What Spending Christmas in Corfu Looks Like

Are you looking to make your Christmas a little bit different this year? Maybe do a little bit of traveling in winter? Consider the wonderful island of Corfu. If you are wondering about spending Christmas in Corfu then this is the place for you to be.

We will cover all the aspects of what you can expect from a Christmas vacation on the island of Corfu. As may already know, the Greeks are a highly religious nation. As such it’s no wonder that Christmas is one of the major holidays for the whole country.

What’s the weather like around Christmas in Corfu?

Let’s start with the basics. What is the weather that you can expect from such a trip? You can expect around 10 degrees of celsius. Give or take five and you should prepare with clothing for such temperatures.

This means that most of the times snow are out of the question. In reality, there have only been a few days in history where it ever snowed in Corfu. What you should expect instead is rain. Have you been to Corfu during the summer? Did you notice how beautifully green everything is? It is because it rains a lot in the winter months.

You should prepare for a mix of sunny and rainy days. Make sure you bring some kind of a raincoat or you might be in for a bad time.

Luckily, the clouds can clear just as quickly as it started raining. We are sure that there will be beautiful days that you will enjoy. This is especially true if you are from a place up north.

How is tourism around Christmas in Corfu?

Tourism around Christmas in Corfu is very much non-existent. Yes, there are other people who travel this time of the year and want to experience something different, but most people don’t travel during Christmas.

A lot of the smaller towns feel like abandoned places with only a handful of the local population living there all year round. The best part of the island is Corfu Town itself this time of the year. Due to the large number of locals in the city, it’s still very lively and almost everything is open. In case you haven’t visited Corfu yet, make sure that you start with our things to do in Corfu Town guide.

There are a lot of apartments that are operated by individuals in Corfu. Some of them say that it’s too much of a hassle to keep open for the winter due to the low visitor count, so there is less accommodation available. Of course, most hotels will stay open.

What is available on the other hand, is generally cheaper than summer. You can get rooms for half the price of what people pay during peak season. This might be a great opportunity to indulge yourself in some luxury and book a high-end hotel.

What are the Christmas traditions in Corfu?

Christmas in Corfu looks very similar to other places around the world. For Greeks, it’s a very important holiday so you can expect the decoration level on the max. Trees, houses, and streets will be highly decorated with colorful Christmas lights. They create an excellent atmosphere once the sun goes down.

Interestingly enough, if it rains during the night, the city becomes extremely beautiful. With all the colorful decoration and lights reflecting back from puddles it all seems magical.

One of the features we absolutely love about this time of year is ship decoration. It’s an old tradition as Greece is a sailing nation. They decorate the ships with lights as if it was a Christmas Tree. This can create quite a spectacle in the Marina.

Just like other countries, Christmas day is the 25th of December. The celebration starts one day before, on Christmas eve. Children of the town will go from house to house to sing Christmas carols. They are often accompanied by small drums to make the performance stand out.

25th, Christmas Day, is a deeply family event for the Greeks. Family and friends will gather to have a big feast together and enjoy a relaxing day of love.

25th and 26th of December is a bank holiday in Greece. This means that almost everything is closed. You should plan accordingly.

An interesting thing to note is that Greeks don’t exchange presents on Christmas Day. They actually do it on the 1st of January. It’s St. Basil‘s day which is the Greek version of Father Christmas. Of course, there are some families who have taken up the western approach of exchanging gifts on Christmas day, but many families keep this tradition alive.

How to get to Corfu during Christmas?

The easiest way to reach Corfu during Christmas is a flight from Athens. You can easily book a cheap flight to Corfu from there. Athens sees airlines flying to the city all year round. Usually, it’s not a lot of waiting in Athens airport as there are multiple flights each week even during the off-season.

You may also find some direct charter flights around Christmas. They are not that easy to come by but not an impossible task.

You may also fly to Brindisi and grab a ferry but it’s a little bit more hassle than a connecting flight in Athens. Also, the ferry can run high in price so you might end up paying a lot more than flying.

A different Christmas experience

Now you know what to expect from spending Christmas in Corfu. It can be a magical experience and you should definitely consider doing it one year. You might see rainy days, but there is plenty of sunshine even in winter. Make sure you don’t expect snow or 20 degrees celsius and you should not be disappointed.

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