Podworld - Exploring interesting places

It has been a popular holiday island for nearly four decades but what is Corfu really like? That was the thought which taxed my mind as I embarked on a first journey there in 2014. Would it be one of those places so beloved by the Spanish costas, a warm weathers version of a tired British seaside town or would it, like Crete, be a style all of its own. The answer was affirmed to the latter although Corfu is quite different from Crete in many ways. It is tiny by comparison and this means that one only needs to travel a few kilometres between villages. However it lacks some of Crete's infrastructure so the roads are, by and large, inferior to those of its Aegean compatriot. It is though a beautiful holiday island with mainly pebble beaches to the east and sandier ones on the west. Corfu town, the island's compact capital is s splendid place to explore containing as it does many of the island's leading museums and attractions including Europe's most southerly crick

It seemed possible when glancing at a map but how feasible would a trip to Albania be from Corfu? Albania is one of those places etched on one's mind from the Cold War. Isolated, austere and alone. A little research showed that a day trip was possible and for UK nationals, no visa fee was payable. Obtaining a ticket was not straightforward. The departure port in Corfu directed us a a local travel agent, Ionian Cruises. They sold us a ticket but only for a one-way journey at €19. A passport was also required. A return ticket, we were advised, could be purchased on arrival in the Albanian port of Saranda. And so it proved with the Albanian company also accepting payment in Euros. A nearby bus took us to Butrint, home of some splendid Roman ruins. It cost 100 Leke or about €0.60 or £0.50 each way. Allow two hours and take to bus back to Saranda and you have plenty of time to catch the return boat to Corfu. While in the country we made this short video. We calculated at the end o