Island of Passo - Isola di Passo

Island of Passo
Paxì: The bay of Gaius
Location
Island of Passo - Location
StateGreece
RegionIonian Islands
Surface 30 km²
Inhabitants2.438 (2001)
Institutional website

Island of Passo, or Paxi or Paxos is one of the Ionian islands, a few nautical miles southeast of Corfu.

To know

The island of Passo is 10 km long and no wider than 4 km with an area of ​​just 30 km² and an (official) population of almost 2,400 inhabitants. It is located southeast of Corfu from which it is about 8 nautical miles. The island is covered with dense olive groves that sometimes go down to the sea. Unlike the east coast where there are numerous, small beaches, the west coast is rocky and steep and can only be accessed by boat.

Herodotus, Polybius and Plutarch mention the island. From 1484 until 1799 the island was under Venetian rule. It then passed to the French and ten years later to the English to be reunited with the kingdom of Greece in 1864 together with the other Ionian islands.

Background

According to mythology Greek, Poseidon separated Paxò from Corfu with his trident in order to create a love nest for him and his bride Amphitrite. The island, however inhabited since ancient times, has left few traces in modern historiography. After the conquest Sicilian-Norman of the XII-XIII century, in 1386 it fell under the dominion of the Republic of Venice and like the rest Ionian Islands for centuries it was subjected to repeated Saracen raids: in 1537 the pirate Barbarossa sacked the island, slaughtering the inhabitants and enslaving the survivors; in 1571 the island was again sacked by a fleet Turkish.

The island remained in Venice until the fall of the republic, in 1797, and also in the years to come the fate of the Ionian Islands followed: after an ephemeral occupation French was then taken by Russians and attributed to the new Settinsulare Republic; after the Napoleonic parenthesis Paxò became part of the United States of the Ionian Islands under the English protectorate until the passage to the Kingdom of Greece in 1864.


Territories and tourist destinations

Map divided by regions

Urban centers

  • Gaios (Γάιος) - Gaios is the pier where hydrofoils and ferries from Toast, Corfu is Parga thus constituting the obligatory gateway for those who visit the island. The village is located in a bay bordered by the islets of Panagia and Ai Nikolaos where the remains of a 15th century Venetian fortress are located. Gaios life takes place around the port where bars and restaurants are lined up. Another meeting point is the small square a short distance from the dock with the church dedicated to the Holy Apostles with a white facade and where the buses coming from Lakka is Longos. Close to the port there is a network of often very narrow alleys with a jumble of minimarkets and shops.
  • Lakka (Λάκκα) - Located in a beautiful bay in the north of the island, Lakka is a rapidly expanding seaside resort and is the ideal base for boat trips to nearby caves.
  • Longos (Λόγκος) - A village in the north-east of the island in a sheltered bay with modest pastel-colored houses lined up on the short promenade and with simple tourist infrastructure. Just outside the center there is a beautiful beach, which can be easily reached on foot.
  • Mongonisi (Μογγονήσι) - An islet south of Passo with a small beach. There is also the only campsite in Passo.

  • Gaios, the seaport of Passo

  • The village of Longos on the bay of the same name

  • The islet of Panaghia which, together with the other of Ai Nikolaos, borders the bay of Gaios. It takes its name from a small monastery dedicated to the Madonna

  • Kipiadi beach, one of the most beautiful in Passo but not equipped and accessible only by boat or on foot via a path that is not exactly easy and difficult to identify

  • Sterna bay which opens onto the steep west coast


How to get

By plane

The nearest international airport is at Corfu but from there it will always be necessary to embark for Gaios with a hydrofoil of the Ionian Cruises. Address: 4, Ethnikis Antistasseos 49100 Kerkyra. Tel .: 30 26610 38690, 30 26610 38690. Fax: 30 26610 38787, 30 26610 26555.

On boat

Passo is connected via a ferry service to Corfu, Parga, Igoumenitsa is Toast.

How to get around

By public transport

There is a bus service that connects the three centers of Gaios, Lakka and Longo.

By car

The street (the only one) which unites the 3 centers is not in the best conditions and moreover the locals have opted for a type of "violent" driving or at least intolerant towards those who drive slowly. In view of these facts, it is not a good idea to rent a scooter or, even worse, a 4-wheeler.

On boat

The best way to get around is by rented boat. The agency "Paxos Thalassa Travel" in addition to renting boats, organizes mini cruises to Parga. Tel .: 30 26620 31662, 30 26620 31333, website

What see


Events and parties

  • International music festival. Simple icon time.svgFrom 28 August to 6 September. With concerts from the "Guildhall School of Music and Drama". 


What to do

Passo is an ideal destination for unpretentious families and for those who love "la dolce far niente", although there is the possibility of windsurfing in Lakka. Two schools have also sprung up to learn the practice of scuba diving. In addition to this, there are only boat trips or walks on the paths that lead inside among dense olive groves but of course not recommended when the sun beats down. If you like shopping, know that, in addition to the salty prices of the small shops of Gaios, the courtesy of the merchants is often "rude" regardless of whether you show a willingness to buy their junk. If you are a refined type or one who appreciates refined manners, you would do well to get out of your mind Step.

Tourist agencies:

  • Bouas tours - 30 26620 32401. FAX: 30 26620 26620 32610. [1] Local tourist agency with various accommodation availabilities
  • Zefi Travel - Travel agency. Tel .: 30 26620 32114. Fax: 30 26620 32253. Cell: 30 6973-282641 [2][3]. Director: Evangelia Apergì (Ευαγγελία Απέργη)
  • Paxos Magic Holidays Agency - Travel agency established in 1984. Tel: 30 26620 32269, 30 26620 32440-1. FAX: 30 26620 32122. [4]. [5]. Director: Christos Grammatikòs


Shopping

If you think that Passo is cheap you are very wrong: with a little luck you can also find a relatively cheap accommodation but otherwise the prices are skyrocketing, including food and even outside the high season. season. Having a coffee or a milkshake sitting at a table costs as much as in an elegant bar in a large Italian city.

In Gaios there is a branch of the Bank of Agriculture (Agrotikì trapeza) equipped with ATM. Avoid making withdrawals in the evening or when no one is around.

How to have fun

Night clubs

  • Alter Ego bar (Gaios), ☎ 30 26620 32664. 
  • Carnayo Gold, ☎ 30 26620 32020, fax: 30 26620 31428, @. Simple icon time.svgOpen from 1st June to 31st August. Lounge Café located in the bay of Mongonisi, reachable by land and by sea. The right "location" to spend unforgettable hours between an aperitif, delicious appetizers and the notes of the coolest music on the island. 


Where to eat

The meat, passed off as fresh, is actually frozen and the famous Greek fries have only the external shape of those of the past and are perhaps produced, packaged and frozen with more ingenious methods than those practiced by Mc Donalds. Often the service in restaurants is slow at times to exasperation.


Where stay

The island has a capacity of about 2,000 beds, almost all already taken by local and foreign Tour operators so leaving alone and in August without having booked is not advisable unless you intend to sleep under the stars. but at your own risk.

Moderate prices

  • Camping (On the islet of Mongonisi). The only campsite in Passo. 

Average prices


Safety


How to keep in touch


Around

  • Antipasso (Antipaxos) - Magnificent islet just south of the Island of Passo.



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