Mykonos plus another Island. Which one?
 

We are looking for another island to go to in addition to Mykonos. We have already been to Santorini, so we prefer another island.

Was looking into Crete, but the boat/plane transfer looks a bit much with a 4 year old in tow. Please recommend another island or destination that is easy to Mykonos. Our itinerary is starting to look like this:

________ 4-5 nights
Mykonos 3-4 nights
Loire Valley - Paris 6 nights

We are interested in relaxation, resort, beach, good food. I should mention that Mykonos is locked in, and that we have been to most sights in Athens. Thanks for any recommendations.

Naxos!

Naxos or Paros! Either would be perfect for your family.

Yes, Naxos or Paros. Both are very close to Mykonos. If you need hotel recs, post again.

Naxos is perfect for small children. You can stay at St George beach which is very shallow and safe. There will be lots of kids there and your child will have new friends in minutes. St George is also lined with hotels in every price range so it is easy to get back to the room when necessary.
St George is also part of Naxos town so you are an easy 10 minute stroll into town for shopping and dining options.
Here are images.
St George Beach Hotels Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632162394787/

St George Beach Naxos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632113170279/
Naxos Town
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632094558042/

Hi

Livadia beach on Paros has a shallow shoreline and is suitable for small children. It is 700m from the main town.

Unlike Mykonos or Santorini, Naxos is not a big boat cruise destination. You will not see insane swelling of the main towns during the day.
Naxos is not connected by frequent jet planes to Athens or other parts of Europe, either.

Naxos is on the main Bluestar ferry trunk line with daily reliable ferry boats to Piraeus.

Putting together, Naxos has the kind of beaches you have seen in Greek travel brochures, no flag waving large tour groups, lower cost food or lodging in general compared to Mykonos or Santorini, and does not seem to attract as many young party goers like Mykonos or large number of honeymoon or wedding parties like Santorini, yet it is not a hard to reach out of way island.

Naxos has everything, historic sites, beautiful architecture, charming villages, excellent gastronomy and gorgeous beaches. lt's also the largest island of the Cyclades, there are tons of things to do and see. Did I mention that Tripadvisor ranked Naxos the 6th best island -in the World-. Go, really.

Can I pile on here? Naxos!

Thank you for all your responses. We are going to make Naxos happen!

Can you share any hotel/resort recommendations in Naxos? Our budget is EUR150-250.

Also can you touch on the travel between islands? When we were in Santorini, we booked our ferry back to Athens at a tourist vendor when we arrived because it was so complicated to book online. By that time the only tickets available were first class. I wont complain of the comfort, but it was very expensive.

We arrive at CDG on Sunday 12:30 pm from NY. The flight to Naxos(JNX) is not until 8:40 pm, then it would have to stop in Athens for a few hours, getting us to Naxos early the next morning. That is 2 days of travel from NY to Naxos!

Would it make more sense to find a flight to Athens from Paris, taxi to Piraeus, then ferry? Any other way to Naxos?

Thank you!

I haven't fully checked this out, but the ferry ride between Mykonos and Naxos is less than an hour and quite inexpensive. If all else fails, why not take a ferry both ways, if you can get better flights between Myknonos and Athens?

There are no direct flights from Paris to Naxos, so you will go through Athens anyway. There may be direct flights from Paros to Mykonos during high season, possibly with easyJet or Ryanair.

It's difficult to give any advice without knowing what date you are travelling, and what time of day you arrive in Athens. Personally I would go to Mykonos first and then Naxos.

<i>There may be direct flights from Paros to Mykonos...</i>

Of course I meant <i>Paris</i>, not Paros!

As for hotel recommendations in Naxos you can see several good hotels in the album I posted above. Best value Luxury for cost would be Boutique Hotel Glaros. Next would be Naxos Resort Beach hotel and following up would be Galaxy. Of you want more modest hotel but with kitchenette look at Kalergis. The kitchen comes in very handy with little ones around.
As Heimdall says it is very hard to be helpful when we don't have specific dates. I see you say Mykonos is locked in so you will need to get to Naxos first. I was under the impression that there as a late afternoon flight to Naxos but failing that you can take the bus from the airport to the port and catch the blue star ferry which departs around 5 and arrives Naxos around 10:30 It sails daily and is huge so you should be able to just book tickets at the airport or at the port. Again specific dates may make a difference to price and class availablilty.

Hi! our dates are June 28-July 11. So it will be high season.

Mykonos is locked in. We would have to do Naxos first.

Do you suggest we purchase rountrip tickets to Mykonos from Paris? So fly into Mykonos, ferry to Naxos, then ferry back to Mykonos for the next 4 nights?

That was sort of my suggestion above. I think all considered it's likely to be the method that involves the least "travel" issues.

We stayed this past May at Hotel Galaxy and we just loved it. The front desk woman was super helpful and friendly. The pool was lovely but I don't remember how shallow. Easy 5 minute walk to beach and yes, very shallow and slow drop off with lots of children romping. Several restaurants to choose from on the beach. Many more restaurants in Naxos town - about a 10 minute walk from hotel.

We took the ferry to and from Pireaus - figured it was part of the Greek Island experience. We took the afternoon one to Naxos, arriving at past 11pm and it was more tedious than I expected so flights might be a better idea (but it was the end of a super long travel day). At the end of our stay, we ferried back to Athens on a day time sailing - it was more pleasant but still 5 hours long. We bought our tickets for the ferries when we arrived in Athens, not really ahead of time - the ferries to Naxos are big. If you decide to fly - but your tickets for that ASAP - the planes are small and booked far out. Enjoy!

Many British travellers who holiday on Naxos fly to Mykonos because that is the nearest international airport. The same would apply for flights from Paris. The last ferry from Mykonos to Naxos on June 28th departs at 4 pm according to gtp.gr.

Flying to Athens can work just as well, depending upon your arrival time at Athens Airport. There is a Blue Star ferry leaving Piraeus at 5:30 pm, but it doesn't arrive on Naxos until 11:35 pm because that is a day it makes an extra stop on Syros.

There are four flights from Athens to Naxos on June 28th, but only the one departing at 8:20 am is bookable at the moment. The others are blank in the boxes where prices are shown, perhaps because the flights are already sold out. You could keep checking to see if that changes.

Having been to both, Naxos and Paros, I also think that Naxos would fit your needs best. It is a beautiful island with plenty to do. We stayed at Kavos, which is a small boutique hotel with private/separate bungalows with a kitchenette. Getting to the beach was not a problemm for us as we rented a car. Otherwise, it would be a 10 min walk down a hill to a most beautiful beach.

I found a hotel in Naxos which looks great. It's called "Agios Prokopios Hotel" and it's situated in the town of Agios Prokopios, not far from the Capital. It has nice rooms with their own balcony, a swimming pool, a garden, and free WiFi. It's also 2 minutes' walk from the sandy beach of Agios Prokopios. It's cheap for what it offers, 180€ for 4 nights the "Double Studio" room, and it has excellent reviews in Booking.com 8.9 from 199 reviews.

Whatever you do, decide quickly if you will need a flight. There are few available for many dates in June.

We really loved Nissaki Beach Hotel on St. George Beach. But it's sold out for our dates this year, so we are going to Hotel Galaxy for the first time.

Good luck!

Summagold,

Just reread your post above. I'm assuming that the Delta non-stops to Athens from JFK are either sold out or too expensive. If you must connect through CDG, can you take another flight out of JFK so that you can connect earlier in CDG straight through to Athens?

Then you could possibly overnight at a hotel near the airport ( The Sofitel is very good!) before your early AM flight next day to Naxos.

Our flights on Air France is already purchased. We are arriving CDG 12:30pm on Sunday. The original plan was to stay in the French countryside for a few days then fly to Mykonos, then few more days in Paris. After much discussion we decided we would like to spend more time in Greece, since we have to be in Mykonos anyway. And save the French countryside for another trip.

The logistics of getting to the Greek islands is proving to be difficult. We will probably have no other choice but to spend one night at an airport hotel either in Paris or Athens to make Naxos happen.

In that case I recommend Sofitel at Athens Airport. It's directly across the street from the terminal building, less than 5 minutes walk from hotel reception to airline check-in counters. With an early morning start you have a choice of an Olympic flight to Naxos or a ferry from one of the Athens ports.

You also have the option of heading to the port of Rafina by frequent airport bus once you've arrived at the Athens Airport, staying overnight at the Corali Hotel or the Avra Hotel, then taking a morning ferry to Naxos. There's one that leaves around 7:30 that will get you to Naxos before Noon. These hotels are within walking distance to the ferry dock.

All your comments are helping me tremendously. Thank you!

Port of Rafina goes to Naxos? not Pireaus?

If we stay at a hotel in Athens either by the airport or port, which is a better option as far as good food and drinks? I figured at least make the best of our one night stay in Athens.

Yes, the port of Rafina goes to Naxos, not Piraeus. The trip from Rafina to Naxos only takes about 30 minutes longer than from Piraeus, and Rafina would be a nicer place to decompress after your long flight. But if "good food and drinks" are your main priority then staying in Athens is by far the better option. Food is available in Rafina, of course, but your choices will be limited, whereas in Athens they won't be. However, it will mean waking up earlier, around 5:30-6:00, to get to Piraeus to catch the 7:30 ferry. I'd go to Rafina.

Sounds like Rafina might be a good alternative. But if you're still thinking about what to do, you could also consider Vouliagmeni, which is only about 30 min. from the airport.

Hotel Margi is a very nice, very quiet hotel within walking distance of a gorgeous lake in one direction, the sea in the other. There are some excellent tavernas within walking distance.

And if you really wanted to treat yourself to a special dinner that first night ( but will you be awake?) you could go to the Athens version of NOBU next to the Arion Palace. Great food, and unbelievable view of the sea, especially at sunset!

Paros is like the twin brother of Mykonos, more laid back though. So my vote does to Naxos.

I would also suggest to check Syros. It's capital, Ermoupolis, is very beautiful, historical and has a different feeling than the rest of the nearby islands (mostly neoclassical architecture). Its very close to Mykonos and easy to reach. If you are tired of white cube houses, check Syros for a day or two (not more).

<i>"Yes, the port of Rafina goes to Naxos, not Piraeus."</i>

Not exactly, Lee. Piraeus is the main year-round port for ferries to Naxos, but Rafina also has ferries to Naxos between mid-June and mid-September.

In SUMMAGOLD's case there are two morning ferries scheduled from Rafina to Naxos: Hellenic Seaways FlyingCat 4 and Blue Star Paros. I wouldn't count on FlyingCat 4 until it's known which ferry Hellenic Seaways will use to replace Highspeed 5, which was damaged by fire on March 23rd.

There are three other morning ferries ferries to Naxos from Piraeus, all arriving earlier than the Blue Star from Rafina.

You can get to Naxos from Piraeus, ofcourse. Once you arrive in Athens from Paris stay in a hotel in Central Athens, either next to Syntagma Square or Monastiraki Square. Stroll Plaka or Kolonaki and eat in a nice restaurant. Then get back to your hotel and sleep. In the morning head to the Monastiraki Station (Electric Railway Station) and get to Piraeus. The Station in Piraeus is situated right on the Port for the Islands, so once you arrive in Piraeus, you arrive to your ferry that will get you to Naxos.

Hi friends. Our itinerary is starting to look like this. It looks mighty ambitious with a 4 year old.

June 27 depart JFK
June 28 Athens 1 night (connect in Paris)
June 29-July 2 Naxos 4 nights
July 3-5 Mykonos 3 nights
July 6-10 Paris 5 nights

We may have to eliminate or slide the dates down and shorten time in Paris.

"Agios Prokopios Hotel" in Naxos. Stayed there and loved it. Close to a great beach and many restaurants. Had the best souvlaki ever at a small place on the main street heading to beach right near the turn on to road to hotel. I dream to go back for that amongst other things on Naxos. We had a great time traveling around on a quad visiting beautiful beaches, the lovely town, small villages. The island has a lot to offer.

Hi friends. Can you recommend a quaint village we can drive to from Athens? I don't think we can make Naxos happen. Too much logisitics.

Are there other ferry locations that go to mykonos besides Piraeus and Rafina. Any quaint towns in the Peloponnese? I should mention we have already been to Naflio and Delphi.

Thanks for any replies.

If quaint means historical, about the only one I can think of is Monemvasia. There are many small town, but they are just that; small and rather modern. Monemvasia might not be a good place with 4 year old, however. Tolo is not quaint, but is a resort town and more suitable for a small child. But it is too close to Napflio.

Are you going to/from Mykonos by boat? If by boat, adding Naxos would not be adding anymore logistics than driving to Peloponnese.

Peloponnese route:
drive to Peloponnese 2-4 hours depending on location
drive back from Peloponnese 2-4 hours
boat to Mykonos
boat back from Mykonos

Naxos route:
boat to Naxos
boat to Mykonos 40 min to 2.5 hours depending on boat.
boat from Mykonos

excuse my typing with broken wrist, but yes, what happened to naxos? its less than an hour on the high speed from mykonos.

however, if youre looking for another destination after you return to piraeus from mykonos, think about hydra. its about two hours on the hydrofoil. lovely pedestrian friendly resort town with small boutique hotels,shops,gorgeous seaside walks.

Sorry to read about the broken wrist, WWK. :-( Hope you will be okay for summer travels!

Hello greg!
As far as you are willing to drive, you could explore Argolis area a bit more indepth and pick a beach location as your base. There is Tolo but there are areas such as Drepano and the like too for a beach escape. Sadly I haven't visit this area for a long time but although many people tend to downrate Tolo, a friend of mine visited past July and loved it. An other friend visited on May and said it was somewhat missing the ambiance but your dates are good to have a lively ambiance and it does not seem an over the top resort. I discovered this video on youtube a while ago among others and I can say it wets my appetite for good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr97Xw69hdI

Having the car it will be easy to head to Ermionida or Porto Helli or whatever port is suitable to have a side trip to Hydra or Spetses too.

@Heimdall: thanks so much for the - ouch!- kind words. i hear that greece is standard therapy for broken wrists.