so you can have the best trip! So here are the few challenges we faced traveling in Corfu, Greece with our kids:

Jet lag… depending on where you are coming from. The time difference between Greece and California is 10 hours. You lose a day getting there and then it takes a bit of time to acclimate to the time zone. But that’s expected.

Food. “Kid food” that we are used to in the US doesn’t exactly exist in Greece, at least at all the places we visited. The closest we got was a fried white codfish which would be perfect if our kids liked the taste of fish. But they don’t. They ended up eating a lot of bread, fruit, olives, and noodles while we dined out.

Late nights. Everything in Greece runs late, like really late. It’s expected for an event to start an hour later than planned. And they go into the night. We left the wedding at 4:30 am! But in all honesty, my kids were still going strong, stronger than me! Maybe not entirely getting used to the time difference helped in that aspect.

 

Our time in Corfu

We had the most amazing time in Corfu, Greece. I would go back in a heartbeat to the exact same Airbnb we rented and stay as long as I possibly could. Our girls talk about Greece often and I love that we have these memories. Traveling with children is a priceless experience. Showing them the world is an added bonus to traveling to these beautiful locations. I can’t wait until we can take them on our next adventure, wherever that may be.

Suits are from Kourtney Jean

Up next

BUT I still have so much to share from this trip! Greece was only the first leg of our 3-week adventure. Since we traveled all the way to Greece from San Francisco we decided we might as well travel a bit more and take advantage of the fact that once you are in Europe it is rather easy to get around. Our next stop…Albania!

 

 

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Where to next? You may also like Rome with a Toddler.