Getting ashore
Cruise ships berth at the New Port . From the ship to the passenger terminal is often a 5–10 minute walk. Many ships run a free shuttle for that hop. The ship’s notice names the coach stop, and where it picks up for the ride back to the gangway. Inside you will find car-rental desks and a large duty-free shop. You are not in the Old Town yet.
Watch-outs
Outside the terminal, the first taxi queue is for island tours. Walk further down that line for a car that will take a short ride into town. The Old Town lanes are cobbled and narrow. A fast walk there is hard on the feet. Spianada square and the way up to the Old Fortress are open to the sun, with little shade at midday. Take water if you will be out on that ground.
Getting into Corfu Town
The Old Town is about 3 km from the terminal, 20–30 minutes on foot. Leave the terminal to the left and stay by the water the whole way. That path is long and mostly in the sun. Bus 16 or 17 leaves from the port parking lot about every 15 minutes. The ride is about 10 minutes. Pay the driver about €1.70. It drops you at the town entrance, near Spilia , a short walk from the other buses. Ask the driver for the free map. A day ticket for more town buses is about €5. A ship shuttle and the taxis outside are the other way in.
Taxis & ride apps
Corfu Taxi has an office at the cruise port and takes a booking before you land. Uber Taxi also lists Corfu. A taxi into town is about €10 each way. The ship shuttle into town is about €8 a person, so a group may prefer one taxi. Agree the fare before the car moves. The rank is outside the terminal, not beside the gangway. On the way back, name the New Port cruise terminal.
What to do nearby
From the town entrance, walk the Old Town lanes out to Spianada square and the Liston arcades . Liston is the row of cafés along one side of the square. The Old Fortress is the headland beyond it. The New Fortress stands on the far side of town, above the old harbour. You can see both forts from the waterfront without a ticket. Going inside the Old Fortress is a separate climb. This loop stays in town.
Going further
A beach or a village means a second bus, and that bus leaves from town, not from the ship. Blue buses cover Corfu Town and the nearby coast. Green buses cover the rest of the island. Bus 7 is a blue bus toward Dasia , about every 20 minutes, and about every 30 minutes on Sundays. The beach is a long strip beside the village, and the sea there is calm. Paleokastritsa is a green-bus ride the other way, and it takes much more of the day.
Food & shopping
In the Old Town lanes, small shops stand one after another. Look for kumquat sweets and liqueur, made from the local fruit, and for olive-wood spoons and small carvings. Jewellery, leather, carpets and ceramics are in the same streets. Cafés sit between the shops. A specialist shop may close after lunch and open again later. A tourist shop on a busy lane often stays open through the day in summer. Eat in these lanes. The terminal duty-free is not a lunch stop.
Opening times & connectivity
Public offices are generally open Monday to Friday, 08:00–14:00. Many retail shops use a split day, 09:00–13:30 and 17:00–21:00, and Saturday morning until 14:00. Supermarkets run longer, to 21:00 on weekdays and 18:00 on Saturday. These hours are about the usual pattern. The cruise terminal has free Wi-Fi. It slows when many crew are online. Crew return earlier than passengers, so the link is often better in that last half hour. Greek is the local language, and English is widely spoken. For emergencies, call 112.
Accessibility & mobility
The Old Town lanes are narrow, with uneven stone underfoot, and the Old Fortress adds slopes and steps. Neither is a reliable wheelchair route. The waterfront walk from the terminal is long, exposed, and not step-free. Ask the ship about the gangway and the free shuttle from the berth to the terminal. For town, book a car that can take a wheelchair, and give the New Port terminal as the return address. A short line on a map does not mean a flat path.