Ipsos is one of the liveliest resorts on Corfu, stretching out along one kilometre of pebbly but gently shelving beach. Ipsos offers a huge selection of eateries; tavernas and gyros bars vie for space with English fooderies, the Chinese, the Indian, Italian and the discos, bars and nightclubs.

Seeing Ipsos of an early morning and when the waters are still, you would be forgiven for thinking you were holidaying on a lake, as the natural curve of the bay of Ipsos is flanked by Mount Pandokrator, the distant hills of the Greek mainland and Albania and the plain of Pyrgi. The waters are clean; Ipsos was awarded a European Blue Flag this year.

Sounds good eh? But wait until the bars pump out the latest tunes until 5am and the resort becomes overrun with British and Italian tourists. On a bad night, driving that 'Golden Mile' of Ipsos will take you twenty minutes, it is so packed.

Dassia takes its name from the Greek word for 'forest', it is easy to see why some of the earliest (and at that time wealthiest) tourist development began here.

Backed by dense olive groves and lower hill woodland, the resort has grown into another strip development, between the old woods and the pebbly beach.

Dominated by the two large hotels, Dassia does have a range of excellent water sports. That, and the beach-fronted gardens (usable to sunbathe in for a fee) belonging to the afore said hotels.

Kassiopi has managed to retain some charm, as resorts go, by virtue of the fact that it has a natural harbour (I like harbours!!!) which is still home to the local fishermen.

Kassiopi was a thriving settlement in Roman times and by the Byzantine era even rivalled Corfu Town in terms of trading and strategic importance.

The ever growing and ever British resort is watched over by the now-ruined thirteenth century fortress.

Built originally by the Angevins, the fortress was destroyed by the Venetians in a bid to prevent its subsequent seizure by rival rulers.

Sidari has a superb gentle-shelving sandy beach and its striking limestone rock formation at the western end (known as the Canal d'Amour) but is new purpose-built resort.

Building continues everywhere, sprouting from colourful fields. English bars prevail and the good old Greek tavernas offer a plethora of Sunday Roasts.

Paleokastritsa, or Paleo as it is affectionately known, is by far the prettiest of the tourist resorts on Corfu.

As one of the island's great beauty spots, Paleo is endowed with five horse-shoe shaped bays (one of which acts as a harbour) with crystal clear, turquoise waters with a backdrop of pine and olive clad mountains.

Watched over by the elegant Monastery of the Virgin Mary, Paleokastritsa ('the little castle') gets packed to the gills with day-trippers in the summer, so whilst it is undeniably beautiful, if you want to get away.

Agios Gordis, another pleasant enough resort on the western side of Corfu, has a fine sandy beach and is backed by fertile hills and farming communities.

The one road leading through the resort to the beach has a good selection of Greek eateries including a snack bar offering vegetarian pittas and a few low key bars.

The resort gets busy during the summer months and is particularly popular with backpackers staying at the Pink Palace.

Nice little out of the way resort in a very peaceful setting. There is little in Maltas itself but a few shops and tavernas, but you can get evrrything you need. The huge sandy beach and the surrounding area are a great place to explore if you are into walking and wildlife.

Kavos, stretching out along what must have been a glorious beach, is best avoided by anyone wanting a Greek Holiday.

British beer on tap, discos open until 6am and typically non-Greek food is what the resort offers.

Kavos was the base for the recent british docusoap, Greece Uncovered, and if you have seen that you will know that Kavos is the place to party on Corfu.