I''ll be spending 3 weeks in Greece next August, and will be spending 5 days in Naxos. I'm starting to narrow down my choice of hotels, and I've been using this site pretty religiously in helping me determine my choices for accommodation on this trip.<BR><BR>But I'm stumped about something. Why is it that when I do a search on the Naxos beaches, that there's virtually no mention of them? One would think a beachfront hotel would be most desirable on an island reknowned for its beaches? (am I missing something here?) Apparently, the most beautiful beaches in Naxos are Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna and Plaka, and yet I've found virtually nothing from Fodorites singing songs of praise for these locations.<BR><BR>I understand that all are easily accessible to Naxos Town by a short bus ride, so it can't be that the beaches are too remote. I know that the three beaches are not nearly as crowded with tourists as Agios Georgios (the closest beach to Naxos Town, and which is apparently infested with tourists). <BR><BR>So. That said, my choices for accommodation right now are a toss-up between Hotel Agios Prokopios (on Agios Prokopios beach), Iria Beach Hotel (on Agia Anna Beach), and Villa Medusa (Plaka).<BR><BR>Has anyone ever stayed at any of these hotels (please help me narrow down my decision!), or can anyone at least fill me in as to why no one else seems to be raving about these locations as a home base for their Naxos stays?<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Tania

Hi Tania,<BR>I spent 5 days in Naxos in August we stayed ay Lianos Village which is in Prokopios. If you do not have your own transportation you may want to consider staying in St.George's to be close to Naxos town which is great. I have seen the Agios Prokopios hotel only from the outside and it's in a very handy location to the little village, it looked ok from the outside but not great, but the inside might be fine. Agios Anna is very small and once agian if you don't have your own transportation you may feel limited. Although we drove around much of the island we did not make it to the Plaka area but I don't think I would want to be much farther away from Naxos town than Prokopios. I loved Naxos and would certainly go back if you have any other questions please let me know.

Hi Trish, <BR><BR>Thanks for the reply. It's interesting that you stayed at Lianos Village, as I have it bookmarked as an option to Hotel Agios Prokopios. It's clearly a nicer hotel, but I couldn't tell how close it was to the town.<BR>How long a walk would it be to the nearest bus stop (the town center)?<BR><BR>The drag is that I don't drive, so I'm confined to buses. Even though Agios Georgios is closer to Naxos Town, I'm kind of committed to staying at a quieter location, as the rest of my vacation in Greece will be somewhat hectic and intense. The reason I'm going to Naxos is to basically have 5 days of very little more than luxuriating on a great beach (thus, my choice for Agios Prokopios, as it's supposed to be less congested than Agios Georgios, and extremely pretty.)<BR><BR>If Lianos Village is walkable to a Prokopios bus to Naxos Town, I'd definitely consider it as a first choice (it's only about a 15 minute ride).<BR><BR>Was Lianos Village wonderful? How was the view? The room? The breakfast?

Hi Tania,<BR>Lianos was wonderful, they had one of the better breakfasts and a cute little bar by the pool. The view was great and it by the quiet end of the beach. The rooms are great my Dad was with us and had a single room that was as big our double. This said I don't think the bus even goes by this hotel everybody that was there either had a car or scooter it seemed and there is onlt 2 restaurants in close proximity. <BR>The area of Prokopios is set up kind of strangely and I don't know if I can explain it clearly. When you leave Naxos town going towards Prokopios the road forks and the left turn takes you to the town of Agios Prokopios and Anna the other road takes you to Stilida where Lianos is. There really isn't a town here just some hotels and private homes. The good thing about this area is part of Prokopios beach is a little quieter and we loved Lianos but I think you will be too isolataed. By the way there is a beach road that takes you from the Lianos end of the beach to the Prokopios town area. <BR>My husband and I went horseback riding when we were staying at Lianos and had a great time and got to ride through the back areas you wouldn't normally see as well as riding on the beach. Just a suggestion if you like to ride and since you have 5 days, the man who runs it is named Stamatis and he is a fisherman in town as well.<BR>I have good basic map of Naxos that we got from our scooter rental place, we referred to it a lot more than the ones in the guide books if you want I can scan it and email it to you. <BR>Sorry this was so long if you need anything else let me know I have a ton of pictures and info about Naxos.

Trish,<BR><BR>Welp, after much deliberating, there's a tentative change in plans. I think I'll stay at St. George's Beach after all (in spite of it's being so crowded). Granted, Agios Prokopios is quieter and more serene, but I've decided that staying right on the beach would be the best option, and it's more convenient in terms of getting around than Agios Prokopios or Agia Anna would be, given that I'm restricted to buses. (your explanation of how to get to Lianos was actually very helpful in terms of getting a sense of the logistics of getting around). And also, I'm really partial to having a hotel right on the beach so I could walk it first thing in the morning or late at night before going to bed. (It won't be so crowded then.) During the days, I can still make my way to the quieter beaches, like Prokopios.<BR><BR>As of now, my choices are narrowed down to Hotel Asteria, Hotel Glaros and Nissaki Hotel, all right on St. George's Beach. Do you (or anyone here) know anything about them? <BR><BR>re: your comment about horseback riding- When I was in Italy last August, I was looking into horseback riding in Tuscany (how dreamy is that?), but ended up thinking better of it, as I feared being saddle sore for the rest of the trip (it's been 20 years....). It's too bad, as the thought of horseback riding on the beach in Naxos would be a fantasy come true...until the reality of being crippled for days sinks in!<BR><BR>I would TOTALLY appreciate it if you could scan the map of Naxos and email it to me ([email protected]). If it's not an imposition, it would be something I could work from while planning my stay, and I'd be very grateful.<BR><BR>Tania

I think you made a wise choice staying in the St. George area, I drove around there almost every day and found it to be less busy than I expected. I still saw old men with their donkeys stopped at the market, basically lots of Greek people going about their business not just tourists. As far as the hotels go I can't recall seeing any of your choices but Hotel Glaros was one we considered staying at as well, I thought it looked to have a lot of atmosphere. <BR>I think we may be in Greece the same time this summer we could only get our frequent flyer tickets for early August. Hopefully the heat won't be too unbearable.

Stayed in the Nissaki 2001 July- looked OK on brochure and I just rechecked it on the internet and yes it still looks good - had to look at several web sites to make sure it was same hotel- but my room was crap. I suspect there are OK rooms for which you pay more and the rubbish. I paid about $40 from memory. My room was in a block 50-100 metres from hotel and I had a basement room. All rooms looked the same crappy standard in this block but main building did look smarter. Room was really smelly, with no proper cover over the drain for the shower water. Good location if you do want centre - I think it is best as town centre has a real buzz at night time with lots of restaurants along the harbour. But I certainly could not recommend it although my impression is that there are a lot of mediocre cheap hotels in Naxos.

Nick,<BR><BR>Sorry your experience at Nissaki was such a bad one. It's odd that you mention that you stayed in some type of annex away from the main building, as I hadn't seen one mention of an annex at a single one of the countless websites I visited when researching the hotel. Then tonight, after much digging, I finally found one website that did mention it (www.greeksun.co.uk/Naxos1.html) and in discussing the hotel, at the bottom they write:<BR><BR> Our clients are accommodated in one of two areas of the hotel, either the main building or, very occasionally, the annexe <BR><BR>Sounds to me as if the reason it's not ever mentioned on any other website, and then mentioned at GreekSun only at the bottom (and using the words &quot;very occasionally&quot; is that perhaps they keep these substandard rooms for last minute guests or when they're otherwise booked up? Just a hunch.<BR><BR>I'm still pretty attached to staying there, as I've found some very positive reviews written by travellers about it around the internet, but am still open to Hotel Glaros or Hotel Asteria. (though Nissaki has the pool thing going for it, which is a definite plus!)<BR><BR>Monique- <BR><BR>As I mentioned earlier in the thread to Trish, Lianos Village is clearly FAR nicer, but it is in Stelida, which is not very convenient, given that I don't drive. <BR><BR>tania