Things To Do in Kommeno Bay

A 10-minute taxi ride brings you to the O2 Bar in Gouvia, where a young crowd stays ’til closing at 3am. Live rock is usually on – plus it’s Eighties night every Friday. Outside on the terrace, you can relax on one of the plush leather sofas with a frozen cocktail. Inside, the pool tables are always the venue for some friendly rivalry.

A 40-minute drive gets you to Arillas on the northwestern coast. Every September it celebrates its winemaking tradition and the whole town turns out – you get to watch next year’s wine being prepared while sipping on last year’s produce. Buy a 3-euro goblet and refills are free all night. As it gets late, the folk bands get started and appetites are sated by BBQ souvlakia.

The best restaurants in Kommeno Bay are in the hotels. They work off an international menu – there are classic antipasti dishes and homemade pasta, plus gorgeously presented shellfish platters in the nouveau tradition. The candlelit poolside terraces are the best spot to eat – the crisp white tablecloths are best held down by a bottle of local Boutari white or glasses of cold Corfu Beer.

The nightlife of Kommeno Bay is all in the hotel bars and it’s a sophisticated affair – a piano player tinkling away and creative cocktails served up by tuxedoed waiters. After a drink in the bar, there’s entertainment most evenings in the hotels’ theatres – it could be an Il Divo tribute band or a Brazilian Capoeira dance company. For something livelier, it’s a 10-minute taxi to Gouvia where clubs are open all night along the beach.

Shuttle buses leave twice a day from Kommeno Bay to Corfu Town and take about 20 minutes. The Esplanade is a good start for any visit – cricket is still played on this grassy square, a reminder of Britain’s links to the island. There’s also Mon Repos Palace, birthplace of the Duke of Edinburgh, which has tours through its luscious grounds. End the night at the Liston, a French-built arcade where the town’s trendiest bars and restaurants reside.

It’s a 15-minute walk to this authentic Corfiot taverna. You’re rewarded by views across the sea, all the way to Albania’s western coastline. Luckily the restaurant’s fresh seafood platter is a match for the spectacular scene. Sharing plates mean you can pick from the calamari, shrimp, clams and lobster, all piled high – they go well with a local Tsantali white.

You’ll find most of your holiday basics in the hotel shops but for serious shopping you can head to Dassia. Souvenirs made from the local olive wood are very popular – as are fine leather goods like purses and handbags sold along the main road. The mini-markets – cavas – are the cheapest place to pick up beach bits ’n’ bobs and those home comforts like tea bags.