Corfu: the Corfu Trail, Pantokrator and the West Coast

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Corfu Town

   Corfu Airport to your hotel in Corfu's old town

   • Environ 12 min de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Corfu Town
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Corfu Airport (CFU), only about 3 km from the old town, and plan to land by about 4 pm (the exact latest arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary). A driver meets you in arrivals for the ten-minute ride to the hotel, at the edge of the old town. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the week: how the walking days work, where the van meets you, and what to carry. Then we walk out together as the evening cools. Corfu's old town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was shaped by four centuries of Venetian rule and then by the French and British: the arcades of the Liston, the Spianada, one of the largest squares in Greece, the lanes of the Kantounia and the church of Agios Spyridon, the island's patron saint. Dinner is a welcome meal of Corfiot dishes such as pastitsada and sofrito at a taverna in the old town.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Corfu Airport (CFU)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk of the old town: the Liston, the Spianada, the Kantounia lanes and Agios Spyridon
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the evening briefing

   Activité : The evening walk is about 1.5 hours on flat paving.

   

2. Jour 2 : The Old Fortress, then the Korission Lagoon

   Corfu Town to Gardiki Castle and the Korission Lagoon, then Lefkimmi

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Lefkimmi
   Détail du jour 2

   We start at the Old Fortress at about 8:30, while the walls are cool and the town is still quiet. The Venetians cut a sea channel to turn the headland into an island; from the top of the citadel you look over the old town's rooftops to the mainland mountains of Epirus. At about 10:30 the van takes us south, about 45 minutes, to the ruined Byzantine castle of Gardiki, its octagonal walls standing in olive groves. From here we join the Corfu Trail down to the Korission Lagoon, a long saltwater lagoon cut off from the sea by a bar of dunes, juniper and cedar. We walk along the sandy shore and through the dunes for about three hours, with herons and egrets in the reed beds, and stop for a swim if the sea is calm. Lunch is at a taverna near the lagoon, then it is about 30 minutes to Lefkimmi, the quiet farming town of the south, for the night.

   Compris

   • The Old Fortress of Corfu (entry included)
   • Gardiki Castle
   • Corfu Trail walk from Gardiki along the Korission Lagoon and its dunes
   • Lunch near the lagoon

   Option plus facile : Walk the first hour from Gardiki to the lagoon shore, then ride with the van to the lunch stop.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free in Lefkimmi

   Activité : About 8 to 10 km, 3 hours, flat but on soft sand in places. Bring swimwear and sun cream. If the Old Fortress opens late or is closed that day, we visit it on the afternoon of day 1 instead, or end day 8 there for guests on later flights.

   

3. Jour 3 : The start of the trail, then north to Kassiopi

   Lefkimmi to Kavos, Arkoudilas and the Lefkimmi salt pans, then Kassiopi

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kassiopi
   Détail du jour 3

   The Corfu Trail begins at the southern tip of the island, and so do we. A short drive takes us to Kavos, and from the edge of the resort a path climbs through woods to the ruined monastery of Arkoudilas on the cliffs of Cape Asprokavos, with the sea on three sides and Paxos on the horizon. We walk the cliff path and back through olive groves, about 2.5 to 3 hours. Then, on flat tracks, we visit the Lefkimmi salt pans, a protected wetland where you may see herons, waders and, in some springs, flamingos. Lunch is at a fish taverna in Lefkimmi or the nearby harbour of Boukari. In the afternoon the van takes us north past Corfu Town to Kassiopi, about 75 km and two hours with a coffee stop, so you arrive by about 5 pm; with the morning run to Kavos, the day's driving adds up to about two and a half hours. It is the longest drive of the trip, and there is no bag move for the next two days.

   Compris

   • Corfu Trail walk from Kavos to Arkoudilas monastery and Cape Asprokavos
   • The Lefkimmi salt pans
   • Lunch in Lefkimmi or Boukari
   • Transfer to Kassiopi

   Option plus facile : Skip the cliff walk and join the group at the salt pans, an hour on flat tracks.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Kassiopi

   Activité : About 6 to 8 km, 2.5 to 3 hours, with one short climb to the monastery. The drive north is about 2 hours; the whole day has about 2.5 hours in the van.

4. Jour 4 : Over Pantokrator to Old Perithia

   Kassiopi to Spartylas, then on foot to Strinilas, the Pantokrator summit and Old Perithia

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kassiopi
   Détail du jour 4

   This is the big walking day. The van leaves Kassiopi at about 8:15 for Spartylas, about 40 minutes away, a village on the mountain's east flank with a view down to the sea. From there we follow old mule paths and the Corfu Trail up through holm oak and olive terraces to Strinilas, about two hours, for an early lunch at a village taverna in the shade. The climb continues on a stony track to the summit of Pantokrator, Corfu's highest point at about 906 m, with its monastery and a view over the whole north of the island to the mountains of Albania across the strait. Then it is down a quiet path to Old Perithia, a village of Venetian-era stone houses that was almost abandoned in the 20th century and now has a handful of tavernas open again. A cold drink in the square, then the van takes us back to Kassiopi, about 25 minutes, by about 4:30 to 5 pm.

   Compris

   • Corfu Trail and mule-path walk from Spartylas to Strinilas, the Pantokrator summit and Old Perithia
   • Pantokrator monastery
   • Lunch in Strinilas
   • Drink in Old Perithia

   Option plus facile : Ride with the van to Strinilas for lunch with the group, then to the summit by road, and walk the last hour downhill to Old Perithia, or ride there too.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Kassiopi

   Activité : About 12 to 14 km, 5 to 6 hours with stops, about 600 m up and 450 m down on stony tracks. Bring a warm layer for the summit and two litres of water.

   

5. Jour 5 : The trail's northern end, then a free afternoon

   Kassiopi to Old Perithia, then on foot to Agios Spyridon and the Antinioti lagoon

   • Environ 42 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kassiopi
   Détail du jour 5

   Shorter than day 4, though still 6 to 7 km on foot. The van takes us back up to Old Perithia at about 9 am, when the village is still quiet, and we walk the last stretch of the Corfu Trail downhill through olive groves and scrub to the sea at Agios Spyridon, the trail's northern end, about two and a half hours. Behind the beach is the Antinioti lagoon, a small reed-fringed wetland, and we walk its edge before a swim and a long lunch at a beach taverna. Strong walkers can continue east along the coast path to Kassiopi, about two more hours past coves and headlands; everyone else rides back in the van by about 2:30. The afternoon is yours: a swim off the rocks below Kassiopi's ruined Angevin castle, a walk round the harbour, or a rest after yesterday.

   Compris

   • Corfu Trail walk from Old Perithia to Agios Spyridon, the trail's northern end
   • The Antinioti lagoon
   • Lunch at Agios Spyridon

   Option plus facile : Ride with the van to Agios Spyridon and meet the walkers on the beach for a swim and lunch.

   Option plus active : Continue on the coast path from Agios Spyridon to Kassiopi, about 7 km and 2 more hours, with the guide.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Kassiopi

   Activité : About 6 to 7 km, 2.5 hours, mostly downhill on stony tracks.

   

6. Jour 6 : Afionas, Angelokastro and down to Paleokastritsa

   Kassiopi to Afionas, then Krini, Angelokastro and on foot through Lakones to Paleokastritsa

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Paleokastritsa
   Détail du jour 6

   We pack and leave at about 8:30 for the north-west, about an hour and a quarter by Roda and Sidari to Afionas, a hill village on a narrow headland. A path runs out along the ridge and down to Porto Timoni, two small beaches back to back on either side of a spit, about an hour and a half there and back. Lunch is in Afionas, looking down over the bay of Agios Georgios. In the afternoon the van takes us round by Agios Georgios to Krini, about 35 minutes, and we walk out to Angelokastro, the Byzantine castle on a crag about 300 m above the sea that held out against several sieges; from its top chapel you see the whole west coast. From here the Corfu Trail drops through Lakones, where the terraces look straight down onto the coves of Paleokastritsa, and on down old paths to the bay, about two and a half hours. We check in to the hotel where we stay two nights.

   Compris

   • Afionas headland walk to Porto Timoni
   • Lunch in Afionas
   • Angelokastro (entry included)
   • Corfu Trail walk from Angelokastro through Lakones to Paleokastritsa

   Option plus facile : Walk only the headland or only Angelokastro, then ride the van to Paleokastritsa.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Paleokastritsa

   Activité : About 11 to 12 km in two walks, 4 to 4.5 hours, with a steep descent from Lakones on stone steps and paths. Walking poles help. Angelokastro opens at about 10 am and closes one weekday (which day is confirmed for each season). If day 6 falls on that day, we walk past the foot of the crag on day 6 and visit the castle on the morning of day 7, about 15 minutes from Paleokastritsa.

   

7. Jour 7 : Sea caves, the monastery and Pelekas

   Paleokastritsa to Pelekas and Glyfada, then back to Paleokastritsa

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Paleokastritsa
   Détail du jour 7

   We walk up to the monastery of Paleokastritsa at opening, before the day-trip coaches: a white monastery on the headland with a small museum of icons and a garden looking down on the coves. Then a small boat from the bay takes us into the sea caves along the cliffs, where the water turns bright blue, about an hour, weather permitting. At about 11 the van takes us south, about 40 minutes, to Pelekas, a hill village above the west coast. We walk up to the Kaiser's Throne, the viewpoint used by Kaiser Wilhelm II, who summered on Corfu, with the island spread out on both sides, then down through olive groves to the long beach at Glyfada, about two hours. Lunch is in Pelekas, and we are back in Paleokastritsa by mid-afternoon for a last swim or a rest. In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner by the bay.

   Compris

   • Paleokastritsa monastery at opening
   • Small-boat trip into the sea caves
   • Walk from Pelekas to the Kaiser's Throne and down to Glyfada
   • Lunch in Pelekas
   • Farewell dinner in Paleokastritsa

   Option plus facile : Stay at the Kaiser's Throne and ride the van down to Glyfada.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Paleokastritsa

   Activité : About 5 km, 2 hours, with a steady descent. If wind stops the cave boats, we go to the Bella Vista terrace at Lakones instead. The monastery asks for covered shoulders and knees.

   

8. Jour 8 : Fly home from Corfu

   Paleokastritsa to Corfu Airport (CFU)

   • Environ 42 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 8

   Breakfast at the hotel, and a last swim in the bay if your flight allows. Corfu Airport (CFU) is about 25 km and 40 minutes from Paleokastritsa, and we drive you there in good time: book a flight leaving after about 11 am, or tell us your time and we arrange the transfer around it. Your guide sees each group off and checks your flight before saying goodbye. If you would like more time on Corfu, ask us about extra nights in the old town of Corfu at the end of the trip, which also gives you time for the museums we only pass on day 1, such as the Museum of Asian Art in the Palace of St Michael and St George. Corfu has direct seasonal flights to much of Europe and year-round connections through Athens.

   Compris

   • Drop-off at Corfu Airport (CFU)

   Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 11 am.

Faune et météo : April and May are the best walking months: green hills, orchids and wildflowers, warm days and a cool sea; a shower is possible, and some hill-village tavernas open only from May. June is warm, so we start the walks early. September and October bring the warmest sea and good walking, with shorter days and the first autumn rain in late October. We avoid July and August, when the heat makes the Pantokrator climb hard work. The Korission Lagoon and the Lefkimmi salt pans draw herons, egrets and, in some springs, flamingos.

• Corfu Town1 nuit
• Lefkimmi1 nuit
• Kassiopi3 nuits
• Paleokastritsa2 nuits