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Paxos Holidays

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Whether you’re walking through an olive grove or tucking into tzatziki in a little fishing village, you can rely on a daily dose of Greek culture on a holiday to Paxos.

The littlest Ionian

As far as Greek Islands go, Paxos is a case study in best practice. Measuring just 10 kilometres by 4 kilometres, it’s not big enough to have an airport, so it’s never been developed to cater for planes full of passengers. Instead, discerning travellers head over here by hydrofoil from Corfu, to explore a coast contoured with secluded pebble bays and coves, and an interior covered with some of the oldest olive groves in Greece.

Gaios and Loggos

Paxos’ micro population of 2,500 people is most concentrated in its harbour towns. The capital of Gaios is the busiest, relatively speaking. Visitors here distribute themselves around the waterfront and the Venetian Square. Five kilometres up the coast, there’s Loggos, where the smile-shaped waterfront is lined with tavernas, serving homemade Greek classics like tzatziki and meze.

Lakka

It’s a similar story in Lakka. You’re more likely to see boats with masts rather than motors at the moorings here – the harbour is sheltered inside a horseshoe-shaped bay, so the conditions go down a storm with sailors. What’s more, the beaches in the part of the island offer swathes of sand around all the pebbles.

30 beaches and counting

There’s a beach for every day of the month on Paxos’ east side alone. And, for an island that flies below most tourists’ radars, some of them are surprisingly well organised, with sand-side tavernas and sunloungers. Of course, deserted beaches are here for the taking, too – some parts of the island’s coast can only be accessed by boat, so headcounts are low.
The big beach

Kipiadi Beach is the longest on Paxos. It’s a pebbly stretch, backed by scrubland, so it’s got a wild look to it. Most people get here by boat, so you’ll often see yachts bobbing in the water. You can drive here, though. There’s a little car park a few hundred metres from the beach, and a walking trail that leads to the sand.
The secret beach

Some of Paxos’ beaches are so incognito they don’t have names to identify them. The island is scalloped with bays and coves that can only be accessed by boat. If you hire a motorboat you can go searching for them. The best place to look is the west coast, around the Ortholithos Stack.

Bargain Buys

After centuries of production, Paxos has got olive oil down to a fine art. Pick up a bottle from the source at the Olive Oil Museum, just outside Magazia. This is also the place to stock up on olive oil soaps and beauty products. If you’re in Lakka, meanwhile, you can pick up cheap and cheerful souvenirs, like magnets and beach bags, in the gift shops near the waterfront.
Mid-Range Buys

Apart from a few seaside souvenir shops and the handful of women’s clothing stores in Giaos Square, shops are a bit thin on the ground in Paxos, so serious spenders should catch the ferry from Gaios to Corfu Town.
Designer Buys

You won’t find identikit jewellery in Paxos. Most of the island’s jewellers are metal smiths, who customise each piece individually. A good portion of Paxos’ artisan jewellers have set up shop in and around Loggos Harbour.

Laid-back evenings

Paxos subscribes to the ‘slow and steady wins the race’ school of thought. Most evenings on the island are exactly that. Visitors gravitate to the waterfronts in Lakka, Loggos and Gaios in search of good tavernas and low key cocktail bars, like the ones at the south end of Loggos harbour. Eremitis Bay, meanwhile, is the place to go to watch the sunset over a cocktail.
Lively evenings

Lively isn’t a word that’s often used to describe Paxos’ nightlife. That said, there is some after-hours action to be found if you look hard enough. In Lakka, there are a couple of bars in the harbour that offer 2 for 1 happy hour cocktails. In Gaios, a few bars on Panagioti Kanga and Gaios Square offer the right kind of warm up for late nights in the island’s only two nightclubs. One is near the petrol station and the other is by the harbour. In both places, DJs play sets of dance and R&B.

Paxos fish stew

This dish breaks a golden rule of serving fish, by pairing fresh white mullet or sea bream and prawns with red wine. It’s worth the culinary rebellion, though, because this stew, with paprika, potatoes and cloves, is served in some of Paxos’ best restaurants.
Saganaki

Essentially, this is a grown-up cheese on toast, except it’s served without the bread. To make it, chefs take a local Greek cheese, like feta, grill it until it bubbles, and drizzle it in honey, and sometimes sesame seeds. The finished product is then served in a bed of fresh salad.
Tropita

Every town in Paxos has a bakery, and tropita are their hot cakes in terms of sales. These savoury snacks are made by layering pastry with a cheese and egg mixture and baking them until they turn golden brown. They taste even better when eaten on the beach, after a swim.
Kleftiko

Paxos flies the flag for traditional Greek dishes and kleftiko is no exception. This melt-in-your-mouth dish is made by slow cooking lamb with vegetables and herbs. Some chefs stir a little feta into the dish to add flavour and give it a more creamy texture.
Antipaxos wine

The tiny population of Antipaxos take their wines seriously. As such, there are more vines on the island than there are people. Antipaxos wine is red, rich and arguably the best in the Ionian Island chain. You can tell it apart from other wines due to its slightly black colouring.

Places To Stay In Paxos View all places to stay

Loggos

The fishing village of Loggos sits on the east coast of Paxos. The tiny Greek island is pretty quiet all over, but Loggos is its most peaceful spot. A colourful harbour is at the centre, with a pastel-coloured village spread across lush greenery. Quaint waterside cottages are home to the authentic tavernas, while nightlife is a laidback affair – which suits the 200 residents down to the ground. As for beaches, there are scalloped coves all along this coastline.

Lakka

Lakka sits in the north of Paxos, a small Greek island just off Corfu. Holidaymakers arrive here by sea – and what an entrance you’ll get when you sail into the gorgeous horseshoe-shaped bay filled with fishing boats and super-yachts. On land, meanwhile, it’s all pastel-coloured houses and friendly tavernas, many with that all-important waterside view. And as Paxos is such a small-scale place – just 8 kilometres by 3 – getting to see the rest of it is rather a doddle.

Rita's Cottage

Magazia

Magazia is a rural hamlet in the middle of Paxos, a tiny Greek island just south of Corfu. It’s a one-track place where everything is spread along a 500-metre stretch of road. You get a couple of village shops, 1 taverna, the local bakery – and a friendly little kafenion. Country tracks lead through the nearby olive groves, so it feels like a complete rural escape. But in fact the island’s capital is just 5 minutes’ drive away.

AT A GLANCE

See it to believe it at the Blue Caves
Watch the sunset from the hillside hamlet of Magazia
Sail over to Anti Paxos for more unseen Greece

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Weather

TEMPERATURE (°C)RAINFALL (mm)

WHEN TO GO

If the main aim of your Paxos holiday is walking, April and May are the best times to visit. At this time of year, temperatures are a comfortable 19°C on average. Things start heating up around mid-June and, in the height of summer, the mercury can soar up to 35°C.

Latest Deals

Price per person

The Old Vineyard, Loggos 03 May 2019, 7 nights Glasgow

£ 487
Self Catering
Amygdalia Cottage, Magazia 03 May 2019, 7 nights Glasgow

£ 490
Self Catering

What are these prices

Things To Do View all

Paxos international music festival

Loggos is the epicentre of this annual festival. The music leans towards the classical side of things, so you can expectto…
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The feast of the Virgin Mary

Across Greece, feasts dedicated to the Virgin Mary are standard procedure. There are celebrations of the conception, theannunciation…
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Spread out on Kipiadi Beach

If size matters to you, take the 10-minute drive from Loggos to Kipiadi Beach. It’s the largest beach on Paxos. The whole…
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Watch the sunset at Erimitis Bay

The cliffs in Erimitis Bay, on the western side of the island are Dover-white. They’re roughly the same height as their British…
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Follow the crowd to Levrechio Beach

Levrechio is one of Paxos’ busiest beaches, because it’s really easy to get to by car. If you’d rather use your legs, the…
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Dip your toes in the sand at Mogonissi Beach

Five minutes’ drive from Gaios, Mogonissi is Paxos’ only real sandy beach. And, because it’s been manmade, it’s a relatively…
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Stock up on liquid gold at the Olive Press Museum

You’ll learn the life story of a bottle of olive oil at the olive press museum, on the main road between Gaios and Lakka.…
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Compare Paxos' churches

Paxos has been collecting churches for more than 1,500 years. Today, its lot includes 60 different buildings in all sorts…
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Top 4 resorts in Paxos

1

Lakka
2

Loggos
3

Magazia
4

Gaios

Top 5 villas in Paxos

1

Villa Elpida

From £630
2

The Old Vineyard

From £487
3

Villa Martha

From £622
4

Amygdalia Cottage

From £490
5

Villa Afroditi

From £619

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Paxos Holidays

The littlest Ionian

Gaios and Loggos

Lakka

Things to See and Do in Paxos

30 beaches and counting

The big beach

The secret beach

Bargain Buys

Mid-Range Buys

Designer Buys

Laid-back evenings

Lively evenings

Paxos fish stew

Saganaki

Tropita

Kleftiko

Antipaxos wine

Places To Stay In Paxos View all places to stay »

Loggos

Lakka

Magazia

AT A GLANCE

Weather

WHEN TO GO

Latest Deals

Things To Do View all »

Top 4 resorts in Paxos

Top 5 villas in Paxos

Where we go in Paxos Show on a map »

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