Gaios 

General Data

Features

Dock Services

Description

Gaios is the main port on Paxos Island, a very appreciated summer tourist destination and part of the Ionian archipelago.

It's a natural cove characterized by the presence of two big islets creating a narrow channel, inside which there is the port, composed by a very long quay (over 1 km) following the coast's profile.

Paxos, located very close to Corfù, is an excellent starting point to visit the other bigger islands of the archipelago, such as Lefkas, Cephalonia, Zacynth but it deserves itself a visit.

Gaios is the main village of the island. With little more than 2000 inhabitants, it's a fishing village. The other populated areas are Lakka, on the coast facing Corfù and Loggos, located halfway between the other two. They offer no famous attractions but they will certainly fascinate you with their pastel Venetian houses and peaceful places.

The islet of Agios Nikolaos, just opposite Gaios, can be visited only with prior authorisation by the city hall. In addition to a wonderful sea and relaxing natural landscapes, it offers a Venetian fortress and a church.

If you rent a bike, you can easily reach the beautiful tiny beaches located on the northern coast of Paxos, between Gaios and Loggos, while, on the other side of the island, you can enjoy some charming grottos reachable by tourist vessels.

Tourism is one among the main sources of revenue of this small island. Tourist boats leave every day from the quay of Gaios from 10:00 to 17:00 and, in fact, some places in the port are exclusively reserved for them.

Getting Paxos by boat is quite simple. However, the particular nature and shape of the port requires little attention. You can enter from the northern side, letting the islet of Panagia on your left or from the southern one, passing between two artificial breakwaters marking the entrance of the harbour. The main difference is depth: from 10 to 3.5 m in the first case, 2-2.5 m in the second one. If you choose the northern entrance, please mind the narrow bend of the channel just before the entrance of the port; moreover, in early afternoon, traffic of tourist boats is really intense. The southern entrance is not particularly recommended in case of southern winds, since depth is very low and the risk of a strong wave is high.

Once you've entered the port, you have two possibilities. First of all, it must be said that mooring manoeuvres require great attention since the stucture offers no spacious spaces. A daily tourist tax is collected by the port police, whose office is located on the quay. Always here, you can ask for the badge which will allow you to use the few water and electric charging columns availabe.

If you come from North, the first dock available is the northern one, which can receive 20-25 boats on the condition to moor with the stern to the quay and the anchor forward. Depht here varies from 2 - 2.5 m.

After the bend, the western dock starts: the first 50 metres of it are reserved, from 10:00 to 17:00, for tourist boats, while the other 50 are free and can receive about 10 boats. The muddy seabottom is stable and safe enough but we suggest not to use too much chain otherwise the other boats might place theirs above.

The southern dock is the real port and it's located just in front of Gaios. Here, too, some places are reserved, from 10:00 to 17:00m, for tourist boats. Depth is about 2 m.

As for services, the port doesn't offer much: just some pay water and electricity and the possibility to refuel through some small tanks, in addition to some bars, restaurants, tavers and minimarkets in the village.

As an alternative, you can drop the anchor inside the channel or near the islet od Agios Nikolaos. The best place is opposite the northern dock, in the southern part of the northern brench of the channel: the bottom is composed by mud and seaweeds, depth is 6-8 m.

If you prefer, you can even moor at one of the two sides of the breakwater located between the two islets, where depth is 5-8 m and the bottom is sandy and muddy.

Finally, you can stay south-east of Agios Nikolaos, where depth reaches about 6-10 m and the bottom is composed by sand and seaweeds. But all depends on wind because, if it blows from North or North-West, as it often happens, you must drop your anchor south-east of the islet; on the contrary, if wind comes from South, this anchorage and the entire southern side of the port are absolutely dangerous 

 

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