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-   -   Naxos Beach Hotels?? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/naxos-beach-hotels-669051/)

portiaesq Jan 10th, 2007 11:56 AM

Naxos Beach Hotels??
 
My husband and I are planning an anniversary trip for mid-Sept. and are looking for a hotel that is right on the beach in Naxos (or a very short walkable distance). We would like to be near restaurants but would rather have easy access to and from best beaches than walkable distance to town. I am looking at Athina Studios, Villa Marandi, Lagos Mare. We want to spend around $150 per night at most. We do not need kitchenette. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

artnuvo Jan 10th, 2007 12:17 PM

I don't recall the beaches in naxos-we stayed on the hill above the main street at hotel anixos, a beautiful small hotel with a charming garden, nice rooms with a small balcony and rooftop breakfeast, for about 85E. a great bargain and you could wander down in 5 minutes to the center and also the interior shops and restaurants. do rent a car and travel around the island to the ruins. easy driving and very scenic.

JuneAnn Jan 10th, 2007 12:34 PM

Hotel Sant' Alphio is on the beach in Naxos. I stayed there last year as part of a tour. We had a beautiful view of the beach. Also, the hotel has a nice indoor pool.

Heimdall Jan 10th, 2007 12:53 PM

Do a search on Naxos, and you will turn up many, many posts on hotels. The main beaches on Naxos (in order of distance from town) are: Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna, and Plaka. The majority of hotels are in the Ag Georgios (St George) area, a ten minute walk from town. Ag Georgios is an okay beach, great for children, but the best beaches are south of town. Ag Prokopios is a fine, sandy beach, with some hotels. Plaka is probably the best beach in the Cylades, but doesn't have many hotels nearby. I usually stay in the St George area and take the bus to Plaka.

stanbr Jan 10th, 2007 07:55 PM

I am a regular visitor to Naxos and from your hotel choices it would appear you have a keen interest in great beaches and all three hotels are very good.
Athina is on Plaka beach which is my favourite beach in Naxos. Villa Marandi is 2.5 km from Naxos town on a beach I have never heard of but I suspect is is near the salt marshes near the airport. I would avoid that one.
Lagos Mare is on Aggia Procopius another great beach.
Plaka beach has almost no dining as it is on a remote section of the beach. Lagos is at a village with about 10 tavernas and a couple of mini marts. Both would be ideal for a visit where all you care about is the beach. If you want tot reach town especially for dining and shopping you will have to take a taxi or the local bus.
After experiencing hotels at the western beaches as well as the hotels at St George beach at Naxos town, St George beach wins hands down for me.
This is a good beach ( not as good as the two you are looking at) but still a good beach. The hotels there are about a 10 minute walk into Naxos town where there are ample things to occupy you including many tavernas, shopping antiquities, museums, and vegetable and fruit markets. You can easily spend half a day enjoying the town activities and a few hours on the beach all within a few minutes walk. For those days you want to dedicate completely to beaching you can take a 15 minute bus ride out to Plaka or Prokopious beaches for 1.20 euros for a full day of beaching and still come back to town for sunset at the portera, a sunset concert at the Venetian museaum and a dinner at one of dozens of tavernas. At night your hotel near St George beach is very quiet away from the noise of the late night revelers.
The best hotel at St George beach is Naxos Royal. It has beautiful gardens, is 30 meters from the beach and is a 10 minute walk from Naxos waterfront. It is in your budget at 120 euros in June. There are lots of other much less expensive options in the same St George beach area.

portiaesq Jan 11th, 2007 09:00 AM

Stanbr, Thanks so much for your helpful thoughts about Naxos hotels! I am still debating between Lagos Mare and Naxos Royal (as you guessed access to best beach is our main focus!) Would it be difficult to go into Naxos town in the evenings from Lagos Mare (am concerned about drinking and driving). Also, do you know if it is a legit option to fly out of Naxos to Athens or should we ferry back to Santorini and take flight to Athens from there (others have maintained all kinds of baggage and delay problems from Naxos). Thanks again!

baemel Jan 11th, 2007 09:38 AM

We stayed at Villa Marandi... it's a lovely place. Very quiet and peaceful atmosphere. It does have a beach & pool/bar. It's too far to walk to town but a very quick cab ride. If you want the pristine beach, it is not... it's a little raw but totally do-able as far as laying out on or stealing some quiet moments on. My husband enjoyed it in the evenings before dinner each night. We rented a car to explore the whole island and then just beach hoped to the other beaches which are more pristine and have some neat private coves.

stanbr Jan 11th, 2007 04:59 PM

Portiaesq the Aggia Procopious is a really great beach and is certainly superior to St george.
With respect to dining there are tavernas at the little village at Procopious so you can dine there.
If you are going to go into town for dinner ( and you really should, as there are excellent tavernas in Naxos Town) then you should take a taxi. Naxos taverna keepers tend to be a little generous with on the house glasses of Ouzo or Mextaka. That on top of very inexpensive wine can make the walk home a challange. Driving is not an option.
Se if you can find our favourite taverna it is called taverna on the way to Kastro. It is just below the walls of the Kastro. It is a challange to find but it serves the best food in town. My opinion of course.

There is one flight a day from Naxos to Athens. You should pick your date and book it now. It is on Olympic and will likely cost about $75 to $90 each but it turns a 5 hout ferry trip into a 45 minute commute. I suspect you can get Agean from Santorini to Athens for that wonderful 19 euro fare however that means backtracking on the ferry for 1.5 hours or more. I would just fly from Naxos. We often sit on Plaka beach and the flight from Athens passes directly overhead. It has always been right on time.

portiaesq Jan 11th, 2007 05:04 PM

Stanbr, thank you so much for your lovely post. It is so appreciated and helpful. We will most certainly look for your taverna (and also most certainly drink inexpensive wine and drink Metaxa and Ouzo!) I am part Greek (the better part) and look forward to seeing my people's homeland for the first time and drinking and eating the food I grew up sharing with my grandparents. Thanks for all your help!

stanbr Jan 11th, 2007 08:45 PM

If you are interested in directions to Taverna on the way to Kastro, I can dig into my journals and give you a somewhat precise route. Its too late now to search but I can get the directions for you tomorrow.

portiaesq Jan 12th, 2007 06:40 AM

Thanks for everyone's help! I am torn between Athina Studios (which is very reasonably priced) and Lagos Mare (which is a bit pricier). We are beachlovers so I am wondering if it may be better to stay at Athina (even though it may be a bit off the beaten path). Any thoughts?

P.S. Stanbr. I would love the directions to your great restaurant (we are very into food and wine!)

stanbr Jan 12th, 2007 06:23 PM

Naxos town is full of winding narrow streets designed to fool pirates and tourists alike so a description on how to get to a particular place is always hit or miss. Anyway here goes.
Our very favourite taverna is Taverna to Kastro which sits just under the wall of the kastro. This restaurant is written up in many guide books and it’s reputation is well earned for good food and personal service from the host, Soulis. Tricky to find as there are four different approaches. I have attempted to memorize the approach from the main waterfront. Find the jewellery store on the main waterfront. Beside it you will see a very small alley and if you look up you will see a blue overhead sign that says ‘To Kastro and Museum.’ Follow that laneway until you come to a dead end (actually a shop) turn right, then immediately turn left, this is no more than 5 meters. You are still walking up. This alley will come to another dead end, turn right and after about 30 meters you will come to the bottom of a wide set of stairs. This whole path should take you no more than 3 minutes. Head up and at the top of the stairs and you will walk directly into a square which is where you will find the taverna. You will recognize it by the large bust of some sort of war hero in the square. The best time to arrive is just before sunset as you will beat teh crowds returnnign from viewing sunset at the the Portera. I know this is a bit complex but you will never regret visiting this taverna.
Look for the bearded man running around taking orders, he is Soulis and owns the taverna.



stanbr Jan 13th, 2007 05:44 PM

I have just looked at my directions and realized that I need to make one small correction.
Find the jewellery store on the main waterfront. Beside it you will see a very small alley and if you look up you will see a blue overhead sign that says ‘To Kastro and Museum.’ Follow that laneway until you come to a dead end (actually a shop) turn right and walk about 5 meters. You will walk directly to another store probably no more than 5 or 10 meters. At that store you can veer right and go past the store however you need to turn sharp left and walk about 5 meters. You are still walking up. This alley will come to another dead end, turn right and after about 30 meters you will come to the bottom of a wide set of stairs.
I had forgotten you could also go right at that second store and that is the wrong way to go.

Heimdall Jan 14th, 2007 12:47 AM

I think I must have eaten at the taverna in stanbr's post. Making your way through the maze of passageways is fun, but can be frustrating when trying to find a specific place. You will run across lots of interesting little shops on the way. Just remember to keep going uphill, and you have a good chance of finding it. It's worth the effort.

seviwevi Jan 23rd, 2007 07:30 PM

Has anyone heard Astra Apartments near Agios Prokopios Beach?

mmlowe Feb 3rd, 2007 06:45 PM

bmk


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