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Paxos and the Ionian islands
Paxos is a beautiful island and probably the most beautiful Ionian island. The Ionian islands are situated between Italy and the west coast of Greece. They are 6 large Ionian islands : Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada, Ithaca, Kefalonia and Zakynthos with Corfu being the northern and most important one. Paxos is situated south of Corfu at about 1 hour boat drive and its administrative services are managed in Corfu. Paxos is one of the most beautiful Ionian island and certainly the most authentic one.
Corfu has been under Venetian rule for several centuries. It became French a few years at the beginning of the 19th century and then British until 1864 when it was finally given to Greece.
How to get to Paxos
The best way to come to Paxos is arriving by plane in Corfu. The major European airports offer direct flights to Corfu from end of April to end of October. If you wish to come off season, you will need to go through Athens which is also possible in the peak season if you do not find interesting flights directly to Corfu. If you need to make a stop in Athens, you can then use Aegean Airways, Olympic Airways or Sky Express to come to Corfu.
Once you are in Corfu, we strongly suggest you to visit at least the town of Corfu, Kerkyra, which is one of the nicest Mediterranean city.
To come to Paxos, you can either stay overnight – to visit the city – or come directly from the airport of Corfu to the New port of Corfu (15 minutes drive) to catch one of the 2 boats companies navigating to Paxos. In the peak season, you will have several boats per day and off season once a day or one every 2 days. The journey takes from 1 hour to 1,5 hours depending on the boat company: Kamelia Lines or Ilida Dolphin.
How to move around in Paxos
Paxos is a small island of 25 km2 which makes it very simple to move around. When there was no cars on the island, less than a century ago, Paxos inhabitants used to walk which explains the incredible footpath system which still exists on the island. If you like to walk, this island is a great and safe place to do it. You can use applications such as Galileo which presents all the different footpath and will enable you to walk around stress-free. In the summer months, it is advisable to start early in the morning or after 5 pm. For more comfort, it is recommended to rent a car. There are several rent a car agencies. If you come during the month of August, it is advisable to book your car early enough in order to be sure to have a car during your whole holiday.
Things to do in Paxos
There are many things to do on the island of Paxos : hiking on authentic and old footpaths, swimming in the clear and pure Ionian sea, scuba-diving, sailing, sunbathing on the most beautiful beaches of the island, discovering Greek culture, Greek people and a very international community living on the island.
Interesting websites about Paxos :
Many information available on Paxos ferries, car hire, boat hire…etc.
To view the port of Gaios 24/7 per webcam
An article in English on the Ionian islands
An article from the Independent on beautiful Paxos
An article on Paxos and Olive Grove House seen as typical environment of Lawrence Durell novel.
More info in French on Paxos from the guide Le Petit Futé
Websites to help to preserve the environment that we love in Paxos :
To keep Paxos clean from plastic, more on the Volunteers of Paxos
To offset you carbon footprint as you will probably arrive in Corfu by airplane
To learn more on WWF programs in Greece to help save our common natural heritage in the Mediterranean
Best tips to spend your holidays in Greece
We will give you in this section some tips to get the best from your holidays in Greece giving you insight on what to do in Greece and Paxos, when to come to Greece and enjoy the best holidays!