September 2019 – Paxos Travel Guide

I have just returned from a two week holiday to Parga in Greece. I could see Paxos and Antipaxos from our hotel balcony in Parga! We had to return and a day trip was the answer. So what is a day trip from Parga to Paxos really like? The day trip from Parga to Antipaxos and Paxos was an excellent day out, giving anyone who has not been to these two Greek Islands a wonderful introduction to them. I will tell you all about the day, and give you some tips that will help enjoy your day even more. Please read on and enjoy my story of our day trip from Parga to Paxos and Antipaxos. OK - we know where Paxos is - where is Parga? Parga is on mainland Greece. It is 20 kilometres from Vrika Beach on Antipaxos, and about 20 kilometres from Gaios on Paxos. Here are the three places marked on a map. Where are Parga, Paxos and Antipaxos Who did we book the trip with? We booked the trip though TUI, who we booked our holiday to Parga with. We could have wither booked with the rep, but we went to the TUI office in the centre of Parga – here it is on a map. TUI office Parga location And while I am on the subject of where places are, I have also marked exactly where the boat goes from. Captain Hook 2 departure point Parga Apparently the boat trip normally sells out, so don’t just turn up on the morning as you might be disappointed. Book early to avoid disappointment as the saying goes! What boat did we go on then? Captain Hook 2. This is a new boat. It has been designed to give more circulation space than you would expect on such a boat, and it was pretty good I have to say. How much did it cost? 20 euros each, which is excellent value. I am sure you can book direct and get it cheaper, but to be honest I was more than happy with the price. Thinking about it this really is an excellent price considering where the boat takes you. What is the route the boat took? The boat leaves Parga at 10am, and heads straight for Voutoumi Beach on Antipaxos. After a swim stop next stop is the Blue Caves on Paxos for another swim stop before mooring at the port in Gaios for a couple of hours before returning back to Parga. This is the map on the leaflet from Captain Hook 2. And also a Pdf of the entire leaflet for you to have a browse of. Parga to Antipaxos and Paxos day trip map Captain Hook leafletDownload How long is the day trip? The boat leaves from the jetty in Parga at 10am and returns at 6.30pm. What is there on the boat? Plenty of seats, toilets and a bar serving hot and cold drinks and snacks. And Mythos of course. 3 Euros for a chilled can of Mythos when out on a boat in the hot sun for a day is just fine with me. Where are the best seats on the boat? Top tip here for the best seats! If you go to the front of the boat and up the stairs there are three pairs of deckchairs right at the front of the upper deck. These are the best seats on the boat in my opinion, as you have a great elevated view looking forward and no-one standing in front of you. And your own personal space. How do you get the best seats? Get there early. We got on the boat at 9.30am and had a decent choice of seats. Don’t turn up at 10am and hope to get good seats – the boat is normally full. Where did we sit? Well we were on the benching right behind the seats I mentioned. The chairs were taken. And then a couple left the middle seats and Nickie looked at me, and before I could answer her about moving to them they were gone. Getting good seats on this boat is a serious business! Snooze and you lose! What do you need to take with you? Now these things might sound obvious, but these are the things that you should take with you. BreakfastTowels to sit onSun creamSwimming goggles/ maskCashWater - replenish in GaiosThe enthusiasm to swim with a large number of strangers! OK – that is a bit of info about the trip and the boat - this is the story of the day Getting to the boat We walked down to Parga from our hotel, getting breakfast on the way from the Raptis Bakery in the centre of Parga, just down from the taxi rank. Breakfast to take onto the boat consisted of a plain croissant, a chocolate croissant and a fresh orange which was interesting as it was made using all the orange apart from the skin, giving it a creamy texture! I get a coffee to take onto the boat as well. And it is fine taking food on the boat so don’t worry about that. We walked down to the jetty, only a couple of minutes from the bakers. I showed you where the boat leaves on the map above. Getting on the boat At the jetty there is a queue to get on the boat (nothing like for the ferry to Corfu though!). We get onto the boat at 9.30 am and find some good seats upstairs as I mentioned before. We know that we have booked a trip on the larger boat, but have not really thought this through – a large boat = a large number of people on a boat! Once again being English we are in the significant minority, not hearing another single English voice on the boat all day which I still find strange. Time to go to Antipaxos The fully loaded boat leaves Parga bang on 10am. This is the view of Antipaxos to the left and Paxos to the right from the boat in a short video on my Paxos Travel Guide You Tube Channel. Our first stop is Voutoumi Beach on Antipaxos for a one hour swim stop. It took just over an hour and a quarter to get there. Voutoumi Beach on Antipaxos viewed from the Captain Hook 2 I was going to go for a swim, but the carnage of everyone trying to get off the boat at once put me off. The sea is full of bodies. I mean full of bodies. Check out this photo. Swimmers in the sea, Antipaxos Greece I spot a clear patch of water and go for it, taking my iPhone in my waterproof case for a bit of underwater videography. I have never been brave enough to try this before – lets see what the results look like. Ok - this is a 360 video from the sea showing Antipaxos and the Captain Hook 2. And this is me!!!! Don't be scared now! Me swimming near Antipaxos And this is a video showing the view from the rocks I swam to. After the one hour swim stop it is time to move on. I am already back on the boat before the ships horn calls in all the people still in the water. Judging the carnage of people jumping into the water all over the place the crew have no way of knowing if everyone is back on the boat so if you are not then that Is that!! There were quite a few other boats in the bay of the beach so it was quite busy but still as stunning as last time we visited. The Blue Caves Next stop is the Blue Caves on Paxos, located on the far (west) coast from Parga. This is what they look like. The Blue Caves of Paxos I have driven the boat here myself, so am suitably impressed when the captain skillfully nudges the boat right into the cave – check out all the people on the boat! Captain Hook 2 in the Blue Caves of Paxos Another swim stop which I quite frankly can’t be bothered with, we just sit there in the sunshine enjoying the dramatic coastline of Paxos. Swim stop at the Blue Caves Paxos We sail back past the Tripitos Arch which no one else notices, and then head down and around the bottom of the island, past the entrance to Mongonissi and on towards Gaios. I have uploaded a video of the sail past the magnificent Tripitos Arch which you can on my Paxos Travel Guide You Tube Channel. This is what the Tripitos Arch looks like from the land. The Tripitos Arch is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Greek Island of Paxos And this is my post all about this wonderful natural structure - Tripitos Arch Paxos – My Number 1 Thing To Do On Paxos. Oh yes there was also the rather curious site of an Italian couple dancing on the top deck, treading on flip flopped toes all over the place. Arriving in Gaios Here is a video of us approaching and arriving in Gaios. We moor just after the port where the ferries pick up and drop off most visitors to the island on the ferries from Corfu, Igoumenitsa and other places. But mainly Corfu. Once off the boat, taking note of the return time of 5.15 (5 minutes before then to get back on the boat) we walk along the waterfront past all the lovely boats into the entire of Gaios. It is so good to be back! Lunch in Gaios We know where to go in Gaios to get one of our favourite Greek lunches. Here is the name of the restaurant, which you can find right behind the lovely Church Analipsi. Gyros in Gaios I am not sure what its name is. But the chicken Gyros is great - I know that! And 3.50 euros is great value if the restaurant is a maniacal whirlwind of people going in an out. All washed down with a lovely cold beer, all good and now it is time to enjoy Gaios for a couple of hours. This is what it looks like! Gyros in Gaios Shopping in Gaios First stop is our favourite jewellers - we dont know his name but he is located below Paxos Properties next to the gyros place. We bought some Babylonian jewellery there last year and needed some adjustments. One of my bracelets had broken so the very nice chap swapped it for a different one. Nickie bought a new anklet which was lovely. We left him to do his magic for 20 minutes and went of to the t-shirt shop where we bought three lovely t-shirts and a lovely aquamarine dress for Nickie that was the colour of the sea at Voutoumi Beach. Back to the jewellers to collect our stuff and then we split up for our individual wanders. Back at the bus stop I go back to the bus stop, taxi rank and supermarket where I shoot an on location video which you can watch on my YouTube Channel – it is called Paxos Bus Timetable 2019 And Taxi Information Filmed On Location In Gaios. I also shoot a video walking from the bus stop to the waterfront which I will link to from a post about Gaios. Final drinks on Paxos Nearly time to leave Paxos. Boo hiss. We have a drink at Manesko on the waterfront in the shade, I have a large Mythos and Nickie has a very nice Mojito. And then another Mojito. I stick to one beer or I will need the loo and we have to get going for our boat! Drinks cost 22 euros. Getting back to the boat We get back to the boat in good time, and return to our seats where we left our towels. It’s ok everyone did that. Well everyone apart those that didn’t. I witnessed a few arguments where the space that people had on the way out was much less on the way back. Returning to Parga We get back to Parga at 6.30, enjoying a couple of cans of Mythos on the way back. Here is the last video for this post, of us arriving back in Parga - Arriving in Parga Greece by boat - this is what it all looks like!!! And very lovely it is too! We battle through the crowds and get a taxi back to the hotel with essential shopping (water, wine, beer, crisps). We share the taxi with a very nice Norwegian couple who are staying at our hotel. Not that I recognised them. We get back to the room and – oh no. We have lost our shopping from Paxos!! Yes, we get back to the hotel and realise we have probably left our shopping on the boat. I put my walking shoes on and head straight back down to the town to see if I can get our clothing back. I made it to Delizi in 15 minutes which is not bad going for an old man! Nickie has in the meantime had the most innovative idea of phonning Delizi and asking if they could get our bag for us! We speak on the way down and I collect the bag from Delizi, reserving a table for the next evening. Then all I have to do is walk back to the hotel – 21 minutes to get back, well it is uphill all the way! And that is what a day trip from Parga to Paxos and Antipaxos is like. An all round splendid day which I can recommend to anyone and everyone. Want to know more about Paxos? I hope that you have found this helpful. If you would like to find out more about Paxos then please head over to my home page where I go through all the pages on this site with links so you can straight get to the stuff you want to.