Weadles

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

OverIt

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

OverIt

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!!!!

Heimdall

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.

OverIt

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

Captain Manolis Hotel in Paros | Facilities & Services

Weadles

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.

Weadles

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!

Weadles

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?

Weadles

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.

OverIt

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!

travelerjan

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?

ToujoursVoyager

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

Heimdall

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:

Heimdall

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.

Heimdall

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

OverIt

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.

Heimdall

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

travelerjan

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).

Heimdall

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

Weadles

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.