Getting from Antipaxos to Monemvasia

If you are heading to Monemvasia from Antipaxos you are making your way from a tiny island in the Ionian Sea to a medieval fortress town on the southeastern Peloponnese coast, on the opposite side of Greece. It is built entirely on a massive rock connected to the mainland by a single causeway with Byzantine churches and narrow lanes that have changed little in centuries.

Take the ferry

There are no scheduled ferries from Antipaxos to Monemvasia. Antipaxos has no ferry port of its own and is accessible only by sea taxi from Gaios on Paxos. Monemvasia is accessible only by road. Getting there means taking the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Igoumenitsa and then driving south through Greece to Monemvasia, which takes around 7 to 8 hours from Igoumenitsa via Ioannina, Patras and the Peloponnese. Alternatively, take the sea taxi to Paxos, ferry to Corfu, fly to Athens and then drive or take the KTEL bus south to Monemvasia, which takes around 4 to 4.5 hours from Athens.

Getting there by air

Monemvasia has no airport. The nearest airport is Athens. Antipaxos has no airport either. Taking the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Corfu and flying to Athens, then driving or taking the KTEL bus to Monemvasia gives a total journey time of around 8 to 9 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Take the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Corfu, fly to Athens and drive or take the KTEL bus south to Monemvasia. Monemvasia rewards at least two nights. The town reveals itself slowly once the day visitors leave in the evening and the streets inside the walls become entirely your own.