Corfu with little ones

Weather, month by month

The figures below are typical averages for the season rather than a forecast. Corfu is green because it gets serious winter rain, over a metre a year, which is also why the resorts shut for the winter. From November to April it's mild, wet and mostly closed. Summer is reliably hot, with high humidity in midsummer and more of it than you'd get on Atlantic islands like the Canaries.

With young children the choice usually comes down to June or September: both give you high-twenties days, a warm sea and resorts below peak capacity. May is cooler still and cheaper, with the trade-offs that the sea is brisk and some places are only just opening for the year. July and August work better once children can handle heat, crowds and later nights.

Things to do with little ones

Most Corfu days with a toddler are the beach, a long lunch, a sleep and a taverna. When you want an outing, Aqualand, in the middle of the island, is one of Europe's biggest waterparks, with a baby pool and a dedicated play zone for two-to-eights alongside the big slides. Children under three and a half go free, and a cheaper half-day ticket from 2pm fits neatly after a nap. It's a big, hot site, so it suits children from about three upwards.

With a toddler, the short, low-cost outings beat the big day out. The donkey rescue near Paleokastritsa is free to visit, runs on donations and lets small children meet and groom the residents. The little aquarium at Paleokastritsa is toddler-scaled, with a guided tour of about forty minutes. From the same bay, glass-bottom boats and a semi-submarine get you out over the clear turquoise water in under an hour, short enough to hold a toddler's interest; the Paxos and Antipaxos cruises run eight to ten hours dock to dock and are best saved for a holiday without small children.

Corfu Town suits a slow morning. The Liston arcade and the Spianada esplanade are flat and pushchair-friendly, the wooden land train does a half-hour loop from near the Liston, and there's always a plane to watch landing low over the Kanoni causeway at the southern edge of town. The Old Fortress is the one to plan around: it's a stairs-and-ramparts site, so take a carrier rather than the buggy or admire it from a cafe table instead.

Eating out with children

Greek tavernas are among the most child-welcoming places you'll eat anywhere. Children out late with their families are completely normal, staff tend to fuss over babies rather than tolerate them, and nobody minds a toddler doing laps between courses on a quiet terrace. Booking a table for half eight feels early rather than late here.

Highchairs exist but aren't guaranteed, especially at small village tavernas, so a folding clip-on seat is worth packing. Menus suit toddlers without trying: chicken souvlaki, plain pasta or rice, chips, tzatziki with bread, grilled fish, Greek yoghurt with honey and watermelon cover most evenings. In the resorts you'll also find the full international menu wherever you look.

Supplies, pharmacies and the mosquito kit

Every resort has minimarkets for the daily basics, and the bigger supermarkets, including Lidl near the airport and AB Vassilopoulos on the east coast, carry the full range at better prices. Nappies are easy: Pampers is everywhere, and the Greek brand Babylino is well made and often cheaper. For formula, Greece keeps much of the market in pharmacies rather than supermarkets. Aptamil is sold here under its Nutricia name, Almiron, alongside NAN and Frisolac, and it costs more than at home, so bring enough of your own brand for the trip and treat local stock as the backup. Baby food jars and pouches exist but the range is narrower than a UK supermarket, which is worth knowing if your baby has firm preferences.

Pharmacies, marked by the green cross, are the first stop for any small ailment and there's one in every resort. The children's paracetamol here is Depon syrup and children's Nurofen is stocked too, both dosed by weight. For the room, pick up a plug-in mosquito repellent in any supermarket on day one, since the mosquitoes are the one thing worth preparing for. A child-safe repellent for dusk, long sleeves near vegetation in the evening and air conditioning or closed windows before dark deal with most of it. Bites here are itchy rather than dangerous.

For bottles, use bottled water and whatever sterilising kit travels best for you; cold-water tablets and a tub, or microwave bags where your accommodation has a microwave, both work. A fridge for milk and medicines is worth requesting even in a hotel room.