Corfu Shore Excursion

A Corfu shore excursion is a tour that meets cruise passengers at the port of Corfu Town, on the east coast of the island, and brings them back to the ship before it sails. Tours across the rest of the country are listed on Greece Tours.

The sections below cover the excursion formats, the Old Town, Paleokastritsa and its sea caves, the Achilleion Palace, Kanoni and Mouse Island, Mon Repos, beach time, Kassiopi, the hill villages, private tours, timing, port pickup, access and booking, with links into the Corfu pages. The tours shown are checked on GetYourGuide and Viator.

What is a Corfu shore excursion?

A Corfu shore excursion is a guided trip that starts beside your ship at the New Port and ends at the same place, with transport, a local guide and a route timed to your cruise ship’s hours in port.

The berths sit at the New Port, known locally as Neo Limani, on the north-west edge of Corfu Town. The passenger terminal handles check-in counters and X-ray screening, and the walk from the gangway to the exit takes under ten minutes. The Corfu cruise port guide covers that building in full, and from its doors a bus or a taxi covers the three kilometres to the Old Town. A Corfu shore excursion closes that gap by vehicle, which matters at the end of a long morning on stone.

A Corfu shore excursion also takes the guesswork out of the transfer. Coaches, minibuses and private cars collect passengers at the terminal and drive to the first stop without a change of vehicle, so the twenty to thirty minutes each way between the port and the town centre becomes part of the day itself rather than a walk beside a busy road. A Corfu shore excursion of the town and the coast mixes both inside a half day.

Walking suits a short call when you want the lanes, the Spianada and the Liston at your own pace. A Corfu shore excursion adds what the town centre cannot offer: the west coast at Paleokastritsa, the ridge villages above it, the Achilleion Palace at Gastouri and the Kanoni viewpoint, spread between ten and twenty-five kilometres from the berth.

• Transport between the berth, the sights and the ship, with driving time built into the plan
• A guide who explains the Venetian, French and British layers of the island
• Stops outside Corfu Town, such as Paleokastritsa, Gastouri, Kanoni and the hill villages
• A return time checked against your ship’s departure
• Advice on entry to the Old Fortress, the New Fortress, the Achilleion and the monastery

Which Corfu shore excursion formats can you book?

You can book a Corfu shore excursion in six main formats: coach tours, small-group minibus tours, private van or limousine tours, beach tours, boat-and-cave tours, and full day trips that carry a shore option for cruise guests.

Coach tours take up to 49 travellers and board beside the terminal. The Shared Shore Excursion at Paleokastritsa Beach and Corfu Old Town runs for six hours in a group of up to 40, with commentary through an audioguide in six languages, two hours at the beach and ninety minutes in the Old Town. Corfu Cruise Port City Highlights Tour with Old Town Visit keeps the day inside the town. A Corfu shore excursion by coach suits passengers who want one fixed route.

Small-group minibus tours cut the numbers to around 30 travellers. Corfu for Cruise Ships: 6 Hour Tour with Boat Ride or Beach Visit works through the monastery of Paleokastritsa, the beach and the Old Town between five and six hours. Corfu Tour with Boat Cave Ride and Old Town from Your Cruise Ship follows a similar line, and a Corfu shore excursion of this size stops where a full coach cannot.

Private van and limousine tours set the route around the passengers. Corfu Cruise Port Private Customized Tour with Limo Van offers four or six hours with a chosen itinerary, while Custom Private Shore Excursion and Full Day Private Shore Tour in Corfu from Corfu Cruise Port give three points of interest in a half day and six in a full day of up to seven hours.

Beach tours and boat-and-cave tours pair a swim with a town walk. A Corfu shore excursion of this kind appears as Corfu Beach Tour for Cruise Guests Paleokastritsa and Glyfada, Corfu Cruise-Friendly Tour with a Beach Retreat or Boat Cave Ride, or Corfu for Cruise Visitors: Paleokastritsa, Boat Trip, Old Town. Day trips with a shore option run further north, and Corfu Tour with Boat Trip and Old Town for Cruise Passengers belongs to the same family.

What does a Corfu shore excursion of the Old Town cover?

A Corfu shore excursion of the Old Town covers the UNESCO-listed centre on foot, the Spianada esplanade, the Liston arcade, the Old Fortress, the New Fortress and the church of Saint Spyridon, with free time in the lanes between the stops.

The Old Town was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its layout and its Venetian fortifications. Around seven buildings in ten that predate the twentieth century belong to the British period, and the streets stay mainly neoclassical, which is why the centre reads as one long, pale frontage from the water. A Corfu shore excursion of the town works through that frontage at walking pace.

The Spianada separates the town from the citadel, part square and part park, and the Liston runs along one side of it as a 150-metre pedestrian arcade built under French rule and modelled on a Paris street. Guides walk passengers across the Spianada and then into the kantounia of Corfu Town, the cobbled lanes that carry the shops, the cafés and the shopfronts of the old trades.

The Old Fortress of Corfu stands on the promontory east of the Spianada, cut off from the town by a salt-water channel that turned the citadel into an island. A climb to the ramparts gives the widest view over the roofs and the bay, and the fortress is open to the public, with the public library housed in the old British barracks inside the walls.

The New Fortress rises on the hill of Saint Mark above the northern edge of the town, and its twin bastions look out over the sea and the mountains of the mainland from 55 metres above sea level. Inside the church of Saint Spyridon the relics of the island’s patron saint rest in a silver casket, and the bell tower above the entrance is the tallest in the Ionian Islands. A Corfu shore excursion into the Old Town passes its door on the walk from the Spianada.

• Spianada, the esplanade between the town and the citadel
• Liston, the arcaded promenade on its western edge
• Old Fortress, with its ramparts, chapel and library
• New Fortress, with its gates, moat and bastions
• Church of Saint Spyridon, in the Campiello quarter
• The kantounia lanes, for coffee, shopping and photographs

Which Corfu shore excursion goes to Paleokastritsa?

A Corfu shore excursion to Paleokastritsa travels to the bays on the north-west coast, stops at the monastery on the headland and adds the Bella Vista road, with one to two hours on the beach itself.

Paleokastritsa sits about twenty-five kilometres from the port along the road west out of Corfu Town, and the drive takes between forty and fifty minutes through olive groves and villages. The bays at Paleokastritsa open in a series of small coves under steep green cliffs, with clear water close to the shore and a narrow, sandy main beach behind the village road. A Corfu shore excursion of the west coast builds its morning around the bays and the monastery.

The monastery of the Virgin Mary stands on the headland above the beach, reached by a short climb from the village or by vehicle when the road allows. It dates from the thirteenth century, keeps a small museum, and looks straight down the coast. Corfu for Cruise Ships: 6 Hour Tour with Boat Ride or Beach Visit gives the monastery an hour and the beach another.

The bay carries a local story: the rock in the sea near the entrance is described as the petrified ship of Odysseus, and the coast is tied to the meeting of Odysseus and Nausicaa in the Odyssey. A Corfu shore excursion that reaches Paleokastritsa follows the same west coast road, and the drive is part of the sightseeing rather than dead time. Private Shore Excursion: Paleokastritsa and Corfu Old Town covers the same two stops.

Can a Corfu shore excursion include a boat ride to the sea caves?

Yes. A Corfu shore excursion can add a boat ride from Paleokastritsa beach into the sea caves below the cliffs, booked as part of the tour or paid on the spot at the jetty before boarding.

Boats leave from the main beach at Paleokastritsa and follow the cliffs into a chain of caves cut into the rock, where the water turns deep blue and the roofs drop low enough to touch. The ride lasts around 45 minutes on the longer versions and around 20 minutes on the shortest, and the captain stays outside the caves when the sea is rough.

The boat leg appears across the Corfu boat tours on offer to cruise passengers. It runs inside Corfu Cruise-Friendly Tour with a Beach Retreat or Boat Cave Ride, inside Corfu Tour with Boat Cave Ride and Old Town from Your Cruise Ship, and inside Corfu for Cruise Visitors: Paleokastritsa, Boat Trip, Old Town, where the swim and the swim time sit together.

Booking rules differ by format. Shared tours include the ride when a passenger chooses the boat option at the time of booking, and private tours leave it open so the group can decide on the jetty that morning. A Corfu shore excursion that cannot sail falls back on the beach and the monastery, and the operator refunds the boat element when the trip is cancelled before departure.

• Board at the main beach jetty, a short walk from the coach drop-off
• Cover between four and six caves on the standard route
• Carry a light jacket for the cool air inside the rock
• Keep phones and cameras in a dry bag or a zip pocket
• Ask the skipper about conditions before committing to the ride

Which tour visits the Achilleion Palace?

The Achilleion Palace sits at Gastouri, ten kilometres south of Corfu Town, and appears on a Corfu shore excursion built around the south of the island, with Kanoni, Mon Repos or the Old Town in the same day.

Empress Elisabeth of Austria built the palace as a refuge after the death of her son above the village of Gastouri. The Italian architect Raffaele Caritto designed it in a Pompeian style, and the rooms and gardens carry the story of Achilles, from the fresco of his triumph in the main hall to the statues that line the terrace.

Corfu: Achilleion, Mon Repos and Old Town with Shore Option links the three stops across five and a half hours. The centrepiece of the gardens is the Dying Achilles, carved by the German sculptor Ernst Herter, with the wounded hero looking up to the sky. The gardens on the hilltop look north over the city and south along the coast, and the walk between the entrance, the terrace and the statue takes around an hour at an easy pace, which a Corfu shore excursion of the south builds in.

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany bought the palace after Elisabeth’s death and used it as a summer residence, staying about a month each spring until the First World War. The Achilleion Palace is now a museum, and operators treat the entry ticket as an extra rather than part of the fare, so the timing of the stop is worth checking before the day.

Which Corfu shore excursion includes Kanoni and Mouse Island?

A Corfu shore excursion that includes Kanoni stops at the viewpoint above the Vlacherna monastery, where the causeway, the chapel and the wooded islet of Pontikonisi sit together in a single view.

Kanoni lies just south of Corfu Town on the road towards the airport, and the terrace above the water looks across to the monastery of Panagia Vlacherna, joined to the shore by a narrow stone causeway that passengers walk in a couple of minutes. Beyond it, the islet of Pontikonisi rises from the bay, small and densely wooded, with a pale chapel at the top.

Mouse Island measures about one hectare and holds no residents. Its chapel is dedicated to Christ Pantokrator and dates from the eleventh or twelfth century, and the islet is said to have inspired a nineteenth-century painting of the Isle of the Dead. A Corfu shore excursion of the south parks above the water, and the walk to the causeway takes two minutes from the vehicle.

The airport runway sits about 400 metres from the islet, which is why the view comes with aircraft on approach. A Corfu shore excursion of the south of the island links Kanoni with Mon Repos and the Achilleion, and the stop at the viewpoint takes about 30 minutes, which is enough for the causeway, the chapel and the photographs.

• Kanonis terrace, for the classic view over the bay
• The Vlacherna monastery, reached by the stone causeway
• Pontikonisi, the wooded islet with its Byzantine chapel
• Short boat crossings to Mouse Island in season
• A coffee stop at the roadside cafés above the water

Which tour covers Mon Repos?

Mon Repos appears on a Corfu shore excursion that works the south of the island, combined with Kanoni, the Achilleion and an hour in the palace gardens where the ruins of ancient Korkyra lie under the trees.

The villa stands south of the city in the forest of Palaeopolis, a wooded estate above the sea, and a Corfu shore excursion that reaches it crosses the bay of Garitsa on the way out of town. It was built for the British Lord High Commissioner Frederick Adam in a neoclassical design by Colonel George Whitmore, the architect of the Palace of Saint Michael and Saint George, and King George the First later renamed it Mon Repos when it passed to the Greek royal family.

The villa was the birthplace of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and it now houses the Museum of Palaiopolis. The ground floor keeps the feel of a nineteenth-century residence, with portraits, furniture and personal items belonging to the family of the first resident, and the rooms are open to visitors through the day in season. A Corfu shore excursion that reaches the villa spends about an hour across the house, the park and the ruins.

The estate matters as much as the building. The ancient city of Korkyra lies beneath the park, and the grounds hold the Temple of Hera on the hill of Analipsis and, close by, the Kardaki Temple, with the Temple of Artemis a short distance to the north-west. A visit to Mon Repos on a tour gives about an hour for the gardens, the villa and the ruins.

Which Corfu shore excursion includes beach time?

A Corfu shore excursion with beach time stops at Glyfada on the west coast or at Paleokastritsa, with one to two hours of free time for swimming, sunbeds and a drink at a beach bar before the return drive.

Glyfada lies about sixteen kilometres from Corfu Town, a drive of 30 to 35 minutes along the coast road. The beach is a long sweep of soft sand on the west coast, backed by pine-covered hills with walking trails, and the water stays shallow for a good distance from the shore. The Glyfada beach stop on Corfu Beach Tour for Cruise Guests Paleokastritsa and Glyfada runs for two hours.

Paleokastritsa offers a shorter swim in a cove rather than an open bay, with pebbles underfoot and clear water. Corfu Shore Excursion with Beach Retreat or Boat Cave Trip holds about an hour on the sand, and Corfu Glyfada Beach and Corfu Town for Cruise Passengers pairs the sand with a walk in the town centre on the same afternoon.

Timing shapes the day, and a Corfu shore excursion with beach time keeps the swimming window inside the length of the call. A beach element of two hours plus a town walk needs a call of six hours or more, while a forty-minute swim fits inside a four-hour tour. Transport drops passengers at the beach road rather than the waterline, so a short walk separates the vehicle from the sand.

• Bring a towel, a hat and reef shoes for the pebbles at Paleokastritsa
• Rent a sunbed and an umbrella on arrival, or use the free sand
• Keep a dry change of clothes in the vehicle for the town walk
• Count the walk back to the drop-off point into your free time
• Watch the meet-up time posted by the guide on the beach

Which tour goes to Kassiopi and the Canal d’Amour?

The north coast Corfu shore excursion runs to Kassiopi on the north-east shore and then west to Sidari, where the Canal d’Amour cuts through the sandstone, with swimming stops in the bays by the village.

Kassiopi is a fishing village of about a thousand people facing the Corfu Channel, with a harbour, a square, and the ruins of a Byzantine castle on the hill above the rooftops. The church of Panagia Kassopitra stands in the village centre, rebuilt in the sixteenth century on the site of an older temple, and the bays of Bataria and Pipitos lie a short walk beyond the harbour. A Corfu shore excursion to the north coast spends its time on the water’s edge rather than in the town centre.

Kassiopi sits around 37 kilometres from the port, so the drive north takes an hour or more, and the Kassiopi and Canal d’Amour day trip with a shore option gives the village two hours. Coaches park above the village, and the walk down to the water passes the boats and the cafés on the quayside.

Sidari lies on the north coast, a resort with a beach and a shallow bay. The Canal d’Amour is a natural channel cut through pale sandstone, wide enough to swim through, and local legend holds that couples who cross it together stay together. A Corfu shore excursion to the Canal adds a boat ride past Cape Drastis and out towards the island of Erikoussa.

Which Corfu shore excursion stops at Lakones and the hill villages?

A Corfu shore excursion along the Paleokastritsa ridge stops at Lakones for the Bella Vista viewpoint and follows the same hill road through Kratsalo, with the villages of Doukades, Krini and Makrades on the slopes below.

Lakones sits on the slope above Paleokastritsa and was the seat of the former municipality of Palaiokastritsa before the island’s local government was reorganised. The village is a tight cluster of stone houses and steep lanes, and the road down to the bays passes through it, which makes a stop easy to fit into a west coast route.

The Bella Vista viewpoint lies just above the village on the road that climbs inland from Paleokastritsa, at a bend with a low wall and space for vehicles. A Corfu shore excursion that pauses here gains the widest view on the west coast, with the bays, the monastery headland and the rock called the ship of Odysseus below, and the ridge road continues towards Kratsalo.

The wider group of villages belongs to the same municipal unit: Doukades, Krini, Liapades, Makrades, Gardelades and Skripero all sit within a short drive of the bays. A Corfu shore excursion that adds Lakones to a beach stop gains a second half hour of views without much extra driving, which is why the Paleokastritsa, Lakones and Kratsalo route appears as one listing.

• Bella Vista, for the panorama over the bays and the west coast
• Lakones, for stone lanes and a village square
• Kratsalo, on the ridge road above the coast
• Doukades, Krini and Makrades, on the inland slopes
• Olive groves and viewpoints along the ridge road

What does a private Corfu shore excursion include?

A private Corfu shore excursion includes a vehicle and driver for your group alone, a route chosen with you before or during the day, and collection and return at the cruise terminal, with a guide added as an option.

A private booking removes the shared timetable. Custom Private Shore Excursion takes three points of interest on a half-day route and six on a full day of up to seven hours, with the driver arranging the order and the timing around the ship’s departure. Corfu Cruise Port Private Customized Tour with Limo Van runs four or six hours with a set list of stops chosen in advance.

Vehicles range from a car for two passengers to a van for a family or a small group, and the driver stays with the vehicle through the day, which keeps bags and shopping secure between stops. A Corfu shore excursion booked as a private tour keeps that vehicle for the whole day, so a change of plan costs nothing in transport.

A private Corfu shore excursion suits passengers who want the Achilleion, Mon Repos and Kanoni in one morning or a long beach afternoon without a coach schedule. It also allows a late start after a tender, a lunch stop at a village taverna, and a change of plan when rain arrives. Entry tickets stay separate on private routes.

• A vehicle for your group only, from a car to a large van
• Terminal pickup and return, timed to the ship’s departure
• A route built around the sights you name at booking
• An optional licensed guide for the whole day
• Flexibility to add, drop or reorder stops on the road

How long does a Corfu shore excursion last, and how much time in port do you need?

A Corfu shore excursion runs for around four hours in its shortest form and up to seven hours for a full day, and a call of six hours or more suits a coach tour that adds a beach to the town.

The shortest options sit between four and four and a half hours. Corfu Shore Excursion for Cruise Passengers takes four hours, Corfu Cruise-Friendly Tour with a Beach Retreat or Boat Cave Ride takes four to five, and Corfu Beach Tour for Cruise Guests Paleokastritsa and Glyfada takes four and a half with its two beach stops. A Corfu shore excursion of this length covers the monastery, the beach and the town without rushing.

Middle-length tours run from five to six hours. Corfu for Cruise Ships: 6 Hour Tour with Boat Ride or Beach Visit covers the monastery, the beach and the Old Town inside five to six hours, and Extended Corfu Shore Excursion with Port Pickup and Drop-Off uses the same window with a longer stay at each stop. Corfu: Palaiokastritsa Sunset Tour with Shore Option runs four and a half hours from a late-afternoon start.

A full day takes seven hours, which is the length of the north coast run to Kassiopi and Sidari and of Full Day Private Shore Tour in Corfu from Corfu Cruise Port. A seven to eight hour call in Corfu is common, and a Corfu shore excursion of that length leaves an hour in hand before all aboard.

How does port pickup for a Corfu shore excursion work?

Port pickup for a Corfu shore excursion happens at the cruise terminal or beside the ship, where a guide holds a sign or a driver waits with a nameplate, and the group then boards the vehicle together.

Guides meet passengers at the exit of the terminal building or in the parking area a short walk from the gangway, and the meeting point is printed on the booking voucher. Signs carry the operator’s name or the tour name, and a Corfu shore excursion starts on the ship’s arrival rather than the advertised hour.

Operators ask passengers to skip the terminal shuttle and walk the short distance to the vehicle instead, because the coach holds a permit to park near the berth. A Corfu shore excursion of this kind therefore begins and ends within a couple of minutes of the gangway, and the guide leads the way from the terminal doors.

Independent travel into town uses the local bus from outside the terminal, a taxi, or a pre-booked port transfer in Corfu. The return leg of a Corfu shore excursion is planned around the all-aboard time, and the meet-up point for the drive back is the same place where the group started.

• Check the voucher for the exact meeting point and time
• Look for a sign with the operator’s name at the terminal exit
• Keep the driver’s phone number for the return leg

Is a Corfu shore excursion suitable for children and travellers with limited mobility?

Children are welcome on a Corfu shore excursion, and the listings note infant seats on request, while wheelchair users need to check the individual listing because the beach and boat tours state that they are not wheelchair accessible.

Family-friendly details repeat across the listings. Children must be accompanied by an adult, infants who do not take a seat travel free on private tours, booster seats are available for a small fee, and strollers are accepted on the beach tours and the archaeological route. A Corfu shore excursion breaks the long drives with stops, which keeps the day manageable for younger passengers.

Accessibility varies more than age. Corfu Cruise-Friendly Tour with a Beach Retreat or Boat Cave Ride, Corfu for Cruise Ships: 6 Hour Tour with Boat Ride or Beach Visit and the shared Paleokastritsa tour all state that they are not wheelchair accessible, and the monastery climb at Paleokastritsa involves a walk of about fifteen minutes uphill from the vehicle.

Travellers with limited mobility do have options. Accessible Corfu – Achilleion Palace and City Tour runs for five hours with the town and the palace on the route, and the Old Town itself is largely flat along the Spianada and the Liston. A Corfu shore excursion of that shape keeps the walking short and the seating frequent.

• Ask for an infant seat or a booster at the time of booking
• Choose a town-only route when steps and cobbles are difficult
• Note the fifteen-minute uphill walk to the Paleokastritsa monastery
• Tell the operator about a wheelchair before the day, not on it
• Keep the beach stop short when travelling with small children

How do you book and cancel a Corfu shore excursion?

You book a Corfu shore excursion online against your ship’s arrival date and time, show the mobile ticket to the guide at the port, and cancel at least 24 hours before the start for a full refund.

A booking form asks for the ship name, the arrival date and the number of passengers, and confirmation arrives at the time of booking on the standard listings. Operators hold prices per person or per group, and a group discount applies on the larger coach products when a party books together.

Cancellation terms are clear on the tour pages. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts gives a full refund, and operators add a full refund when the ship cannot dock at Corfu. That second condition matters on a windy call, so it belongs in the choice between two similar tours, and a Corfu shore excursion from an operator that honours it carries less risk on the day.

On the day, the guide checks a voucher on a phone or a printed page, and nothing else is needed at the meeting point. A Corfu shore excursion booked for the morning leaves the early afternoon free for the Spianada and the shops, and the schedule is built backwards from the all-aboard time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How early do you meet your guide for a Corfu shore excursion?

Pickup is tied to the ship’s arrival rather than to the start time printed on the page, and the voucher gives the exact slot, which lands within thirty minutes of the gangway opening. Passengers who walk from the berth to the terminal building add five minutes, so being ready early keeps the group on schedule.

What happens if your ship skips Corfu or arrives late?

A missed port is covered by the operators that advertise a full refund when the ship cannot dock, and a late arrival shifts the pickup rather than cancelling the Corfu shore excursion. Guides track the vessel through the morning, and the tour is trimmed at the far end to protect the return time.

Is food included on a Corfu shore excursion?

Food and drinks stay outside the tour price on almost all listings, and free time in the Old Town or at the beach is the moment to eat. A Corfu shore excursion of four hours leaves room for a quick taverna lunch or a snack beside the Liston, while a full day allows a seated meal in a village.

Can you book a Corfu shore excursion for a group?

Yes. Coach products take up to 49 travellers and shared tours cap at 30 or 40, so a party of ten or more can fill a private van instead. Group discounts appear on the larger coach tours, the private formats price by vehicle rather than by seat, and one booking covers the whole party.

What do you wear on a Corfu shore excursion?

Light clothing, a hat and shoes with grip suit the cobbles, the cloisters and the monastery steps, and shoulders and knees are covered inside the church of Saint Spyridon as a mark of respect. A light jacket helps inside the sea caves, where the air stays cool through the summer.

Do you need to print your ticket for a Corfu shore excursion?

Mobile tickets work at the meeting point on the standard products, and the guide reads the booking reference straight from the phone screen. A printed copy helps when the signal fails near the terminal or the battery runs down after a long morning of photographs at Kanoni and the Old Fortress.