I visited Corfu Donkey Rescue: Was it worth it? (2026)

As an animal lover, I’m always on the lookout for places I can visit while traveling where my money and time can support a good cause. So when I discovered Corfu Donkey Rescue, I knew I wanted to visit.

Corfu is, of course, best known for its beautiful beaches, charming villages and dramatic mountain scenery, but there are also wonderful organizations doing important work behind the scenes.

If, like me, you’d love to spend part of your vacation doing something that feels more meaningful, a visit here is a lovely addition to a Corfu itinerary.

Woman in a red dress and sunglasses standing next to a grey and white donkey eating hay from a trough at Corfu Donkey Rescue.

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What is Corfu Donkey Rescue?

Corfu Donkey Rescue is a small, nonprofit donkey sanctuary in the countryside near Doukades, dedicated to giving abandoned, abused, old, sick and injured donkeys a safe place to live out the rest of their lives.

The rescue was founded in 2004, when the first two donkeys, Hope and Dusty, were taken in. Since then, more than 500 donkeys have been brought to the refuge, many of them arriving after years of hard work or neglect. Some need medical care, while others simply need a safe and peaceful place to retire.

What I really love about Corfu Donkey Rescue is that this isn’t a place where the animals are expected to perform or entertain visitors. The donkeys are there because they need a home, and the sanctuary’s focus is on their long-term care and well-being.

The team and volunteers take care of everything from feeding and grooming to medication, cleaning and veterinary care.

Looking through a stable with wooden roof, on a small donkey donkey standing in the doorway with light coming in from behind, seen during a visit to Corfu Donkey Rescue.

How to get there

There are four ways to get to the Donkey Rescue:

With a private driver

When we needed transportation from Paleokastritsa back to Corfu Town, I decided to make a day of it. I had used Daytrip several times before (most recently from Brasov to Bucharest) and had always been very happy with their service.

So I checked their website, where you can add sightseeing stops during the booking process, and the Donkey Rescue was one of the options. I also added another stop at Danilia Village and paid around €150 for the journey.

On the day, our driver arrived about 10 minutes early in a clean car. Once he helped us with our luggage, he confirmed our stops for the day.

Since he had never been to the Donkey Rescue before either, he relied on Google Maps, which unfortunately sent us along a long stretch of old farm road full of potholes.

Luckily, there are several ways to get to the sanctuary. When we left, we took a different, shorter route, which turned out to be the main access road.

A regular taxi is another option, but always agree on a price before you get in and ask the driver to wait for you.

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With a rental car

If you’re planning to explore more of Corfu, renting a car is the best option. The island has so many beautiful villages, beaches, viewpoints and little stops that having your own wheels gives you a lot more freedom.

You can easily combine a visit to Corfu Donkey Rescue with places such as Paleokastritsa, Liapades, Lakones or other stops in the northwest of the island.

That said, I personally didn’t want to drive in mid-August. It was the height of the tourist season, and I knew I had to get off the main roads. However, I do wish I had the guts to do so. It would have been a much easier week.

For Corfu Donkey Rescue specifically, the sanctuary is around 20 km from Corfu Town and 6 km from Paleokastritsa. And as mentioned above, make sure you check Google Maps and take the shortest road off the main road.

At the sanctuary, there’s a good-sized parking lot. However, when we got there around 11:00 am, it was almost full. So get there early.

Grey and white cars parked along the sides of a gravel parking lot, surrounded trees at Corfu Donkey Rescue on a sunny day.

Can you get there without a car?

Yes. The sanctuary says you can take the green bus between Corfu Town and Paleokastritsa and ask the driver to stop at Zomeno, near the crossing to Liapades. From there, it’s about a 1.1 km walk to the sanctuary.

You can also get off at Doukades, although the sanctuary warns that the main road is busy and has no sidewalk, so they don’t recommend this option for families with young children or elderly visitors.

On a guided tour

🎫 You can also join this guided tour, which includes a Donkey Rescue, a visit to a local family-run farm, a farm-to-table BBQ lunch and a horseback ride. I wish I had known about this tour before visiting!

Dark donkey with some grey hair on its face and a dark line going down the back, standing right in front of the camera in a dirt paddock, seen during a visit of Corfu Donkey Rescue.

What to expect at Corfu Donkey Rescue

This isn’t a traditional tourist attraction, and I think it’s important to keep that in mind when you visit. The focus is very much on the animals and the people caring for them, so don’t arrive expecting a polished visitor center or a carefully choreographed experience.

When we arrived, we were welcomed by a lovely woman who was explaining a little about the rescue and the animals to another group. Since she was in the middle of her introduction, we simply opened the main gate ourselves and headed over. She later explained where we could go and which gates to use.

And of course, I listened, nodded and then promptly went through the wrong gate. Luckily, she either didn’t notice or was kind enough not to say anything. My mom, however, definitely noticed. Haha.

People were arriving fairly regularly during the hour we spent there, but it never felt particularly crowded or rushed. Before heading into the main area, I put my donation in the box so I wouldn’t forget.

The entrance of Corfu Donkey Rescue with a metal shed on the right, full of hay, gate between the trees straight ahead and the edge of a caravan and a white chair on the left. — The entrance area

And yes, you can get really close to the donkeys. Depending on the individual animal, you can stroke and brush them, and some are incredibly friendly and happy to come over for attention.

At first, I tried approaching a few of them, but they wandered off. So after a while, I decided to let them come to me instead.

I picked up a brush in the central stable, and before long, an older gentleman came over. I started brushing his neck and back, but apparently that wasn’t quite what he had in mind. He simply moved around until he was perfectly positioned for me to scratch his butt. 😂 So clearly, I had found his sweet spot.

There was even a baby donkey at the sanctuary when I visited, but he was understandably the star of the show and got most of the attention. So I didn’t get a chance to give him any love.

Woman with long, brown hair, wearing a red dress standing behind a dark donkey inside the stable at Corfu Donkey Rescue.

Woman with long brown hair, wearing a red dress and sunglasses on her head, holding her hand around the neck of a dark donkey out in a dirt paddock at Corfu Donkey Rescue.

Brown, fluffy baby donkey with his dark mother, inside an arch shaped barn, people and other donkeys in the background at Corfu Donkey Rescue.

The sanctuary is also home to dogs, horses and cats (some of which are blind), so there are plenty of other furry residents to meet along the way.

One thing I definitely wish I’d brought were wet wipes. My hands were pretty dusty by the time we finished our visit, and I would have appreciated being able to clean them up before getting back in the car.

There is a toilet at the sanctuary, but there was a sign on the door asking visitors not to let the cat inside. And, naturally, the cat was sitting right in front of the door. I wasn’t about to risk opening it and accidentally letting her in.

It was also 38°C (100°F) on the morning we visited in August, so I really should have brought more water. If you’re visiting in summer, I’d definitely recommend bringing a bottle with you, along with sunscreen and a hat.

White cat with black and grey stripes on the head and tail, laying on a concrete floor with a dirty, yellow wall in the background at Corfu Donkey Sanctuary. — The toilet bandit

Tips for visiting

You don’t need to book ahead. Individual visitors and families are welcome throughout the year, and the sanctuary is open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. I’d still check their website or Facebook page before visiting in case anything has changed.

Go earlier in the day. Corfu can get seriously hot in summer, and the sanctuary is largely outdoors. A morning visit is much more comfortable for both you and the animals. Also, there will be fewer people around.

Don’t bring food for the donkeys. The donkeys are on carefully managed diets, often because of health or dental problems, so you are specifically asked not to bring them fruit, vegetables or treats. Instead, give them a cuddle, a brush and, if you can, a donation. Sometimes the recue will ask for certain items on their Facebook page, which is fine to bring.

Wear proper shoes. You’re visiting an animal sanctuary in the Corfiot countryside, not strolling around a paved attraction. I wore a dress and flip-flops, which was fine, but my feet got very dusty.

Standing in a dirt paddock at Corfu Donkey Recue with a wooden stable on the right, green forest in the background and an arched tent shaded area for the donkeys to the left.

Bring water, sunscreen, wet wipes and a hat. There isn’t much reason to make your visit uncomfortable, especially during the warmer months. You’ll be spending time outside, so come prepared. My hands got really dusty from brushing the donkeys, so wet wipes would have been great.

Allow around an hour or two. You don’t need an entire day here, but I’d avoid squeezing it into a 20-minute stop. Take your time, meet the donkeys, hear some of their stories and enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

Leave a donation if you can. There’s no entrance fee, but the rescue relies on donations to care for the animals. Even a small contribution helps with food, medicine and everyday care. I left a €20 donation, but anything helps. You can also donate through their website.

You can also adopt a donkey. Corfu Donkey Rescue has an adoption program, allowing you to symbolically adopt one of the donkeys living at the sanctuary. The adoption fee is a minimum of €90 (Euros) or £76 (GBP) a year for one donkey. It costs them over € 2,000 per year to look after one donkey, so each donkey will have multiple adopters.

Want to volunteer? Click here to read more about how you can donate your time at the rescue. Veterinary students can also apply for an internship.