Reasons to visit Paxos

Unless you’re aged 18 – 30, single and living the high life, the chances are you yearn some simplicity, tranquillity and peace on holiday.

If the simple life was accompanied with skies as blue as the ocean, crystal-clear water lapping bays and coves that protrude from a stony shoreline and a landscape dominated by olive trees, it may even attract the more discerning of single 18 – 30s. Regardless of your age if the above description sounds appealing, here’s a few more reasons to visit Paxos:

Paxos is the smallest of the Ionian islands. This truly undeveloped Greek island is a short boat journey to the south of Corfu. It is just seven miles long and two miles wide. It’s coastline is as you might imagine, perfectly natural with a beautiful cove or bay lying around every twisting corner. The island itself is adorned in olive trees, more than 200,000 in fact. Some of the finest olive oil in the world is produced on this small Greek island.

May is one of the best months to explore and experience this untouched island before the really hot weather descends on it. During the spring Paxos is also at its greenest. If you were asked to describe one of life’s simplest pleasures, walking amongst the olive groves with goats meandering on the hillside, stopping for shade in the many abandoned stone houses with a sea of wild flowers under foot, would have to complete as one of the most compelling.

It is within this line of thought that attracted Mariella Frostrup to Paxos. Writing for the Daily Mail, Mariella spoke of how she fell in love with Greece at a very young age and it was when she sought a “less nocturnally focused” island she was recommended Paxos.

“On these ten miles of paradise, time appears to have stood still,” writes the British journalist and TV presenter.

Talking about how arriving at Paxos from Corfu is like journeying back 100 years, Ms Frostrup continues:

“The bay lies tranquil, bathed in a celestial glow, and the only sound pollution is the low burble of conversation from two bars that straddle the harbour wall. The strains of a traditional bouzouki from Taxidi’s bar afloat on the light breeze as we step off the jetty.”

If 2014 comes with aspirations for a holiday that is categorically off from the beaten track then you simple must follow in Mariella Frostrup’s footsteps and take a short boat journey from Corfu to the tiny island of Paxos.