Hi everyone! My husband and I are traveling to Greece in August (high season, I know, but work schedules… shrug) and plan on spending about 4.5 days in Santorini, 2.5 in Naxos, and about 3 in Athens. We are renting a car in Santorini as we want to explore as much as we can. What are your thoughts on renting a car/quad for Naxos? We are only there for a short time and our main goal in Naxos is to hit the beaches, relaxes, and wander about the cute streets and stumble upon cute shops and restaurants. I think my husband would like to climb/see Mt. Zeus as well. Thanks for your input!
Posted by
France Southwest
1812 posts
if you stay in town and on the beaches near Naxos Town there is no reason to rent a car or a quad, the island will thank you for this small contribution to the purity of the air.
Going to the top of Mount Zeus is a hike of a few hours that starts from the village of Filoti, buses go from Naxos town to Filoti.
The advantage if your husband goes to Mount Zeus is that you will have time to go shopping in town... :))
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
We spent a week on Naxos a few years ago and did not rent a car. They have a great bus system and we chose to visit the amazing village of Apiranthos for a few hours. We also enjoyed taking the bus to see the beaches. We stayed on St. George beach, relaxed and walked to restaurants & sites. We stayed in Santorini 4 nights and felt 3 nights or less would have been better. We liked Santorini but loved Naxos. We felt Naxos was our best Greece experience. With limited time on Naxos, and what you are planning I don’t think you will need a car.
Edited to add: I found this great description of the Mt Zeus hike from my favorite travel blog. Wish we had known about it when we visited Naxos. Enjoy! https://www.earthtrekkers.com/hiking-mount-zas-naxos-greece/
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thank you both! And thanks Janis for that link - that is super helpful especially with the pictures!
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
If you are interested in restaurant recommendations, these are some favorites-
Santorini- Aktaion (Firostefani)
Stani Tavern (Fira) reserve view table
Naxos- Nostimon Hellas- reserve for garden dining.
Kozi- lovely view
Athens- Mani Mani
We made reservations for all restaurants. Enjoy!