Intro

At the end of September-beginning of October, we hiked the Corfu Trail from south to north in about 9 days.

We had initially planned to do it in 11 days, but after the first two days on the trail we tweaked the plan a bit and moved some of our stopover points further along, shortening next day’s stage.

Below you’ll find some useful details, but also a subjective take on the whole experience, so I can’t promise it will be the same for you if you get to Corfu and want to hike the trail.

Some general info

Length: 200-220 km (realistically you’ll cover about 250 km, with the detours you end up making)

Time: between 9-12 days

Difficulty: medium

We couldn’t decide between the Apsyrtos Trail (Croatia) and the Corfu Trail (Greece), but we ended up choosing the latter mainly because there are far more permanently inhabited villages along the entire length of the trail. Another important reason was that there’s a direct flight from Bucharest to Corfu.

Useful info

Our plan was to leave the accommodation every morning at around 8:30 and get on the trail.

Then stop for a coffee break within the next hour. Ideally find a coffee after leaving the accommodation, so we don’t have to detour too much. That way we got breakfast and coffee after being on the move already.

A snack around 11:00-12:00: date bars, salty snacks, maybe a spinach pie bought the day before, fruit.

And then around 14:00-15:00 reach the next village where we have a hearty lunch and then head to the accommodation. The rest of the day was left for wandering around the village, maybe the beach, a little beer, that kind of thing.

There were 2 longer days where we actually got to the accommodation around 17:00-17:30, but otherwise our plan worked out pretty well.

Map

The trail is fairly well documented online, you can find articles about it and stories from other people who’ve hiked it, but it was hard to find an official map.

Pretty much every site I came across had a picture of a map and not a map you can download and upload to your phone.

After searching a few times, I couldn’t find a GPX map I could download with the complete trail. What I did find was the map on OpenStreetMaps (Corfu Trail) which I then converted to GPX and uploaded to MyMaps in Google Maps so I could use it on my phone.

So God bless the people who maintain that map on OpenStreetMaps, it matched perfectly with what was on the ground.

That’s why below I’ve also embedded the map with the route, which you can use directly in Google Maps.

Below you have the map of the route with different elements:

  • the entire route (purple)
  • the accommodations we had (blue)
  • restaurants/cafĂŠs where we ended up (green)
  • some of the detours we made, mostly because of accommodations that weren’t right on the trail (blue)

Direct link to the map

Important:

  • you need an offline map on your phone. There were at least 5 moments when we would have gone in the wrong direction because the markings were missing at some crossroads, and when I say roads I’m being very generous, because these are some paths very hard to make out, that no one has walked on in a while. It’s not an incredibly popular trail. In 9 days we met 6 people who were actually hiking it.

Markings

And that brings us to the markings.

The trail is marked with an arrow-type symbol, half black, half yellow, with a CT (Corfu Trail) on it. In some places it may be white and black because the sun has faded the yellow. And on the ground, here and there, a stripe of yellow paint.

You have to be really careful to spot some of these markings. Not all stages are equally well marked and some signs appear after certain intersections, although it would have been more useful to have them before.

Overall it’s not that bad, as long as you have a map loaded on your phone. But if you rely on the trail markings only, there are stages where it will get quite tricky.

The first day, for example, I think is the worst marked, even the starting point wasn’t clearly visible because sitting in the sun, the writing had literally faded away.

Then the stage from Benitses to Pelekas I think is another one that had way too few markings compared to how many it needed.

Terrain

The terrain is very varied: forest paths, paved paths along the hillsides, beaches, cliffs, olive groves, steep climbs, road.

No two days will be the same, and not even a single day will look the same from start to finish. The landscape changes several times as you cross the island from east to west and back to the east.

Also, a few days will be much harder than others, because you go down and up all day long. Just when you think the climb is over and you start descending, after a while you end up climbing again. These are:

  • Paramonas to Benitses
  • Benitses to Pelekas
  • Paleokastritsa to Valanio

Villages

The trail passes through several villages. Each day you’ll leave one village and arrive in another, with a few more along the way.

Some of them might be very small and you just pass through, there’s nothing to do there; in others you can stop for a coffee, a snack, a short rest.

The main idea is that you’ll meet people and villages.

The stages with the fewest villages are:

  • Pelekas to Paleokastritsa
  • Valanio to Ipsos

For these, make sure you have water and some snacks until you reach ‘civilization’.

Accommodation

We booked the first 2 nights of accommodation before leaving, and the rest we booked as we went along.

That’s also how we were able to change our plan from 11 days to 9 days in total.

I don’t think you’ll have a problem finding accommodation for a night, but it might not be right on the trail.

Because the trail often passes through tourist resorts, they’re quite busy and it’s harder to find something for just one night.

For example, we couldn’t find accommodation in Paramonas, at least not at a decent price, because everything was booked, so we had to make a detour to Ag. Mattheos and stay there.

A similar situation in Benitses, where you have to descend from the trail about 3-4 km to the resort and then come back the next day. In that area there are very few accommodations right on the trail.

I’d say that if you want to find accommodation right on the trail, with minimal deviation from it, then you need to book ahead. If you don’t mind making a detour, as we did in a few cases, then you can book your accommodation 2 days in advance and you’ll find a spot.

On average it was around 62 euros/night, and at two of them we had a washing machine.

Important:

  • plan the days for which you want a washing machine at the accommodation and look for one that has it.
  • September - October
  • April - May

Even in September - October it was hot on some days and not pleasant at all to walk in open fields.

I can’t see how you could do the trail in summer and actually enjoy it.

Gear

We had:

  • trekking shoes
  • technical t-shirts and tops (not cotton)
  • rain jackets (which we didn’t need)
  • shorts and long pants (not cotton)
  • technical socks
  • sun hat
  • 35-liter backpacks
  • 2-3 liters of water/day
  • powerbank. There will be areas with no signal and your phone battery will drain pretty quickly. Plus it’s handy to be able to leave in the morning without worrying whether your phone is charged or not.

Optional:

  • trekking poles. They could be very useful on some days with a lot of climbing and descending.
  • swimsuit

Food

A few things specific to the island that you shouldn’t miss:

  • anything with kumquat (fig bar with kumquat, liqueur, ice cream, pastry)
  • pastitsada
  • sofrito
  • bourdeto
  • stifado
  • courgette balls

Day 1: Kavos to Lefkimmi

The evening before, we landed in Corfu and took a coach from there to Kavos, the ride took about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Kavos looks like a party resort, with karaoke, cheap drinks and loud music everywhere. Get accommodation further away from the main street if you want to be rested when the trail starts.

You eat well at The Rose Tree, we stayed at Metaxa Apartments but a bit too noisy because of the partygoers around.

The trail starts near The Rose Tree, you get into a forest pretty quickly and head towards the Cape Asprokavos viewpoint, then past an abandoned monastery, another stretch of forest and then you come out on the beach.

You walk the whole beach and then the climbing begins. It was a surprise, I wasn’t expecting that much uphill on the first day, especially after the beach section.

After you get past the climb beyond the beach, the road is fairly flat all the way to Lefkimmi. As it’s the first day, it might seem harder.

Accommodation Lefkimmi: Ina’s Apartments

Restaurant Lefkimmi: Ladokolla

Day 2: Lefkimmi to Agios Giorgios

This day seemed easier to me than the first, maybe also because I knew what to expect by now, but there was nothing hard about it.

The only downside might be that we didn’t find any coffee on the way until we reached Agios Giorgios and we didn’t want to make a detour. So if you want coffee, grab it when leaving Lefkimmi.

You pass through many olive groves, you’ll see lots of wild olive trees that are incredibly tall. I for one had no idea they could grow that tall.

In these groves we also met the first people who were doing the trail, and among the few we’d meet along the entire route.

When you start descending towards the beach at Agios Giorgios, it’s very beautiful, and then there’s a long stretch where you walk on the road at beach level.

Accommodation Agios Giorgios: Ionian Boutique Apartments

Restaurant Agios Giorgios: Spiros on the Beach and Rouvelas taverna.

Day 3: Agios Giorgios to Paramonas

The day starts with a climb over the sand dunes out of Agios Giorgios, and then along the Korission lagoon, where with a bit of luck you can also spot some flamingos.

I recommend leaving in the morning, at or before sunrise, because you’ll have the sun at your back for the whole dune section and the whole spit of land you walk on until you start going through villages and areas with trees.

Although this part seems and is somewhat flat, part of the trail goes through sand and it’s harder to move fast, and then after you reach Chalikounas you start climbing gently and the tiredness catches up with you. You’ll see a few very beautiful villas and holiday homes around here.

You definitely have to stop at Mitera, it’s a very old olive tree that has become a tourist attraction.

From there it’s not much left to Paramonas, you walk along the road for this stretch.

We didn’t have any luck finding accommodation there, so we carried on to Ag. Mattheos, on the other side of the mountain. Honestly, it was worth going all the way there. Very charming village.

Accommodation Ag. Mattheos: Vitos Village House. A bit pricey, but we needed a washing machine and hadn’t found anything else.

Restaurant Ag. Mattheos: George & Elena’s Taverna

Day 4: Paramonas to Benitses

After making our way back from Ag. Mattheos to Paramonas, we descended towards the beach hoping to find a coffee there. No, you won’t find any coffee, because nothing opens before 11.

So if you’re leaving Paramonas, don’t head down to the beach for coffee, because you’ll have to climb back up without coffee in your system.

The road is mostly through olive groves and forests, you’re not exposed to the sun for too long, which is good. Coffee break in Stroggili, about another 2 hours’ walk from here to Benitses.

As you start climbing in the second part of the day, you can see Ag. Mattheos behind you, at the foot of the mountain, and on the other side you get a good view towards Benitses from up high all the way to Corfu.

You leave the trail to descend towards Benitses. You should be left with enough time after arrival to go for a meal and then hit the beach.

Accommodation Benitses: Fiorado. Not the best, quite noisy, it’s right on the road, not very clean.

Restaurant Benitses: Rebombo Grill

Day 5: Benitses to Pelekas

Before leaving Benitses, go catch the sunrise on the beach.

This is one of the harder days. If the first 4 were easier, this one definitely has the most climbing so far.

You’ll get to Pelekas with the thought of devouring everything you find on the menu.

You climb quite a lot, you get near that Radar point, you pass through several small but very nice-looking villages. Something that in the southern part of the island, in the first 4 days, wasn’t so common. Now you gradually move into the northern part of the island and the villages start to look better, fewer abandoned or neglected houses.

And again we had no luck finding accommodation right in Pelekas, so we walked another 30-40 minutes to our accommodation, after stopping in Pelekas for lunch.

Accommodation Pelekas: Villa Myrto. Decent, close to the trail.

Restaurant Pelekas: Jimmy’s Restaurant

Day 6: Pelekas to Paleokastritsa

A tough day this one too, that’s why we made two coffee stops.

You walk on the road for a while, then you enter the forest, then olive groves and then you start seeing the coast and the sea.

There’s a stretch that can mislead you: on the beach in Liapades you have to walk all the way to the end of the beach and then scramble up the rock to continue the trail. It’s not visible until you get right next to the rock on the right side of the beach, only then do you see the sign.

Liapades beach is very beautiful and you could stop there, but if you walk a bit further until you reach your destination in Paleokastritsa, you have plenty of beaches to choose from. Agios Spiridon Beach is one of them.

Accommodation Paleokastritsa: Paleo Inn. Very good accommodation.

Restaurant Paleokastritsa: Petrino Garden

Day 7: Paleokastritsa to Valanio

Normally, the recommendation for this stage is to walk to Agios Giorgios Pagon, but we wanted to shorten the days spent on the trail. So we found accommodation in Valanio, right on the trail, but we also covered part of the next day’s stage to get there.

The idea was: a hard day to Valanio, an easy day to Ipsos after that, so we’d be rested for the last day from Ipsos to Arachavi (which included the climb up Mount Pantokratoras).

Note: when leaving Paleokastritsa, stop by Bakalokafenio, it’s on the trail, very good coffee and pastries.

I think this was the hardest day of them all. Because of the serpentines, the distance was longer than it looks on the map, and then the elevation changes did us in. The old story where you climb 400 meters, then descend 300, then climb 400 again and so on until Valanio.

And because Valanio is very small and we didn’t want to risk not finding food, especially since we were starving, we made a ‘small’ detour and walked to Family Taverna Paradise. Honestly, it was a good call: the food hit the spot, very nice place with a garden, the only downside is that you walk about 4 km there and back in total, on a road without a sidewalk.

Accommodation Valanio: Little village house

Restaurant Valanio: Family Taverna Paradise

Day 8: Valanio to Ipsos

We left Valanio towards Sokraki, the target being Emily’s cafe. Sokraki is small but very charming, the café is right in the middle of a tiny square. They had an insane walnut cake. 10/10, highly recommended.

From there it’s a long stretch towards Ipsos, very little elevation change, it’s one of the easy days.

That goes on until you reach the serpentines you have to descend towards Ipsos, about 6 km. Another case where it doesn’t look like much on the map, but in reality the distance is longer.

Even so, I think we got to the accommodation around 13:00, with the rest of the day free for relaxing, the beach, and getting ready for the last serious climb on day 9.

Accommodation Ipsos: MGI Apartments

Restaurant Ipsos: Als

Day 9: Ipsos to Arachavi

We left early because we had to climb the 6 km of serpentines again to get back on the trail.

At 9 we were back where we had left the trail, right when the bar/cafĂŠ was opening. Breakfast + coffee and a view before starting the rest of the climb up Pantokratoras.

Honestly, the climb wasn’t that hard. And when you get up on the plateau it’s very beautiful: bushes, rocks, you can see the summit, you also come across goats.

You skirt the mountain near the summit and then start descending towards Old Peritheia, a ghost village that has started coming back to life through the places opened for tourists. It’s the perfect spot for a break, a meal and an ice cream, before the last stretch to Arachavi.

I think we got to Liberty’s Studios around 16:00-17:00, so we didn’t carry on to the end towards Agios Spiridon Beach and left that stretch for the next day.

In Arachavi we didn’t go into the town itself, but stayed in the area of villas and guesthouses to the right of the beach, so we’d be as close to the trail as possible.

Note: a mosquito repellent spray is recommended here, I’ve never seen swarms of mosquitoes like there in the evening. And even now, just thinking about it, I feel like something is biting me.

Accommodation Arachavi: Liberty’s Studios

Restaurant Arachavi: Taverna Avra

Day 10: Arachavi to Agios Spiridon Beach

A few kilometers were left for the last day, not more than two hours of walking.

Same tip as the evening before: use some spray against the mosquitoes before you reach Agios Spiridon Beach.

This last stretch is very beautiful, again a landscape that completely changes from where you start by the beach. I think this was one of the pleasant surprises along the whole trail, how much the landscape changes over just a few kilometers.

The trail ends without any kind of sign, without a message, so that’s a bit disappointing, but I wasn’t expecting much after seeing the rest of the trail. It would be nice to at least have a sign at the end saying you’ve arrived where you should and this is the finish.

From here we carried on on foot to Kassiopi. I recommend taking a bus, we didn’t manage to catch one at that moment. It’s not the distance that’s the problem, it’s the fact that you walk along the side of the road and it’s not pleasant at all when cars pass by, although the scenery is beautiful in some spots.

Bonus: Kassiopi

If you want to relax after finishing the trail, I recommend going to Kassiopi. It’s below the end point of the trail, I’d say it’s a hidden gem of a town.

Very beautiful, good food, bars, beaches, a stroll around the Byzantine castle (well, it’s a bit of a ruin, but the promenade is nice), boat trips, whatever you want, but very much on the relaxing side.

Note: you can find draft cider at Angelos Bar

I really loved it there, somehow like a moment of respite after all the previous days.

And from Kassiopi you can take a bus straight to Corfu town.

Accommodation Kassiopi: Sunflower Apartments & Studios

Restaurant Kassiopi: Casiopia Greek Taverna, 7 Grill Gyros & Souvlaki, Angelos Bar (for draft cider), Nicolas Bakery