San Stefanos Online ~ North West Corfu

Hi All - - I have tried to reproduce below the nuts and bolts of the DVLA website page concerning hire cars in general and what info you need to take with you.
Best to do this just before you leave or you can do it on-line while on holiday. Failing that the hire company can do it on the phone, as long as you have your info with you.
The most important thing besides your Driving Licence, is to take your National Insurance Number with you, so a licence ‘check code’ can be generated,
to share your driving record with someone, e.g. a car hire company. This has been in force for a while, but easily forgotten.
This is basically what you will see on the DVLA website.
I hope this is of some help. Also check that your photo is in date - you may need to update the image on your photo-card driving licence.

View or share your driving licence information
You can use this service to: view your driving record, eg vehicles you can drive
check any penalty points or disqualifications you have
create a licence ‘check code’ to share your driving record with someone, eg a car hire company
The ‘check code’ will be valid for 21 days.
You can’t use this service:
if your licence was issued outside of England, Wales or Scotland or to check the progress of a licence application or to check historical information, eg expired penalty points

You’ll need:
Your driving licence number -  your National Insurance number  -  And the postcode on your driving licence
(It’s a criminal offence to obtain someone else’s personal information without their permission).

https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence#before-you-start

https://www.viewdrivingrecord.service.gov.uk/driving-record/licence-number


To enter details
You should only use this service to view or share your own driving licence.

Use a different service if you want to check someone else’s driving licence information.

Your driving licence number  Example: MORGA657054SM9IJ
►Where to find your driving licence number

Your National Insurance number  Example: QQ123456C
►Where to find your National Insurance Number

Postcode  Example: EH1 9SP

To access this service online, details from your DVLA record and your National Insurance number will be shared with other government departments (HMRC and DWP) to check your identity.
Last updated by DLVA: 6 April 2016

Trying to update my profile picture - - not having any success
Tried a reduced size picture as well 100 x 90 pixels - still no joy
Can anyone help??
 
The error is  - - -  Your attachment couldn't be saved. This might happen because it took too long to upload or the file is bigger than the server will allow.

Please consult your server administrator for more information.

We would like to wish you all a Really Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everyone on the Forum

See you all in 2014

Tony & Linda

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Quote from: sanhelp on March 01, 2009, 12:28:37 AM
I will be visiting Corfu for the first time and will be hiring a car from the airport on arrival. We will be traveling to San Stefanos and was wondering if you could recommend a route and a good road map.
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The trick in Corfu is to plan routes via villages.
There is two, even three alternative routes the taxis/Coaches take you these days.
1) My favourite  via Arrilas. Quickest and reasonable journey.
2) Via Sidari and avliotes - slightly longer but better sign posted, some narrow villages and bendy narrow mountain roads.
3) follow main road following signs for initially, Roda and Sidari, (by-passing) Roda, via Karoussades, Sidari Avliotes.
I'll stick with these.
Leave the Airport, at "T" junction turn Right, (you should have a map from the hire Co.) you need to take a left turn and go ahead -
To complicated to give exact directions, find your way out of town looking for Gouvia.
So - follow signs for Gouvia , then Limni.
you are heading for the road (that passes the road towards the Harbour - on your right)
It's a dual Carriageway (not many of those on Corfu) -
and also on your right you will note you are running along the coastline for a while.

After Limni, look for Gazatika (and general signs for Sidari & Palaiokastritsa) - you will turn right at a big "T"-junction).
At this "T"-junction (it should be signposted Sidari & Roda), turn right - then after 30 metres, the road goes sharp left & you will be driving up a "mini-mountain" one of the higher points of Corfu, and by-passing Skripero (on your left), through Troumpettas village (top).

As you descend the other side, after the double bends, (just before Kastellani village), there is another "T"-Junction sharply to the right, {this is the way the Coaches Go} (option 3)
Now decide your route!!
Option 1). You would not go right at the T"-Junction, carry on straight through Kastellani village, and turn right at the next "T"-Junction.
(Sign-posted Agros & Sidari).
At Agros village, Turn very sharply to the left (not towards Sidari), and follow the road, (follow signs for Arillas ), via Aspiotades, Manatades, Dafni, Termenades, Armenades, Kavadades, (by-pass)-Magoulades (on right) -  drive into Arillas -
at "T" junction (Cash Machine - before sea front) turn right - Follow Road up hill, turn left, (before BP Garage),
Follow main Road, Turning right at next "T"-Junction, follow road - welcome to San Stefanos!

Option 2). Again, You would not go right at the T"-Junction, carry on straight into Kastellani bear right and simply follow signs for Sidari, then as below from Sidari.
a harder route roads not so good.

(option 3) - Starting back to descending the mountain, Turn sharp right, at the "T"-Junction, (just before Kastellani village),
{this is the way the Coaches Go}
it's much longer, distance & time, but better roads. It goes via the road to Roda initially, then Sidari, follow signs for Acharavi, (by-passing) Roda, via Karoussades, Sidari, Avliotes then into San Stefanos.
 
Sidari is partially one way system now - follow road through Sidari - as you leave Sidari 1/2 Kilometre, turn Left then immediately turn right after 30 metres. (straight on is sign-posted Peroulades). Follow signs for Avliotes, watch out for sharp bends, slowly through village, then follow main road to left for San Stefanos. 10 mins drive now.
This is probably your easiest route, road wise, but a much longer drive.

Here are a couple of links of our old Pictures, scanned in, from 1983 to 1993

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151233325641452.452286.566056451&type=1&l=41627ad6a1

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151220275031452.450898.566056451&type=1&l=604433ad17

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.495250616451.265507.566056451&type=1&l=e83d173348

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.84020081451.82526.566056451&type=1&l=8539846908

Check out EasyJet again if like me you found that the prices looked silly prior to xmas....
I have just booked mine up and they are back in the more sensible realms now....

Midweek - some are £48-68 plus all the usual top-ups we all hate - - but they were still the cheapest out there for me..

I was thinking what San Stefanos might be like today as winter closes in.
Maybe a touch chilly there, but I suspect fresh and clean from the sea breezes.

I was up at 04:00 this morning,    -  it's cold and dark outside, and an hour later after the "wake-you-up-shower", I was sitting at my desk busy and sorting my staff out.
Nice office and sitting in my shirt sleeves, a few coffee's later after lunch and lots of banter, I was on the M4 driving home to walk the dogs.
Damn cold breeze and the air was very damp.

Sitting here (in outer west London), at home this afternoon, it's a mix between a few odd rays of a very low sun, escaping between thick clouds,
to warm you briefly through the glass windows of the car or house, & looking up, I could see the clouds gathering as some were dark and heavy looking.
The garden is damp, the air is damp, wood is turning green with a winter growth and the weather holds no welcome for a seat outside, on the patio - I don't like the UK winter!

It's cold here - it must be very cold in the north and Scotland, and probably even damper!
I always associate San Stefanos with sun and warmth, both from the weather and the locals.

Here in Greater London it's remarkably busy, everyone rushing around, but few make eye contact, let alone speak, like the way New York was.
My neighbourhood has changed a lot over the last 15 years, the population has changed. My local British Legion is now a mosque, as is the attached scout hut.
The Doctors Clinic a mile away is also gone and is another mosque, but for Somalians' mainly.

Everywhere, (except for a minority) the houses are rented, not owner-occupied.
The Polish and other Eastern Europeans have little insular area's locally, where they have congregated, moved out the previous Asians and British.
They don't mix like the old WWII polish, who integrated so well, just a few seem to do so. Polish shops everywhere, and lots of little Arabic and halal fast food outlets.
There is a lot of work here around Heathrow Airport, for those who are happy to take lower wages, and take jobs the Brits don't want, (they'd rather live on benefits!!).

Apart from some good neighbours you could actually almost be alone here - makes you think!
That's why we put so much value on our circle of friends and keep up contact, often having to travel.
We will move when I retire in less than two years, someone will buy us out and rent the house to the itinerates, but we will be outside the M25 circle, & won't care.

We will move to one of several areas we identified as ideal for our needs.
Small town, not too much crime, decent local population, good facilities, NHS etc... & not too far from the grand-children.
I expect we will continue visiting San Stefanos (until we pop our clogs, or until we simply can't), and probably more often.

Meanwhile I am sitting here tonight, thinking of the next holiday to San Stefanos....... waiting out the damp, cold winter........
Luckily - - we'll be in Dubai in December, soaking up some sun and heat, and planning the next holiday....

It's now a quarter past ten in the evening, in around twenty minutes the next episode of Corfu a tale of two Islands will be on - I feel good already!!
 

Sorry to miss meeting some of you, including Dibully, but we did manage to meet a few couples including Waspman, (name with-held) Jimbo, Don, Sandra, Tony Yorens, Mary, Pam,
Peter and Leslie Scobie, Mary and Geoff Daff,
The Rat-Pack (Eric and Frank - Karaoke kings), Big Peter and a few others - but as my brain is now shutting down - I apologise for not remembering the other names!!
(especially one lovely lady and her husband who spotted me!!).