Kassiopi Beaches

Kassiopi is the kind of place that quietly makes the case for the northeast coast. It is an old harbour village wrapped around a working quay, with a Byzantine castle on the headland above and a ring of small white pebble coves hidden in the green just beyond the houses. The water in those coves is the clear turquoise that this corner of Corfu does so well, and the whole village runs at a gentler, more grown up pace than the big resorts. For a couple it gives you three good things at once, a clear cove to swim in by day, a pretty harbour to eat in by night, and a castle to climb for the view as the light goes.

The coves themselves reward a little walking. From the harbour a shaded coastal path leads in about ten minutes past the castle headland to Bataria, the prettiest of the bays, a small scoop of white pebble and very clear water, with Kanoni and Pipitos close by. Kalamionas, the village beach, sits just off the main road with the easiest access and the gentlest entry, which makes it the calm everyday choice. The honest note is that all these coves are small, so in the middle of a July or August day they fill, and the charm thins with the crowd.

So treat Kassiopi the way the village itself would. Take an early or late swim at Bataria when the cove is quiet and the water is at its clearest, bring water shoes for the pebble entry, and save the harbour for dinner when the boats settle and the tavernas come into their own. If you want a longer beach there is the clear pebble bay at Barbati a short drive south, and the green cliffs of Paleokastritsa across the island, but for a couple after coves, a good dinner and a sense of place, Kassiopi is one of the easiest yes answers on Corfu.