Getting from Volos to Antipaxos

If you are heading to Antipaxos from Volos you are making your way from a city on the Pagasetic Gulf at the foot of the Pelion peninsula to a tiny island just south of Paxos in the Ionian Sea, on the opposite side of Greece. It has beaches of a quality that would be famous if they were anywhere more accessible.

Take the ferry

There is no direct ferry from Volos to Antipaxos. No mainland Aegean port is connected by sea directly to any Ionian island. Antipaxos is accessible only by sea taxi from Gaios on Paxos, taking around 15 to 20 minutes. Getting there means driving from Volos west across central Greece to Igoumenitsa, which takes around 4 to 4.5 hours via Trikala and the E65 motorway, and then taking the car ferry from Igoumenitsa to Paxos, which takes around 1 hour 30 minutes, followed by the sea taxi to Antipaxos. This avoids Athens entirely.

Getting there by air

Antipaxos has no airport. The nearest airport is Corfu. Volos has a small airport at Nea Anchialos with limited connections from Athens. Driving from Volos to Athens and flying from Athens to Corfu, followed by the ferry from Corfu to Paxos and then the sea taxi to Antipaxos, gives a total journey time of around 6 to 7 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Drive from Volos west to Igoumenitsa via Trikala and the E65 motorway, then take the car ferry to Paxos and the sea taxi across to Antipaxos. It avoids Athens entirely and is the most natural approach at around 6 to 7 hours total. Antipaxos is most rewarding as a day trip or overnight from Paxos rather than a standalone destination as facilities on the island are almost nonexistent.