Corfu with Teens: A Family Travel Guide

Planning a family holiday to Corfu with teens? From sun-soaked beaches and crystal clear waters to thrilling watersports, sailing adventures, and towns you can’t help but take photos of, Corfu offers so much for every teenager. Take the Family is a UK-based travel agency that can find somewhere truly special for your family holiday to Corfu, and in this guide, we’ll show you the best things to do, where to stay, and how to make the most of a Corfu holiday with teenagers.

Why Corfu Is Great for Teenagers

White-pebble beaches, lush olive groves and hills dotted with villas the colour of kumquats… Corfu is the epitome of a cheery ABBA song. Which is the theme of our Corfu family holiday with my teenage girls. I’m a life-long ABBA fan, so my twin daughters grew up with ABBA tunes coursing through their veins. As they get older, I'm painfully aware they're Slipping Through My Fingers, and so a girls' holiday in Corfu is one way I can fulfil my Mamma Mia! fantasies.

'The east coast and Gouvia is ideal for a sailing adventure, and when the stars aligned last summer and the girls and I had a chance to join a friend on her sailing trip around the island for a few days, we became volunteer deckhands.'

We're staying at the Bella Mare Hotel on Avlaki Beach near Kassiopi on Corfu's craggy northeastern coast, which is daisy-chained with beautiful beaches lapped by the impossibly blue Ionian Sea. It's the best area to stay in Corfu for families: the beaches are safe and shallow, and there's a clutch of family-run tavernas, all red-checked tablecloths, charming waiters and ouzo on the house. It's a far cry from the wet 'n' wild foam parties and booze-fuelled nightlife of Kavos in the south, which are no doubt in the girls' future.

We spend lovely, lazy mornings soaking up the sun on the beach or by the pool, and in the afternoons the girls and I venture out in our hire car to explore the island. It was used as the backdrop to a Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream, the ITV talent show presented by Zoe Ball and filmed on location in north Corfu during the summer of 2023.

Located just 10km off the western coast of Greece, the leafy Ionian island has long been a favourite of the rich and famous. It was the former home of the Durrell family, whose time on the island was diarised in Gerald Durrell's book My Family and Other Animals.

Our first stop is Kontokali, a quiet little beach enclave just 9km north of Corfu Town, where author and naturalist Gerald and his family first stayed back in the 1930s. Now popular with families and the sailing crowd, it's all bougainvillea-strewn villas, sandy beaches and great Corfu family resorts.

From Kontokali, we head south to Pontikonisi Beach and Mouse Island, which is little more than a whitewashed chapel surrounded by a clutch of ancient cypress trees. With its narrow cobbled paths and soft light filtering through the olive trees, it charms both the girls and me.

One blisteringly hot afternoon, we drive west of Kassiopi and into the cooler hills to Old Perithia, Corfu's oldest village. Once a hideout from marauding pirates, this 14th-century hill village on the northern banks of Mount Pantokrator is reached by a narrow switchback road. It was all but abandoned in the 60s, when everyone flocked to the coast for work, but Old Perithia has since had a new lease of life with a handful of traditional tavernas in the tiny shaded village square, where we stop for lunch.

While the north coast with resorts such as Kassiopi is one of the best areas to stay in Corfu for families, the east coast and Gouvia is ideal for a sailing adventure. The stars aligned last summer and the girls and I also had a chance to join a friend on her sailing trip around the island for a few days. Meeting Nicole at Gouvia Marina, we boarded her beautiful Sunsail catamaran and became volunteer deckhands as she and her husband and young son sailed along the east coast of Corfu, sweeping past Lefkimmi and Kavos and over to the tiny island of Paxos for a couple of days. Corfu is dotted with marinas and sailing around the island is a great way to see Corfu with kids.

Where to Stay in Corfu with Kids

Greece is jam-packed with great beach resorts, including:

Grecotel's LUXME Costa Botanica 

For an easy all-inclusive holiday, this is just the ticket, with kids' clubs, GrecoTeens and a water-sports centre for teenagers, but it's the on-site water park that's makes it a real crowd-pleaser.

Domes of Corfu

Overlooking the Glyfada Beach, and the hotel is part of Marriott Bonvoy's Autograph Collection and a great place to stay in Corfu with kids. Aside from a clutch of top-notch restaurants and bars, three pools and a water-sports centre, it has gorgeous swim-up rooms and a teens’ club.

Ikos Odisia

Perched on a leafy peninsula on the east coast, Ikos Odisia is a great choice for a luxury Corfu family holiday. Grown ups can enjoy all-inclusive Michelin-level dining and complimentary excursions, while the kids will love the gorgeous beach, kids’ and teen clubs, and football academy.

Bella Mare Hotel 

Moments from Avlaki Beach, Bella Mare Hotel is a dream for kids and teenagers during the summer season. As well as its proximity to paddle-boarding and kayaking, it offers the Beach Life programme of complimentary kids activities for ages up to 11.

Ikos Dassia

Long, shallow and sandy, Dassia Beach is one of the best areas to stay in Corfu for families. For an upmarket all-inclusive stay, Ikos Dassia is just the ticket. Expect family suites with private pools, cool clubs for toddlers to teenagers, tennis and football coaching, plus dining options such Heroes Supper Clubs for the youngsters.

MarBella

For a luxury family hotel in Corfu with water slides, look no further than MarBella, which has its own Anemelia Aqua Park with eight slides, as well as the full gamut of kids' clubs, activity programmes and water sports. Set on a private beach, its premium all-inclusive package means everything from cocktails and fine dining to snacks and ice creams are included.

By Tracey Davies

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