Every summer Doriana and I travel to the south of Europe on a desperate hunt for the best beaches, best food, funniest night outs, cutest little islands… well long story short : for the absolute best of summer! Paxos & Antipaxos were definitely the places we loved the most and also the ones everybody on our social media was crazy about : whenever we posted pictures or videos of the blinding white sands and marvellous crystalline beaches our dm’s were flooded with all sort of questions and hysterical excitement outbursts from our friends and followers! The islands are situated in the Ionian Sea, and surrounded by the prettiest turquoise blue waters our eyes have ever witnessed (and trust me we have seen a lot of breathtaking beaches! ). However, despite the immense beauty of the islands, the islands are not part of the “hottest” Greek destinations, such as Santorini or Mykonos, even though they are much cheaper and prettier (in my humble opinion). Plus, there is a lack of info available on the internet, which makes it even more mysterious for people who have never heard of it before : if you search for it on google you get very few information. Luckily, we were planning our trip just as one of our favorite travel bloggers, Tati from www.loucosporviagem.com  was ending hers, so she had the most amazing guide available in her website, and that made our lives a lot easier because we only had four (short) days in the islands so we clearly didn’t have time to deal with the shenanigans of exploring a new place. We all know It involves a lot of time wasting activities that we just couldn’t afford! So here is our very own guide for the perfect trip to amazing Paxos & Antipaxos!

The Islands

Paxos & Antipaxos are two different Islands although they are very close to each other. Antipaxos is an inhospitable island so nobody actually stays there, visitors stay in nearby islands and end up visiting it in Day boat trips because it has amazing beaches with restaurants etc..! We stayed in Paxos, a very small island too but properly equipped with all the structure a “city” needs like hotels, banks, transports… Gaios, the center of the island is absolutely charming, with super cute restaurants, shops..etc nothing fancy, very rustic but lovely! Oh and there is this delicious Ice Cream shop that you guys absolutely have to try it’s called  Capriccio gelateria and its located right in the Marina of Gaios.. The Nutella Banana flavour is to die for! 

How To Get There

You can easily get to Paxos via Corfu, a bigger Island with plenty European connections like London, Madrid..etc. We did Milano-Corfu, and when in Corfu we caught a ferry to Paxos. New Port, one of the islands ports has ferries leaving to nearby islands almost every two hours, but we highly advise you to buy the tickets in advance and sort of schedule it according to your flight so that you don’t have to wait an eternity. The trip  lasts approximately 2 hours, and the ferry tickets cost around 30 euros. For further info we highly recommend www.paxos-greece.com

Where To Stay

Paxos is very small, so there isn’t a large hotel offer specially in August when the island is crowded! I super recommend you to book your hotel in advance because we struggled to find accommodation : everything was full and we almost had to beg for a tiny room ! We ended up staying at the Paxos Beach Hotel, that wasn’t our first choice but ended up being a very pleasant surprise! The hotel is very well located, a walking distance of ten minutes from gaios the center of the island. It’s just in front of a beautiful private beach, the rooms were super light and clean, the staff was also very nice and welcoming. Of course its not your usual super luxurious palace, but then again nothing in Paxos is luxurious unless you are sailing your very own 5 bedroom yatch. 

Paxos Beach Hotel

www.paxosbeachhotel.gr

What To Do

We clearly went to Paxos with the one  and single intention to spend our days laying in the sun, on a boat, while sipping on some delicious juice interrupted by amazing refreshing  swimming sessions in that beautiful warm sea! And thats exactly what we did, because it’s pretty much all there is to do in those islands, and we ain’t complaining ! There is nothing better than renting a boat and just sailing around, discovering amazing beaches and caves! Plus you can just strip your clothes off and relax because all of the sailors know the best hidden spots in the island! Even though we adored the beaches around paxos, ou heart stayed in Antipaxos! Vrika and Voutumi, were on our buck list for a while and OH MY GOD! What amazing beaches they are! Super warm water, beautiful restaurants, specially the Bella Vista in Voutumi that has one of the most amazing views I’ve ever laid my eyes on! You have to go through 200 exhaustive steps to get to the top but its super worth it!

What To Pack

Nothing fancy since everyone is super laid back. Keep all your Dolce&Gabbana looks for Capri because all you need is soft, flowy dresses, a lot of lace and neutral colors. No heels needed, no make-up, nada! Also i strongly advise those little matchy sets that make amazing outfits without much effort for a dinner night out in gaios! But I repeat DO NOT OVERDRESS! Oh and a lot of bikinis cause thats pretty much all you’ll be wearing anyways!

Useful Information

WHEN TO GO  From early June to September is the best time to go! The water is extremely warm and the weather is amazing ! We went in August, during high season so everything is a little bit more on the expensive side, the hotels are harder to book since there aren’t so many. It’s also harder to book the boats, so we recommend going before or after August . It’s less expensive and also easier to get around.  

GETTING AROUND There are very few taxis in the island so the easiest is to either rent a car or just walk everywhere. Our hotel was super close to Gaios, so we didnt really need taxis that much, however if you need one make sure you book it in advance because the waiting time for a cab is like 30 minutes..so don’t be in a rush!

BOAT RENTAL Before we got to the island we contacted a boat rental company because there is such high demand that the best is to just do it in advance. We payed around 200 euros for a full boat day (from 10 am to 6pm), just us and friends. The company we hired is Panos Boat Hire and we super recommend them, because the sailors are extremely nice and they know the islands like no one!  

Panos Boat Hire 

Facebook : @panosboatsandtrips

E-mail : info@paxos-holidays.gr