At least that's the sentiment of the Greeks I talked to, who think the whole country is finished .... I have just returned from Greece after several years away. I returned partly as I was curious as to how things had developed, and partly to see how it is handling the Euro Crisis.
Needless to say, things haven't gone especially well on either front, but another post covers the euro crisis. I was in Kavos (Cavos) in Corfu, so lets not beat about the bush, it was not a classy place. In fact its very run down and dirty, with a lot of drunken foul mouthed Brits, biting mozzies and wasps, and a faint but noticeable smell of human sewage (all of which I knew about beforehand, so wasn't a particular surprise or disappointment), but its fairly cheap (€2 -3 per bottled beer and a main course plus a beer under €10), and it was very very hot (over 30c everyday).
There is loud music everywhere, plus the ubiquitous quad bikes, but in mid/late September the resort was winding down, so the Gypsy's and most of the African pan handlers, who can both be a real pain on the Greek Islands these days, had gone, and the resort was 'quieter' than normal i.e. the noise volume was not unbearable most of the time.
I was told that a British firm had been hired to to fix the sewage problem (and potentially the mozzies), by repairing all the broken sewage pipes, and clearing up the still water sites around the island and resort (where the mozzies breed), but when the first payment tranche became due, the Geeks had defaulted, and the company had abandoned the work .... which about sums up Greece all over.
This leaves the resort plagued by mozzies (and wasps) .... the beach is only 'safe' when there is a breeze, which sadly was lacking in the time I was there, consequently I was bitten over 50 times inside a day, but after that, a few basic precautions ensured that I wasn't bitten again. I didn't scratch (which really inflames them and you see a lot of bloody legs in the resort), and I used a mozzie stick (ammonia based), plus a basic antiseptic cream, and this stops them hurting and takes inflammation down quickly. So although a pain in the neck (and shoulders, and arms and legs etc), it didn't ruin my holiday break, but be warned, there were many people who seemed to be a real mess because of the bites.
For the record, if you are not on a vomit, beer and sh*gging party, there are usually one or two decent bars and food places, in even the worst of resorts, but as a rule of thumb in these places, I will stick to the burger/pizza joints if in doubt. In Kavos, if your are over 30 and resigned to a week surrounded by the council estates of the UK, then try the following:
DayTime: BabyG's cafe on the Beach Road - Run by 'Tony' and his family. Quiet, with both open and shaded areas. Home cooked basic cafe foods. Free Internet and Wifi. Very friendly and full of Greek hospitality.
Evening Meals:
Likourgos Taverna - very good traditional food on the beach, so away from the disco's.
There was also a traditional restaurant actually on the strip, but its name escapes me (it might be The Village Taverna), although the food was good and there was plate smashing and dancing .... it probably suffers a bit in full season.
Late Drinks: If you don't want head banging music, and all the semi-naked males that this brings with it, then there is only one bar to go to, 'Rodneys Bar', a 'Aussie themed' bar at the far end of the strip (left hand end of strip, if looking from the beach). It features the odd live musician (a singer/songwriter), and chilled out, grown up music, not played above talking volumes. Its part of a chain (TKD's), but was very well managed by an English beach dude called 'Russ Brown'. They also serve up the popular Melon drinks at various prices and sizes ..... only one picture of the bar I'm afraid, but as you can see it has a patio with the bar serving area running against that, and also an inside area.
You only get out of a holiday, what you put in to it .... Greece has a lot of problems that are not going to get any better soon, and certainly you must really research your resorts before booking them these days (especially Corfu and other popular British resorts, which can be hellish), or end up like the couple I heard, who had come, hated it, and spent the whole time complaining ... if they had spent another £100 or so, they could have gone to a nicer resort on the same Island or the mainland.
Although I won't be going back to Kavos (or Corfu) again by first choice (it was my third or fourth visit over the years), I did and could continue to manage to get something out of it, if I ever ended up there again.
Needless to say, things haven't gone especially well on either front, but another post covers the euro crisis. I was in Kavos (Cavos) in Corfu, so lets not beat about the bush, it was not a classy place. In fact its very run down and dirty, with a lot of drunken foul mouthed Brits, biting mozzies and wasps, and a faint but noticeable smell of human sewage (all of which I knew about beforehand, so wasn't a particular surprise or disappointment), but its fairly cheap (€2 -3 per bottled beer and a main course plus a beer under €10), and it was very very hot (over 30c everyday).
There is loud music everywhere, plus the ubiquitous quad bikes, but in mid/late September the resort was winding down, so the Gypsy's and most of the African pan handlers, who can both be a real pain on the Greek Islands these days, had gone, and the resort was 'quieter' than normal i.e. the noise volume was not unbearable most of the time.
I was told that a British firm had been hired to to fix the sewage problem (and potentially the mozzies), by repairing all the broken sewage pipes, and clearing up the still water sites around the island and resort (where the mozzies breed), but when the first payment tranche became due, the Geeks had defaulted, and the company had abandoned the work .... which about sums up Greece all over.
This leaves the resort plagued by mozzies (and wasps) .... the beach is only 'safe' when there is a breeze, which sadly was lacking in the time I was there, consequently I was bitten over 50 times inside a day, but after that, a few basic precautions ensured that I wasn't bitten again. I didn't scratch (which really inflames them and you see a lot of bloody legs in the resort), and I used a mozzie stick (ammonia based), plus a basic antiseptic cream, and this stops them hurting and takes inflammation down quickly. So although a pain in the neck (and shoulders, and arms and legs etc), it didn't ruin my holiday break, but be warned, there were many people who seemed to be a real mess because of the bites.
For the record, if you are not on a vomit, beer and sh*gging party, there are usually one or two decent bars and food places, in even the worst of resorts, but as a rule of thumb in these places, I will stick to the burger/pizza joints if in doubt. In Kavos, if your are over 30 and resigned to a week surrounded by the council estates of the UK, then try the following:
DayTime: BabyG's cafe on the Beach Road - Run by 'Tony' and his family. Quiet, with both open and shaded areas. Home cooked basic cafe foods. Free Internet and Wifi. Very friendly and full of Greek hospitality.
 |
| Baby G's Cafe Bar - Kavos Corfu |
Evening Meals:
Likourgos Taverna - very good traditional food on the beach, so away from the disco's.
 |
| Likourgos Taverna on the Beach Kavos - Corfu |
There was also a traditional restaurant actually on the strip, but its name escapes me (it might be The Village Taverna), although the food was good and there was plate smashing and dancing .... it probably suffers a bit in full season.
Late Drinks: If you don't want head banging music, and all the semi-naked males that this brings with it, then there is only one bar to go to, 'Rodneys Bar', a 'Aussie themed' bar at the far end of the strip (left hand end of strip, if looking from the beach). It features the odd live musician (a singer/songwriter), and chilled out, grown up music, not played above talking volumes. Its part of a chain (TKD's), but was very well managed by an English beach dude called 'Russ Brown'. They also serve up the popular Melon drinks at various prices and sizes ..... only one picture of the bar I'm afraid, but as you can see it has a patio with the bar serving area running against that, and also an inside area.
 |
| Rodneys - Best Run Bar in Kavos |
 |
| Russ's Melons Were The Talk Of Kavos |
You only get out of a holiday, what you put in to it .... Greece has a lot of problems that are not going to get any better soon, and certainly you must really research your resorts before booking them these days (especially Corfu and other popular British resorts, which can be hellish), or end up like the couple I heard, who had come, hated it, and spent the whole time complaining ... if they had spent another £100 or so, they could have gone to a nicer resort on the same Island or the mainland.
Although I won't be going back to Kavos (or Corfu) again by first choice (it was my third or fourth visit over the years), I did and could continue to manage to get something out of it, if I ever ended up there again.
This was quite informative.People must know of what is happening nowadays especially the tourists who are interested to visit countries.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
PC repair miami
I was in Corfu last year ... it has gone down hill since the early days in the 1980's. They try too hard to get English teenage tourists to spend what little they have, on something other than beer.
ReplyDeleteNow they are trapped into a cycle of the tavernas becoming 'fast food' joints e.g McDonald's, Fish n' Chips and Subways. The moral of the story of the goose and golden egg has not been learnt. The islands were popular because they were Greek, sunny and nice. Now they are hardly Greek (in food and culture), still sunny, but tacky or run down.
The money Tourists i.e. those over 25 are already heading to other destinations such as Croatia, Slovenia or even Moldova (strictly for the adventurous amongst them):
http://www.regent-holidays.co.uk/country/moldova/
Once they have left, the Greeks will only have the teen drunks of England. Hardly a prospect to fill anyone with joy.
Love the TKDs/Rodney's write up!!!!!
ReplyDeletecheers
Rodney
Kavos is sold as it is, its a cheap place to go on holiday and if you are careful with your money then you can have a great time while not breaking the bank. Granted times have changed and more resorts are opening but in places such as Kavos its up to the locals/bar owners to invest or at least style there venues to attract different styles of tourists to the resort.
ReplyDeleteThere are bar owners trying to do this here with TKDs/Rodneys among the best names in town, however like most things in life resorts too become popular in phases. So although Kavos maybe having a few years not in the limelight of the UK tourism there is good hope that with a little bit of inspiration and originality it will climb its way back up again.
I have personally worked in a variety of tourist resorts for over 10 years and my experience working in Kavos was good fun, which at the end of it all is what its all about.
Thanks for all the comments .... I write it up as I find it, the good or the bad. Just a couple of quotes from my article "You only get out of a holiday, what you put in to it .... Although I won't be going back to Kavos (or Corfu) again .... I could manage to get something out of it if I ever ended up there again."
ReplyDeleteIt really wouldn't suit everyone, and as mentioned, there were a couple who barely left their room, finding nothing they liked in Kavos. Generally, I enjoyed it for what I wanted, a cheap break. That being said, it is rather run down and seriously needs an infrastructure upgrade (sewers).
Thanks again for all the comments.
As a worker and resident of Kavos Corfu, I found what is written above to be both exaggerated and untrue. Corfu is undoubtedly a beautiful island rich in both history and architecture,and Kavos is never and has never been advertised as 'a classy place'. It is well known (and advertised in holiday brochures as such) that Kavos is a small party town (previously a small fishing village) specifically if not almost exclusively for young English tourists (18-30's). Of course due to the recent economic crisis many places in Corfu if not especially Kavos has suffered,as have many parts of Greece. As well as the lovely places you have mentioned above you have obviously failed to venture far enough down the strip to experience all the other beautiful,quiet, delicious and traditional family run tavernas (Roussos, Falkonera, Terry's Taverna, Courser's, Tex Mex, TKD's, The Drunken Squid; I could go on!) as well as high standard cocktail bars including Fresh Bar, Chaplain's bar and Viva Revolution. I feel like you have have unashamedly knocked Kavos and unjustly so. You are either deliberately ignorant, too old to be there in the first place or had a sh*t holiday representative, or all of the above. And to complain about mosquitoes and wasps is a joke, the peak season is high summer in Corfu, its nature!! Of course there are going to be wasps and mosquitoes! Buy some repellent like every other sensible tourist instead of blaming Kavos about it! I have been there for over six years and have never been, nor have I known anyone else to have been bitten by anywhere near 50 mosquitoes in one day (again, a massive exaggeration on your part I believe). People of any nationality could make any destination into a vomit, beer and sh*gging holiday, you obviously went to those places to have the experiences you did. I Know numerous families that have been coming to Kavos on holiday for years (several couples and families I know for over 15 years) so there is some proof that it's not the sh*t hole yo have described above. And as for the sewage smell that is similar in may resorts of this kind, the trucks come every morning to empty the tanks. And how dare you say that by coming to Kavos you resign yourself to being surrounded by the council estates of the UK! F*ck*ng hell if your so much better than the majority of England why are you coming to Kavos in the first place?! Surely the Bahamas or the Maldives would be much more to your tastes?? And at least there you can't get full internet connection which might prevent you poisoning potential tourists to stop coming to a lovely resort that is already struggling!! Even the title of the review offends me, 'Corfu on the rocks'?! There is a WHOLE lot more to Corfu than Kavos you r*t*rd (a perfect example of your continued ignorance)! I cannot comprehend how you have managed to make such a damning report of a place you have so obviously not fully explored (despite your saying you've been a few times). I for one and I'm sure the majority of Kavos will be delighted that you will not be returning, have fun in the Bahamas Biatch!
ReplyDeleteCan anyone join in, or is this a private fight?
DeleteI was in Kavos in late August. (1) The greeks are very pessimistic and do think the countries "on the rocks", which is how this blog is entitled - just look at the news for gawd's sake!! There are strikes, riots, and political / economic instability. (2) the resort does smell of human waste, theres just no getting round it, and there are broken drains and pipes all over the place. (3) It does have a lot of mozzies, but thats look of the draw, they either bite or don't. (4) The beach is a mess, which is a shame as its shallow and could be great. (5) There were a lot of drunken gangs after 10:00pm, but apart from one small fight in a bar, they were loud but mostly harmless. (6) There are some Greek 'family restaurants', but they are not easy to spot and I wouldn't count 'Tex Mex' or the other pub food joints as part of the attractions - may as well say Pizza Hut is typical British. (7) I have just been to the review site linked, and it seems that people love it if they are there to party "kavos strip is brillient!! lots of cheap drink deals, especially if theres a big group of you!" about sums it up, but the 'family groups' weren't so happy - as illustrated in the comment by the blogger.
Finally Anonymous @Jan 15, 2012 08:06 AM - Chill Out!!!! you were taking the whole post far out of context, and didn't seem to have read it properly. Calling people "Biatch!" ain't very nice and doesn't help your argument about the resort.
Anonymous, thanks for your comment. My post quite clearly stated that I got something out of the break, and I pointed out the traditional food (Likourgos Taverna), and pleasant bars (TKDs/Rodney's), and said that "You only get out of a holiday, what you put in to it .... Although I won't be going back to Kavos (or Corfu) again .... I could manage to get something out of it if I ever ended up there again ." ... but you have chosen to read it entirely negatively, and then been abusive as well ... So I am happy to leave your 'thoughtful' comment up as a counter to the imbalances you feel I have posted.
ReplyDeleteHowever I stand by my comments. Maybe living there, you are now somewhat blind as to the problems of the resort? It's small, so its strange that walking up and down the main drag, or the beach road, I missed this family orientated resort you describe, maybe I should take rose tinted glasses, or maybe I was "too old to be there in the first place", its certainly true that if you are 18 - 25, then this is the resort for you.
I counted the mozzie bites, and saw plenty of people with their legs covered in bites .... they are "not natural", they breed in still stagnant pools of water which are on the beach area and open drains. The wasps were everywhere.
It was some of the locals who commented to me about the drunken state "the English" get themselves into, and they also thought the language being shouted out was terrible, especially the anglo-saxon F and C words.
Maybe you would like to post your comment on this web site where you will find pretty much everything I mentioned and more confirmed by numerous visitors. Just check it out, but here's a few of the comments (although there are positive comments as well from party people):
"its not a place for kids as it gets very lively at nite"
"Its dirty and the drinks are sometimes watered down"
"Kavos was pretty smelly and dirty in some places but you dont go for the scenary! the beach is a dump and there are sewerage pipes leading onto it but no one goes anyway everyone is in the pool or out in the clubs!"
"It is however the best place on earth if you're intention is drinking copious amounts and rolling home at 4am. The beach is not the best"
"Resort smelt, entertainment for young drunks"
"only party night life,very few traditional food restaurants. Lots of drunken, not cleanest beech"
"This resort is aimed soley at 18-30 year olds who want to get drunk and have as many sexual exploits as possible with as many different people as possible"
"kavos is a disgrace, the town is a dirty, smelly, hole infested by angry drunken yobs. eating out is limited to the usual steak, pizza and burger bars...extremely limited "
and finally one reviewer who encapsulated everything I said
"the main strip is not very clean and we never saw any sort of cleaning going on and the smell of sewage was quite strong depending on which way the wind is blowing. entertainment is strickly for the 18-30s there is nothing for families. the beach is not clean and there is lots of seaweed on it. we were sold this holiday as a lively but family resort it is not this is a resort for 18-30s we have been all over greece on holiday but never to a place like this dont go here if u have children under 18. " ... these were just from page 1.
Actually I have been to the Maldives ... and it was great! You should try it sometime. As you don't care to leave a name, I am not able to guess as to whether to return your pleasant salutation of " Biatch!", or something equally as pleasant.
I've been going to Kavos for the last 6 years and agree 100% with everything anonymous on the 15th has said.
ReplyDeleteI've also had an amazing time and look forward to returning this year, everyone knows that Kavos is a place to party but not everyone going out there is on a misson to get drunk, vomit and sleep around, I've seen plenty of familes and older couples in Kavos who have enjoyed their stay
Corfu is well known for mosquitoes but I highly doubt you were bitten 50 times and if you were stupid enough not to wear repellent then you deserve to be bitten!
Wasps are always worse in Sept due to the grapes - if your as well travelled as you claim surely you should know this.
The only time I have ever smelt the sewage is when it's being emptied which is to be expected.
As for the no cleaning this is rubbish in the early hours of the morning more or less all the bars have cleaners that clean the street as well as the bar.
If people have been mis-sold Kavos then that is the fault of the travel agent not the resort.
You have been very sneaky and only picked out the bad reviews to post on here when there are plenty of good reviews
I really do feel that at a time when the Greek Islands need tourism this unfair/untrue post could be very damaging.
You a friend of the 'worker from Kavos' .... any opinion that doesn't meet your opinion must be 'unfair/untrue'? What a strange world you must inhabit. Not everyone see's the world through the eyes of someone who is looking 'forward to returning this year'.
DeleteAs a fan of the resort you must be aware that your view must be just as 'unfair/untrue' or correct as the bloggers for the same reasons i.e its an opinion. Or are you saying that only you and the poster your backing, have a true vision?
I notice that you yourself have been 'You have been very sneaky' and only picked out the bad parts of the blog review' by omitting to acknowledge that the poster also said "You only get out of a holiday, what you put in to it .... Although I won't be going back to Kavos (or Corfu) again .... I could manage to get something out of it if I ever ended up there again", they also positively reviewed good bars and restaurants for those visitors who are not there as a 'place to party'. Surely that actually benefits the resort as it tips non party people on where to go?
Also re the reviews: I have just read that comment reply by the blogger and he / she pointed out, that there were positive reviews on the other website as well from party people - "... but here's a few of the comments (although there are positive comments as well from party people):"
So it seems to me that your comment is being actually more selective than the blog post you are accusing of being selective - at least that was balanced out by acknowledging both the parts of the resort - those parts which they didn't like, and actually highlighting the bars and restaurants that they did.
Maybe you should read the blog again, but without the blinkers - its not the job of people blogging about the resort to support the Greek Islands or its tourism, its for the Greek Islands to do so - if that means cleaning up their act in some repects, then ultimately that's for the long term good of them and the visitors both.
Finally re mozzies: What a load of boll*cks you are talking - the mozzie season is from April/May through to October - end of. You are either unlucky and get bitten a lot or you don't. Again you are selective in your observations - the blogger states that they were "bitten over 50 times inside a day, but after that, a few basic precautions ensured that I wasn't bitten again" .... the key words 'but after that, a few basic precautions ensured that I wasn't bitten again'.
Basically you either didn't read the post properly, or are just a propagandist.
NB: I have also been to Corfu, so don't tell me that I don't know what I am talking about.