Corfu to Paxos is one of the easiest crossings in the Ionian, and there are two scheduled ways to make it: a passenger fast boat from Corfu town to Gaios, roughly an hour, running through the season, and a shorter crossing from Lefkimmi at the southern end of Corfu, which is the one that takes vehicles. Day cruises also run from several Corfu resorts down the west coast of Paxos and into Antipaxos, but they are a boat trip rather than a way of getting there, and their timings are built around the excursion rather than around your rooms. If you are staying on Paxos, take the scheduled boat.
Paxos itself, south of Corfu, is small and green: three harbours, Gaios, Lakka and Loggos, olive groves in between, and no airport at all. Every visitor arrives by boat. There are no big hotels, and the island is expensive by Ionian standards, because supply is small and demand from Corfu and from charter boats is not.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
The crossings
- From Corfu town, a passenger fast boat to Gaios, roughly an hour, running through the season.
- From Lefkimmi, at the southern end of Corfu, a shorter crossing, and the one that takes vehicles.
- Day cruises from several Corfu resorts, which run down the west coast of Paxos and into Antipaxos, and which are a boat trip rather than a way of getting there.
If you are staying on Paxos, take the scheduled boat and not the cruise: the cruise timings are built around the excursion, not around your rooms.
The blue caves, and what the cruise actually shows
The west coast of Paxos is a wall of white cliff full of sea caves and arches, and the day boats go in among them. It is genuinely spectacular, and it is the reason most people ever see the island.
Antipaxos, the islet just south, has two small beaches with water clear enough to be famous, and both fill completely by midday in August.
What staying is like
Paxos is tiny: three harbours, Gaios, Lakka and Loggos, olive groves in between, and a road system you can learn in a day.
There are no big hotels and there is no airport. The island is heavily sailed, so the harbours fill with yachts in the evening, and the pace is set by that: a swim, a long lunch, a quayside dinner.
It is also expensive by Ionian standards, because supply is small and demand from Corfu and from charter boats is not. See the cheapest Greek islands for why an island prices the way it does.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
Practical notes
- Wind cancels the fast boats. The channel is short but exposed, and a blow stops the passenger craft first.
- Take the vehicle ferry from Lefkimmi if you want a car, and think about whether you need one: the island is small enough not to.
- Book rooms early. There are not many, and July and August are taken months ahead.
Last checked August 2026. Ionian boat schedules are seasonal - see our editorial policy.
Common questions
How long is the ferry from Corfu to Paxos?
About an hour on the passenger fast boat from Corfu town, and less from Lefkimmi in the south of Corfu.
Can you take a car from Corfu to Paxos?
Yes, on the vehicle ferry from Lefkimmi. The fast boats from Corfu town are passenger only.
Is a Paxos day trip worth it?
The day cruises show the sea caves on the west coast and Antipaxos, which are spectacular. They show very little of the island itself.
Does Paxos have an airport?
No. Every visitor arrives by boat, mostly from Corfu, and there are no large hotels on the island.
What is Antipaxos?
A small islet just south of Paxos with two very clear-watered beaches, visited by day boats and busy by midday in high summer.
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Read Paxos, Corfu, or sailing in Greece.