Hello! We're planning to take our young kids to Greece in late June-early July, spending 5 full days in Athens and then 6 full days on Naxos, excluding travel days. This will be our first trip to Greece. We'd like to see the sights during the first half of the trip (the grandparents may also join us for this part) and keep the second half easy and relaxing. We'd appreciate any recommendations for local tour guides, family-friendly restaurants, and where to stay on Naxos. Thanks so much!
Posted by
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
1441 posts
Experienced visitors to Greece often suggest you leave Athens to the end of your trip. It is best to be on the mainland the night before you return flight. Stuff can happen like strikes, storms delays.
So my first suggestion is to get to Naxos the day you arrive in Athens. There are at least 6 flights a day with Olympic or Sky express.
Naxos is way better place to get over jet lag. We learned this when we flew with our two kids and they were practically immobile the first day in Athens jet lag and a whole new culture.
My second suggestion is to allocate one or 2 extra days to Naxos. Naxos takes a good week to effectively explore the island.
The major sites in Athens can be done nicely in 3 days.
For a first time visitor particularly with kids is to stay at St George beach. Its a great sand beach lined with small family run hotels. The beach is full of kids as the water is shallow. St George is also part f Naxos town. You can have a walk on the beach then stroll into Naxos town along the waterfront headland to visit the heart of the town. Spend the afternoon on the beach then wander back into town to watch the sun set over the harbour and the portera.
St George is quiet at night which is a bonus.
From Naxos town you can take the local KTEL bus into the countryside with stops in Mountain villages perhaps some hikes. The KTEL bus system also has a day tour all around the island. Its a great way to see a maximum amount of stuff.
Here are some images of Naxos
Around Naxos town 2022 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299959098
Back to Naxos 2022 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299940917
Trip around Naxos https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157634605629689
Naxos sunsets https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157700728046481
Posted by
OP
US
3 posts
Thank you, this is really helpful!
We’re finding that most places on Naxos that are big enough for families are already sold out. Would you recommend any other kid-friendly islands?
Posted by
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
1441 posts
We are planning a return to Naxos in 2024. I tried some dummy bookings in 2023 just to get a feel of what was available and the prices. You are correct most places were fully booked. Since Greece reopened for tourism, bottled up demand has resulted in large crowds and early bookings. You can look at Paros quite similar to Naxos, perhaps Milos but you are likely to find many of the accommodation already booked up.
You might want to consider VRBO search to expand your possibilities. What web sites are you usin gfor your research. If its something like booking dot com or Expedia (3rd party booking agencies) you should know that many hotels only allow these agencies limited number of rooms. If you find something that interests you on Naxos contact the hotel directly. You may have more success that way.
You also might want to consider Crete. It too is popular but its also bigger so maybe you can find accommodation there.
Posted by
France Southwest
2318 posts
The most popular islands in the Cyclades (excluding Mykonos and Santorini) are Naxos, Paros and Milos.
They are also those that have an airport.
The main problem is that travelers from North America do not want to waste time and fly to one of these islands as soon as they arrive in Athens. This considerably limits their choice.
If they admitted that they could stay a first night in Athens or Piraeus before taking a ferry the next day, they would have much more choice and could go to such beautiful and typically Greek islands which they would sometimes like more.
There are about 15 other islands in the Cyclades (and almost 200 more in all of the Greek islands).
In the same logic, 90% of travelers who go to Naxos want to stay near Naxos Town, Agios Georgios Beach and surroundings.
Result: everything is sold out months in advance in these areas.
Just expand the search and you will see that the majority of accommodation in Naxos is outside of these areas.
Posted by
OP
US
3 posts
Thank you to both posters for all your help! We managed to find a nice place in Corfu, and I think we're all set for our trip. Really looking forward to it! :)
Posted by
2 posts
Hi there,
We travelled to Naxos for 6 nights with our 2 year old in 2022, its a great island for kids.
If you like to be close to the main town (for walks in the pram at night) but also want beach time, then we recommend staying in Agios Georgios - the beach is really calm and kid friendly. We also highly recommend Agios Prokopios, its about a 10 minute drive from Town, but has a great golden sandy beach (probably nicer than Agios Georgios) and lots of restaurants to eat at along the beach.
If you have a car, Filoti is a beautiful village in the mountains that's great to visit.
I can also HIGHLY recommend neighbouring island of Paros for young kids. It's a 40 minute boat ride away. The town is car-less, there's loads of restaurants and the beaches are all calm and beautiful around Naoussa. If you want more info, we wrote this guide here:
https://localwhispers.co/best-hotels-in-paros-greece/