We will will staying in Parikia, Paros for three nights at the end of May, beginning of June. We are considering a car rental for one or two day day so that we can see alot the beaches and villages on the island. Car rental is about $85/day. I hear that the buses run all over the island for $8/daily pass, but then we are tied to their schedules which I hear are not that dependable. I am not sure where the stops are or how long it takes by bus. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. There are four of us traveling.
If we rent a car, how is the driving that time of year in terms of busy roads, scary roads etc.
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3123 posts
If you received a rental car quote from a travel agent then I suspect they are adding a hefty commission for themselves. Unless you're looking at luxury cars I would NEVER pay that much for a car when I know there are plenty of them for rent at a much more reasonable daily rate. Just wait until you're there to look around. Ask at a few rental offices along the waterfront in Parikia. You'll see what I mean. And if you live outside the EU be sure to bring an International Driving Permit with you. If you live in No. America you can get them at your local AAA/CAA office for around $20. As for driving conditions, the roads are fine and not very crowded at all.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2129 posts
Lee is right — it’s easy to drive on Paros, but that price is extremely high. No need to reserve. Wait til you arrive and check prices at car rental places near your hotel.
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3321 posts
That's a fine time of year, everything's open, nothing's that crowded. There are no scary roads in Paros -- it's one of the few isles where people deciding to rent an ATV would get the OK from me. As for busses, they are dependable, but using them to see widely-dispersed places in 1 day can be inefficient. To see why, see a map of Paros. Here's a Hotel Map, useful; it shows all roads - http://ontheworldmap.com/greece/islands/paros/paros-and-antiparos-hotel-map.jpg
Then at a Bus Timetable: http://www.ktelparou.gr/en/bus-schedules.html -- basically the bus network is like the fingers of a hand. All the busses start from Parikia and fan out in different directions ... but the fingers do not connect at the tips -- so to access somewhere on another "finger" you must usually go BACK to Parikia and go out again. You may want to use a bus one day for a single destination, such as NAOUSSA or a Western beach... but for a day of exploring, get a car. A number of beaches, such as Kolimbrithes are not reachable by bus, at least in May. And with a car, you can get to ruins that most people don't go to, such as the ruins of a temple of Apollo, on a hill north of Parikia, overlooking the sea. There now are some ritzy villas nearby, but when 3 of us drove there 12 years or so ago, it was in lonely splendor -- AND we were chased away by a shouting shepherd; he was grazing his flock amid the ruins, and wanted NO visitors!
Posted by
Germany
1117 posts
their schedules which I hear are not that dependable
I don't know where you heard that, but in our experience, they are extremely dependable. If you arrive at the bus station two minutes late, they're gone. :-)
Posted by
Greece
22 posts
Hi
I'm from Paros. The best Way to explore the island is to rent the car (Unfortunately until the end of June there aren't many bus itineraries throughout the island) but the rental price 85 $ is really high for May.
Posted by
Athens, Greece
106 posts
Hello, $85/day sounds very expensive. I've been to Paros late June and we paid around 50 euros/day The island is small. In two days we saw almost everything. One of the best beaches can be easily accessed by boat from the main port... so that is awesome since you are staying in Paroikia! If you could also consider renting a car in Athens, before arriving in Paros and ask if you are allowed to take it on an island. They might have extra insurance.
Most car rentals in Paros have these prices:
16/10 – 14/05 Law Season - from 25€
15/05 – 30/06 and 01/09 - 15/10 Regular Season- from 40€
01/07 – 31/08 High Season - from 60€
The bus will definitely be the budget option. You can check the official site with the buses here.
They seem pretty organised to me. The distances are not huge. I think you'll be ok with the bus. Paros is an island with plenty of tourists, they want people to keep visiting so I bet the bus experience will be fine. After all you'll ask the driver when you hop on and off. Don't worry, people in Greece tend to be really helpful :)