Dassia is located at the Northern end of the Greek Island of Corfu. The resort is about 1 mile long, through which travels a very busy main road. All the bars, tavernas, restaurants and shops etc are fronting this main road, most of them being located to the right hand side of the road, heading north.
There are three big hotels: The Corfu Chandris, The Dassia Chandis and the Magna Grecia.
The Beach
To the left hand side of the road, heading north you will find several dirt tracks, these all lead down to the beach. These dirt tracks are very hard to travel when you are attempting to push a pram, so I presume the same would apply for those accompanying wheelchair users and those who have difficulty walking. You can be really cheeky and cut through the Dassia Chandris Hotel
car park, which has a concrete path right down to the beach.
The beach is shingle and grass, and very well kept, although there are no sun beds or beach bars.
Dotted along the beach, there are a few little huts offering boat trips and water-sports. Should you wish to hire a boat yourself this can also be done at these huts.
The sea at Dassia is like much of Corfu and very shallow and calm.
The Day life
During the day, a majority of the bars, restaurants and tavernas are closed, although some do open for breakfast. There are a handful of snack bars and taverna’s that remain open all day, these tend to offer snacks such as hamburgers, toasties, omelettes and the good old mousakka. All serve a wide choice of the usual alcoholic and soft drinks.
At the South of the resort is a delicatessen called Belissimo. I would recommend this to anyone with a sweet tooth. They have a huge range of the most gorgeous cakes, pastries and handmade chocolates, as well as home made ice creams and coffee. We spent a lovely afternoon in here sampling the fare and watching the world pass us by.
The Nightlife
As touched on earlier, the action in Dassia is all set on the very busy main road. The nightlife is a very relaxed affair and not for those who are looking to dance the night away. For those who do fancy tripping the light fantastic, Ipsos (also known as Ypsos) is a 5 minute bus ride away. It can be reached by foot in around 30-45 minutes and has the full quota of English theme pubs, discos etc.
All the bars and restaurants appear to be run by local Greek families with the exception of Great Shakes at the Ipsos end of the resort. Great Shakes is very much an “English Pub”, with Quiz Nights, Karaoke, and the Eastenders Omnibus with your Sunday Lunch.
There are one or two bars playing British chart music although these are few and far between and tend to be more expensive to drink in.
The Shopping
There is an abundance of mini markets also known a Cava’s. These all offer the usual tourist fare such as Lilos, Buckets and Spades, Footballs, playing cards and postcards etc and stock a limited range of British foods such as Heinz spaghetti (Invaluable when travelling with an 18 month old).
All of these mini markets stock a wide range of booze and ciggies at very reasonable prices.
***Cheapest Mini Market in the Report is the one just on the end of the road, before the end of Dassia at the Ipsos End
There are several t-shirt and clothing shops selling the usual “Silly Motif” t-shirts. Most of these shops also sell a wide range of good copy designer handbags and sunglasses, to which I treated myself to in abundance. If Louis Vuitton makes it, Dassia copies it.
There are also two shops selling products made from Olive Wood, these are well worth a visit towards the end of your stay for some lovely gifts and souvenirs. The sell everything from salad servers to wood chimes and Bongo drums to lovely wooden children’s toys and trinkets.
The Weather
We visited Dassia between 21st May and 5th June, when the weather is usually sunny with temperatures in the mid twenties and rain is unheard of, but of course. We had three days of the worse rain I have ever seen in any part of England – sods law.
The Local people where amazed at the downturn in the weather, so perhaps if you decide to holiday here you will have better luck with the weather than we did.
Getting About
There is a taxi rank and the southern end of the resort. Most of the taxis are black Mercedes and the fare into Corfu Town from Dassia was 5 Euros. Although it is advisable to agree a price before getting in.
There are several car and moped hire shops. Drivers beware the Corfiots drive like complete lunatics and will quite happily try to run you off the road. Dotted all down the roads are little shrines where people have met their maker.
We did however hire a car for three days and visited the entire island. Due to the island being so small this is easily done and the scenery between towns and villages is absolutely breathtaking.
Typical Prices
When we visited the average exchange rate for £1.00 was 1.45 Euros
In the Shops: 6 pack of Amstel (the local lager) – 3.00 Euros
200 British Ciggies – 26.00 Euros
1 litre bottle of Bacardi etc – 12.00 Euros
In the Bars: 1 Large Amstel (Just under a pint) – 1.50 to 3.50 Euros (Shop Around)
Snacks (e.g. Hamburger, Mousakka) – 4.00 Euros to 6.00 Euros
Full English breakfast - 4.00 Euros
***Cheapest watering hole in the resort is Mam-a-Takas – Glass of Wine 1.00 Euro, Large Amstel – 1.50 Euros, Vodka and Orange Juice 1.20 Euros
***Dearest watering hole in the resort is Summer Moments – 19.00 Euros for 2 cocktails!!!!!!!
Restaurants: 3 course meal for 2 (with tip) – 20.00 Euros to 40 Euros
Local Dishes (Kleftiki, Stiffado) – 7.00 Euros to 9.50 Euros
Seafood is very expensive, and children’s meals are usually available in most restaurants for around 3.50 Euros.
***Nicest restaurant in the resort is Valentinos – You have to try the Kleftiki
All in all we had a lovely family holiday, the only downside being there is very little for children of any age. The holiday left us feeling very relaxed without costing us a small fortune
Pictures of Dassia, Corfu
The Beach
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Lovely pictures,we went to Arilas in Corfu a couple of years ago and had the most huge storm! All of the sunloungers had to be pulled out of the sea lol x
red13 14.07.2004 23:02
Great op, love the pics.Dee
mister_nick 08.07.2004 22:19
I was at the Dassia Chandris last year and I found it great!
Corfu is really nice. I came back from Cyprus yesterday and I don't think the island is anywhere near as nice as Corfu.
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