Harbours on Corfu: Gouvia, Mandraki, NAOK – Getting there and trip destinations

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For sailing yachts there are several harbours on Corfu: the large Gouvia Marina about six kilometres north of the town, the two small club harbours Mandraki and NAOK at the Old Fortress of Corfu town, and the town harbour where the ferries berth. Here you read how to reach the right harbour at trip start, where you park and shop, which destinations lie off Corfu and how skippers berth.

Which marinas and harbours are there in Corfu?

Around Corfu Town there are three points of call for sailing yachts: Gouvia Marina north of the town, the two club harbours at the Old Fortress and the town harbour. From Gouvia Marina to the Old Fortress is about 5 nautical miles by water.

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Gouvia Marina

Gouvia Marina lies in the sheltered bay of Gouvia in the Tzavros district, between the villages of Kontokali and Gouvia. It is the largest marina on the island and the one with the full facilities of a modern marina.

Mandraki and NAOK at the Old Fortress

Directly by the old town lie two small club harbours, both at the Old Fortress but on different sides. Mandraki is on the north side of the fortress and is the harbour of the Corfu Sailing Club (Greek: Ιστιοπλοϊκός Όμιλος Κέρκυρας). NAOK lies south of the fortress at the northern end of Garitsa Bay. The abbreviation stands for Ναυτικός Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κέρκυρας, the Corfu Nautical Sports Club.

The attraction of both harbours is their location: you lie beneath the fortress walls and are just minutes from the Spianada and the old town. Mandraki has only a few visitor berths and no facilities like a large marina.

Town harbour

The city harbour, also called the New Harbour, lies northwest of the old town below the New Fortress. The ferries berth here, with the cruise ship terminal alongside. The harbour is managed by the Corfu harbour company. For sailing yachts there is a lot of traffic here; visitor berths are not organised as in a marina. As a departure harbour for a sailing trip, the city harbour plays hardly any role.

Further south on the east coast is the small marina of Benitses, about 10 nautical miles from Gouvia, a stopover on the way south.

Feature	Gouvia Marina	Mandraki	NAOK	Town harbour
Location	Gouvia Bay, around 6 km north of the town	North side of the Old Fortress	South of the Old Fortress, Garitsa Bay	North-west of the old town, at the ferry terminal
Type	Large marina with boatyard and dry storage	Club harbour of the Corfu Sailing Club	Club harbour of the Corfu Nautical Sports Club	Ferry, cruise ship and commercial harbour
Facilities	Fuel station, supermarket, showers, laundry, boatyard	Old Town within walking distance	Old Town within walking distance	Town within walking distance
Way to the old town	City bus route 7 or taxi	on foot	on foot	on foot

Arriving in Corfu at the start of your trip

You reach the island by plane or by ferry. Above all it's important to know the right harbour.

Which marina is mine?

If you're arriving as crew on a cabin charter: which harbour and which pontoon is stated in your trip documents. What matters is the exact name, because behind "Corfu" lie four different places:

• "Gouvia Marina" or "D-Marin Gouvia": the large marina north of the town.
• "Mandraki" or "Mandraki Marina": the harbour of the sailing club on the north side of the Old Fortress.
• "NAOK" or "NAOK Marina": the harbour of the Nautical Sports Club south of the fortress. It is not Mandraki.
• "Corfu harbour" or "New Harbour": the town harbour with the ferry terminal.

Therefore give the taxi driver the full name, such as "Mandraki, Old Fortress" or "NAOK", not just "Corfu harbour", or you'll end up with your luggage at the ferry terminal.

From Corfu airport to the harbour

In summer, Corfu airport receives direct flights from many European cities; year-round there are flights from Athens taking about an hour. The quickest way to reach your harbour is by taxi: Gouvia Marina is roughly seven kilometres away and about 15 minutes' drive, whilst the harbours at the Old Fortress lie in the town itself. With crew and luggage, this is usually the simplest choice.

City bus line 15 connects the airport with the coach station, San Rocco Square and the town harbour. For Mandraki and NAOK, get off at San Rocco Square and walk through the Old Town to the Old Fortress. For Gouvia Marina, change at San Rocco Square to line 7 towards Dasia and Ipsos. It runs via Kontokali, Gouvia and Tzavros, where the marina is located. Journey times and frequency depend on the season; current timetables are available from the information kiosk at San Rocco Square.

Many charter companies have their base at Gouvia Marina, so on changeover days there is correspondingly busy activity on the pontoons. If you arrive on such a day, allow a bit more time for taxis and provisioning.

By car, coach or ferry

Without flying, you reach the island by ferry. Year-round, ferries run from Igoumenitsa on the northwest coast of mainland Greece to Corfu town harbour and to Lefkimmi in the south of the island. For all harbours around the town, the journey from the town harbour is much shorter than from Lefkimmi. From Athens to Igoumenitsa it is roughly 470 kilometres by car, about five to six hours; from Thessaloniki roughly 320 kilometres. Coach services run from Athens and Thessaloniki through to Corfu. From the town harbour a taxi takes you to your harbour, or continue by bus via San Rocco Square.

Parking

Gouvia Marina has an outdoor car park for visitors. Hire cars and mopeds are available directly at Gouvia Marina, convenient for an island excursion on a harbour day.

Arrived early: passing time in the Old Town

If your flight lands long before the trip starts, the best way to spend the waiting time is in the Old Town. If you are starting from Mandraki or NAOK, you are already there. If you are heading to Gouvia Marina, bus line 15 goes through the town anyway, and the marina itself has restaurants, cafés and a pool with catering.

Showers and sanitary facilities

Gouvia Marina has sanitary facilities with showers and a laundry.

Shopping for the trip

At Gouvia Marina there is a supermarket on the marina site, plus small shops for on-board supplies and a chandler, just a few steps from the pontoon. If your boat is moored at the Old Fortress, you shop in the old town.

Doctor, pharmacy and emergency services

Corfu General Hospital "Agia Eirini" is located in Kontokali on the road to Paleokastritsa, only a few kilometres from Gouvia Marina and the town. In Gouvia village there is a pharmacy and a private medical practice with emergency care.

• 112: European emergency number, free from all networks
• 166: Emergency services, 100: Police, 199: Fire brigade
• 108: Coast Guard, also for emergencies at sea; at sea also VHF channel 16

What does Gouvia Marina offer?

Gouvia was the first privately operated marina in Greece. Today it belongs to the D-Marin marina chain. The bay is largely enclosed by land and opens eastwards to the channel between Corfu and the mainland. The marina also accommodates large yachts with draughts up to 5.5 metres; berths are on fixed and floating pontoons.

Gouvia Marina at a glance	Details
Position	39° 38′ 59″ N, 019° 51′ 07″ E
Waters	Bay of Gouvia, east coast of Corfu, Ionian Sea
Berths	around 1,200 on fixed and floating pontoons
Dry storage	approximately 500 boats
Maximum draught	5,5 m
VHF channel	69
Power	220 and 380 V at all berths
Technology	Travellifts 75 t and 65 t, mobile cranes 60 t and 45 t
Fuel	Fuel station in the marina
Operator	D-Marin
Phone	+30 26610 99500
Website	d-marin.com

Besides a fuel station, supermarket, showers and launderette, the marina has restaurants, cafés, a pool with catering, Wi-Fi and sports facilities, including a cricket pitch. Electricity, water and security service are available round the clock; the marina is monitored by cameras and security personnel. Car, scooter and boat hire is also available on site.

What is the weather like on Corfu for sailing?

In summer the weather around Corfu is usually stable, with moderate winds that can change markedly during the course of the day.

What looks like light winds in Gouvia Bay or beneath the fortress can be different out in the channel between Corfu and the mainland. If you are sailing along as crew for the first time, a summer date gives you the period with generally stable weather. How the wind blows on your trip days is shown by the current marine weather forecast; in strong winds a day may occasionally become a harbour day. An overview of the wind systems is provided in the article on main winds in the Mediterranean.

What sailing destinations lie near Corfu?

From Corfu you head north into the narrow channel towards Kassiopi or south towards Paxos and the mainland coast. The distances are rounded nautical distances over water on the usual course from Gouvia Marina; for precise planning the chart applies. If you start from the Old Fortress, the distances southwards become roughly 4 nm shorter and those northwards roughly 2 to 3 nm longer.

Destination	over water from Gouvia Marina	Note
Corfu Town (Old Fortress)	about 5 nm	Mandraki and NAOK
Benitses	around 10 nm	east coast heading south
Kassiopi	about 12 nm	through the narrow northern part of the channel
Petriti	around 16 nm	east coast, towards the southern tip
Sivota (mainland)	around 25 nm	across the channel to the mainland coast
Erikousa	around 28 nm	round the northern tip of Corfu
Lakka (Paxos)	about 30 nm	north coast of Paxos
Gaios (Paxos)	around 34 nm	main town of Paxos

Southwards, a week's trip leads for example via Petriti and the mainland coast near Sivota to Paxos and Antipaxos and back. Northwards you reach Kassiopi and the small Diapontian Islands with Erikousa off the northwest coast.

Further south in the Ionian Sea we present the Marina Preveza , and on the other side of Greece the Alimos Marina near Athens.

What can you do ashore in Corfu?

The most important destination is the Old Town of Corfu with its two fortresses: on foot from Mandraki and NAOK, or accessible by bus or taxi from Gouvia Marina. For the Achilleion you need a hire car or taxi.

• Corfu Old Town: The fortified harbour town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. Its appearance is shaped by the fortresses of Venetian master builders, later rebuilt under British rule.
• Old Fortress and Spianada: The fortress from the 15th century stands on a rocky promontory at the eastern edge of the Old Town, between Mandraki in the north and NAOK in the south. In front of it lies the Spianada, a wide square from Venetian times, with the arcades of the Liston on the town side.
• New Fortress: The second fortress lies at the western edge of the Old Town above the town harbour. The Venetians greatly expanded it in the 16th century.
• Venetian shipyard in Gouvia: The Venetians built the shipyard in 1716 as part of their defence against the Ottomans; it was abandoned in 1798. The remains lie in the village of Gouvia on the bay.
• Achilleion: The palace in the village of Gastouri, roughly ten kilometres south of the town, was built by Empress Elisabeth of Austria around 1890. Later Emperor Wilhelm II used it as a summer residence.

For skippers: Mooring, formalities and marine weather in Corfu

Channel 16 is the emergency and calling channel; for Gouvia Marina itself you use channel 69.

Registration and berthing in Gouvia Marina

• Before entering: call the marina on Channel 69 or by telephone and wait for instructions. You will also be told which pontoon you are on and how to make fast there. You do not choose a free berth yourself.
• After making fast: register at the office. You should bring the boat's registration, proof of insurance and the owner's or skipper's ID or passport.
• If available, you also present the transit log or Greek vignette and a power of attorney from the owner if you are not the owner yourself.

Formalities in Greece

Customs, the harbour office and harbour police are represented at Gouvia Marina.

For private sports boats over seven metres and for commercial yachts, the monthly yacht fee TEPAI (Greek ΤΕΠΑΗ) is due in Greek waters. It is 16 to 33 euros per month for boats up to twelve metres, above that 8 euros per metre of length per month, and is paid in advance via the portal of the Greek tax authorities (as of October 2026). Details can be found in the FAQs of the tax authority AADE (in Greek).

Commercial charter contracts have been recorded since 2026 via a state online platform of the Greek Ministry of Shipping. For everyone on board: keep your ID ready to hand. Binding information on papers and notifications is given by the harbour office Corfu.

In the channel between Corfu and the mainland

The channel is wide in the south; in the north near Kassiopi it becomes narrow. There the Albanian coast is within sight. Albania is not part of the Schengen area, so for a visit there, departure and entry formalities apply.

Boatyard and winter storage

Gouvia Marina offers maintenance and repair, a slipway, two travellifts for 75 and 65 tonnes, two mobile cranes and dry storage for around 500 boats in winter.

Which marine weather forecast applies around Corfu?

The authoritative forecast is the marine weather report from the Greek weather service EMY. You receive it via Greek coast radio on VHF, via NAVTEX and on the marine weather page of the weather service.

Greek coast radio stations broadcast weather reports for shipping in English and partly in Greek, and announce them beforehand on VHF channel 16. For NAVTEX, the automatic reception of weather and warning messages on board, one of the three Greek transmitters is on Corfu itself; the other two are on Limnos and Crete. Gale warnings are broadcast immediately after issue. Get the report before setting out, especially before heading north into the narrow part of the channel or south across the open stretch to Paxos.

Trips from Corfu on Törnfinder

In October 2026 there are 52 trip dates on Törnfinder in the next twelve months with departure or destination in Corfu. Most start in August, May and July; typically eight days on board. The trips come from five providers, sailed on monohulls and catamarans. An overview of the sailing area can be found at Sailing in the Ionian Sea, trips in all Greek sailing areas under Sailing in Greece. All current offers are listed in the trip overview.

Frequently asked questions

Is NAOK Marina the same as Mandraki?

No. Both harbours lie at the Old Fortress in Corfu Town, but on different sides: Mandraki on the north side, NAOK south of it in Garitsa Bay. Mandraki is the harbour of the Corfu sailing club, NAOK that of the Nautical Sports Club of Corfu.

How do I get from Corfu airport to my harbour?

Quickest by taxi; to Gouvia Marina it is around 15 minutes. By city bus you take line 15 to San Rocco Square: from there you walk to the Old Fortress or change to line 7 to Gouvia Marina.

Where do I park at the trip start in Corfu?

At Gouvia Marina in the outdoor car park of the marina.

Which is the largest marina in Corfu?

Gouvia Marina. It has around 1,200 berths and space for about 500 boats ashore.

How far is Gouvia Marina from Corfu Town?

By road around six kilometres, by water to the Old Fortress around 5 nautical miles. To the town you go by bus line 7 or by taxi.

Can you berth a yacht in Corfu Town?

Yes, in the two club harbours Mandraki and NAOK at the Old Fortress, but only on enquiry with the club. The city harbour is primarily a ferry and cruise harbour.