Corfu rises from the bottom of the Adriatic Sea on the very join of Greece, the Balkans, and the Italian seas. It’s unquestionably one of the most stunning isles in the country – and that’s saying something, because there’s over 220 of them here! People flock in every summer for tavernas on the shore, sunbathing on glorious bays like Palaiokastritsa, and partying in Kavos. But is Corfu expensive? That’s what we’re here to find out.
Generally speaking, you can expect to pay in the region of $750 for a week’s holiday in Corfu as a solo traveler. Couples tend to pay about $1,060 for seven days on the island. Families are likely to need to fork out over $2,100 for the same length of trip. Of course, those are all ballpark figures. You could get by on way less, but also crank up the spending to have some Corfiot luxury for much, much more.
This guide will outline all the key outgoings you’re likely to encounter on this stunning island of white-pebble coves and pine-studded mountains. From the nightlife of the southern resort towns to the deluxe honeymoon hotels of the north, it will reveal average costs you can expect to face, and even offers a few handy money-saving tips to boot.
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The average cost of a holiday to Corfu
The thing about Corfu is that it caters to a whole load of different travelers. You get R&R seekers in towns like Benitses in the east, honeymooners in Palaiokastritsa, 18-30s partiers in Kavos, and hikers in the mountains of the north. And that’s just scratching the surface. Everyone comes here for different reasons; everyone’s on a very different budget.
The best way to get a feel for what you might spend is to take a look at what the average cost of vacations are for the midrange traveler. That means picking a midrange hotel (not a hostel, not a five-star resort), dining in decent tavernas (not gyros outlets, but not Michelin-worthy kitchen either), and doing a normal number of daytrips (no yacht charters, for example).
Doing the math on that brings the cost of the average two-week holiday to around $1,500 for a person on their own, $2,120 for a couple, and anything over $4,000 for a family of four. That includes accommodation, flights, food, and tours – the whole shebang.
Here are some extra average costs in Corfu to give you a better idea of how we came to those numbers:
- A hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Corfu Town – $19 per person.
- A meal in a local taverna – $19-21
- Cost of a single night in a three-star hotel – $56-76
- Domestic beer in a restaurant or bar – $3.50
- One kilo of local cheese (try it!) – $4.60
Accommodation prices in Corfu
Is Corfu expensive for hotels? Well…yes and no. It certainly can be. Some seriously lovely accommodation options exist here. We’re talking places with jet-setter infinity pools, rooms that aren’t rooms at all, but whole villas, on-site bistros serving curated Greek food, and even access to private beachfronts. They typically charge upwards of $150 a night, at least, and that’s in the shoulder season of September. Tempted? Check out…
- Kairaba Mythos Palace ($$$) – An adults-only hotel in Messonghi that has an indoor and outdoor pool just back from a secluded pebble beach.
- Domes of Corfu ($$$) – One of the top hotels on the island, offering sumptuous rooms with an almost Moroccan feel overlooking the Ionian Sea.
- Domes Miramare ($$$) – A private infinity pool, a deck with a hot tub, and on-site yacht charters, anyone?
On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of bargain hotels and hostels. Some are classic Greek B&Bs, usually owned by a local family and with basic but clean accommodation that’s close to the beach or the center of a resort. Others are more backpacker-focused places, complete with dorm rooms and rates that should really appeal to shoestring travelers. These typically sell for anything in the region of $10-35 a night. The ones we think are worth checking out are:
- The Pink Palace Hostel ($) – A vibrant party hostel. The rooms aren’t the Ritz but you’ll have a night to remember (or not).
- Camping Paleokastritsa ($) – Pitch the tent under the pine trees near the idyllic coves of Corfu’s best beach.
- Local Hostel & Suites ($) – A modern hostel with self-catering rooms and proximity to Alykes Potamou Beach.
Food prices in Corfu
The food on Corfu is pretty darn tasty. You’ll be munching on a smorgasbord of traditional Greek dishes – saganaki cheese, horta greens, fava bean paste. But there’s also a distinct Balkan and Italian influence, coming through in island specialties like the sofrito (a rich white wine stew made with veal), the pastitsada (a sort of Greek pasta dish that’s tomatoey and infused with garlic), and the porpetes (meatballs, basically).
It’s tricky to resist all that. But is Corfu expensive for food? We’d put it in the upper half of Greek islands when it comes to cost, but not up there with the priciest of the bunch (Mykonos, Santorini, Hydra). A rough estimation for a meal in a local taverna would be about $19 a head including beer or wine.
Of course, you can cut that down by opting to cook for yourself or crank the price of food up by going for the best restaurants around. Also bear in mind that many menus in this part of Europe are seasonal. Not only will the flavors of the day be tastier, but they’re also usually more affordable. Ask the waiter for what’s fresh off the boats if you’re into seafood, and check what veg came from the market before you make your a la carte choice.
Drink prices in Corfu
There’s nothing like a cold Greek beer on the beach as the sun dips low on the Ionian Sea, eh? The good news is that booze shouldn’t come at too much of a premium here. We’d estimate that a local brew fresh out of the fridge in a beach bar or taverna is around the $3.50 mark. There are also sometimes great happy-hour deals, especially in the resorts on the east coast – Benitses, Agios Ioannis – that cut that even more.
Expect to pay around $6-12 for a good bottle of Greek wine in the supermarket. The chances are it won’t have come from Corfu. There are some estates on the island, but they tend to produce small-batch labels that are more expensive than the country’s most popular wine regions, like Nemea and Crete.
Finally, there’s Kavos. This is the R&R mecca of Corfu. The buzzing 18-30s resort that sits right at the end of the island is one of the most hedonistic spots in Greece. It’s got more bars than you can shake a mezze platter at. That drives up competition and helps to keep prices low. Expect to fork out around a flat $3 for a beer here, while many clubs offer totally gratis welcome shots or cocktails (just as the rep before you enter).
Cost of flights to Corfu
The good news is that Corfu has its very own international airport (the Corfu Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport). That means it’s as simple as jetting in and then heading to your hotel or resort. You won’t have to mess around with ferry transfers or internal flights. The runways are located just south of Corfu Town, within easy reach of the main east-coast resorts, but also only 30 minutes’ drive from Palaiokastritsa on the west coast.
And there’s more good news: Flights to Corfu can be real bargains. That’s mainly down to the fact that some of Europe’s cheapest carriers operate in and out of the terminals. They include WizzAir, easyJet, and, most importantly of all, Ryanair, who offer stacks of seasonal connections into the island, going from Bergamo, Pisa, Poznan, London, Berlin – the list goes on.
Flight aggregator Momondo reveals that the cheapest time to fly to Corfu is in April. That’s just about when the seasonal, low-cost flights have started operating but before the main summer rush. December is actually the priciest time, but only because virtually all the budget airlines will have stopped for the season. The key summer months of June, July, and August all see a slight peak in airfare, with average returns coming in at about $220 per person.
Money-saving tips for Corfu
There are loads of ways you can cut down the cost of your trip to Corfu. From traveling after or before the main high-season rush in the summer to booking early and going for self-catering, here are some of the top tips we can think of for keeping the budget intact…
- Travel in the shoulder seasons – One of the great things about Greece is that it has a longer season than virtually any other country in Europe. September and October days, for example, can still see average temperatures in the 70s, but prices then are likely to be just a fraction of what they were only one month before.
- Book early – Booking early is always a good idea for Greece. The cost of hotels and flights usually goes up in the 90 days prior to departure, as room deals and the cheapest airfare become scarce.
- Don’t choose a pricy resort or area – There are some parts of Corfu where the hotels and restaurants are likely to put a bit of extra strain on the travel budget. They include uber-romantic Paleokastritsa, deluxe Messonghi, and Sidari up north. Budget places include Kavos, Benitses, and the pretty Kassiopi fishing town.
- Go self-catering – We know the Greek kitchen is something special, but there’s no reason you can’t eat local even when you cook yourself. One thing’s for sure, doing your own meals will cut costs, especially on family trips, what with food coming in at about $19 per person, per sitting!
So, is Corfu expensive?
Is Corfu expensive? That all really depends on the sort of holiday you’re after. If you want pampering from the get-go, a private pool, and beach access from your hotel suite, then you can expect to pay a whole load for a vacation here. On the flip side, there are campgrounds and hostels that will let you explore the coves and mountains for cheap.
On the whole, we’d put Corfu firmly in the midrange of Greek isles when it comes to costs. It’s not the most expensive (that honor almost certainly goes to Mykonos) but it’s not the cheapest, either. What’s more, you can usually get great deals without compromising on the weather too much by simply traveling in the shoulder season months of April, May, September, or October.