Greece experts - a question
 

Hello - heading back to Naxos and Athens for our third straight year and have some questions!

Previously we were able to get good fares flying into Santorini and out of Athens but it looks like those fares are not happening this year (late August, early Sept travel). However there are good fares from our city to Athens and we'd like to book ASAP to make sure we get our preferred hotels.

Last two trips have been 2 days Santorini-5 days Naxos-2 days Athens. It's worked well for us. This time, we are wondering how we should do things because we can't fly direct into Santorini. We will be flying into Athens in the morning. I'm guessing we could fly to Santorini that day itself and just do what we have always done but I am a little concerned about the connection. As beautiful as Santorini is, I don't think we need to go back a third time.

One thing we were thinking was to explore Athens on the front end for 2 days, ferry to Naxos, stay 6 days, fly to Athens, stay overnight one day and head out. That seems a bit cumbersome, however, as we have 2 kids and would like to go into central Athens just once. I do know there is a very nice B&B by the Athens airport but I feel like that would be a waste of a day abroad. Maybe not? I do not want to chance flying from Naxos to Athens and then Athens to home on the same day since I will have to buy separate tickets.

One thing I was thinking about was Paros - but I'm not sure how fun it would be for kids. It seems very affordable and beautiful but I'm a little overwhelmed with the choices. Our children are small so we like the beaches (we are planning to hike and see Apeiranthos village in Naxos this time around). But the idea of packing up everyone for a two day stay seems exhausting.

Any thoughts?

Again the guessing game. Where is OP from? Says in past has been able to fly in to Santorini ... From N. America not possible. R U from Europe? Cannot explore options when don't know origin point. Have you considered connecting in Athens to Naxos, or is ticket price y our objection? With only 9 days, 5 1/2 hr ferries steal precious hours, and as my Old Mother used to say, when you cannot spend the time, you must spend the money. You could also fly to Paros and stay a couple of days on ANTIparos, (the paros airport is very near the "little ferry" to Antiparos, which only takes 10 minutes or so). Antiparos is great for kids, walkable to beaches, low-key... and then just hop a ferry to Naxos.

Judging flight schedules and prices for 10 months from now can only be very approximate, as both may change in the new year. If you don't know skyscanner.com it covers European low-cost, one-way fares that may not show up in North American search engines. Aegean/Olympia air covers many islands and is part of the Star Alliance, allowing connections to many trans-continental airlines. You may know that using a multi-destination search function can save time and money over trying to piece together an itinerary with one-way tickets yourself. However, some of the budget airlines do not share bookings in any way, making connections where you must collect bags and do all the check-ins for the next flight yourself quite stressful. Anyhow, praise for planning ahead, especially since you already know the place so well.

Since you've already been to Santorini twice why go a third time? There are numerous other islands you can combine with Naxos such as Paros/Antiparos. While I haven't been to Paros from all accounts it's a lovely island, easy to get to from Naxos and you can also do day trips to nearby Antiparos. Don't overlook the Small Cyclades that you can get to from Naxos or even Amorgos (beautiful). Having young children always makes it hard to decide on where to go and how easy it is to get to. Probably Naxos/Paros as they are rather close together.

Check out this website for Greek Islands that airlines go to making it a little easier to decide how to fly there.:

https://www.aia.gr/traveler/flight-i...ghts/domestic/

Just put your curser on an island/mainland and you'll see who flies there. Just make sure know what you are getting for a ticket (i.e., luggage costs) for whatever airlines you choose.

Most travelers leave Athens at the end of the trip. Since you are already at the airport upon arrival try to find a decent connection to Naxos or whatever other destination that works as far as connection time. Sometimes that doesn't always work depending on when you arrive in Athens and the flight to your destionation. Nothing wrong with spending the first day in Athens if that doesn't work out but if at all possible try to get to your destination the same day you arrive in Athens.

We are coming from North America. Tickets to Naxos/Paros are incredibly expensive; we need to fly to Athens/Santorini/Mykonos to fly one stop. We are a little worried about buying a standalone Athens-Naxos or Athens-Paros ticket and flying to the islands on the day we arrive because if our flights are delayed, that's a hassle. Flying into Santorini was aways so great because we got to the islands on the first day and the small airport is easier to manage then Athens. We would spend two days in a gorgeous place then ferry over to Naxos.

I agree there's no need to fly into Santorini a third time but it was a very convenient way to get close to the islands. I'll do some more research into Paros/Antiparos.

Are there really direct flights from N America to Santorini?? Must be from Canada, not USA.

Aegean flights from ATH to NAXOS or PAROS can sometimes "go on sale" early in the year, at least for May or June trips. Suscribing for their "newsletter" (actually an e-mail alert) here - https://aegeanairlines.custhelp.com/.../302/related/1 -- will alert you to periods (sometime early in the year) when these tix are available and its wise to pounce, because there are a limited number available.

I wonder if when you said you use to fly into Santorini if it was a ticket through a major city in Europe like USA to London to Santorini, with only one stop.

I have done that also because it allowed me to bypass Athens on the way in, arrive in the Cyclades that day, and not have to buy a separate ticket Athens to the Cyclades. When the price was the same on the outbound flight to either arrive in Santorini or Athens, we would choose Santorini. And while we already had seen Santorini, we were treating it as our gateway island into the Cyclades, plus the views are just fantastic. That is how I ended up in Santorini for times in my life usually with a person who never had seen it, so we would spend one night before moving on to other islands.

Lately there has been fantastic fares going from the USA to Europe. If you have one of those, like less than $500 round trip from the USA to Athens, my recommendation would be to just go for it. Then buy separate one way tickets for Athens either to Naxos or Paros. Allow for 4-5 hours for your connection. Get passes for a lounge in Athens so you can relax with your kids while you wait. Know that if your connection is missed in Athens it is not the end of the world. Just get the next flight or go to Piraeus and take a ferry. But if the odds are in your favor, you won't need your plan B.

I wouldn’t worry about a same day flight from Athens to Paros or Naxos on different tickets—Europeans do it all the time. Book Flex tickets with Aegean Airlines/Olympic Air (these are the same airlines that fly from Athens to Mykonos and Santorini).

Paros is a better airport to fly into, because it has more flights with larger aircraft than Naxos, which is okay too. The new airport at Paros with its longer runway has eliminated the possibility of baggage being left behind when weather conditions suddenly change. You are correct that the choices on Paros are a little overwhelming, because there are so many resorts from which to choose. Parikia and Naoussa are the busiest, but quieter resorts include Alyki, Piso Livadi, Drios, and many more. Antiparos, where I always stay, is very busy in August, but getting quieter during the last week of the month and into September.

Thanks everyone. If it matters ( and it seems like it does) we are flying from the US so one stop to Athens us affordable, one stop to Santorini is less affordable, and two stops to Naxos/Paros is a small fortune (booking one ticket and not separately). I think it might make sense to take a chance on Paros or Antiparos as our flight from Zurich arrives at 12:45 pm and there is a 4 pm flight to Paros. Part of the draw to Santorini is that we know our way around ... but if Paros is easy to negotiate perhaps we should do that. Or maybe go to Naxos first and then head to Paros. We have taken a lovely ferry from Santorini to Naxos previously but we could ferry from naxos or Paros to Athens too.. we’ve flown the past 2 years. I will have to do the math. Flights are $640 today..,in the past we’ve paid 680 and 750 to fly in to Santorini and out of Athens, like $100 or so to ferry from Santorini to Naxos then $350 to fly to Athens. If we fly into Athens instead of Santorini we are looking at $100 more per person to fly the same day to either Santorini, Naxos, or Paros.

I should clarify from my last post... when I said 100 to ferry and $350 to fly from naxos to Athens that was for our family of four. The ticket from the US to Greece has averaged about 700 pp.

Your price of $350 (about €310) to Naxos for a family of four sounds like a good deal to me. There are no budget airlines to Naxos and Paros, and in fact the Greek government has had to subsidise losses for flights to those islands to keep an air service going, so seat sales are infrequent. It doesn’t hurt to check, but don’t wait too long, or prices may go up instead. Right now, for flights in December, I am seeing prices as low as €53.

As you have written, you can save a lot of money by taking a conventional ferry, e.g. Blue Star instead of a flight, but if you miss the early morning ferries you will probably have to wait until 5:30 pm to leave Piraeus. The 5:30 pm Blue Star arrives on Paros about 10 pm, and on Naxos about 11 pm. There may be a ferry from Rafina, which is closer to Athens Airport.

OK, would this be crazy? There are some very, very low fares from BOS-LHR, ATH-BOS on our dates. Would it make sense to go nonstop to London and then book a flight from London to JTR (or Paros)? BOS-LHR, ATH-BOS would be $450 on our dates; LGW-JTR would be $276 for all of us (on easyjet). If there's an issue with a connection, we could just explore London, right? Or we could stay in London for two days before heading off to the beach (my 8 year old is obsessed with Harry Potter) I realize Gatwick is a different airport and I need to figure out logistics but this could be a great way to accomplish this trip within our budget. I haven't been to London since 2004 so I have no idea how a stopover would be.

BA fly LHRJTR direct but their fares are usually very expensive. Other airlines that fly Gatwick to Santorini are TUI & Thomas Cook Airlines.
https://www.thomascookairlines.com

https://www.tui.co.uk/flight/

AFAIK there are no direct flights London to Paros.

A couple of days in London would be a wonderful addition to your trip to Greece. Lots of people from the UK fly from London Gatwick to Santorini or Mykonos, then catch a ferry to Naxos or Paros. Gatwick isn't my favourite airport, but I flew from there to Sardinia this year on easyJet. For a very early morning flight it's handy to stay the night before at a Gatwick Airport hotel. I stayed at Sofitel, which has a covered walkway directly to the terminal, and there is also a less expensive Premier Inn at the airport. When staying overnight at Sofitel or Premier Inn you can even check in with easyJet and drop off your hold luggage the night before to save time in the morning.

As Odin wrote, there are no direct flights from London to Paros. The runway is too short for regional jets, and there are no customs or passport control facilities there. The Naxos runway is even shorter, only 900 meters in length. Flights from Athens are on ATR-42 turboprops which have about 40 seats, which can't all be filled due to maximum weight restrictions. The Paros runway is 1400 meters long, and can take 78 passenger Dash 8-400 aircraft.

So I have got: Boston-London, Athens-Boston for $609 RT (it would cheaper on other airlines that don't allow checked bags). I don't think we could do all of this without some checked bags (maybe not?) Arrive in London at 7 AM on Saturday. Visit London for 2 days then take a 7 AM nonstop easyjet flight out of Gatwick on Monday morning at 7:45 A M for a whooping $60 pp). Is this doable? We are used to buses and trains, etc; NBD. Our journey would look like this

Aug 23 Depart Boston
Aug 24 Arrive London at 7:45 AM. Head to town, explore Book hotel that makes it easy to get to Gatwick in the AM
Aug 25 London. Explore. Early to bed!!!
Aug 26 Leave Gatwick at 7:45 AMl arrive Thira 12:35 PM (easyjet, so assume w will have to pay to check a bag). Spend night in Santorini. We can stay in Fira, no problem, as we know it well, walk up to Firostephani, have octopus, or maybe go to Santo wines.
Aug 27 Naxos/Santorini or head to Naxos on the afternoon ferry
Aug 27 Naxos
Aug 28 Naxos
Aug 29 Naxos
Aug 30 Naxos
Aug 31 Naxos/Paros
Sep 1 Naxos/Paros
Sept 2 Morning flight to Athens
Sept 3 Athens
Sept 4 Athens (or leave on Sep 3, depending on flights)

With this itinerary, we could add Paros (or not), do a daytrip to Paros. We are planning to take the kids to Apeiranthos on one day, maybe a hike on another day. I am intrigued by Paros/Antiparos but am a bit overwhelmed and wonder if it's worth packing the kids up for a change in scenery. A daytrip would not be very relaxing - we'd have to scramble to take the early ferry and then scramble back.

Thoughts? I don't want a logistical nightmare, but doing it this way fits in our budget.

I would recommend spending more time on Paros. You don't have to do a day trip to Antiparos, but instead can do an island boat trip which stops at remote beaches, the sea caves, and at the uninhabited island of Despotiko for a BBQ lunch. The boats are based on Antiparos, but pick up passengers at Pounta on Paros as well. The trip that gets the best reviews is Captain Ben Antiparos Lazy Day ? Daily cruises from Antiparos and Paros Greece ? Boat trip arround the island (scroll down and look at the videos).

The 7am easyJet flight from Gatwick is certainly doable, but leave enough time to get to the airport and check in for the flight. Gatwick is very busy early in the morning, as that is when many easyJet flights leave for holiday destinations. In fact, that may be the busiest time at Gatwick Airport. Staying at the airport Sofitel was very convenient, with only a 5 minute walk from the hotel to the easyJet check-in area.

Last time I went to Santorini on Easyjet from Gatwick, there was a queue that extended outside the terminal and round the block, it was extremely stressful with people panicking, including me, about potentially missing their flights. We were there super early but it made no difference. The line was for bag drop. 26 Aug is also a bank holiday in the UK, so possibly extra busy. Have you already booked your tickets on Easyjet since the current price seems rather more than $60 per person, adding in checked bags, which you should do at the time of booking, will push the price up, depending on whether you want 15kg or 23kg checked luggage. If you add it later, it might be more expensive.
There are no check in desks for Easyjet, so you have to check in online. You need to be there very early especially if you intend to use bag drop for your checked luggage.

Pay attention to what Odin wrote. My outbound flight to Olbia Costa Smeralda was on September 1st at 06:20, and there were lots of other flights leaving around the same time and a little later, everyone using the same bag drops whichever flight you are on. It was very busy even then, but not as bad as Odin experienced—maybe an hour later would have been worse. If you stay at an airport hotel (Sofitel or Premier Inn) and you have checked in online you can walk over to the terminal and drop off your bags the night before when it is quiet, keeping your overnight essentials for carry-on the next morning. You don't have to go through security to do this.

Hi, Overit,

I highly recommend going to Paros with two little kids. We've been going there for years with ours, who are now adult children, and they would probably say
it's still one of their favorite islands.

Two years ago we stayed at MINOIS VILLAGE AND SPA, which is halfway between Parikia ( where the ferries arrive/depart) and the airport. MINOIS is a wonderful boutique hotel overlooking the sea,
with a tiny path down to Parosporos, which is our favorite beach on the island. Parosporos has an excellent taverna (!) on site, and loungers usually available most of the day, though it can be busy in season.

Minois is also only 10 min from the ferry for Antiparos, if you'd like to explore that for a day.

We've also stayed in Nauossa, a charming fishing village on the other side of town. Our favorite hotel there is STELIA MARE, a small boutique hotel that is about a 10 min walk from the center
of town. Nauossa is a quintessential Greek village with lots of white houses all with blue doors, good shopping, excellent seafood restaurants, good gelateria, and a pedestrian-free zone that
makes it especially easy to navigate with kids.

Of course there are many other beaches on the island worth a visit ( Golden Beach is one of them) but you definitely would want a car to see those and the medieval village of Lefkes, etc.

We''ve also stayed many times in Nauossa, a charming fishing village on the other side of the island. We really like STELIA MARE, a small boutique hotel that's about a 10 min walk from town. Nauossa is
a quintessential village with whitewashed houses all with blue doors, seafood restaurants, and a pedestrian-free zone that makes it very easy to wander around with little kids. Oh, and a very good gelateria, too!

Sorry-- I can't seem to figure out how to post or edit these threads, yet! Any questions about Paros, just ask!

thank you! you've convinced me to skip London and do Paros!

Aug 24 Leave Boston
Aug 25 Arrive Athens 12:45. Take one of many different flights to Paros, Night in Paros.
Aug 26 Paros
Aug 27 Paros.
Aug 28 Naxos. Afternoon ferry to Naxos.
Aug 29 Naxos
Aug 30 Naxos
Aug 31 Naxos
Sep 1 Naxos
Sep 2 Naxos; morning flight to Athens
Sep 3 Athens
Sept 4 Athens; fly home at 2 PM

I am all set for accommodations in Naxos and Athens. Please suggest a few more recommendations around 200 euro per night or less please. The ones suggested by Wendell are gorgeous but a bit above budget. A pool is not essential (but the kids would love it!!!) We'd love to be walking distances to beaches with tavernas cose by. We don't want a car but would like to be able to move about a bit (Naxos Town is so great that way).

Thank you!!!!

I was happy to see the post from Weadles! Naxos has a big fan club on Fodor's, while Paros hardly gets a mention. I like Naxos and have been there several times, but have been going to Paros and Antiparos for over 20 years and find they have more things to do. As well as beaches, Paros has a water park near Naoussa, and https://www.parospark.com also near Naoussa. From Lefkes, mentioned by Weadles, you can walk the Byzantine Trail to Prodromos and catch a bus from there back to Parikia or Naoussa.

Antiparos has a stalactite cave with centuries old graffiti. From San Georgio (Agios Georgios) at the south of Antiparos you can take a boat to visit the archaeological site on Despotiko. The archeological site is still in early stages of excavation, but Yannos Kourayos, the excavation director, expects it to eventually be bigger than Delos. Try to spend an evening on Antiparos when the town comes alive. There are lots of good shops, cafes, and restaurants on the pedestrian-only main street.

What do we think of this place for 3 nights in Paros?

Captain Manolis Hotel in Paros | Facilities & Services

Great, but try to book hotels WAY ahead since you're going in August! I don't know if anyone will respond before the New Year, but you can try. Also make sure to book a car way in advance. Those go quickly, too, in the summer months. Post back later for restaurant recommendations.

Hello, Heimdall! I am back after some time away from Fodor's and trying to figure out how to navigate the site. Just wanted to mention to the OP that Paros was recently rated as one of the best islands in Europe ( I think it was Conde Nast Traveler?), so as I posted above, make sure you
get a head start with bookings!

Overit, I am not a fan of Parikia. I see that it says the hotel is "in a quiet corner", but I'm not buying it. Parikia is where the ferries arrive/depart, and the congestion in the summer months can be terrible. We did find that some areas behind the marketplace were OK, but
they didn't compare well to other more beautiful areas ( Nauossa, ParosPoros,Golden Beach) of the island. I would check reviews carefully and post here again with your budget?

Sorry if I'm posting too much, but are you staying in Naxos Town? If so, I hope you know that parts of St. George Beach are quite shallow and mucky. We were not that happy with it, which is why we're
going to the Plaka area for our next visit.

We stay in Naxos St George area...shallow water is good for our kids. I see your point about Parikia. I am looking to spend about 150-200 euro per night in Paros. Location is important as we won't want a car. Recommendations welcome. Thanks!

Weadles, my kids are grown and so are yours, so you can afford to sniff at St. George, and stay elsewhere. Overit has little ones & St. George is safe for them, they'll mainly sit at waters edge with sandpails anyway... AND one doesn't need to load up a car with gear to have beach time... and if a little one has a melt-down, it's only yards to go, to reach the family's unit for naptime. I stay in St. George & take the bus out to PLaka for my swim time ... but I enjoy coming back at end of a Plaka afternoon to the shade of St. G, enjoy the sunset, stroll into town for dinner, walk back along the water .. who cares if it's shallow then?

Hi Overit,
Glad to see that your plans are moving along. I saw you mentioned whether or not you could do your trip with carry-ons only. I would encourage you to explore that. I travel with my two children with carry-ons only and it is truly liberating: no check in luggage fees, no waiting for bags, easy to change locations, no tight connections... if you can find a way to do it... Plus you can easily do laundry in Greece; just give it to the hotel the night before. Very affordable. I am going to Europe for 6 weeks this summer, carry-on only :)

I share Weadles' concern about the location of Captain Manolis Hotel. From its location on Google Maps it looks to be near the centre of Parikia with its busy high season nightlife, and not exactly near a beach. I found a review from the Telegraph travel section, a reputable British newspaper, which indeed says the rooms are "remarkably quiet". If you are looking for a "great value hotel in the middle of the action" that may be a good choice, but it's not where I would choose to stay.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/d...manolis-hotel/

Parikia is the hub for transport on Paros, but it's more of a working town than a holiday resort. Many people who see Paros only from the deck of a ferry when it stops at Parikia go away unimpressed. Parikia does have the main bus station for the island, boats to Antiparos, and taxi boats to the harbour beaches of Krios and Martselo. There is also Livadia Beach, which you can reach by walking back to the ferry docks and along the street past the marina. Nearby Captain Manolis Hotel is one of the most beautiful sights in the Cyclades, Panagia Ekatontapiliani or Church of 100 Doors, which was built over an ancient Greek temple. You have to go inside to see its full beauty, and behind the church is a museum filled with artefacts dug up on islets around Paros.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2...h-of-100-doors

Naoussa is a much prettier town, and the secondary hub for bus service on Paros. Naoussa is only a 10-20 minute ride by taxi or bus from the Parikia ferry docks. Like Parikia, the beaches in the town itself are nothing to write home about, but you can hop on a taxi boat in Naoussa harbour and go to Kolymbithres Beach with its rock formations and shallow water, or to Monastiri Beach which is also near the water park. By bus from Naoussa you can go to any of the long sandy beaches on the east coast of the island.

I'll have to confess that on my first trip to Paros I discovered Antiparos, which is ideal for families with young children. Ever since then I have stayed there and taken day trips to Paros. Most people do it the other way round and miss the wonderful evening atmosphere of Antiparos Town. Until now I have refrained from suggesting Antiparos as a place to stay, but if you have time to watch a 13 minute documentary made by the islanders themselves, you will see what makes Antiparos so special:

For some reason the link I gave you doesn't allow me to watch the video in full screen, but if you also have that problem you can go directly to YouTube and see it in its full glory.

Hi Weadles,

I find the new Fodor's format frustrating, but it is possible to edit by clicking the Edit button, making your changes, and then clicking "Save".

I think I remember the Conde Nast article, and Travel + Leisure readers have voted Paros the best island in Europe for 2018. Not only that, and I find this hard to believe, they rated Paros 9th among the 15 best islands in the world.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/wor...ands-in-europe
https://www.travelandleisure.com/worlds-best/islands

Thanks again everyone, I'm down for Antiparos - just confused regarding where to stay and how to get there. As it is, I am looking at a two-stop flight to Athens (after working furiously all week), then a separate connection to Paros (there are lots of options in the afternoon but I'd have to book after 4 PM), then ferry to Antiparos.

I'm not sure an exhausted Mr. OverIt would be cool with changing hotels every night (although the first night we will probably crash hard and wake up around noon the next day - we try to keep Boston time in Europe so we can dine late in the evening with the kids). So it might be a better solution. Perhaps the plan should be fly to Paros, spend one night close to the Antiparos ferry, stay in Antiparos for a few nights, then head over to Naxos (where we will be staying at St. George's beach--thanks for the rec travelerjan!-- ) for the 3rd straight year.

I also appreciate the advice about traveling with carry ons only - you are right, it is tempting, and it's nice to know about laundry. I was more worried about my reading material, as I've not yet learned to love reading on a screen, but perhaps I can save my magazines all summer and toss as I go. We'v always brought our sandpails with us to avoid buying more needless plastic stuff but maybe it would be practical not to.

The fares are staying low on SwissAir - I can leave Friday night or Saturday night. The fare says "nonrefudable, no changes permitted" but I'm guessing travel insurance would cover any mishaps that might prevent the trip - we've flown the same airline and class the past 2 years with no issues (although even the cheapest fare included a checked bag).

Anyway, this is the current plan ( we can leave as early as Fri Aug 23 and return as late as Sep 4 but prefer to leave Saturday so we don't have to leave work early on Friday). If we left on Friday, we would stay in an airport area hotel in Athens and then head to Paros in the morning - if we did it that way, we could fly to Paros and ferry to Antiparos and not need to stay in Paros. I know there is a woman who runs a loveley B&B by the Athens airport. Paros hotel near the ferry and Antiparos recommendations welcome!!!

Sat Aug 24 - Leave Boston at 5 PM
Sun Aug 25 - Arrive Athens at 12:45 PM. Fly to Paros. Stay at Paros near the Antiparos ferry
Mon Aug 26 - Antiparos
Tues Aug 27 - Antiparos
Wed Aug 28 - Antiparos. Ferry to Naxos. Night in Naxos
Thu Aug 29 - Naxos
Fri Aug 30 - Naxos
Sat Aug 31 - Naxos
Sun Sep 1 - Fly from Naxos to Athens
Mon Sep 2 - Athens
Tues Sep 3 - fly home.

Hi Overlt, I'm not trying to influence you where to stay, just wanted to show you what Paros and Antiparos have to offer. Frankly I have mixed feelings every time I recommend Antiparos, because I don't want it to get busier than it already is in high season. For first-timers I usually suggest staying on Paros where it is easy to hop on a bus to explore the rest of the island. That said, it takes only 30 minutes to get from Antiparos back to Parikia where the buses fan out to the rest of Paros. If you take the direct boat from Antiparos to Parikia it's about 20 minutes, and you will get off at the same dock where the ferries to Naxos depart. Sometimes the direct boat is cancelled when winds are strong, but the ferry to Pounta where you catch a bus or taxi to Parikia is rarely cancelled.

Now, if you want to stay on Antiparos some of my favourites are Mike's Place (very small but it does have apartments), Maria's Place, Artemis, and Kastro Studios and Apartments. You can see details on Hans Huisman's private website, a Dutchman whom I have met and trust his advice. Look carefully at location because there is limited bus service on the island. If it doesn't say Antiparos Town you will probably need a car. Contact the hotels directly for reservations.
Antiparos Greece hotels, apartments, studios, holiday houses and villas

Andrea, on another thread Heimdall pointed out that the Paros airport is VERY near the Pounta ferry dock (this is the small put-put ferry that only takes ?? 10?? minutes to get to Antiparos). I HIGHLY recommend you stay on Antiparos AND at one of the places he recommends. You should be honored that H. gives you this advice ... he is very protective of "his" island. In my 12 trips to Greece (I am not close-by like Uk resident Heimdall, I'm just a greece-addict) I have been to Paros at least 5 times .... but didn't make it to Antiparos until 2011... and now vastly prefer it. In Paros, I'd stayed near Parikia beach for convenience, but believe me it is mediocre. By contrast, Antiparos Town is walkable to several nice beaches and -- as he says -- the evening atmosphere in Antiparos, strolling the winding "Agora lane" is enchanting. For a day, you can easily take the ferry to Parikia -- see Paros highlights like the huge cathedral, some ruins, and the town's maze-like lanes. Advise bringing from USA a cheap "cane" stroller if you have a tot under 4, because he/she will get tired and will be HEAVY to carry! (I do remember a store on Paros' main square in 2011 that sold kiddie toys & some strollers, but it could be gone by now).

Sadly Antiparos is becoming very fashionable, so see it while you can. Tom Hanks has owned a villa for several years at the southern end of the island where some of the best beaches are. Soros Beach is very nice, and you can get there by bus. San Giorgio, or Agios Georgios, also has a nice beach, and the renowned Captain Pipinos Fish Taverna.

Recently a company called Oliaros Properties (Oliaros is the ancient name for Antiparos) has been building some fabulous villas in the hills above Antiparos Town. Too rich for the likes of me, but if you want to see how the other half lives, look at their promotional video. The villas are all privately owned, and some can be rented by the week. Although I won't be staying in any of those villas it's nice to have a look: https://oliarosproperties.com

In Paros, I would look at other small hotels. The one you've chosen is, I believe, very close to the Church of 100 doors which can be really mobbed with tourists in the summer. To
be honest, I am not a big fan of Parikia. It's one of the most congested cities I've seen on the Greek islands, so I would be looking at a small hotel or B&B in Nauossa, or, take
Heimdall's suggestion and head for Antiparos.

Just a note here to travelerjan: I didn't appreciate your suggestion that I'm "sniffing" at St. George Beach in Naxos. I have visited that area at least six times, and feel I can
offer valid opinions that may be helpful to other travelers. The beach closest to town, directly in front of where we stayed, sometimes had garbage floating in it. Not where I'd choose to
be with small kids. We found it was much nicer the further you walked away from town.