Anti-Paxos is a tiny island, about 2 miles to the south of Paxos, in the Ionian Sea. It is reached by a speedboat service from Gaios on Paxos – but don’t miss the last one back at 5.30pm as you’ll be stranded. The two or three beach tavernas close when the last boat has left and there is very little way in the way of accommodation. Although we did find an abandoned car, high up in the hills, and Vrika beach is very sandy, so there are two options should you miss the last boat!
Taverna Vrika Beach is amazing. There are two tavernas – as you get off the speedboat and face the beach, our favourite is the one to your left, furthest away from the boat drop off point. It’s family run – the same people who served us seven years ago are still there – and the food they serve is to absolutely die for. If you eat or drink at the taverna, you can use the sunbeds free of charge – unlike a lot of other beaches we’ve encountered (certainly in Italy, where it’s all very regimented), this is all done on a trust basis. I’d imagine even if you didn’t eat, but still used one of their sun loungers, they wouldn’t mind. They’d probably even bring you a drink.* Factor in the location and you have perfection…
Boats leave from Gaois Harbour to Anti Paxos every couple of hours during the summer – they are small boats (no more than 20 passengers). Best to get there early for the first boat and spend all day on Anti-Paxos. It’s about 6 euro return -and you can’t miss the boat to get back as the beach is so small you see it coming in.
It really is the most idyllic tiny island. Even in the height of summer, the beach is not crowded, simply because everyone has to literally arrive by boat – and the boats can only carry so many people. So, you will always get a spot on the beach or a table at one of the tavernas. That is, if you can bear to get out of the sea…
*True story – on our last visit in 2006, we ate at Taverna Vrika & had a gorgeous meal. Upon asking for the bill, I was horrified to realise I had left our money in another bag back in our apartment on Paxos and we had the sum total of about 4 euros in small change. After much panicked & hushed conversation – and imagining that we’d be well washing up – we explained our situation. To our amazement, the waitress said “no problem, pay next time you come” & brought us a huge plate of melon, absolutely free of charge. We were so taken aback and touched by the trust & generosity that we got the first boat back the next morning to pay the bill. We’ve never forgotten that and it just perfectly sums up Anti-Paxos, Paxos & Greece…
And, we’ve never forgortten this guy. Goodness knows how many times he’s done this trick…
