Day trips from Paxos: all of them by boat

We name the trips and say what each is. We print no boat times, crossing durations or prices, because those change every season. Confirm the day’s sailings and check the last boat back before you settle in anywhere.

Antipaxos

The short trip and the famous one. Antipaxos lies a few minutes off the south coast, is almost uninhabited outside the summer, and has two small beaches, Vrika and Voutoumi, whose water is the clearest in this part of the Ionian.

Boats run from Gaios through the day in season. Go early: both beaches are small, the day boats from Corfu arrive later in the morning, and the difference between nine and eleven o’clock is the difference between two experiences.

There is very little there beyond a taverna or two, which is the whole point.

The west-coast sea caves

The other half of the same boat day, and the more dramatic half. The west side of Paxos is a cliff coast pierced with sea caves and arches, quite unlike the low olive country on the sheltered eastern side where the villages are.

Most boat trips out of Gaios or Lakka take it in, and the two features people remember are the Tripitos arch, a natural rock arch standing off the coast, and the Ortholithos, a pillar of rock rising out of the water.

Hire a small boat yourself if you can drive one. Paxos is one of the easiest places in Greece to do that, and having your own boat for a day changes the island completely.

Corfu, north

Corfu is the big island to the north and the gateway most people arrive through. As a day trip it is a long one and you will see only Corfu Town, which is admittedly the best part: a UNESCO old town built under Venetian, French and British rule, with two fortresses and a tangle of tall alleys.

Corfu to Paxos covers the crossing. The honest note is that most traffic runs the other way, with day boats from Corfu descending on Paxos in the middle of the day, which is worth knowing when you plan your own island time.

Parga, on the mainland

East across the water, Parga is a mainland town that looks like an Ionian island town: pastel houses in tiers around a small bay, a Venetian castle on the headland above, and stepped lanes running down to a waterfront of tavernas.

It was Venetian and then briefly British and was administered with the islands rather than the mainland, which is why it does not look like Epirus at all. The castle walk above the town is short, free and the best thing in it.

It also opens up the Acheron springs inland if you want to make more of the day, though that needs transport at the other end.

Staying still, which Paxos is built for

Worth saying plainly. Paxos is built for a slow stay rather than a checklist: quiet coves, long dinners, and evenings the day boats never see. You can walk a good deal of it and drive its length in under half an hour.

If your instinct on the second day is to get on a boat to somewhere else, consider walking the olive paths between Lakka and Loggos instead. That is what the island is for.

Where this leaves you

From Paxos: Antipaxos early in the morning before the Corfu boats, the west-coast caves and arches on the same or another boat day, Corfu north if you want a town, and Parga east if you want the mainland. Hiring your own small boat beats all of them. And the best day is often the one you spend not leaving.

Quick answers

Is Antipaxos worth visiting?

Yes, for the water, which is the clearest in this part of the Ionian. It has two small beaches and almost nothing else. Go early, because the beaches are small and the day boats from Corfu arrive mid-morning.

Can you hire a boat on Paxos?

It is one of the easier places in Greece to hire a small boat for the day, and doing so changes the island completely: the west-coast caves, the arches and Antipaxos all become yours to time rather than someone else’s schedule.

Can you do a day trip to Corfu from Paxos?

Yes, though most of the traffic runs the other way. It is a long day and you will realistically see Corfu Town, which is the best of the island: a UNESCO old town with two fortresses and Venetian, French and British layers.

What is on the west coast of Paxos?

Cliffs, sea caves and rock arches, quite unlike the low olive country and sheltered harbours on the east. The Tripitos arch and the Ortholithos pillar are the two features people remember, and both are seen from a boat.