The Corfu Trail

[efdoucette]

I know this is not a Camino or Pilgrimage route but I was wondering if any other long distance addicts like myself have walked or experienced the Corfu trail. I have a guidebook on order but won't see it until the end of the month.

Many thanks and cheers,
Eric

 

[efdoucette]

I know this is not a Camino or Pilgrimage route but I was wondering if any other long distance addicts like myself have walked or experienced the Corfu trail. I have a guidebook on order but won't see it until the end of the month.

Many thanks and cheers,
Eric

Replying to activate my original post to give it one more try. Anyone familiar with the Corfu Trail?
Thanks
Eric

 

[Morg]

Never heard of it Eric , however I'm certainly interested in any responses. Here's hoping.

 

[auburnfive]

Hello, I walked this route in the spring of 2014, it was beautiful! Lovely views, abundant wildflowers, quite hilly, and Greek food is fantastic. This was not Camino style though, it was a group walk with a guide, which was good as there was very little way-marking, we saw almost no other walkers. PM if you have other questions.

 

[Morg]

Hello, I walked this route in the spring of 2014, it was beautiful! Lovely views, abundant wildflowers, quite hilly, and Greek food is fantastic. This was not Camino style though, it was a group walk with a guide, which was good as there was very little way-marking, we saw almost no other walkers. PM if you have other questions.

Thanks for info, sounds lovely. Haven't been back to Corfu since 1985, only went there after reading My Family and Other Animals. Maybe one day I'll get back again.

 

[auburnfive]

We went with a UK company Explore Worldwide, 2 week trip was called the Corfu Trail Explorer

 

[efdoucette]

We went with a UK company Explore Worldwide, 2 week trip was called the Corfu Trail Explorer

Thanks auburnfive for your reply. We may miss the flowers as we plan to walk in Sep / Oct.
One question - Are accommodations readily available at days end?
Many thanks

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I've been to the lovely island of Corfu thre years ago, but never knew it had any long distance hikes. Surely they aren't 800 kilometers long...hikers would either be swimming in the ocean or the trail would snake back and forth many, many times; at least from my memory of how big the island is.

 

[auburnfive]

Yes, there is quite a bit of back and forth on the trail, and you cover most of the island. Accommodations are limited, probably good to prearrange if you can.

 

[MikeJS]

I came across this route on a UK TV programme and thought it sounded like a pleasant route to walk with my wife. There is some info on the web, for example - http://www.thecorfutrail.com . Only had a quick look so not sure yet about availability of accommodation yet. My wife would probably only want to walk about 20 kms a day (as opposed to my 50km ish preference) so we would need plenty of options.

 

[brambles]

I highly recommend the book My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It is set in Corfu and describes a lot of the flora and fauna of the island. The book is also laugh out loud funny. Recommended not only for those of you interested in Corfu, but also just a great book for anyone looking for a good book to read.

 

[Morg]

I highly recommend the book My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It is set in Corfu and describes a lot of the flora and fauna of the island. The book is also laugh out loud funny. Recommended not only for those of you interested in Corfu, but also just a great book for anyone looking for a good book to read.

I couldn't agree more, it was because of this book I visited Corfu in the early 80's. Never been back, hopefully one day.

 

[Helen1]

Just back from the Corfu Trail and would thoroughly recommend it for anyone needing a walking fix whilst the Spanish caminos are unavailable to most.

The Corfu Tail is not a pilgrimage walk but you could easily make it into one. There are plenty of shrines, churches (mostly locked but there's one amazing ruined chapel with frescos and one cut into the rock inside a castle), monasteries (some in ruins/some in use which you can visit) along the way for contemplative moments and you can also visit the relics of Saint Spyridion in Corfu Town.

The walk takes around 10 days and is structured into manageable chunks of around 15k per day but some days are pretty exhausting despite the short distances. There's a fair amount of climbing towards the end (around 600m a day). The way marking (yellow CT arrows!) isn’t always brilliant and at some points it’s easy to get lost but there is an app which is a huge help. There’s a lot of walking on gravel tracks/unmade roads, some road walking but no long stretches into a city, some walking along the sand on the beach and a little bit of mountain track. There are a couple of very short scrambles where roads have collapsed/mountain paths but on the whole it’s fairly easy walking and manageable for most. It can be very muddy in places. Most of the time you have a beautiful sea view and plenty of opportunities for sea swims at the end of the day.

In the tiny villages the accommodation needs to be booked in advance to avoid potential long days/bus trips because there are limited options. In the holiday resorts accommodation is a lot easier to find. There are companies that will arrange everything for you including transporting your bags but we booked independently. Food was fairly easy with multiple stops on most days (note this would be much more difficult off season). Most of the places we stayed had little kitchens in the rooms and we cooked a couple of nights – be prepared to carry food if cooking in a tiny place as it may not have shops/open shops. English is widely spoken.

Couple of photos:
.

 

[islandwalker]

Thanks for the interesting write-up and useful details, Helen!

For anyone interested in a gpx track of the Corfu Trail, Wikiloc lists several. Some of the postings include descriptions and photos.

Wikiloc | Trails of the World

Find the best outdoor trails for mountain hiking treks, bike tour itineraries, MTB rides, and up to 70 activities. Discover the most beautiful places in the world, download GPS tracks and follow the top routes on a map. Record your own trail from the app, upload it and share it with the community.

www.wikiloc.com

 

[hecate105]

Oh dear - now there's another trail to put at the top of my list.....
I loved Durrell's books - every one of them - far better than his more literary brother... - but his sister was pretty good too!