Located between Italy and the Grecian mainland, Corfu is a beautiful gem in the heart of the Adriatic. Popular for its gorgeous beaches, amazing archeological ruins, and party towns in the south, Corfu is one of the best places for a quick island adventure without breaking the bank.
However, public transport around the island is something that a lot of people don’t think about. Instead, many people opt to hire a car or jump from excursion to excursion. This obviously gets expensive fast.
As someone who loves to travel on a budget, I’ve done the hard work and checked out the Corfu public transport situation so you don’t have to. Honestly, it is much easier to manage than you might think.
Buses
The primary way to get around Corfu is by bus. There are no trains on the island, so you need to jump on one of the many buses.
Leaving Corfu Town, the principal town on the island near the airport, you’ll find Blue Buses and Green Buses both of which are run by KTEL.
- Blue buses are for inside the city limits
- Green buses are for intercity (around the island) connections
The main bus station is a little while outside of the centre so you have to walk for about 30 minutes from the Old Town of Corfu. Here, you can buy all your different tickets around the island including popular routes to:
- Sidari
- Paleokastritsa
- Nisaki
- Kavos
Prices tend to be 2-4 Euros each way per person and the buses are pretty regular. Pick up the timetable from the bus terminal when you get there because they’re highly seasonal, so what you find online might not be accurate.
Also, be ready to wait way past the assigned pick-up time from your stop – our bus was around 20 minutes late and we were questioning whether we missed it or not.
Using the bus to get to the airport
If you want a budget way to get from the airport to Corfu Town, you want to take the number 15 bus to San Rocco Square. This is a blue bus that leaves from just outside the arrivals terminal of the airport.
The reason you want to get off at San Rocco Square is that the Old Town of Corfu is completely pedestrianised. This means that neither buses nor taxis can get any closer to the main hotels or Airbnbs than that. If you’re staying down at the port side of the city, you can stay on the bus and it’ll carry onto the port afterwards.
Alternatively, if you’re arriving in the daylight and have some time to spare, the airport is only 2.4km from the Old Town. You can walk it in around 35 minutes, but this will obviously be longer if you have a lot of baggage.
Ferries
What’s an island without ferries? While you can’t really hop around the Greek islands like you can in the Cyclades island chain (Santorini, Mykonos, etc.), there are plenty of places to visit.
Greece
The Greek islands that you can check out by ferry from Corfu include:
- Paxi (55 minute journey time, 5 sailings daily)
- Mathraki (3hr10 journey time, 3 sailings weekly)
- Ereikoussa (2hr30 journey time, 3 sailings weekly)
- Othonoi (3hr10 journey time, 3 sailings weekly)
- Zakynthos (13hr journey time, 3 sailings weekly)
- Sami, Cephalonia (9hr45 journey time, 3 sailings weekly)
- Lefkada (5hr45 journey time, 3 sailings weekly)
- Meganisi (7hr journey time, 3 sailings weekly)
You can also get across to the Greek mainland in 1hr10 minutes by traveling to Igoumenitsa. The sailings leave 11 times a day at the height of the season.
Albania
One of the most popular places for a day trip from Corfu is the Albanian coast. This little gem is a beautiful place that’s growing in popularity. White sandy beaches, low crowds, cheap food, and some great ruins as well.
There are four companies that sail from Corfu to Saranda in Albania, with the fast ferry taking 30 minutes and the slowest one taking 1hr10. All in, there are around 80 sailings a week.
These ferries get booked up fast, especially the timings that work well for a day trip. You can book these online in advance using Omio to take out the hassle of buying them when you get there.
Italy
If you want to combine your island adventure in Corfu with a trip to eastern Italy, you can take the overnight ferries to the mainland.
The three destinations are:
- Brindisi (6hr30 journey time, 4 sailings weekly)
- Ancona (18hr30-19hr30 journey time, 3 sailings weekly)
- Bari (8hr-10hr15 journey time, 5 sailings weekly)
Tips for using public transport in Corfu
Now that you know all about the popular public transport routes around Corfu, here are a few tips about using these island networks.
Cash or Card
One of the main questions people have when they’re figuring out public transport networks abroad is how you can pay for tickets.
In Corfu, you can pay by card for the buses if you buy at a bus station or use the pre-buy machines at the bus stops. If you buy onboard, you’ll need to pay in cash. You can also buy top-up cards if you’re going to be on the island for a while and don’t want to keep buying individual tickets.
Timings and Schedules
Let’s be honest, a lot of public transport around the world uses timetable schedules loosely. Corfu is no different. If you’re leaving from the airport or main bus station in Corfu Town, you tend to leave on time. However, when we were waiting at the bus stop in Sidari to get picked up, we ended up waiting around 20 minutes after the designated time, despite it being the second or third main stop on the route.
Another thing to remember is that Corfu is a massively seasonal island. The timetables change around 3-4 times a year, so make sure you find the one that’s relevant to the months you’re visiting so you don’t get caught out.
