Getting from Antipaxos to Halkidiki

If you are heading to Halkidiki from Antipaxos you are making your way from a tiny island in the Ionian Sea to a three-pronged peninsula southeast of Thessaloniki in northern Greece, with Kassandra in the west for long sandy beaches, Sithonia in the middle for quieter waters and the monastic peninsula of Athos in the east.

Take the ferry

There is no ferry to Halkidiki. It is a mainland peninsula with no island ferry connections. Antipaxos has no ferry port of its own and is accessible only by sea taxi from Gaios on Paxos. Getting to Halkidiki means taking the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Igoumenitsa and then driving east across northern Greece via the Egnatia motorway to Thessaloniki, which takes around 3.5 to 4 hours from Igoumenitsa, and then continuing to Halkidiki from there.

Getting there by air

Halkidiki has no airport. The nearest airport is Thessaloniki, around 60 to 90 kilometres from the various parts of the peninsula. Antipaxos has no airport either. Taking the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Corfu and flying to Thessaloniki avoids Athens entirely and gives a total journey time of around 5 to 6 hours. From Thessaloniki a rental car or KTEL bus is needed to reach Halkidiki.

Your best option

Take the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Corfu and fly to Thessaloniki, then rent a car at the airport. Halkidiki is large and spread out enough that a car is essential. If you are traveling with a car, take the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, ferry to Igoumenitsa and drive east via the Egnatia motorway to Thessaloniki and continue to Halkidiki from there.