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The beach at AYIOS YEORYIOS spreads as far south as Ayia Varvara, and north to encircle the edge of the Korissia lagoon - around 12km of uninterrupted sand. The village itself, however, is an unprepossessing sprawl. British package operators have arrived in force, with bars competing to present bingo, quizzes and video nights. The smart Golden Sands (tel 06620/51 225, fax 51 140; ?43-58) has a pool, open-air restaurant and gardens, but the best hotel bargain is the smaller Blue Sea (tel 06620/51 624, fax 51 172, bluesea@otenet.gr ; ?34-42); both are situated midway along the seafront road. The easiest place to look for good rooms is at Stork Tours (tel & fax 06620/51 168; ?24-33), halfway along the seafront. Ayios Yeoryios has a number of good restaurants on the seafront: La Perla's which serves Greek and north European food in a walled garden; the Napoleon psistaria ; and the Dario Italian joint. Nightlife centres around music and pool bars like the Gold Hart and Traxx , although the best bar in Ayios Yeoryios is the sea-edge Panorama , which has views as far south as Paxi. A few minutes' walk north of Ayios Yeoryios, Issos is a far better and quieter beach; the dunes north of Issos are an unofficial nude-bathing area. Facilities around Issos are sparse: one taverna , the Rousellis Grill (which sometimes has rooms), a few hundred metres from the beach on the lane leading to Linia on the main road, and the Friends snack bar in Linia itself. An English-run windsurfing school operates on the beach. Anyone interested in how a Greek town works away from the bustle of tourism shouldn't miss LEFKIMI , on the island's east coast. The second-largest town after Corfu, it's the administrative centre of the south of the island as well as the alternative ferry port to/from Igoumenitsa, with half a dozen daily crossings in summer, and has some fine architecture, including two striking churches: Ayios Theodoros , on a mound above a small square, and Ayios Arsenios , with a vast orange dome that can be seen for miles. There are some rooms at the Cheeky Face taverna (tel 06620/22 627; ?24-33), by the bridge over the canal that carries the Himaros River through town, and the Maria Madalena apartments (tel 06620/22 386; ?34-42) further up. A few bars and restaurants sit on the edge of the canal - try the home cooking at Maria . Away from the centre, the Hermes bar has a leafy garden, and there's a number of other good local places where tourists are rare enough to guarantee you a friendly welcome, including the Mersedes and Pacific bars, and, notably, the Kavouras and Fontana tavernas. There are no ambiguities in KAVOS , directly south of Lefkimi: either you like 24-hour drinking, clubbing, bungee-jumping, go-karts, video bars named after British sitcoms and chips with almost everything, or you should avoid the resort altogether. Kavos stretches over 2km of decent sandy beach, with watersports galore. This is very much package-tour territory; if you want independent accommodation , try Pandis Travel (tel 06620/61 400, fax 61 401) or Island Holidays (tel 06620/61 357, fax 61 426), and the nearest to genuine Greek food you'll find is at the Two Brothers psistaria , at the south end of town. Fast food and British-style ethnic cuisine are much easier to come by. Future is the biggest club , with imported north European DJs, followed by Whispers , 42nd St and Buzz . Favourite bars include JCs , Jungle , The Face , Fire and Bonkers , and at night the main drag is one unbroken crowd of young revellers. Beyond the limits of Kavos, where few visitors stray, a path leaving the road south to the hamlet of Spartera heads through unspoiled countryside; after around thirty  © 2003 by Rough Guides Ltd. as trustee for its Authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd. Buy the book here!
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minutes of walking it reaches the cliffs of Cape Asprokavos and the crumbling monastery of Arkoudhilas . The cape looks out over the straits to Paxi, and down over deserted Arkoudhilas beach , which can be reached from Spartera, 5km by road but only 3km by the signed path from Kavos. Even wilder is Ayios Gordhis Paleohoriou beach , 3km further on from Spartera, one of the least visited on the island and not to be confused with the eponymous beach further north.
Your Tips For Southern Corfu
SparteraAnnya Strydom says "As you continue on the road out of Kavos going South you will walk up for about 25 minutes to Spartera , on the way is a small white chappel worth looking at..then as you reach the top of the hill you are walking up ,on the left hand side there is a pink..or was then ..building called Paradise with rooms, a restaurant and bar, it is well wirth stopping here, in the summer they celebrate many of the festivals here and there is often dancing. The owners are very friendly."
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