Alipa Port sits at the northern edge of Paleokastritsa's main bay, a working harbour where fishing caïques share mooring lines with rental skiffs and speedboats.
The port emerged in the mid-twentieth century as a natural staging point for Corfu's west-coast fisheries, its sheltered inlet protected by the rocky headlands that define Paleokastritsa's six horseshoe bays. Today the quay accommodates roughly thirty vessels available for independent hire, ranging from outboard-powered inflatables to twin-engine speedboats capable of reaching Agios Georgios in under twenty minutes.
Paleokastritsa boat hire operations gained formal licensing in the 1980s when European safety directives required registration and insurance for recreational craft. Most operators anchor their fleets offshore during peak months, ferrying clients by dinghy to avoid congestion at the single-lane slipway. The coastline south of Paleokastritsa conceals eleven sea caves, accessible only by water; the largest, Nausica Cave, extends forty metres into the limestone cliff and was mapped by British surveyors in 1864. These caves formed through millennia of wave action dissolving the karst bedrock, leaving arched chambers where sunlight refracts through turquoise shallows.
The Blue Eye, a submerged spring three kilometres north, draws snorkellers and free divers; its depth exceeds thirty metres at the centre, where freshwater wells up through fissures in the seabed. Independent rental vessels dominate the morning departure window, typically equipped with nautical charts marking reef shelves and anchoring zones. Guided speedboat tours depart on fixed schedules, circumnavigating the cape to Rovinia Beach and returning via the cliff-backed inlet at Limni. The port's fuelling station operates daily until dusk, its diesel pump serving both commercial trawlers and leisure craft.
Corfu's northwest littoral remains one of the Ionian's least developed stretches, its coastal villages reachable only by boat or mountain track. Paleokastritsa boat hire tours converge at these anchorages mid-morning, creating brief periods of crowding before vessels disperse to private coves. The rental season extends from April through October, with September offering calmer seas and reduced queues at Alipa Port's departure pontoon.
2 hr
