My husband and I are planning a trip to Greece in late august/ September 2016. We would like to do 2 islands, definitely Santorini and perhaps Naxos. I have read Matt Barrett's greek island guide and Naxos seems to be very pretty with nice beaches. Maybe someone could advise us where to stay there. It seems like the most popular area is Naxos town and there seems to be a nice beach there. How would we visit other popular beaches- is there public transportation or should we rent a car?

The beach right next to Naxos Town is St. George Beach. There are lots of hotels to choose from. Town is just a short stroll away. The island has an excellent bus system if you don't want to rent a vehicle.

Nearby is Paros, another lovely island with some great beaches. A rental car is best on Paros, and you can take your car across to Antiparos from the port of Pounta. It's a short 15-minute ride away.

Naxos does not require a car, excellent bus network. In early September you may want to stay at the beach directly adjacent to town, St George (Ag Giorgios). If you ar there for a few days, you may want to rent a car for one day just to swoop all over the island to mountain villages, ruins, marble quarries, dramatic landscapes. Lodging prices will be about half that of Santorini, and no big crowds, because no cruise ships and very few package tourism.

Thank you for your replies. I noted that on Naxos, the only cars seem to be manual transmission. Does anyone know of others or could we rent a quad or something like that?

That is not true, there are a few automatics, but you have to e-mail all the different Naxos agencies (google a list) and ask ahead -- way ahead, since you will be in Naxos when it is still high season. We've been able to get an automatic with just a day or 2 in advance but we come in Spring, late may. Best to reserve ahead. Also a tip; If you are just planning to rent for one day, and spend a looong day swooping around the island (lots of Fun!) then it's a smart move to arrange when you book, to pick up the car the night before, say anytime between 7 and 9 pm. (rentals are for 24 hours). Car rental agencies ARE open in early evning. Then park it by your hotel overnite, and then you can zoom off as soon as you've had coffee.. 8 am or even earlier if you are a lark.

Greeks stay up late, and therefore, they start their days in low gear. If you say you want the car at 9 AM .... it probably will be a little after 10 before you sit behind the wheel. Just giving you my experience

Thank you so much, Traveljan, for the tip about picking up the car the night before. Sounds like a good idea.