Paleokastritsa's coastline fractures into fifteen coves within three kilometres, each separated by limestone promontories that plunge vertically into water reaching thirty metres deep. The geological formation dates to the Jurassic period, when tectonic pressure folded sedimentary beds into the cliffs visible today.
Sea caves riddle the western headlands, carved by two million years of wave action into chambers that glow cyan when sunlight refracts through submerged openings. Local operators have run boat trips from Alipa Port since the nineteen-sixties, when the coastal road first connected the village to Corfu Town.
The Blue Caves sit beneath Cape Drastis, where centuries of erosion sculpted arches and tunnels through the white rock. Water inside the largest chamber remains translucent to a depth of twelve metres, and captains cut engines to let passengers drift through the silence. Paleokastritsa boat tours navigate close to the cliff base, passing sea stacks and collapsed grottoes inaccessible on foot. Speedboat itineraries cover the northern bays in two hours; day cruises extend south to Paxos and Antipaxos, crossing thirty nautical miles of the Ionian Sea.
Paxos and Antipaxos lie eighteen kilometres from Corfu's southern tip, and full-day excursions depart Paleokastritsa at nine in the morning. The voyage passes Corfu's western shore, where the Monastery of Paleokastritsa overlooks the bay from its clifftop perch established in 1228. Paxos harbours three fishing villages and a coastline notched with sixty-three caves, the largest accessible only by sea. Antipaxos measures five square kilometres and holds two sand beaches—Voutoumi and Vrika—where the seabed remains visible at ten metres. Operators anchor for swimming in the Blue Caves of Paxos, where limestone walls descend vertically into water that shifts from turquoise to indigo depending on the sun's angle. The return voyage reaches Paleokastritsa by early evening, completing a circuit of one hundred kilometres.
Operators dock at Alipa Port, a concrete quay at the northern end of Paleokastritsa's main beach. The port accommodates fifteen vessels, from six-passenger speedboats to fifty-seat cruisers with cabin decks. Captains provide snorkelling equipment and waterproof bags; most boats carry canopies for shade. The coastline remains navigable from April through October, though July and August bring afternoon winds that roughen the crossing to Paxos.
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