A Tailor-Made Tour to Corfu

Our Greece expert, Alex, has just come back from leading a tour to Corfu tailor-made for a group celebrating Gerald Durrell's 100th anniversary. In this blog, he shares some of the highlights and looks ahead to our autumn adventure to Greece's garden isle.

“I have recently returned from leading a week-long ECT Travel tour around the stunning Greek island of Corfu threaded around the themes of Gerald Durrell and his passion for wildlife and the ‘Garden Isle’ of Corfu.

The group was made up of 22 seasoned nature lovers and naturalists, many of whom had donated both time and money to The Durrell Conservation Trust, the organisation established by Gerald and his wife Lee with the aim of protecting wild places and saving the wild species who inhabit them from extinction.

Lee and her friends on the island (including the founders of The Corfu Durrell Society – David and Alex Ashcroft), have been organising and running these weeks for over a decade now. However, as 2025 marks the centenary of Gerald Durrell’s birth, something extra-special was called for.  I have known Lee, David and Alex for a number of years now and, having worked with them before, they asked me to organise this event on their behalf. Lee also accompanied the group.

Staying at the colonial style Hotel Cavalieri with its gorgeous rooftop bar, we headed out every day to explore the local landscape in the company of an array of expert naturalists. We found, and photographed, creatures great and small, from rare damselflies and freshwater crabs to snakes, many of which we saved from certain death on the roads.  

A highlight of the week was a fantastic anniversary concert titled The Gerald Durrell Suite, composed by Derek Lawrence and played by the excellent Corfu Philharmonic. Set in St. George’s church, built on the grounds of the city’s old fortifications, the acoustics were impressive and, as it was free to attend, so was the audience! Tourists mixed with locals, many of whom had to bring their own garden chairs when the seating ran out.  Fortunately, as ECT Travel was a proud sponsor of the concert, all of our guests had reserved seating right at the front. It was, as one of the group said, “an unforgettable night.” 

We also all relished a visit to the Ropa Valley accompanied by Orthoptera expert, Dr. Peter Sutton. David Ashcroft dubbed this valley ‘The Garden of the Gods’ (taking the title of the third in Durrell’s much-loved trilogy) and it really was: we discovered a myriad of stunning creatures, some native and some invasive, some common and some very rare indeed. I had a hard job persuading everyone out from the undergrowth and back onto the bus!

Of course, no visit to Corfu (or Greece for that matter) would be complete without some accompanying gastronomical pleasures. So, the week came to a fitting crescendo with butterfly hunting on the hillsides of Old Perithia with Lepidopterologist, Dr. Dan Danaher, followed by a mouthwatering lunch at the renowned O Foros taverna. We all savoured this fusion of traditional Greek cuisine and new culinary ideas and owner Thomas Siriotis was the perfect host. 

This tour was tailor-made for the group (something ECT Travel always loves to do), but many of the places we visited - including the fantastic ghost village of Old Perithia and O Foros, also feature in our upcoming October tour, Corfu: A Culinary & Cultural Odyssey in Autumn (Friday 10th to Wednesday 15th October). I hope to see you there!”

What people said: 

“From the moment I signed up for the tour, Alex was helpful and responsive and during the week in Corfu he made a clear effort to build genuine connections with every person on the tour. We were all lucky to be in his capable hands.”

“Alex was fantastic. He herded his charges along with grace and good humour with the clear goal that every person on his tour have the best experience possible.”

“Alex’s knowledge of Greek and Greece endeared him to our boat pilots and drivers who were also very nice and accommodating.”