Naxos Holidays & Naxos Beaches Guides and Photos.

The beautiful Island of Naxos means lots to do including some lovely walled paths and villages to wander around - perhaps finding one or two Naxos Holiday Beaches as well.

Travelling to Naxos, Greece. Although it has a small airfield the usual way for people going to Naxos on holiday is to fly into Mykonos or Athens and then board a ferry for a few hours cruise. There are also frequent ferries making the journey to Naxos which leave from Santorini. Our ferry was a small converted fishing boat and the trip involved a near 3 hour trip from Mykonos - this route usually includes a short stop off at Paros.

One thing to bear in mind when travelling to and from Naxos is that the sea is normally quite bumpy - even rough - during July and August, certainly we found it so when we went on holiday to the island. We stayed in Naxos Town and the thing which sticks in our minds most of all was the continual stream of people going to and from the ferries (Naxis is a major hub) and the continual movement of vehicles loading/unloading from the ferries. There always seemed to be at least two ferries in the port particularly in the evening and at times these were queuing to dock. Walking whilst on holiday on Naxos is excellent with many paths and moni-paths available - often these paths are walled and very picturesque.

Naxos Town has an old and very interesting castle, typical Greek Island narrow streets and alleys, with many tavernas along the water front and lots more of them extending on up into and alongside the Town's alleys and streets as well.
The castle is located in the higher old part of Naxos Town and is well worth walking round; its quite different in that there are houses, tavernas and small shops built into the walls as part of the castle area - actually it's quite good to visit the castle during the day since it always seemed nice and cool walking along the alleys and paths.

As far as Naxos beaches are concerned there is a small town beach by the harbour (above which is the Portara - ruins of an unfinished temple - a very popular place to stroll around in the evening). By heading south most of the coastline is full of nice beaches and these can be reached by a regular bus service (about every 30 minutes) which goes just past Agia Anna. On our first week we found that stripping off for some sun-bathing and swimming was ok at Plaka beach but by the start of the second week the beach was being increasingly used by families and children so that was that. However there are many more secluded/isolated beaches on the island for naturists if you want natural sunbathing and swimming.

Naxos Greece - Touring Round the Island (drive)
We took quite a few photos whilst on holiday on Naxos - the Island has quite a varied landscape with lots of churches scattered around and of course Naxos is famous for it's towers. Car hire on Naxos is easily available and reasonably priced - if you want to see the whole of the island then probably this is the best way of doing so. There are fairly accurate maps available - (Roads Edition 111 and Harms verlag (isbn 3-927468-10-x) are good and the Topo series are also very good ). The roads on Naxos are mostly tarmac and you will find them to be very quiet once you got out of Naxos Town.

Naxos tour 1. Chora - Engares - Apollonas. Although maps may show this coast road as track it is in fact a tarmac road so easy to traverse. As you leave Chora the countryside is quite green but once you get further north it becomes very rocky with lots of mauve flora. There are also several tracks (some quite difficult) down to the coast to explore. Just before you get into Apollonas remember to park by the roadside and walk up to one of the Kouros (7th century b.c. (huge) unfinished statues) found on the island. Apollonas itself is or maybe was a fishing village but now is very busy with tourists - loads of shops and tavernas etc. but don't be put off - it is quite a nice place to visit despite being so busy.

Naxos tour 2. Chora - Chalki - Filoti - Mutsuma - Ormos Psili Ammos. This takes you right across Naxos Island to it's sparsely populated east coast, via the Tragia Valley (including the villages of Chalki and Filoti) and also the road takes you past the old emery workings - you can still see old mine buildings and the cables and buckets rusting away on the aerial runways. When you get to Mutsuma there is a small beach and tavernas. From here the road (initially tarmac) heads south along the coast - when we were there more of the track was being tarmac'd - we drove as far as Ormos Psili Ammos where there is a taverna. This is a pretty well unpopulated and unspoilt part of the Naxos coastline and the track goes as far as Panormos but we never got that far since the track deteriorated rapidly and was in a very poor state - too much for our little car.

Naxos tour 3. Chora-Myli-Kinidaros-Sifones-Stavros tis Keramotis-Lionas-Koronas-Koronida. This drive round was quite long and involved doubling back a little to pick up the various places mentioned. We started off by going to Myli to have a look at another Kouros - this is found by parking just off the main road and then you have to walk down a track to the gardens. When you leave here to head for Kinidaros you drive through the marble quarries - some of them right next to the road so watch out for the large lorries. The drive then takes you through Sifones - the countryside round here is very varied and pretty - especially with the looming mountains as a backdrop.

Everyone stops off at the crossroads just after the turn off to Keramotis - from here if it's not too cloudy you can see both of Naxos's coastlines - each time we were there it was really windy so hiding behind the really exposed church (Stavros) on the crossroads helps get your breath back. Here the road winds down to Lionas - a small fishing village which has a couple of tavernas and a small pebble beach. Back to the crossroads and you can continue through to Koronas and Koronida and then onto Apollonas if you wish.
If you are instead intending to head back to Chora then perhaps consider going via Chalki and taking the road to Ano Potamia via Chimarros.

The route goes up over the hills through really great countryside - it is very rocky and the rocks are covered with pink Oleandras early on. It is also very green up on the top so obviously quite wet underfoot - but somewhat cooler up here which in the normal Naxos heat was quite refreshing.

You may also be interested in our Naxos Holiday Walks and Sightseeing topic or holiday guides for several neighbouring Greek islands which are on the ferry routes, therefore ideal for a little bit of Greek island hopping : Santorini Holiday Guide, Paros Holiday Guide and Sikinos Holiday Guide

External links:
Naxos by Greeka
Naxos (Greece) Net Practical tourist guide
Naxos Greece Travel Guide from Greek Island Postcards