Corfu is one of Greece’s most popular holiday destinations

The island’s north eastern shoreline is one of Greece’s most stunning and civilised vacation destinations. From Kassiopi up to Nissaki, hillsides vegetated with lush olive trees descend meticulously to pebbly coves.

The appealing topography and the beach area’s lack of sand have kept mass-tourism at bay. Gerald and Lawrence Durrell, who lived on the island in the 1930s and whose novels have enticed numerous visitors to this paradisiacal destination, might be dismayed at how this section of Corfu has ended up.

Most of the visiting tourists in Corfu’s north eastern part are working-class English people – hence the destination’s nickname, Kensington on Sea. Crowds of holidaymakers hole up for two or three weeks in one of the many available puce-coloured villa accommodations that line the steep, tranquil hillsides, only emerging for something to eat in the outstanding waterside tavernas. Hotel establishments are limited, but there are several inexpensive apartment options.

Agios Stefanos is a picturesque seaside village and probably the greatest spot to stay on Corfu. The village may be sleepy but certainly not dead, with a fine selection of restaurants, several pubs and outlets, and a little farther in the next bay Kerasia, a superb pebble beach. Families with older kids who wish to go clubbing in the evenings usually prefer to stay within a short distance of Kassiopi, the sole resort facility in the area, whose pleasant news is the coming of a tourist train this summer.