A Corfu pirate ship cruise is a short sea trip on a pirate-themed ship along the coast of Corfu Town. Our tours in Greece list other ways to spend a day by the sea.
This page covers the start and length, the sights, two fortresses, Vido, pirate history, life on board and the season.
What is a Corfu pirate ship cruise, and how does it work?
Each Corfu pirate ship cruise centres on a pirate-themed ship. It carries guests along the coast of Corfu Town. They see the sights from the water. The ship leaves the old port and returns to it. Operator pages call the trip a mini cruise for the whole family.
A Corfu pirate ship cruise runs as a round tour of the shoreline, not a ride between two places. Guests board at the old port. The ship follows the coast of the old town, turns and comes back, so the trip ends where it began. On the way, the captain tells stories about the island.
The trip suits families, and operator pages call it suitable for all ages. One operator page adds that grown-ups get a different view of the island. They enjoy a coffee or a snack at sea. A travel page calls it a quick sightseeing trip with a front-row seat to the sights.
The ship only looks old. A listing page calls it a modern tourism project. It was made to give guests the spirit of adventure without losing comfort or safety. Aboard a Corfu pirate ship cruise, the captain and the crew keep a friendly, lively mood. The colourful ship also stands out in the port.
How long is a Corfu pirate ship cruise, and where does it start?
The sailing time of a Corfu pirate ship cruise is 75 minutes, or an hour and a quarter. Operator pages place the start at the old port of Corfu Town, across the road from a petrol station.
One operator page lists daily sailings that begin at 12:00 and run every two hours until 18:00. A listing page shows the same window, Monday to Sunday. The timetable can shift, so check at the pier or on the operator website first. Operator pages also list a separate two-hour sunset sailing.
Plan to arrive early for a Corfu pirate ship cruise. At the meeting point, guests swap the booking voucher for a boarding ticket at the counter. A listing page advises arriving 15 to 20 minutes before the scheduled departure in peak season. It also tells guests to add time for boarding on top of the cruise itself.
One listing page calls the trip just over an hour long. The town goes by two names, Corfu and Kerkyra. Two trip pages name the old port, while one listing page says the ship is based in the new port. Confirm the meeting point for your Corfu pirate ship cruise with the operator before you go.
Which sights does a Corfu pirate ship cruise pass along the coast?
A Corfu pirate ship cruise follows the shoreline of Corfu Town from the old port. Pages that describe the trip list the old town coast and both fortresses. They add Garitsa Bay, the Mon Repos villa, Vlacherna Monastery and Mouse Island.
The pages give the stops in a loose order. One lists the old town coast first, then both fortresses, Faliraki, Garitsa Bay and Mon Repos. It ends at Vlacherna Monastery and the airport. Another starts with Vido island and ends at Mouse Island before the return. A third adds the Ionian Academy, listed with the Grimani Barracks.
On a Corfu pirate ship cruise, Garitsa Bay lies south of the Old Fortress promontory. Mon Repos began as a summer home for a British high commissioner and later served the Greek royal family. Prince Philip was born there.
Past Vlacherna Monastery the Corfu pirate ship cruise reaches the airport, and one page promises planes landing close overhead. One listing says coastal scenes here appeared in the Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.
What are the Old Fortress and the New Fortress that the boat passes?
Corfu Town has two Venetian forts, and both lie on the route of a Corfu pirate ship cruise. The Old Fortress holds the promontory beside the old town. The New Fortress grew in stages on St. Mark’s hill.
Venice began to replace the older Byzantine defences of the Old Fortress in the early fifteenth century. The engineers Savorgnan and Martinengo later designed its bastions, which are considered masterpieces of military engineering. The Venetians also dug the Contrafossa, a sea channel. It cut the citadel off from the town and made it an artificial island.
The New Fortress, which a Corfu pirate ship cruise also passes, was a reply to the first Ottoman assault. Civilians outside the citadel walls had died, so the city council sent envoys to Venice about the missing defences. Venice razed two thousand houses in San Rocco, a suburb, and raised walls in their place. Ferrante Vitelli was the original architect.
The Old Fortress, seen from a Corfu pirate ship cruise, turned the Ottomans away in three major sieges. Two came in the sixteenth century and one in the early eighteenth. The last siege lasted seven weeks. The governors of the two forts swore never to speak to each other during their two-year terms.
A Corfu pirate ship cruise starts at the old port, and Wikipedia shows the New Fortress from there. One bastion stands 55 metres above sea level. The Epta Anemoi bastion, named for the Seven Winds, looks over the sea to the mainland mountains. The British destroyed the sea defences of the fort when Corfu joined Greece.
What is Vido island, and what is the story of Mouse Island?
Vido is an island less than a kilometre across at the entrance to Corfu harbour. Mouse Island, or Pontikonisi, is a one-hectare islet near Kanoni. Both sit on the route of a Corfu pirate ship cruise, as one operator page lists it.
Venice built Fort Schulenburg on Vido in the early eighteenth century and walled the island. When the Vido fort was blown up, the blast broke house windows across the channel. Serbian soldiers were treated on Vido in the First World War. One operator page says passengers on a Corfu pirate ship cruise see the Serbian monument from the deck.
One operator page ends its route at Mouse Island, so a Corfu pirate ship cruise meets its legend. Poseidon, the story goes, turned a ship into stone there. One telling names the Phaeacians’ ship, another that of Odysseus. The Greek name means Mouse Island, and from afar the white staircase of its monastery resembles a mouse’s tail.
Pontikonisi holds a Byzantine chapel of Christ Pantokrator, dated to the eleventh or twelfth century. Close by, Vlacherna Monastery stands on its own islet south of Kanoni. A stone pier about 300 metres long links it to the shore. The church dates to the seventeenth century, has a three-storey bell tower, and still holds services.
What is the pirate history of Corfu and the Ionian Sea?
Corfu faced pirates and invaders for centuries, and Venice fortified the island against them. Greece’s Ministry of Culture lists Genoese pirates among the raiders. A Corfu pirate ship cruise is playful, but the walls along its route were built for real danger.
The Ministry says Corfu was targeted from time to time because of its position. Its list of raiders includes Goths, Arabs, Normans and Genoese pirates. A Corfu pirate ship cruise passes medieval castles that are a legacy of struggles against pirates and the Ottomans. On Ithaca, the Karavia family took part in piracy against the Ottomans.
The Barbary corsairs sailed from North Africa and raided the coasts of Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. One of them, Hayreddin Barbarossa, became admiral of the Ottoman fleet. He commanded the 25,000 men that Suleiman the Magnificent sent against Corfu in the sixteenth century. The Old Fortress held, and a Corfu pirate ship cruise now passes it.
Venice ruled Corfu for about four centuries, from the late fourteenth century. Its fortresses defended the Adriatic against Ottoman moves. The Ottomans took Cephalonia, Zante, Lefkada and Ithaca in the fifteenth century. Corfu was the only Ionian island that never fell to them. A listing page calls the Corfu pirate ship cruise a modern tourism project.
What happens on board a Corfu pirate ship cruise for children and families?
Children on a Corfu pirate ship cruise wear pirate hats and play with swords on two decks. The bar on board serves drinks and snacks, and the captain tells stories about the island.
Operator pages agree on the props for a Corfu pirate ship cruise. One page turns the children into pirates, fitted out with hats and swords. Another says every guest is given a hat and a sword. A booking page describes a dress-up corner with toy swords for all ages. Reviewers add chests of pirate props, plastic cutlasses and pistols.
The play goes beyond costumes. A travel page says children can pretend to steer the ship under the captain’s supervision while Caribbean tunes play. It also mentions a treasure chest of toys and hats. The crew comments on the sights as the ship sails. A booking page adds a rule: an adult has to come along with each child.
The bar is part of the day out on a Corfu pirate ship cruise. One operator page says the self-service bar stays open for the whole sailing. It offers soft drinks, bottled water and snacks, and adults can order coffee at sea. Other pages say soft and alcoholic drinks are sold on board. Food from outside is not allowed.
Which season and weather suit a Corfu pirate ship cruise?
One operator page lists daily sailings of a Corfu pirate ship cruise between late spring and September. Those months are hot and dry on Corfu, so hats, sunscreen and comfortable shoes are the gear to bring.
The climate table on Wikipedia explains why. It classes the island as hot-summer Mediterranean. The average daytime high is 28.2 degrees Celsius in June. It reaches 31.2 in July and 31.5 in August, then drops to 27.5 in September. July also has the longest sunshine total, at 364.5 hours, and the lowest rainfall, at 8.7 millimetres.
The same table shows the contrast. On average, rain falls on 3.3 days in July and in August, 4.8 in June and 7.4 in September. The wettest months are November and December, with 187.1 and 189.9 millimetres. A Corfu pirate ship cruise therefore falls in the dry months.
The sea still sets the schedule of a Corfu pirate ship cruise. One listing says severe weather can lead to cancelled sailings, and another names storms and rough seas. A third page says departures change with the weather and the season, so check at the pier before you go. Reviewers mention shaded seats and fans on board.
What else do travellers ask about a Corfu pirate ship cruise?
Does a Corfu pirate ship cruise suit adults without children?
Yes. The operator page says the trip suits every age group. An agency page says the short cruise also excites adults. They look at the island in a different way and sip a coffee at sea.
A booking page names couples and solo travellers as a good fit. It adds that adults enjoy the coastline views and a drink from the onboard bar. The operator page also lists refreshments in its own bar. A Corfu pirate ship cruise, then, works as a short outing for grown-ups too.
Can buggies and wheelchairs board, and what about the stairs between decks?
Booking listings call the trip wheelchair accessible and allow a pram or stroller for infants and small children. One listing adds that all fitness levels can join and that service animals are allowed.
The agency page says the ship has two decks. The pages give no detail on how guests move between them, and none mentions a lift or a ramp. One travel page does not confirm access and advises asking the provider. If the stairs matter to you, phone the operator before booking.
Can you hold a birthday or private party on a Corfu pirate ship cruise?
Yes. The operator page lists a private party, weddings, private charters and a birthday party for kids or grown-ups. Bookings go by phone under the words “Call to Enquire”.
An agency page names family gatherings, friendly gatherings and child pirate parties, and it states that advance booking is required. The operator page also lists a Saturday sunset cruise with a DJ party. It asks you to call to book your private party. A Corfu pirate ship cruise can therefore double as a party venue.
How does a Corfu pirate ship cruise compare with an Old Town walk, a bus or a Paxos cruise?
The Old Town is a walk through narrow lanes and multi-storey Venetian buildings, and UNESCO lists it. A listing places the ship within walking distance of that centre and suggests doing both. A city bus reaches the centre, but the boat shows familiar landmarks from the open sea.
A Paxos and Antipaxos day runs nine to ten hours on operator pages, against 75 minutes here. A booking page calls the cruise a quick way to see the coast, set against day-long island trips.
What happens when the weather stops a Corfu pirate ship cruise sailing?
The operator page states no weather rule. Booking pages say bad weather can cancel the trip, and one says tickets are then exchangeable. Another page says the experience can change for bad weather or unforeseen reasons.
A listing page says departures change with the weather and the season. It advises checking at the pier or on the company website. Booking pages ask for changes one full day ahead of departure. A Corfu pirate ship cruise is worth a look at the forecast first.