San Stefanos Online ~ North West Corfu

Easyjet have just announced they are flying to Corfu from Newcastle from summer 2015!

Just checked and the prices are cheap and the flight times excellent, departing on Sundays at 06:00. I am just annoyed that I have already booked the inflated prices from Manchester for September and would have saved £70 flying from Newcastle which is my closest airport!!

Oh well at least it's an option for 2016 I just wish Easyjet had announced it earlier.

Andy

Just returned from a week in San Stef for my sons wedding, he was married to the lovely Becky on the Akritiri roof terrace with a reception afterwards at the Little Prince.

The occasion was perfect with Sally and Noula working hard to make everything perfect despite a short rain shower just as the Ceremony was about to start. Dimitri and staff put on a reception to remember at the Little Prince and the whole day was magical.

I would like to share some photos but can't work out how to upload them, if anyone can tell me how to do this I would be grateful.

For all those romantics out there San Stef is the perfect place to tie the knot and the Bride and Groom of Wednesday's wedding wouldn't change a thing.

Andy

Just found this on You Tube which was only put on in September 2012 so not sure if anyone has seen it.

It shows a tornado rushing in  over the hill from Arillas and sweeping through the main street, gets really interesting about 2.5mins in.

Some great footage of old San Stef (September 1993) as well so its worth a look.



Dimitri at the Little Prince told us about this event a few years ago, great that someone did such a good job recording it.

Luckily only one person was slightly injured which is amazing given the amount of debris flying around.

I watched a Tornado out to sea from San Stef in late September 2008 which is of course thunderstorm season when these events can occur.

Andy

With only 2 weeks to go till the season opens I thought I would start a new thread to look at the weather in Corfu over the coming Spring months, the weather is a bit of a hobby of mine so I hope you excuse my indulgence

As anyone who has visited Corfu in April/May will know the weather can be variable, last year early May brought hot sunshine up to 30c but the year before it was wet and cool.

So what about the new season in May 2013?

Obviously two weeks out its too early to forecast but its worth looking at developments in the weather over Southern Europe. Corfu has just endured one of its wettest winters on record with endless heavy rain and strong winds. This was caused by the same weather pattern that brought the UK a dry, cold and at times snowy winter as the Jet Stream that carries Atlantic depressions was displaced well south of the UK and into the Mediterranean .

The whole Mediterranean basin had 3 months of wet miserable weather as the Jet Stream swept overhead and this persisted throughout March, however, this weekend at last sees the Jet Stream moving out of the Mediterranean and back to its normal posistion across the UK.

This is already bringing a big improvemenmt in the weather in Corfu as temperatures rise to 23c with sunny skies, these conditions will persist well into next week as high pressure settles over the Balkans. In the meantime the UK gets a super soaker from the realigned Jet Stream that now passes over my house!

Anyone going to Corfu for an out of season holiday next week is in for a treat as temperatures reach 25c, a level usually reserved for late May.

As the new season approaches I will be looking to see whether this pattern is maintained giving Corfu a good start to the summer or whether the Jet Stream moves back into the Mediterranean and becomes a Corfu Holiday party pooper

Andy

Having stayed in San Stef many times gill and I often walked past the Barras and thought they looked, well, a bit grim, but a few weeks ago we got a cheap flight out and stayed there over the weekend.

It was excellent! Once you are in the Barras it feels much nicer than it appears from the outside, the bar area is really pleasant and while the pool area is small it was quiet and the pool was spotlessly clean, however, it was the apartment where the Barras really scored well.

We had a ground floor studio and it was great, very large, newly decorated and like the pool area spotlessly clean, the kitchen area was better equipped (not that we eat in much) than many in san Stef and the whole studio was airey and bright. The owners were friendly and helpful and the food excellent.

We would defiantly stay there again and I would recommend it to anyone.

By the way, do consider a long weekend in San Stef, we flew out from Manchester and the return flights were less than £200 each, we stayed at the Barras for £18 each, it would have cost more to go to London for the weekend! We eat at the little prince for the 3 nights and with the exchange rate you could get a three course meal for £7.50!! Roughly the price of McDonald's. In a London restaurant that wouldn't even get you a starter.

Winter is arriving early in the uk and a weekend in San Stef is a great tonic before the dark days arrive.

Andy

I know from reading posts on here that many people like hiring the quad bikes available in San Steph.

I have always wanted to hire one but have been put off by tales of people having accidents and not being insured because they were on a bike.

Does anyone know if your travel insurance policy will cover you on a quad bike, I have checked mine and it isnt really mentioned although the hiring of a moped would seem to invalidate the insurance.

I hate all the UK health & safety nonsense but dont fancy an air ambulance bill getting home following a skermish with a Greek driver on the wrong side of the road!

Andy

Have been back just 48 hours now and already the recent two weeks holiday in San Steph seems just a memory, so before I forget altogether I thought I would post my thoughts.

This was our 3rd holiday to San Steph in less than a year so it had a lot to live up to, so were we in anyway disappointed......NO!

Mike the waiter at the Little Prince summed it up when he greeted us on our first night and said "Welcome Home", that's how it feels going back to San Steph, the people treat you like long lost friends.

Anyway, we stayed at the Teresa's which was again very good, Leo and family were excellent and the Greek night was again brilliant, the bar terrace and pool area has had a face lift and looks smart.

San Steph itself also has a fresh look about it with the new Italian Restaurant filling a gap on the main street, the Mythica occupying the new unit opposite Yannis and Bar Code a smart new bar near San Steph Travel.

The beach had been damaged and 'shrunk' by recent storms but was back to normal after the first week, the sea doing a remarkable job in repairing both the beach and off shore sand banks, which help to create the lovely warm shallow water.

We spent our days either at the Athina Pool or on the beach, we had many lunches at the Mango Bar which had a surprisingly cheap menu and the food was excellent, served up by a cheerful waiter who sung along (rather badly) to British pop songs. The Mango had a great holiday feel to it and I could spend hours there drinking coffee and reading the 'Daily Mail' (sorry Zimmer!).

We hired a car and visied Agios Georges South which was a nice flat resort with friendly people (why are the Corfu people so friendly where ever you go)? We also visited Afonas and Agios Georges North, this is a stunning area with a remarkable walk from the headland Taverna down to the double Afonas Beach, the track is about a mile each way across a rough surface and we had to turn back before we could reach the beach as the wife had flip flops on! If you do this walk wear trainers at least and take plenty of water, the sun heats the rock face to a furnace.

Most evenings we spent at the Little Prince and as usual was always the last to leave! We did try the Mythica but it's not for us and after the Teresas Greek night we stuck with the Little Prince as the food and atmosphere is the best in San Steph, even after 12 nights there was things on the menu we hadn't tried but I could eat a Saganaki starter and Bom Bom Lamb main course till Christmas and still not be sick of it.

The house white wine was again excellent and we proudly exhausted their supply one night! Fresh supplies were quickly obtained the following day.

After the storms of late June the weather was hot and sunny for our fortnight although a strong wind kept us off the beach for the last few days and even the Athina Pool area became too cold one afternoon despite the thermometer registering 27c.

So all in all another great holiday to San Steph, we found places we hadn't been to before and combined this with the familiar San Steph to provide the perfect break.