Paxos Travel Guide

Tag: Greek Island

  • Antipaxos Greece – Everything You Need To Know

    Antipaxos Greece – Everything You Need To Know

    Antipaxos is a very small Greek Island. Small but stunning and we have loved both our visits.

    Antipaxos Greece – as I said a stunning, very small Greek Island that we visited twice, and absolutely loved each time. In this post I will tell you what it is really like going to Antipaxos for the day and provide information on everything that this wonderful tiny Greek Island has to offer.

    At the end of the post are links to related things on my website that I think you might find of interest.

    So if you have already booked a holiday to Corfu or Paxos, or are thinking about it, and fancy a day out somewhere different then why not add Antipaxos to your plans?

    If you hear about comparisons with the Caribbean and Caribbean-esque beaches and translucent blue, green and turquoise seas then this is true – I have been to both and Paxos really does compare.

    This is a picture of lovely Vrika Beach on the stunning island of Antipaxos in Greece. Paxos Travel Guide by Rick McEvoy
    This is a picture of lovely Vrika Beach on the stunning island of Antipaxos in Greece. Paxos Travel Guide by Rick McEvoy

    Why should I go to Antipaxos?

    Well why not? Antipaxos offers stunning beaches with stunning crystal-clear aquamarine waters.

    Where is Antipaxos?

    Here is a map that shows mainland Greece, Corfu, Paxos and Antipaxos. Antipaxos is just under 2kms to the south of Paxos in the Ionian Sea. The trip from Gaios to Vrika Beach is longer of course, but the 2km is the extent of the bit of open sea between the two islands.

    How big is Antipaxos?

    Small. Very small indeed.

    From top left to bottom right Antipaxos is 3.90km long, and at its widest point is 1.68km wide. That equates to just over 4km2.

    That is pretty small isn’t it??

    And Antipaxos has a population of less than 100 in the high season, dropping as low as 30 in the close season.

    30 people on an island – just think about that!

    When is the best time to go to Antipaxos?

    Well that is simple. Check out my post When Is The Best Time To Visit Paxos? which will tell you all you need to know.

    The island of Paxos is quiet in the close season, and I would imagine Antipaxos is even quieter – I have never been there off-season so cannot say for sure, but I would imagine that Antipaxos is pretty much deserted on the close season. Certainly there will be a much-reduced boat service from Paxos to Antipaxos. And I can’t see any of the restaurants staying open either.

    Now I have to say that writing this makes me wonder if it is possible to go to Antipaxos outside of the main holiday season on Paxos.

    It sounds like an exciting and different thing to do, which I fear I am going to have to look into and try to do!

    The tavernas on Antipaxos may not even be open at the beginning of the tourist season in May, nor the end of the season mid to late September, giving a small window of opportunity. Off season does not look good.

    Getting to Antipaxos

    The only way to Antipaxos is by boat. Well unless you are a particularly strong swimmer that is! Or have a sea plane or helicopter. Ok I will stop there- you get the point?

    There are day trips mainly from Gaios, as well as daily water taxis from Gaios to Vrika and Voutoumi Beaches which run from mid-June to mid-September. Water taxis only take 10-15 minutes to get you from Paxos to Antipaxos and back.

    And if you are one of those lucky people sailing around the Ionian Islands you can moor up and hit the beach and bars whenever you want.

    Other than that it you have managed to secure one of the few holiday resorts on this wonderful island your tour operator will get you to your accommodation.

    Getting off the boat and onto the island

    Let me share my experience with you here. Getting across the open water from Paxos to Antipaxos is not a problem.

    Getting off the boat and onto the island can be though.

    This is what I ended up doing – this is the bit you need to know – how to get quickly and safely on and off Antipaxos without annoying anyone.

    You can read all about the trauma of my incompetent attempts to do this in the post Paxos Boat Hire – Do Your Own Trip From Paxos To Antipaxos.

    I will spare you that tale of woe and cut to the chase. Take the boat slowly into the bay – you can’t miss Vrika Beach and Taverna Spiros on the right-hand side.

    Head to the right of the bay and you will see the platform where people get on and off the water taxis. Wait for the water taxi to leave, then quickly take your boat in and pull up at the landing. Holding onto the side drop off your passengers and all the bags, then turn the boat around and head of for the sand and drop anchor. It is a quick swim back to the beach, and everyone is on the island with no dramas.

    And I will give you one more top boating tip that will help you – bring a small waterproof container that you can out the boat key in. Preferably something that you can attach to yourself that is brightly coloured and floats.

    And don’t take loads of stuff. I took my full camera bag with me which caused all sorts of problems!

    What is there to do on Antipaxos?

    Beaches

    I have listed the main beaches elsewhere in this post. The beaches are lovely sandy beaches. Just go and enjoy!

    Swimming and snorkelling

    The water is stunningly clear. I like to just float in the water there to be honest. Get over to the rocks on the side an you never know what you will see – the beauty of that lovely clear water is the visibility when snorkelling is amazing.

    Diving

    There is a dive site on the even smaller island of Daskalia, which can be found about 900 metres south of Antipaxos. There are two dive centres on Paxos, Paxos Oasi Sub in Lakka, which I walked passed at least 6 times every day on holiday as it is just past the Hotel Bastas, and Water Planet Dive Centre in Gaios.

    There is no dive centre on Antipaxos. Other than the tavernas there are no shops on Antipaxos!

    Walking

    Obviously the island is small but walking into the centre of the island is well worth the effort, and you can take in Bella Vista on your way! And who does not love a gentle scramble on the rocks of the coastline of these islands – I know I do.

    But be careful on those rocky edges!

    Driving

    Yes you can drive on Antipaxos, but this is only if you are staying there and really feel the need to! If you walk at a reasonable pace of 4kms per hour you should be able to get from the top to the bottom in something like, erm 20 minutes! And getting from side to side will be even quicker.

    So driving in Antipaxos? I don’t think so.

    And where would you get fuel from?

    The beaches of Antipaxos

    These are the beaches of Antipaxos.

    As with my description of the beaches of Paxos, which you can read in the post imaginatively called Paxos Beaches, I will start at the top of the island and work round in a clockwise direction.

    There are three main beaches on Antipaxos.

    Vrika Beach

    One of the two famous beaches of Paxos, Vrika Beach has the lovely soft white sand and that Caribbean-esque stunning water. Vrika beach has two tavernas which you can read about later on in this post. I am sure that there used to be three places to eat and drink on Vrika Beach but there only appear to be two now. Or am I imagining things?

    Mesovikra Beach

    This is the less well-known beach, the pebbly beach in-between Vrika and Voutoumi beaches. There are no bars, and the beach is pebbly.

    So it is much much quieter, and if that is your kind of thing go for it and enjoy that lovely water and everyone going past on the boats to the busier beaches.

    And it is a quick 5-minute walk to either of the other beaches with the facilities and all those people!

    There are rocks at the ends of the beach which offer great snorkelling opportunities.

    Meso means “middle, intermediate, halfway” by the way. And I guess Mesovrika is the middle beach of three.

    Smile and wave and enjoy the peace and quiet of this lovely pebbly beach!

    Voutoumi Beach

    Voutoumi Beach is the largest beach on Antipaxos, and along with Vrika Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the Ionian Sea, and possibly further beyond.

    Voutoumi Beach has that lovely white sand, and that ever so stunning blue water.

    Other beaches

    Apart from these beaches there are a number of smaller beaches which do not appear to have names.

    I have to say that I have not been to these beaches, but they are (apparently) all accessible on foot, or much better by boat.

    On the north west side of the island you will find Bay Antipaxos, which is a very quiet bay accessible from a small path or you can moor your boat in the bay and swim in the lovely crystal-clear blue waters.

    Why is the water so blue on Antipaxos?

    It is a combination of the nutrients in the sea, the depth of the water, the protection on the west coast of Antipaxos, the tides, prevailing winds and that lovely white sand that all combine to give the beaches of Antipaxos their stunning, crystal clear blue waters.

    I have often wondered why the sea is so blue and having looked into it believe it is a combination of all these things leading to this natural phenomenon.

    Staying on Antipaxos

    You can stay on Antipaxos, but you need to bear in mind a few things

    • Shops. There are no shops on Antipaxos.
    • Tavernas. There are five tavernas which are open at lunchtime. I list these elsewhere in this post.
    • Hotels. There are no hotels on Antipaxos. No hotels!!

    And that is pretty much it.

    Bear this in mind – stopping on Antipaxos is going to be a different, secluded and quiet experience!

    Where to stay on Antipaxos

    There are places you can stay on Antipaxos – here they are

    Simpson Secret – Simpson Travel Hideaway Bolthole

    Check out this fantastic Simpson Secret.

    You are provided with a Suzuki Jeep to drive around the limited roads on the island but remember how big the island is – I am sure that the bicycles provided will serve you just fine!

    This really is a wonderful retreat which I am seriously thinking about for 2020 – it is pretty much fully booked for 2019 (at the time of writing this post in April 2019).

    There also a small number of private rental villas on Paxos. Check out

    Ionian Villas

    Paxos Owners Direct

    Where to eat on Antipaxos

    Taverna Spiros

    This is one of the two main bars on Vrika Beach. Sat right on the beach this is our favourite taverna on Antipaxos which we have stopped at on both our visits to Antipaxos.

    Now you might expect to pay a premium for eating and drinking on Antipaxos, but the prices are Taverna Spiros are just fine, the food is lovely, and the drinks are chilled.

    Meat is cooked on a barbecue which you walk past as you enter the seating area which is up a few steps giving the taverna a slightly elevated position offering fantastic views of the beach, the bay and that stunning water.

    Here you can sit and happily watch the world go by, and watch the boats coming in and out of the bay.

    Of course at peak times in the peak season it can get busy, so make sure you allow yourself time – do all this and you will have a great time there.

    We liked it so much we bought a t-shirt there happily advertising the taverna!! And talking it t-shirts this is were I left my t-shirt that time that I drove the hire boat – you can read all about that in the imaginatively titled post Paxos Boat Hire – Do Your Own Trip From Paxos To Antipaxos.

    The end point of this story is that we had a chat with the people at the Mongonissi Beach Bar and were reunited with my t-shirt at Theo and Pepe in Gaios some days later!

    And that is what Paxos is all about for me – a small, close community happy to help wherever they can.

    I believe that Taverna Spiros is the most popular restaurant on Antipaxos and has the best reviews if you check out Google and Trip Advisor, edging out Bella Vista.

    Bpyka Taverna- Bar

    This is the other bar on Vrika Beach. This bar is down to the left as you look at Vrika Beach.

    We have not been there to be honest, but I hear from people that I have spoken to that it is very nice and can be quieter than Taverna Spiros.

    Voutoumi Beach Bar and Restaurant

    Voutoumi Beach is the other main beach on Antipaxos. I have not been to Voutoumi Beach Bar – there is unfortunately only so much you can achieve in a day, especially if you want to have any relaxing at some point in the day!!

    A lovely beach location with views of that stunning (I will use the term again) Caribbean-esque sea and sand combination!

    Bella Vista

    This is the restaurant a short walk up the hill with great views looking down on Voutoumi Beach. How many steps appears to be a subject for debate – I lost count but there are 200-220-300 who knows? steps.

    One thing I can categorically say is that you walk up steps to get there.

    Bella Vista after all means “beautiful sight”.

    You can get dinner there, but the service does not run late into the night, they often have the last service at 8pm. And reservations are recommended, especially if you consider the lack of alternative options.

    At Bella Vista you will enjoy great food, a friendly service and also great music!

    My photos of Antipaxos

    My plan was to show all my photos of Antipaxos here, but the truth is that I have not processed them yet. I have included the photo of Vrika Beach in this post, and will post the rest of the photos once I have edited them

    Related posts

    I have written a number of related posts which I will provide links to you for

    Should I drive a hire boat to Antipaxos from Paxos?

    When is the best time to visit Paxos?

    Paxos Boat Hire – Do Your Own Trip From Paxos To Antipaxos

    And also please check out my Paxos Travel Guide YouTube Channel

    Want to know more about Paxos?

    I hope that you have found this post helpful, informative and even a little bit entertaining! To find out more about my favourite, wonderful Greek island all you need to do is click here and I will take you straight back to the start of my Paxos blog. Nice and easy!

    Oh yes, I hope that you enjoy the next post.

    Rick McEvoy

  • Paxos Travel Guide – Getting Around The Island

    Paxos Travel Guide – Getting Around The Island

    Paxos is a small Greek Island. Whilst it is a great place to relax after a few days I had to get out and explore this wonderful island.

    This website is called Paxos Travel Guide. And in this post I will describe getting around the island. Well how I got around this lovely Greek Island. I might even show you some photos from my travels. I love the fact that the island is so small that I can get around most of it and get to see nearly everything I wanted to see.

    There are various ways of getting around Paxos which I will list here, before describing each one in turn.

    • Bus
    • Car
    • Taxi
    • Boat
    • Boat rental
    • Walking
    • Swimming
    • Excursions
    • Bikes
    • Scooters
    • Quad bikes

    Getting around Paxos by Bus

    There is one public bus on Paxos, which I can heartily recommend a trip on. The service is excellent, and you get great views from being higher up than in a car. We chose to sit at the front of the bus to really enjoy the experience and views driving around Paxos.

    The highlight of the bus trip for me is the bit where you go along the waterfront in Loggos – this is something you have to see to believe!

    The prices are perfectly reasonable

    • Lakka to Gaios 3 euros
    • Loggos to Gaios 3 euros
    • Loggos to Lakka 1.80 euros

    Whilst everyone says small change is essential for the bus we did not have a problem getting change from the very nice lady.

    Here is a photo of the bus timetable taken in 2017.

    Bus timetables on Paxos

    I do not have the timetable for 2019 yet – all you need to know is that they are displayed clearly at every bus stop, along with the taxi drivers’ names and numbers.

    Getting the bus is a great of getting between Loggos, Lakka and Gaios. And of course, it means that you can have a cheeky drink, which I did regularly!!

    Getting around Paxos by Car

    Hiring a car is nice and easy. As with all things in busy times book in advance and you won’t have any problems. I have written a separate post all about this called Paxos Car Rental – Everything You Need To Know.

    Driving around the island of Paxos is a lovely experience, and one that I enjoyed tremendously. The best bit for as a photographer and someone who loves finding places was the side roads off the main roads down to the beaches.

    There were all sorts of fascinating views and things to stop and look at.

    This of course is the beauty of having a car – you have the freedom to go wherever you want whenever you want.

    The roads are not at all busy – the main things to be aware of are the following.

    Tourist drivers – I count myself as one of these. You can tell locals from tourists in an instant! Just keep your eyes on the road and be aware of other drivers.

    Large wagons and buses. This was a surprise to me – a large wagon driving from Gaios to Lakka certainly surprised me and reminded me that I need to be way over to the left!

    Unusually parked vehicles. I did come across the odd vehicle parked in less than convenient places on my travels around the island.

    The one-way system in Gaios. This takes you through some fairly narrow roads with in the middle of the town – another thing to be aware of.

    Steep roads. I nearly got stuck trying to get back up the hill from Erimitis Bay Beach – make sure that you can get back up a road that you are going down before you do so!

    Taxis on Paxos

    The taxi service on Paxos is excellent. At busy times make sure you book in advance. Name and numbers of the taxi drivers are below, and are also displayed on bus timetables in the main towns of Loggos, Lakka and Gaios.

    Loggos

    • Mr. Christos Argyros: (+30) 6977472747
    • Mr. Tasos Mourikis  : (+30) 6976648486

    Lakka

    • Mr. Kostas Antiohos: (+30) 6974002236

    Gaios

    • Mr. Nikos Mourikis  : +(30) 6984220011
    • Mr. Haris Bogdanos: (+30) 6974135660

    Prices are perfectly reasonable, and the service is very reliable. The drivers are lovely and friendly, the cars are nice and clean. All good basically – book early whenever you can.

    Taxis also pick up and drop off at the bus stop in Gaios, right by the main car park and the Paxos Market.

    Boats from Paxos

    You can go on boat trips from Gaios back to Corfu of to Igoumenista, and also of course to Antipaxos

    Boat rental

    This is one of my top thing things to do on Paxos. I have written a post titled Should I drive a hire boat to Antipaxos from Paxos? which introduces this subject. I will also be writing a separate post all about a day on a hire boat going from Paxos to Antipaxos. And back!

    You can of course rent a boat and just pootle around – you don’t have to go to Antipaxos. There are lots of great little coves, beaches and cliffs to explore whilst staying in the waters of Paxos itself.

    Walking on Paxos

    Yep I loved walking around the island, be it from my hotel to remote places or parking the car then just going off exploring.

    If you are going to use your phone for navigation a word of warning – the mobile phone signal can drop off quite dramatically. I had trouble finding the magnificent Tripitos Arch as the phone signal just died on me, leaving me walking around in circles staring at random directions.

    If you like walking buy a map – I am quite ashamed that I did not do this, especially with me being trained in all these things when I was in the scouts some years ago granted.

    And my other top piece of advice – take water – don’t do what I did, which you can view on this short video on my Paxos Travel Guide YouTube channel.

    Swimming

    Swimming on Paxos is lovely. I often was joined on my sunrise shoots by locals enjoying an early morning swim. It was a surprise to me that quite often this was skinny dipping though!! Quite a shock when I am trying photograph and video the sunrise I have to say!

    The waters are lovely and clear outside of the main harbours of Lakka, Loggos and Gaios by the way.

    No I am not saying swim from one place to another, not unless you are a strong swimmer and have a really good waterproof bag!

    Excursions

    If you have travelled with tour operator on a package holiday you will of course be offered excursions. I strongly recommend the day trip to Paxos – we did this the first time we came to Paxos and all it did was make us want to come back. TUI and Olympic Holidays offer holidays and excursions on Paxos.

    Beyond that many hotels can assist with trips out.

    We found the best way was just to walk around the three main towns of Lakka, Loggos and Gaios and see what was on offer. There are various places offering trips around the island and from Gaios to other islands.

    Bikes, Scooters, Quad bikes

    You can hire these from various rental places in Loggos, Lakka and Gaios. I know it would be nice to list the places on this post, but a lot of them do not have their own websites, so a list would not be complete.

    I assume that if you are going to Paxos you will be visiting at least one of the three main towns at some point – all you need to do is walk around and you will find what you are looking for.

    To summarise getting around the Greek Island of Paxos is easy and an absolute delight. My favourite bits were renting a boat and also exploring the lesser known parts.

    How to get around Paxos? Any way you want – just enjoy it like I did!!

    Check out the video that accompanies this post

    I have recorded a video titled “Paxos Travel Guide – Getting Around The Island” which you can find on my Paxos Travel Guide You Tube channel which accompanies this post.

    Want to know more about Paxos?

    I hope that you have found this post helpful, informative and even a little bit entertaining! To find out more about my favourite, wonderful Greek island all you need to do is click here and I will take you straight back to the start of my Paxos blog. Nice and easy!

    Oh yes, I hope that you enjoy the next post.

    Rick McEvoy

  • When Is The Best Time To Visit Paxos?

    When Is The Best Time To Visit Paxos?

    You have decided to visit the wonderful Greek Island of Paxos. Great decision, but there is a very important question that needs to be answered.

    When is the best time to visit Paxos? It really depends on what you want to do and get out of the island, but our favourite time to visit Paxos Is August, where we have enjoyed long, lovely hot summer days. In this post I will share my experiences of visiting Paxos in August, as well as give you my thoughts on the problems holidaying out of season in Paxos.

    What is Paxos like in August?

    Hot. Lovely and hot with nice long days. It might be a touch too hot for some people, and sometimes it can be a challenge getting ready in the evening to go out for dinner. If you like days lounging about by the pool reading and taking in some sun August is perfect.

    And I loved it going out and exploring and taking photos.

    In August I could go out well before sunrise in just shorts and a t-shirt and be absolutely fine. And when I went out at noon to find other locations to photograph whilst I got hot and sweaty I was fine as long as I had water.

    Me feeling the effects of the heat on an afternoon explore in August on Paxos without any water!
    Me feeling the effects of the heat on an afternoon explore in August on Paxos without any water!

    OK not the best look granted but I survived!!!! And here is the video!

    I managed to do my writing when we got back to the room each day later afternoon sat on the front balcony of our room at Hotel Bastas – the upper floors did provide some air movement which gave a bit of respite.

    We did witness a bit of rain which was interesting – it was all over in an hour though – check out the video on my YouTube channel.

    And the hire boat trip to Anti-Paxos was a complete joy, a sunbathing delight. You can read more about that in a future post.

    So, we love going to Paxos in August, but are looking forward to going back out of season for a completely different island experience.

    OK – that is my take on holidaying in Paxos in August – now for some facts which will help you decide which is the best time of year to visit Paxos.

    Average Air temperature

    According to the website Holiday Weather website these are the average air temperatures

    • January – 10° C
    • February – 10° C
    • March – 12° C
    • April – 14° C
    • May – 19° C
    • June – 22° C
    • July – 25° C
    • August – 25° C
    • September – 22° C
    • October – 18° C
    • November – 15° C
    • December – 11° C

    That only tells you part of the story. The high/ low temperatures in say August are 31/ 19° C. I don’t remember experiencing 19° C at any point in our two visits to Paxos to be honest – it felt much, much warmer than that even at night. Bearing in mind that I was often up at 4 in the morning to go out and photograph sunrise.

    Average sea temperature

    • January – 17° C
    • February – 15° C
    • March – 15° C
    • April – 17° C
    • May – 19° C
    • June – 22° C
    • July – 25° C
    • August – 25° C
    • September – 25° C
    • October – 23° C
    • November – 20° C
    • December – 18° C

    Very, very nice indeed. 25 degrees is a sheer joy to swim, snorkel, just immerse yourself in. And pick the right spot and the waters are crystal clear.

    Average hours of sunshine

    • January – 5 hours
    • February – 5 hours
    • March – 6 hours
    • April – 7 hours
    • May – 9 hours
    • June – 10 hours
    • July – 12 hours
    • August – 11 hours
    • September – 8 hours
    • October – 6 hours
    • November – 5 hours
    • December – 4 hours

    July and August for me – I go to Greek Islands for all that lovely sunshine, amongst other things of course!

    That the facts – what about getting there out of the main season?

    OK – so we have established that the sea temperature is lovely all year round (I can say this as a qualified scuba diver living in England!), and that the air temperature is lovely and warm May to October.

    How about getting to Paxos out of season?

    You can read my post all about getting to Paoxs here, but what about getting to Paxos out of season?

    Getting flights to Paxos airport. Sorry – Corfu Airport.

    Read more about Paxos airport in this not so serious post “Paxos airport – everything you ever need to know guaranteed!” Seriously now, Corfu International Airport is a major international airport.

    Flying from Bournemouth International Airport

    At the time of writing this (January 2019) to fly to Corfu right now involves stops at Alicante, Frankfurt and Athens! I did find a flight with just two stops, but you get the point – this is not peak time of year.

    Flying from London

    Flying from London is a tad easier out of the main season, but you still have to change in Athens. Off season flights from the UK to Paxos are therefore via Athens. I am sure that there are alternatives, but this is the conventional way of getting to Corfu.

    Ferries

    OK. Two/ three stops later we are at Corfu International Airport. Now how do we get to Paxos? Well this is a bit of a problem.

    According to the website Paxos Greece there are three ferries from Corfu New Port to Gaios, Despina Passenger Boat (Kamelia Lines), Christa Passenger Boat (Kamelia Lines) and the Ilida II.

    They do not start running until June 18th and stop running 30th September. Well the Christa runs on an extra month, stopping it’s service October 31st.

    So that is a bit of a problem.

    Getting to Paxos outside of the main holiday season

    You can get a ferry direct from Igoumenitsa to Paxos off season. You can check out the timetable here.

    Where is Igoumenitsa? It is on mainland Greece – here it is on the map.

    At the time of writing there is one service to Paxos departing at 11.15am. Return ferries depart Paxos back to Igoumenitsa

    I have finally got to Paxos – now what?

    Hotels

    Most of the hotels in Paxos close down for the winter. We stopped at the lovely Hotel Bastas in Lakka. Hotel Bastas is open from 1st May to 30th September – this is typical of the tourist hotels on Paxos. If you want to stay off season your best bet is to find a hotel in Gaios, the capital of the island. The choice is rather limited though I have to say.

    It will take a bit of digging around on the internet through the usual hotel booking sites.

    Apartments

    If you contact owners direct you might get an off-season bargain – try Owners Direct.

    Restaurants

    Same thing. Gaios is your best bet out of season, the smaller towns are pretty much closed down out of season and most people are on the mainland of Corfu or other places off Paxos.

    Summary – when is the best time to visit Paxos?

    As you will now have gathered the best time to go to Paxos is when everything is open! The main season is May to the end of September. Out of these times it is possible to stay in Paxos, but your choices of transport to get there as well as places to eat and drink will be limited.

    And it can be cold, wet and windy.

    But it will be very, very quiet.

    It is my ambition to have an extended holiday in Paxos out of season, and I am thinking October. It is still nice and warm, even though the days are shorter, but this quiet Greek Island will be significantly quitter immediately out of season. I am thinking the first week in October maybe?

    So, to get back to the original question, when is the best time to visit Paxos? Anytime between May and September – it really depends on the temperatures that you are comfortable with and what you want to do.

    If you want to go walking the early months will be better, but if you want to lie in the sun all day then July and August are the best months.

    Check out the video that accompanies this post

    I have recorded a video titled “When Is The Best Time To Visit The Greek Island Of Paxos” which you can find on my Paxos Travel Guide You Tube channel which accompanies this post.

    Want to know more about Paxos?

    I hope that you have found this post helpful, informative and even a little bit entertaining! To find out more about my favourite, wonderful Greek island all you need to do is click here and I will take you straight back to the start of my Paxos blog. Nice and easy!

    Oh yes, I hope that you enjoy the next post.

    Rick McEvoy

  • What Is Paxos Like – Simply A Stunning Greek Island

    What Is Paxos Like – Simply A Stunning Greek Island

    There are lots of places to visit on this big old planet of ours, so why go to Paxos? We have visited lots of Greek Islands, but after our first visit there we were straight back the next year.

    What is Paxos like? It is simply a stunning Greek Island. If you are looking for a lovely, small, picturesque chilled Greek Island which is easy to get around with lots to see and do, great food and drinks and a relaxed atmosphere then go to Paxos.

    In this post I will tell you all about my experiences of visiting Paxos. I am a photographer and writer, so I will be sharing my photos of this stunning Greek Island with you on this website. I will also explain how I find the locations and how I took the photos. I will also share my experiences of being on the island which I wrote down in a daily holiday journal. Yes, I wrote a journal on holiday. I have captured everything that we did, everywhere we went and most importantly what it feels like holidaying on Paxos.

    What are my highlights of Paxos?

    These are the main reasons in my opinion (as someone who has been there twice and is looking forward to going there again) why you should go to Paxos.

    The atmosphere of the island

    Paxos has a lovely chilled vibe. Well apart from being in Gaios when the boats arrive with all the day trippers that is, but don’t worry you soon get used to that!. And it is nice to see lots of people excited to explore the lovely town of Gaios for an afternoon.

    The other main towns are Lakka and Loggos. Now I need to explain that some of the names can be written in other ways. Loggos is known locally as Longos. But Lakka is known locally as Lakka.

    I know – let’s not worry about that.

    Paxos is a lovely chilled island with small deserted beaches that you can get to by foot – you just need to know where they are and put a bit of effort in!

    The size of the island

    Paxos is a small island. Apparently Paxos is 76 square kilometres. Does that mean anything to you? Me neither.

    To put it another way, you can drive from Lakka at the top of the island down to Mongonissi at the bottom of the island in about half an hour. You can’t drive straight across the island as the roads don’t work that way in Paxos.

    Half an hour top to bottom is great if you like that sort of thing.

    The stunning scenery of Paxos

    Being a photographer, I will tell you lots about the lovely scenery you can find on this lovely island and show you lots of the photos I have taken.

    I travelled the length and breadth of the island in my little hire car just exploring. I also walked off the beaten path to get some stunning views from parts of the island I guess most people don’t get to.

    Taking photos on the island of Paxos

    Talking of the scenery being such a small island it is easy to get out and photograph sunrise as the eastern coast is never that far away from you regardless of where you are! And as well as the lovely sunrises there are lots of other things to take photos of on the island of Paxos.

    Yes, I managed to drag myself out of bed for some stunning sunrises in the three main locations, Lakka, Loggos and Gaios. And a couple of other places too which are less well known.

    The lovely climate

    We were in Paxos in August. Now it is fair to say that it was hot, but due to it being an island, and us stopping near the harbour in Lakka we could sleep comfortably at night with the balcony doors open.

    The climate in Paxos is lovely. I won’t say you are guaranteed sunshine every day, as we did have a thunderstorm one day, which was a result of it being so hot for a long period.

    But that was over in a morning and made for interesting viewing from our balcony.

    The mix of people on the island

    In our experience the majority of visitors to the island are Italian. The next biggest nationality is English. And then there are smaller number of visitors from other European countries. Paxos is so nice that Greek themselves holiday there!
    This mix of visitors with the lovely Greek locals provides a nice blend of people thrown together on this small island.

    I love how you get to the island

    Paxos does not have an airport. You can only get there by boat. Or by helicopter if you are seriously rich I guess.

    This in its’ own makes getting to and from Paxos joyfully different. From the UK most people fly to Corfu and get the boat from the New Port in Corfu Town to Paxos.

    I will write a separate post about this, Paxos – How To Get There – This Is How We Did It On Our Own, which will give you losts more info on this very subject.

    I have never been anywhere else where there isn’t an airport, well apart from the Maldives thinking about it. Certainly, nowhere in Europe without an airport.

    It is so easy to get around the island

    Obviously, the island is small, but it is easy to get around.

    There are five taxis on the island, and the taxi drivers’ names and numbers are displayed on the bus stops and other places. We never had a problem getting a taxi.

    Car hire in Paxos is easy and not that expensive, and also a great way to get around the island. I loved the freedom of driving around the island, especially turning off the main road and finding things well off the beaten track.

    There is also a great bus service running from Lakka through Loggos to Gaios. And you just have to get the bus to experience the drive through Loggos past the bar and restaurant tables (my number one regret is not filming the drive from the bus stop at Loggos through the harbour when the bus squeezes between the waters edge and the restaurant tables).

    And then of course there are the boats. You can hire a boat and take yourself off around the island. There are plenty of places to get boats from, just make sure that you book yours in advance for the day you want the boat.

    Once you have a boat you must go the extra mile and visit Antipaxos. If you thought Paxos was small you wait till you get there!

    I will write in much more detail about how you get around the island of Paxos in a future post.

    Eating and drinking in Paxos

    If you like Greek and Italian food then you are in for a treat. I find it quite strange that I got into pasta more than I ever have on this Greek Island – this was a result of following recommendations from restaurant owners.

    Not that the Greek food is not excellent – I managed to enjoy stifado for dinner for five consecutive days at five different restaurants!

    And the drinks are good value too. Local beers are lovely (I just love Mythos) and the house wines we tried with our evening meals were (with one exception) very nice indeed.

    I will write about our dining experiences in my daily journal. Talking of which, this is the first time I have written a daily travel journal, and this is the first time that I know exactly what I ate every night, and where I ate it!

    Check out the video that accompanies this post

    I have recorded a video titled “What is Paxos Like” which you can find on my Paxos Travel Guide You Tube channel which accompanies this post.

    About my daily journal

    I am going to publish my daily journal, so you can read exactly what it is like being on Paxos. I wrote my journal every day after breakfast to ensure that I had not forgotten anything and that I captured how I felt each day, which is important.

    I wrote my journal on my iPad in one of two locations – either in the shade from the morning sun on our balcony or at a table by the pool. I should say, we stopped at the Hotel Bastas in the town of Lakka which you can find to the north of the island.

    A final word about me

    I am writing this as a paying customer of everything we did and everywhere we went. The hotel, flights and transfer were all booked independently.

    My views are very much my own views. No-one has paid me to write nice things about their hotel or restaurant.

    I am a freelance photographer and writer based in Dorset on the south coast of England.

    If you have any questions about the wonderful Greek Island of Paxos please get in touch via the comments box, and thanks for reading.

    Want to know more about Paxos?

    I hope that you have found this post helpful, informative and even a little bit entertaining! To find out more about my favourite, wonderful Greek island all you need to do is click here and I will take you straight back to the start of my Paxos blog. Nice and easy!

    Oh yes, I hope that you enjoy the next post.

    Rick McEvoy