If you like hiking scenic landscapes next to the sea, you’ll love learning about these hikes in Corfu, Greece. I spent a week in Corfu in June 2024 with 4 full days of hiking parts of the Corfu Trail. The other two days, I explored the island by car and boat. This post will share all my photos and details on how to best enjoy hiking and sightseeing on this beautiful Greek island.

I’ll split this post into two parts. First will be hikes I did on the Corfu Trail and the Second part will cover other excursions I did on the Island, including Corfu old town.

Corfu Island is the 7th largest Greek island (597km²/230sq miles, 63km/39 miles long and 28km/17 miles at the widest point). This island is the greenest of all of the greek islands. Tourism is the major industry on Corfu, but the island produces many olives (3% of the world’s olive oil) and kumquats. You will find up to 120 beaches around Corfu Island.

Hiking the Corfu Trail

I booked my hiking tour through TourRadar and GAdventures. We had 9 people in our group, 8 women and one lucky guy from Scotland. The others came from the US, UK, and Switzerland. Our female guide was from Greece and her name was Spyridoula. Full of energy and positivity, she helped motivate us for the four days of hiking and made our Corfu hiking experience very enjoyable.

Our tour only covered some sections of the full Corfu Trail (shown above). The total length of the trail is 150km (93 miles) and could take 10-20 days to complete.

I will describe each of our four hikes.

Day 1: Giannades to Liapades

Stats: 12km, 3.5 hrs, 407m ascent 484m descent

Our first hike of the week started in the small village of Giannades. The path was mostly rolling hills and not too steep at any part. This beautiful trail offered sections of shade with huge olive trees as well as open coastal views.

On each of the walking days, we had a minivan and driver that would take us from our hotel in Corfu town to the start of the hike. As most of the hikes were one way and not loops, the driver would pick us up at the ending point. The driving time from both the start and end points was from 45 minutes to 1 hour.

We would take a snack for a rest stop along the walk and then have lunch at the ending point of the walk. The lunches were always in cute local restaurants with excellent food and service.

Although most of our hiking was on the official Corfu Trail, our guide knew of a special narrow trail that connected the two beaches of Limni and Rovinia. We had to be careful of snakes in the forest but we didn’t see one the whole week.

The best part of this particular walk on a hot day (temps near 30c) was that we had two beach stops along the way to cool off. The water was a clear turquoise color and a mild temperature for the month of June.

We would change into our swimsuits near the beach and go in for a quick dip to cool off. The water felt wonderful!

Day 2: Benitses to Sinarades

Stats: 15km, 4 hrs, 600m ascent 400m descent

My hardest hike of the week started from Benitses on the east coast of the island, up to the golf ball radar hill, and then down the west coast to the village of Sinarades.

There were many cypress trees on this inland hike. However, we only had a few spots covered with shade as most of the trail was exposed to the hot sun (32c on this day). It was critical to stay hydrated throughout the day. I used my convenient camelback (water pouch in my backpack).

There were several lookout points onto the villages in the area and also the sea. We were very happy to complete this challenging hike in the heat!

The highlight of our daily walks was a well deserved lunch. Because the village where we had lunch was also the ending point of the hike, our lunch times were later in the day around 2-3pm. There is nothing better than a cold beer after a rewarding hike. The below pictures show us arriving to the town of Sinarades.

Day 3: Krini to Porto Timoni

Between the first two days of hiking and the last two hiking days, we had a day off to do whatever we wanted. My friends and I decided to do a sailboat cruise to enjoy the water and give our legs a break! See below section to read about this excursion.

Stats: 10km, 3 hrs, 389m ascent 499m descent

The third hike started off by visiting the byzantine Angelokastro (Angel Castle) in the town of Krini. The castle had amazing views of the island’s west coast. It was a short climb to the top of the fortress but definitely worth the views on each side.

A bit of history about this castle… In 1214 Michael I, Komnenos, ruler of Epirus – also known as Michael Angelos – captured Corfu. After his death, his son, Michael II Komnenos, fortified the area by building the castle and named it “Angelokastro” to commemorate his father.

I considered this day’s hike to be fairly easy since most of it was downhill along the coast. After walking through a shady forest, we came onto a wide lookout point. The views from the stone wall path were simply splendid.

As we came onto the beach, we walked to the end to take a small boat for a 5 minute ride from the Agios Georgios beach to Porto Timoni. If you don’t choose this option, it would be a tough climb up to Afionas and then a steep descent to the twin beaches of Porto Timoni. We had a swim break before walking up to the Porto Timoni restaurant.

I have to say I found the two twin beaches at Porto Timoni too small and overcrowded. I guess that is to be expected since this is one of the most popular spots on Corfu Island. Many people were walking down the stoney path to the beach, some with inappropriate footwear and small babies on their back.

The views from the restaurant were fabulous. Once again we had a delicious lunch at the end of our beautiful walk.

Day 4: Kavos to Arkoudilas Beach

Stats: 10km, 3 hrs, 251m ascent 251m descent

Our final hike of the week was in the far south part of the island, starting and ending in the tourist town of Kavos.

We walked first to the Monastery of the Blessed Mary where we saw the ruins of this 17th century monastery.

The best part of this unique hike was walking along the water on the remote Arkoudilas Beach! There was hardly anyone on this beach as it’s not built up with hotels or restaurants. We saw only several straw parasols. This area is also known for being a nudist beach (and yes, we saw some nudists).

When we reached the beach, we walked for a bit and then took a snack break while some of the group went swimming. It was a great day and an awesome way to finish the week of hiking.

After the tough climb from the beach to the top of the cliffs, we continued walking back to Kavos for a cold beer and snacks before the one-hour air-conditioned ride back to our hotel. It was such a convenience having transportation waiting for us at the ending point.

I really enjoyed all the walking routes and am glad that I booked this tour. I had read that the Corfu Trail is not well marked and many people get lost when doing it on their own. We didn’t have to worry about that potential problem with our knowledgable guide, Spryidoula.

Excursions on Corfu Island

Other than hiking in Corfu, there are many activities to enjoy. I did some sightseeing to different locations and a pleasant boat ride on the east coast of the island.

Northwest Corfu Island

My friends and I chose to arrive a day early in Corfu before our tour started. This meant we had a free day before the group meeting in the evening. Unfortunately our luggage did not make the connecting flight and we only received our suitcases two days later! I was forced to buy some simple walking shoes as I had nothing for the first hiking day. That was a lesson learned for the next time!

Renting a car in Corfu

For our first full day on Corfu Island, we decided to rent a car and explore the northwest area. I knew that our tour wouldn’t include certain scenic spots that I wanted to see. The solution was to rent a car and drive one hour northwest of Corfu town.

I found the lowest price for a car (48 euros for the day) at Car 4 You. They delivered the car directly to our hotel in town. The service was excellent and I highly recommend this company.

Canal d’Amour

Our first stop on the northwest coast near the town of Sidari was the Love Canal (called Canal D’Amour). This tourist spot is known for its unusual rock formations and narrow water canals. You’ll find many hotels, restaurants, and cafes in this area to enjoy a drink while you walk around the coastal path.

The myth about the Canal d’Amour is if you swim through the canal with your partner, you’ll be promised eternal love. If a woman swims the entire canal, she will find her perfect man. I’m not sure I believe this legend. In any case, we didn’t swim there but just enjoyed the views.

Cape Drastis

Cape Drastis is a breathtaking natural wonder with white rugged cliffs and turquoise waters. To reach this area, you need to drive to the town of Peroulades and then follow the signs to Cape Drastis.

You will arrive on a dirt road where you can park on the side or in a very small parking area. We had to walk a bit further along the road to see the stunning view from the lookout point. I read that it’s possible to walk down to the water, but we were happy just taking photos from the top.

Afionas

We stopped in this town to attempt to walk down to Porto Timoni Beach, but we quickly found that we didn’t have the right shoes for this steep, rocky path. Plan B was to find a restaurant in town to have lunch, and that we did with a delicious greek salad (had many during the week) and a Mythos local beer.

The village of Afionas is quite small with just a few tourist shops, but it is the starting point for many people to hike down to Porto Timoni. We ended up doing the beach hike with our group a few days later.

Boat Trip from Gouvia Marina

Another excursion we did during the week on our free day from hiking was a boat trip. I used Getyourguide website to book a 5 hour sail boat cruise. The tour was called Gouvia: Corfu Island with Lunch and Soft Drinks. The price was 65 Euro which I found to be reasonable.

There are many boat tours from Corfu but I wasn’t interested in the bigger boats with tons of tourists. Instead, we had a maximum of 12 people on our small boat. They made three swim stops including two remote beaches and a cave.

I have to say it was absolute bliss to be on the water for the day and swimming in the clear blue sea.

Corfu Old Town

In addition to the two excursions, we spent every evening in the old town of Corfu. It was fun to walk around this quaint town where you will find many cute shops and cafes.

We tried a different restaurant each night and found the food in Corfu to be delicious!

We didn’t spend much time visiting the attractions in Corfu town, but one of the most popular sites is the Old Fortress, built by the Venetians in the 15th century.

One of the well-known streets is called the Liston Promenade. This wide pedestrian path is a charming area lined with elegant arcades and cafes. We stopped here for drinks a couple of times and for dinner one night.

Summary

I’ve been to many Greek islands over the years, but I really enjoyed spending a full week on Corfu Island. Hiking on the island made me appreciate the remote areas and the beautiful landscape.

If you’d like to see some more info about Greece, refer to my Greece Destination Page.

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!