A Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu takes you south across the Ionian Sea to two small islands with white cliffs, sea caves and water that glows turquoise. Browse more tours in Greece once you have chosen your boat.
This page covers what the cruise includes, how long it lasts and where the boats leave, the island of Paxos and the port of Gaios, the blue caves, Antipaxos and its clear sea, and the questions travellers ask.
What does a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu include?
A Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu is a full-day boat trip. It has three stops: the Blue Caves, a swim at Antipaxos and free time on Paxos. One operator adds spoken commentary on board.
On this operator’s full-day cruise, the boat sails from Corfu port and heads south. Along the way, guests pass Corfu Town, Mouse Island and Mon Repos.
Mon Repos is a palace that stands over the remains of Korkyra, the old Greek city. The first stop is the Blue Caves, where the boat goes inside so guests can look at the rock formations.
On a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu run this way, the swim comes second. The boat stops at Antipaxos, a tiny island with sandy coves and blue water. After the swim, it sails on to Paxos, the smallest of the Ionian Islands.
On Paxos, guests have free time. The listing mentions pretty alleyways, traditional tavernas and souvenir shops. You can walk around, eat in a taverna or browse the shops. The list of what the trip includes names the boat trip, the commentary and an optional hotel transfer. It names no meal, so plan to eat on the island.
The commentary is multilingual, but only in certain languages. Check the language list before you choose a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu that suits your group.
- Full-day boat trip to Paxos and Antipaxos.
- Commentary on board, in certain languages.
- Hotel pickup and drop off, only if the “With Hotel Transfer” option is selected.
- Refreshments from the bar, which you buy on board.
Refreshments are on sale at the bar throughout the cruise. The sail back to Corfu port is relaxed. Guests can take a cold drink from the bar on the way. An adult must travel with every child.
The operator’s page also lists a separate cruise to Parga and Paxos. Read the stops before you pick a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu, so the day matches your plan.
How long is the cruise, and where do the boats leave?
This operator’s boat leaves Corfu port at about a quarter past 8 in the morning. It returns at about 7 in the evening, so a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu takes the full day.
The listing gives a second departure point. A boat also leaves from Lefkimmi port at about 10 in the morning. Of all the municipal units on Corfu, Lefkimmi lies furthest south.
Tourism and agriculture are the main businesses there, and a canal passes through the east of the town. Only one other settlement on Corfu is larger. The boat still returns to Corfu port at about 7 in the evening.
Choose the hotel transfer if you want your Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu to start at your hotel door.
The transfer collects you from your Corfu hotel or from the nearest meeting point. Pickups run from 7 until 8:30 in the morning, depending on where you stay. The exact time arrives with your booking confirmation, which the listing says comes within 24 hours of booking.
Without the transfer, you make your own way to Corfu port. When the boat returns, the transport waits there and takes guests back to the hotel or the meeting point. Guests without the transfer simply leave the boat at the port.
For comparison, public boats run from Corfu to Paxos in the tourist season. They are hydrofoils, passenger ferries and sea-taxis, and they need between one and two hours. A cruise stops at the Blue Caves and Antipaxos before Paxos, so the day is longer than a plain crossing.
Outside the tourist season, a hydrofoil still runs from Corfu to Paxos. The service is infrequent, and it depends on the weather.
Weather matters, because this Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu depends on favorable conditions. The listing says a tour cancelled for poor weather can move to another date or another tour.
What is Paxos, and what is the port of Gaios like?
Paxos lies in the Ionian Sea, just south of Corfu, and its main port is Gaios. Of the seven main Ionian Islands, Paxos is the smallest. A Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu heads for it.
The island covers 25.3 square kilometres. From end to end it measures about 10 kilometres, and at its widest it reaches 3. It stretches from the northwest to the southeast. The land is hilly, and the highest point, Agios Isavros, stands at 231 metres. The municipality of Paxos has a population of 2,466 people.
As a group, Paxos, its neighbour Antipaxos and the small islets around them carry the names Paxi and Paxoi. Paxos also holds a place in the Cultural Village of Europe network. Venetian rule began there late in the fourteenth century.
By tradition, Phoenician settlers arrived on Paxos first. Ancient Greek and Illyrian fleets once fought the Battle of Paxos. The historian Polybius recorded that clash in The Histories. A Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu therefore reaches an island with ancient records.
Greek myth explains how the island appeared. In the story, Poseidon struck Corfu with his trident so that he and his wife Amphitrite had peace and quiet. One operator tells the legend on the page for its Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu. In that version, the trident strikes off the southern tip of Corfu.
Fishing, olive oil and soap-making once drove the local economy. By the mid nineteen sixties, tourism had replaced them as the main industry. A building boom then changed the coast around Gaios. Visitors on a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu land on an island that has lived from tourism for decades.
Gaios lies on the east coast. It is the main town and the seat of the municipality, and the community has 1,396 residents. Its name comes from a student of Paul the Apostle who had the same name. That student brought Christianity to the island.
Two islets shape the harbour. Agios Nikolaos and Panagia protect the port of Gaios. A strait runs around the Agios Nikolaos islet, and rows of houses look onto that water. The islet of Panagia, which holds a monastery, lies north of the town.
Other islets lie close to the coast. Mongonisi and Kaltsonisi sit off the southeastern tip of Paxos. On the small island of Kaltonisi, the Agnelli family built a holiday home that has a faux medieval tower.
The same operator describes Paxos as a place of pretty alleyways, welcoming tavernas and quaint shops. Its page says passengers get free time to browse the souvenir shops.
What are the blue caves on the west coast of Paxos?
Cliffs of steep white chalk dominate the western shore, and those cliffs harbour the blue caves. The rock is greatly eroded at sea level. Every Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu that names the caves lists them as a highlight.
Gaios and its two protecting islets lie on the east coast. The cliffs and their caves line the opposite shore, away from the town.
One operator lists the Blue Caves as the first stop of its Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu. The boat leaves Corfu port and sails south. On the way, passengers enjoy views of Corfu Town, Mouse Island and Mon Repos. When the boat enters the caves, passengers gaze at the impressive rock formations.
The same operator tells a legend about one cave. According to the story, the palace of Poseidon and Amphitriti stood in the Ypapanti cave. The operator says this cave is 1,200 metres long and leads to the centre of the island.
The caves explain why this trip goes by boat. The cliffs stand at the water’s edge along the western shore. The sea is greatly eroding the rock at their base. A Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu enters the caves from the water.
What is Antipaxos, and why is the sea so clear there?
Antipaxos is a small Greek island of 5 square kilometres, about 3 kilometres south of Paxos. A Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu brings swimmers to water that one operator calls crystalline.
Antipaxos is run by the Paxoi municipality, which sits within the regional unit of Corfu. Just 21 people live on the island all year. Vineyards largely cover its land, and its only harbour is called Agrapidia.
The island has three main beaches, and the ground under them differs. Vrika is the white-sand beach, and the other two, Mesovrika and Voutoumi, are covered in pebbles. Out of Gaios on Paxos, a sea-taxi makes the trip in 15 minutes. Together with the islets around them, the two islands also carry the plural name Paxi or Paxoi.
Swimmers come here for the sea. One operator calls the water impossibly turquoise and the island tiny and unspoilt. It adds that the sandy blue coves have been compared to the Caribbean’s. A Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu lets you judge that comparison from the water itself.
Antipaxos even appears in fiction. In What We Do in the Shadows, Natasia Demetriou plays Nadja of Antipaxos, a character born on the island. The real island is far quieter than any television plot, with a small population and a single harbour.
Wildlife reports cover Paxos and Antipaxos together. They confirm reptile species, while amphibians are absent from the records.
What else do travellers ask about a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu?
How far is Paxos from Corfu?
The gap between the southern end of Corfu and Paxos is about 15 kilometres. The mainland town of Parga lies a similar distance from Paxos. Antipaxos is a further 3 kilometres to the south. These short sea gaps are what a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu crosses.
What are the olive groves, Lakka and Longos on Paxos?
Olive groves cover the hills of Paxos, the first island named in a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu. The groves run from Lakka, the harbour community in the north, past Magazia to the capital, Gaios. The east coast holds the three main settlements: Gaios, Lakka and Longos.
Olive oil, soap and fishing led the economy until tourism replaced them from the mid nineteen sixties. Longos has a disused school, which the annual Paxos Festival uses as a venue. John Gough founded the festival. London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama runs it today.
Which islands make up the Ionian Islands?
Of the seven main Ionian Islands, Paxos is the smallest. Corfu is the northernmost, apart from its own satellite Diapontian Islands. Six of the seven lie in the Ionian Sea, along the west coast of the Greek mainland. Kythira, the seventh, sits off the Peloponnese.
The region itself is based at Corfu. Among the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, the Ionian Islands form the smallest by area.
Is Corfu Town worth a visit around the cruise?
UNESCO counts the old town of Corfu Town among the World Heritage sites. The town earned the name Kastropolis, meaning castle city, from its two castles. Venetian rule, which ended in the late eighteenth century, left multi-storied houses along narrow lanes.
The Achilleion, a palace near Gastouri, was built for Empress Elizabeth of Austria. The old town suits a sightseeing day beside a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu.
What helps if I feel seasick on the crossing?
Seasickness is brought on by the rocking of the craft. On open water, nothing fixed helps the eyes judge motion, so looking at the horizon can help. Going below deck makes it worse, because you lose sight of the movement.
Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat and headache. The day on open water during a Paxos and Antipaxos cruise from Corfu makes the tip worth knowing.