Naxos is a beautiful and rustic island that will fill your camera with gorgeous photos. There is one downside to Naxos, however. Naxos is BIG. Really big. And, between the really cool things to do, it is mostly arid, desert nothingness. In order to do anything on Naxos you will need to rent a car and plan on spending a decent amount of time in that car. The distance between places and things you’d like to see are vast and the roads consist of hundreds of bumpy, hairpin turns up and down mountainous terrain. It is not uncommon to spend 1-2 hours in your car to get to the different little towns that litter the interior of the island.
The photo above is a good example of your views while driving around Naxos. Definitely beautiful, but be prepared for hours of vast mountain deserts in every direction.
That being said, Naxos is definitely worth your time. If for nothing else, you’ll want to spend at least one sunset taking photos around Naxos’ famous Portara. The Portara is all that remains from a gigantic ancient temple doorway. To read more about the Portara please visit:
https://www.greeka.com/cyclades/naxos/sightseeing/portara-naxos/
Naxos is also known for having fantastic beaches. If you’re looking for a secluded and rustic beach stay for your trip to the Greek Isles, Naxos should definitely make an appearance on your itinerary.
Before we give you our recommendations for Naxos, let’s take a look at a map of Naxos:
First things first is to decide how you want to do your trip to Naxos. As you’ll notice in the map above. Naxos sits just to the right of Paros. It is possible to take a day trip from Paros to Naxos if all you want to do is go see the Portara. This is a completely reasonable way to experience by far the best thing about Naxos if you wish to avoid driving around for much of your stay on the actual island.
If you decide you’d like to stay over in Naxos, you need to decide what you want your vacation there to be. Do you want to spend your time on a secluded resort by the beach or do you want to be at the center of everything that’s happening in Naxos with easy access to the other towns on the island? If you want the secluded beach vacation there is no shortage of high end resorts by the sea for you to book. If you want to be by the Portara, the Old Town center and have easy access to get to the other parts of the island stay in Old Naxos Town, which is also known as Chora (which is pretty much the name given to every main town on each Greek Island).
From Chora you will be able to walk to the Portara and can easily rent a car whenever you want to drive off to another town. I don’t recommend renting vespas or ATVs here as the distances are just too far and the roads are somewhat tricky.
Best Things to do in Naxos
The Portara: By far the highlight of Naxos is its famous and stunning Portara, or Great Doorway, an ancient structure remaining from a once great temple that will provide you with some of the most stunning photos you’ll take in Greece. There’s not much to tell you about visiting the Portara. It is located right outside Naxos Old Town and is easily visible from just about anywhere in Naxos Town. It’s free. You can just walk right up to it. The tiny island on which the Portara is built used to be connected by a land bridge to the island of Naxos. It is now connected by a small stone causeway which can be seen both in the first photo on the page and the photo directly below.
Beware of two things when visiting the Portara: 1) Everyone else on Naxos also wants to visit the Portara, particularly at sunset. Get there a bit early to get some photos before the place gets overrun with tourists. And, 2) Be aware of the propensity of waves to come crashing over the causeway. It is possible to get soaked walking across the causeway. An insider tip is to walk along the lower level to the right of the main causeway which is somewhat protected from the incoming waves. As you can see below, on the walk back to Chora the waves are coming in from left to right and people walking along the causeway need to time their walk to avoid the big splashes of the incoming waves. There is a slightly wet lower walkway to the right though that is largely protected from these splashing waves. If you don’t mind your feet getting wet this is often times preferable to getting washed out completely by a big wave
Naxos Cooking Lesson: This was one of the coolest things we did on our trip to the Greek Isles. If you are going to spend a day in Naxos and want an incredibly unique and personal experience do not hesitate to book this experience. Anne is a college student that lives with her parents and helps run their taverna in the summer. As a passionate chef and teacher, she is so excited to welcome you into her home, share with you their delicious local recipes and spend an afternoon cooking traditional Naxos dishes and sampling her family’s homemade wine and cheese. Come join her at her parents family owned and operated taverna, passed down through generations, pick all your vegetables in their extensive garden, learn how to prepare and cook a handful of traditional Naxos dishes, take a hike along the local river to see an ancient castle and return to a feast of epic proportions complete with all the homemade wine you can drink.
Please check her out at:
https://www.facebook.com/naxoscookinglessons/
or on Get Your Guide at:
Agios Prokopios Beach: 5km south of Chora is Naxos’ most beautiful beach. Crystal blue water laps against one of Greece’s few white sand, non-rocky beaches. The northern section is more secluded and empty while the southern part of the beach is complete with beach bars, restaurants, sun loungers and plenty of things to do.
Plaka Beach: Yet another beautiful Naxos beach. Crystalline tourquise waters and golden sand beaches with plenty of room. This is the more secluded of the two top Naxos beaches. The southern area is more secluded and empty of tourists and the northern area has plenty of watersports and bars if that is more your style.
Visit the Ancient Marble Town of Apeiranthos: Apeiranthos is a small ancient town made almost entirely of marble that can be found in the middle mountainous region of the island. If you have time and a car make sure you stop at this town.
Visit the Town of Apollonas and its Marble Statue: Apollonas is a cute town that can be found around the northeastern tip of the island along the sea. If you’re planning a day trip from Chora, just take your car along the one and only road that runs along the northern part of the town. Stop in Appollonas for Breakfast and before heading on to the Kouros of Apollonas, an 80 ton ancient, unfinished marble statue still sitting in the quarry.
Visit Vallindras Kitron Distillery: Kitron is a liqueur unique to the island of Naxos. In the adorable town of Chalkio you can find this ancient tradition alive at the Vallindras Distillery where they still use the traditional techniques to distill this distinct citrus liqueur made from the leaves and fruits of the citron tree.
Visit some of Naxos’ other small towns: Filoti and Koronos are both well worth a stop as you drive around the island.
Mikri Vigli: Stop in to see wind- and kitesurfers at famous Mikri Vigli beach. Winds whip around this beach making it an ideal spot for windsurfers and kite surfers. These daredevils fill the royal blue waters pulling incredible stunts. It’s worth a short stop if you have time.
