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Naxos

The Portara, Long Sand Beaches and Mountain Villages

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3 daysIdeal stay₹6,920From / night₹2,660Food / dayFreeEntry

The largest and greenest of the Cyclades, and among the best value: the marble Portara gateway of an unfinished temple of Apollo at the harbour, the Venetian Kastro above the old town, long sandy beaches (Agios Prokopios, Plaka) with shallow water for children, and marble mountain villages (Halki, Apeiranthos, Filoti) with the Temple of Demeter and giant kouroi lying in the quarries. Famous for its potatoes, cheese and kitron liqueur; vegetarians eat well. Blue Star ferries from Piraeus all year (about 5 hours), fast boats in season.

Highlights

  • Sunset at the Portara
  • Kastro and the old town
  • Plaka and Agios Prokopios beaches
  • Mountain villages Halki and Apeiranthos
  • Hike up Mount Zas
  • Kitron distillery and cheese tasting

Things to do

  • Portara at sunset and the KastroEvening · 2h 30m
  • Mountain villages drive: Halki, Filoti, ApeiranthosMorning · 6h
  • Beach day at Plaka or Agios ProkopiosAfternoon · 4h
  • Hike to the summit of Mount ZasMorning · 4h
  • Kitron distillery and local cheese tastingAfternoon · 2h

Tours & tickets

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When to go

Best time: May – October

Worth knowing

Meltemi Winds: Ferries Cancelled

The meltemi, a strong north wind, blows for days at a time in July and August (force 6-8). The high-speed boats are cancelled first, and sometimes the port authority stops every sailing. Leave a spare day before your flight home, prefer the big conventional ferries on windy days, and pick the sheltered south-facing beaches.

Worth knowing

Winter: Fast Boats Stop, Many Hotels Close

From November to March the high-speed ferries stop, island-to-island boats run a few times a week, and most resort hotels, beach bars and boat tours close. The towns stay open with some hotels and tavernas, the conventional ferries and the flights from Athens keep running, and storms can still cancel sailings: keep a spare day before a flight home.

Worth knowing

Mid-August: Greeks on Holiday

The week around 15 August (the Assumption) is the peak of the Greek holidays: ferries from Piraeus and Rafina and island rooms are booked out weeks ahead, and prices are the year's highest. Book every boat and bed early, or come in June or September.

  • Orthodox Easter (Pascha) — Greece's biggest festival: candlelit Good Friday processions, the midnight Resurrection service on Saturday with fireworks and church bells, and lamb roasts on Sunday. Corfu's is the most famous, with clay pots thrown from balconies on Holy Saturday morning. Greeks travel home, so ferries, flights and hotels fill, and shops, museums and sites close or shorten hours from Good Friday to Easter Monday. Book well ahead.
  • Clean Monday and the end of Carnival — The first day of Orthodox Lent and a public holiday: families fly kites (in Athens on Filopappou Hill) and eat a meatless picnic of lagana bread, taramosalata and vegetable dishes, easy for vegetarians. The Carnival (Apokries) parades end the weekend before.
  • Dekapentavgoustos (the Assumption) — The feast of the Virgin Mary and the peak of the Greek summer holiday: village festivals (panigiria) with music and food the night before, a great pilgrimage to Paros' Church of a Hundred Doors, and every ferry and island room full in the week around it. Athens empties and many of its shops close.