Greece - Corfu Discussion Forum

Discussions regarding holidays in Corfu.
Roda
9 Posts
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been to Roda for the last year with my teenage daughter and loved it. There are more than enough bars and restaurants for 2 weeks, and if not, jump in a cab to Sidari. You can eat anything you want, from traditional greek to fish and chips. But the best thing is the prople - they're just so friendly.

kev
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Thanks for the advice, would you say Sidari is more suitable for us than Roda? We are 23 and not particularly into clubs but bars and restaurants. Also, what's the beach at Sidari like?

x
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if you don't like clubs, Roda's better - Sidari is bigger, with more clubs. Roda is smaller and quieter, but has plenty of bars and restaurants - and the beach is lovely. Having said that, we found we spent more time around the pools than on the beach.
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Roda is totally English even down to the shop that sells fray bentos pies and HP sauce. Most of the restaurants cater for the egg and chips clientele although there are a couple of nice restaurants such as Odysseus, The Dolphin. There is not a traditional Greek taverna there though if that is your bent.

It is fairly quiet and apparently has got quieter because of the TO's pulling out of SC accommodation apart from one or two exceptions. I like quiet places but the thought of spending two weeks in Roda would send me stir crazy as there is little in the way of 'browsing' with regard to shops etc...and that is from a woman that hates shopping!

Sidari is much livelier than Roda.

I would recommend Kassiopi if you want somewhere reasonably quite, with plenty of restaurants and bars but not the totally English experience.
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Magstar
Magster wrote:
Roda is totally English even down to the shop that sells fray bentos pies and HP sauce. Most of the restaurants cater for the egg and chips clientele although there are a couple of nice restaurants such as Odysseus, The Dolphin. There is not a traditional Greek taverna there though if that is your bent.

It is fairly quiet and apparently has got quieter because of the TO's pulling out of SC accommodation apart from one or two exceptions. I like quiet places but the thought of spending two weeks in Roda would send me stir crazy as there is little in the way of 'browsing' with regard to shops etc...and that is from a woman that hates shopping!

Sidari is much livelier than Roda.

Magstar I totally disagree with you here. We went to Roda last September and found it to be a lovely place. Fray Bentos pies are not just produced for the English market you know, and as for HP sauce, well this is an American owned company (not English), and this too is available world wide. There are one or two Tavernas on the main road catering for the Brits (but don't you get this in most places). We went to Sidari and found it to be like Blackpool with sun- McDonalds, Southern fried chicken, Irish pub, English pubs, and even a Supermarket advertising that it sold "English bread". Compare this to Roda where we ate in six or severn different "Greek Tavernas" offering home cooked traditional Greek dishes.

Yes Sidari is livelier than Roda, if you want loud music, plenty of bars to drink in etc... but if you want a quiet drink or two by the sea in a Greek taverna there are some lovely places by the water in Roda where you can watch the sun go down and watch the Greeks go about their business.

We had a wonderful two weeks in Roda, and would definitely go back there. However, we would not be visiting Sidari again.
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totally agree with last poster - Roda as a lovely place. You won't find friendlier people anywhere. Each to their own though. I went to Kissiopi once for a boat trip, and while it was nice, it was a bit chaotic around the harbour area, where there are lots of boat trips leaving, which meant lots of coaches trying to get down narrow roads, and bars and shops packed. Couldn't wait to get back to Roda.
If you want a relaxing holiday, with a mix of food options, a nice beach, and very friendly people, I would highly recomend Roda.

kev
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Yes, I disliked Sidari too and I have spent some happy times in Roda but lets not pretend that it is anything but a very British seaside resort transported to a pretty Greek Island! There is a Greek restaurant in Weston-Super-Mare that serves more traditionally Greek food than can be found in the whole of Roda put together and it doesn't lie about being a 'taverna' either!

Kassiopi does get very busy around the harbour area for a couple of hours every day when all the tourist boats are coming in for their hour or so but pass back that way in an evening or a quieter part of the day and it is a lovely place to sit and enjoy a quiet drink. There are also lots of places where you can enjoy a livelier drink if that is your bent.

The other thing that Kassiopi (and also Acharavi) has going for it is that it is not 'British' in the sense that there is a good mix of nationalities on holiday there and not just the Brits or English. Each to their own but I prefer to broaden my experiences slightly when I am away if it is only having a chat with a Scandinavian or Dutch person or a German!

Things that stick in my mind about Roda are watching the sand being delivered during the first week of May for the beach. Many years ago Roda had a lovely sandy beach that stretched for a good way. Unfortunately the construction of the 'harbour' area ruined the natural systems that kept the sand in place and the beach became narrower with the sand being washed away on a regular basis. The 'faux' stupidity of the owners and waiters in a certain well known restaurant who make you wait so long for a meal that by the time it comes you have drunk copious amounts of wine etc and really don't care that the food is substandard. Or the queues outside Maggie's for fish and chips. Or the sheer volume of businesses there that are owned and operated by Brits. There are few Corfiots there compared with even five years ago.

Roda is fine and as I say I have enjoyed several happy holidays there but if someone is going for the first time I think they should be aware of the downsides to the place. I know I would be happy to get a good set of reviews that point out the good and the bad. Plus they asked about traditional restaurants and 'English' type bars. I remember traditional Greek tavernas from 25 years ago. There is nothing like that in Roda but then there are very few tavernas in most Greek holiday resorts. There are however Greek restaurants that serve Greek and Greek style food which are and is a different thing altogether. Whether you judge them to be traditional or not (and I always differentiate between a restaurant and a taverna) depends upon your experience. The bars in Roda and not only British themed (and yes they do have regular Elvis nights) but probably 80% of them are owned by Brits.

Taking those caveats into account I think I answered the OP's question honestly.
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point taken..Rodas the only place I've stayed on Corfu - maybe I've missed out lol

happy new year
kev
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