Know Before You Go to Corfu: Entry, Money, Getting Around and Weather

The plane drops toward Corfu over olive groves and a strip of sea, and the first thing you notice on the ground is the smell of warm stone and herbs. A few minutes later you are in the Old Town, among palaces, churches and stone-paved alleys that are lived in, not staged. Corfu rewards a little preparation: what to carry in your wallet, how the island connects to the mainland, what the seasons do, and how people behave at the table and in town.

What should you know before visiting Corfu?

Four things matter most: the Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that you will want time for, the island is reached by air from Athens and Thessaloniki, the euro is the money, and the weather changes a great deal between a dry midsummer and a wet autumn. Corfu is one of the Ionian islands, the northernmost of them, off the far northwest coast of Greece, and it is counted among the most popular islands in the Mediterranean.

What tends to surprise first-time visitors is how much Corfu feels like a real town and not only a resort. The city has a population of 23,541 residents, and its Old Town is a working, living place of squares, churches and narrow lanes. The look of the buildings, the arcaded Liston beside the Spianada park and the island’s love of brass bands and cricket all tell of a past that was shared with other cultures than the Greek one.

The table is a surprise too. Corfu has its own dishes that you may not know from mainland Greece, such as pastitsada (meat in a spiced tomato sauce over pasta), sofrito (veal in a garlic and white wine sauce) and bourdeto (a peppery fish stew). Alongside them come kumquat liqueur and tsitsibira, a local ginger beer. Visitors arrive expecting only beaches and leave talking about lunch.

The coastline itself offers beaches of golden sand and of white pebbles, so a day by the sea and a day among old stones sit side by side. Even the ground under the town speaks: the ruins of ancient Korkyra lie at the palace of Mon Repos, and the Temple of Artemis and Kardaki Temple belong to the same ancient city. The municipality has also announced progress on restoring the Ionian Parliament and the Spianada Park, both part of the town’s public heart.

Entry, customs and paperwork

The U.S. State Department says that U.S. citizens may enter Greece without a visa for tourism or business stays of up to 90 days. That covers a typical vacation on Corfu with room to spare, and the passport is the document that carries you through the airport.

On passport validity, the State Department recommends at least three months of validity beyond your planned departure date. Greek law itself asks for three months beyond the date you intend to leave. Looking at the passport before booking is a simple habit that avoids trouble at the gate.

U.S. citizens traveling on a passport that has been reported lost or stolen will not be permitted entry into Greece and may be returned to their original departure point. That applies even if you later find the passport, so a passport that has been reported lost is best left out of the suitcase.

Travelers who come by their own boat have a separate obligation. Boats arriving in Greek waters must pay the TEPAI boating tax on the day of arrival, and the fine for not paying is high. The tax is due for each calendar month a boat stays in Greece.

Money, cards and tipping

Greece uses the euro, and each euro is divided into 100 cents. Banknotes start at €5 and climb in steps to larger values, so a bundle of notes in the wallet is normal for a stay on the island. The coins carry the small amounts, the ones that end up in the bottom of a beach bag after a coffee or a pastry.

Spending on Corfu is a mix of small daily moments. A coffee on the Spianada side of town, a plate of grilled fish at a taverna, a slice of something sweet from a pastry shop, a bottle of kumquat liqueur to take home. Each is paid in euros, and the island gives you plenty of occasions to get used to the notes and coins.

Tipping on Corfu, as elsewhere in Greece, is a gesture of thanks and not a formula. Many diners leave a little extra on the table when the meal and the service were good, and rounding up the bill is a common way to do it. It is left to your own sense of the meal.

Keep in mind that this is a place where a long lunch is part of the day, so the bill often arrives only when you ask for it. Asking is not rude, and it is the usual rhythm at a taverna. Having a few euro notes and coins ready makes the end of the meal go smoothly.

Getting around and staying connected

Visitors from the United States reach Corfu through Athens or Thessaloniki. Flights to Corfu Airport, named for Ioannis Kapodistrias, from Athens International Airport take 1 hour 15 minutes. From Thessaloniki Airport, named Macedonia, the flight takes 55 minutes.

Once on the island, the Old Town is the place where the stone-paved alleys, the squares and the churches gather, and it covers a UNESCO-listed area of 70 hectares with a buffer zone around it. Other places on the island have their own character: the beaches of golden sand and white pebbles along the coast, the ruins at Mon Repos and the old temples of Korkyra, and the heights of Mount Pantokrator, the island’s highest point.

The island has a sea on every side, and for travelers with their own boat that means a duty on arrival. The TEPAI tax must be paid on the day a boat arrives in Greek waters, and again for each calendar month it stays.

Corfu sits off the far northwest coast of Greece, which is why the flights from the mainland matter so much to the shape of a trip. Many plans begin and end at the airport, with the town and the beaches filling the days in between. For SIM cards, eSIMs, buses and taxis, the island offers its own practical arrangements, and you will find them when you land.

Health, water and the weather

The weather on Corfu swings widely over the year, and the table gives four moments of it. At Aktion, on the mainland coast south-east of Corfu, highs average in the mid-80s by July, while January is the coolest of the four months shown. The rain and day counts are those of Corfu itself.

In practice, July is the month of sun and very little rain, so sun protection belongs in the bag. October is the wettest of the four, with rain on many days, so a rain jacket makes sense. January also brings many days of rain and cooler air, and April sits between the two.

The sea around Corfu is a big part of the island’s appeal, and the swimming months follow the warm season. For health matters such as pharmacies, medicines and care for visitors, the island works like the rest of Greece, and you will find what you need in the town.

Local customs and etiquette

Greetings are warm and spoken. A simple kalimera (good morning) or efharisto (thank you) is heard everywhere and is noticed when a visitor uses it. Shop owners, café staff and people on the stairs of an old building all answer in kind, and a smile counts for as much as the words.

Meals are social and slow. A table at a taverna often fills with several small dishes (meze, as they are called) shared among everyone, and the order of the meal is set by conversation and not by the clock. Coffee at a kafenio, the traditional coffeehouse, is a pause that can last as long as the company does.

The afternoon is a time for coffee and slowing down, and plans that fit that rhythm tend to feel better. The Spianada and the Liston are where the town gathers, and a stroll there is a Corfiot habit more than a sightseeing stop. Holy Week brings the island’s most striking customs, including the brass bands in the streets and the pots thrown from balconies on Holy Saturday in the Old Town.

A few things are against the law, and they are worth knowing. Marijuana is illegal in Greece. Photographing military installations is prohibited and may lead to arrest, so camera habits stay with the sights and the sea.

In churches and monasteries, visitors follow the lead of those around them, and the rules of each place are posted at the door. People also enter these places to pray, so the mood is one of attention and respect more than of tourism.

Good to know before you go

The U.S. State Department rates Greece Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions.

Petty crime is common in Greece, especially in popular tourist locations, and Corfu Old Town is among those places. The rainy months are autumn and winter, while July is the dry stretch of the four months in the table, so the seasons shape what a day looks like. A passport in good order and a few euro notes in the wallet are the last things worth checking before the flight to Ioannis Kapodistrias airport.