Corfu

Corfu is the greenest of the Ionian islands and the one with the longest hold on British holidaymakers — generations of UK families have flown into CFU, and millions of olive trees, some of them five centuries old, cover the hills behind the resorts. What sets it apart from the Cyclades postcard is that its capital, Corfu Town, is a genuine Venetian city: a UNESCO old town of tall shuttered houses, two seafront fortresses and the arcaded Liston, built by the French to echo the Rue de Rivoli in Paris. The island has more variety than its package-holiday reputation suggests, which is exactly why the one mistake to avoid is booking a resort blind. The north coast around Kassiopi, Acharavi and Sidari is the family heartland of calm, shallow beaches; the west around Paleokastritsa is all turquoise coves, sea caves and cliff-top castles; and the south has the longest stretches of sand.

The question most UK visitors ask is whether they need a hire car, and for once the honest answer depends on where you stay. Base yourself in Corfu Town and you genuinely don’t: the green KTEL buses leave San Rocco Square for every major resort cheaply — Paleokastritsa for €3.50, Kassiopi or Sidari for about €4 — and the town itself is walkable, with the airport only 3km and a €1.20 bus ride away. Base on the steep, winding west coast and a car earns its keep, both for the cliff roads and for the olive-grove hill villages such as Lakones that the buses don’t reach. Reckon on roughly £30–£50 a day off-peak, far more in August if you leave it late, and book it weeks ahead. The week below assumes a Corfu Town base and the buses; add a car for the days you want the west-coast drama.