Naxos may not have been on your radar, but it should be! It wasn’t on mine, until I found it on some “best places to go in the Cyclades” lists. I knew I wanted to see Paros and Naxos seemed to be a convenient place to stay between Mykonos and Santorini.
I honestly wish we would have stayed in Naxos longer. It’s the largest Cyclades island and had we had more time, we would have gone to see the mountain villages and go hiking. We also didn’t get to see the island of Ano Koufonisi, which is off Naxos. Here’s how we did spend our two days:
Day 1: Relaxing at the Beach
Once we arrived in the charming port we were able to walk to our hotel, the Sofos Studios Fitness & Spa. This was my favorite hotel and the bed was incredibly comfortable. The receptionist helped us pick a beach to visit.
We hopped on a bus to Agios Georgios Beach, which again, the busses in Greece are great! They are like the charter buses you see here in the states and only cost about 1.50 euros. Once we arrived at Agios Georgios Beach, about a 25 minute bus ride, we bought chairs on an organized beach and just relaxed.
That’s all we did the first day and it was wonderful! Something I learned after our first few trips abroad was to make time to do NOTHING! It’s so important to relax on vacation. This beach was a great! The water was calm and more turquoise than I ever imagined any place in Greece to be. We swam, I read a book, and snuck in a nap.
After, we walked to see the sunset on the bay next to this beach. We sat on some rocks, it was stunning. However, we had one fopaux after this.
We went to a great restaurant on the beach, called Stovia, with tables in the sand. We ordered the daily special of fish and the traditional moussaka, which reminded me of lasagna. Well…the food came out and looked fabulous and obviously I wanted to take a photo. That’s when I realized I lost my phone!
I couldn’t use “Find My iPhone” because I travel on airplane mode. I was mostly sad because of all the awesome photos we just took on that phone. So naturally, I panicked and told Henri “let me retract my steps” because it couldn’t have been far. I couldn’t find it. He tried, he couldn’t find it.
Needless to say, it kind of ruined the mood of our otherwise very delicious and romantic dinner. Luckily, after dinner, we tried one more time. And just as I was about to give up, a nice British man suggested asking the nearby restaurants because I was almost certain I had left it on a bench. Low and behold the same restaurant I had asked earlier, said “phone with flowers, yes!” and all was right with the world again. Don’t do what I did. Keep your phone on you.
After spending the day in the sun and going on a scavenger hunt for my phone we were ready to call it a night.
Day 2: Sailing to Paros
We pre-booked three sailing trips on Viator before leaving to Greece and this one was either going to Paros or Ano Koufonisi depending on weather. I was a little bummed when we first found we were going to Paros, I really wanted to go to Paros, but Ano Koufonisi looked stunning too.
However, Henri and I both loved this sailing trip! It was the best out of the three we had booked in Greece. The crew was stellar, they really planned the day out well.
First, we went swimming and I really liked that all the boats had noodles for floating because I am actually a nervous swimmer. (I always have been, I am getting better though.) As the picture obviously shows.
We especially loved the chic little island of Paros. Paros is clean, picturesque, and the water is gorgeous. Make plans to see Paros! You won’t be disappointed!
After our sailing trip we washed up and walked to Apollo Temple for sunset.
Once the sun set we went to Doukato Restaurant for dinner. OH.MY.FOOD. GODS. This places was heavenly! It’s set inside an old monastery, the courtyard has beautiful trees and twinkling lights. For appetizer we ordered the Naxian potatoes with chicken salad and cheese. It was delicious and we were honestly full once the main course, the fish special, came out! Everything about this restaurant was great — the wine, the food, the atmosphere, and the staff.
We walked home by zig-zagging thru the alleys of the Old Town. It was so whimsical, you wouldn’t imagine that it’s as lively as it is. There’s bars, restaurants, and charming shops. I found a beautiful handblown glass evil eye to bring home. It was a great way to spent the last night in Naxos.
Morning 3
We intended to get up early and go to the beach near our hotel, but we slept in because our room was so comfortable. We had a leisurely brunch as we waited for our ferry boat to Mykonos. I had to have greek yogurt and peach juice and Henri had a waffle and frappe as we looked at the harbor. We boarded the ferry as a man screamed “Next stop: Mykonos!”
