In the fall, I was on a bit of a whirlwind trip of almost 6 weeks, which included Berlin, following by a group trip all around Israel, and finally ending up in Greece, mainly Naxos Island, to have the chance to slow down and decompress from the rest of our travels. At this point, it was back to just the two of us, and we decided to rent a car, but stay in one place in Naxos Chora (the main village), which is located about a 5 minute drive from the tiny island airport.
The goal of this portion of the trip was relaxation and food, and seeing what it was like in the Cycladic islands of Greece and Greece in general, as I’ve never been before. It was fun and also scary at times to drive along the narrow, winding roads throughout the island, but it was definitely the best way to get around and explore. Since it was early October, the main tourist season had ended, and many of the places had closed for the year by end of September, while some stayed open just long enough for us to see them before shutting down. When asking a few proprietors what they did in the off season, they mentioned spending long awaited time with their families and resting, and waiting for the upcoming year to open all over again to the crowds.
During our week on the island, here is the list of places I would recommend to site see, explore, eat and drink – if you want to pull up the travel map on Google directly, you can also see it all right here!
Food & Drink
| Nostimon Hellas | The fish. I still remember the fish, and wanting to go back for more. I managed to get the last portion of the fresh catch of the day, and am I ever glad that I did! Another great restaurant with a very sweet staff. We tried to make it back there for a second meal, but just ended up running out of time, with everything else that we wanted to try out.
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| To Elliniko Restaurant | The first night of our stay in Naxos, we found this nearby restaurant. Again, it was SO cold outside, so we couldn’t enjoy our dinner in the outside area, but inside in the more cozy restaurant itself. We tried all sorts of traditional dishes based on the staff’s recommendations, and enjoyed a warm and hearty meal to ease us into the chilly temperatures after our time in Israel.
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| Vassilis Tavern | What I loved so much about Naxos was the abundance of restaurants with the cutest courtyards. This one was no exception. |
| Maro’s Taverna | Close to our hotel, we wandered past Maro’s on the recommendation of a friend who had also been to Naxos the year prior. He mentioned that Maro’s had tables spilling into the sidewalk with people, and also the most ridiculous inexpensive jugs (yes, jugs) of wine. So what did we do? Had dinner with a jug of wine. |
| Waffle House | When wandering through the town, stop by here for a quick and satisfyng ice cream break. Very centrally located, you’ll likely walk past this while exploring the historic center. |
| Lithos Restaurant | Great atmosphere and delicious food. I loved the seating and all of the vibes here. |
| La Vigne Wine Bar & Food | This was another super cute restaurant that we wandered past but didn’t have the chance to try out. It was very busy, and looked like it had a great selection of wines and many happy patrons enjoying their meals. Again, this is on the list for next time. |
| Notos Art Club | This was such a cool spot to enjoy a patio drink for sunset, or choose one of the multiple cozy and unique rooms to dine and have a drink. Before choosing a spot, make sure to climb the stairs and wander around each area to see what fits your vibe for the evening.
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| Like Home Bar Naxos | While we didn’t manage to come here either as we never made it up past 10 pm, this was on my list if we ever had the chance to enjoy some later nightlife. |
1739 Terrasse Cafe | Another great spot for drinks, snacks, and a view. |
| Oniro Wine Bar Restaurant | We stumbled by this restaurant, but never had the chance to eat here. It was adorable though, and I’d definitely want to add it to the list for next time, so I wanted to at least mention it here, so someone else has the chance to check it out. |
| Oregano Souvlaki Meze | This was some of the tastiest food that I enjoyed during our time in Naxos. While it was more of a lunchtime spot, all of their dishes that we tried were full of flavour, and we actually returned twice, purposefully stopping by so we could have lunch a second time.
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| Halki Cafe | Along our drive, I really wanted to stop for another coffee. From the outside, this cafe looked very cute, and we decided to hit it up for a quick refreshment. We sat inside as it was a bit chilly, and enjoyed iced coffees while taking a break. |
| Giannis Tavern | After walking along the trails of Chalkio, we wandered into the middle of the village and followed our noses, until we came along pork being rotisseried outside this tavern. The patio area was very full, and this restaurant was the busiest in the area, and we decided to join in. While the service was extremely slow with so many tables of people, we had a leisurely meal. I did find the meat to be a bit dry in the end, and the food wasn’t all that great in my opinion, but they sure know how to draw in a crowd with the wafting smells of meat on a spit!
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| The Taverna Naxos Island Hotel | Another spot where we almost went for a bite, but then decided to be lazy and just stay on the beach. But it was enticing!
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| Capones | If you’re looking for a place with great burgers in Naxos, Capones is probably a solid choice. A cool little spot with great sides and cute outdoor seating, we enjoyed an early dinner before the crowds set in and then wandered around the market area.
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| 520 Bar | To enjoy the sunset, we stumbled into this bar which has a rooftop bar and dining patio, with large views westward facing the sunset over the marina. We enjoyed a couple glasses of wine with a view before moving on to our dinner for the evening.
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| Doukato Restaurant | On one of our last evenings, we managed to find our way to Doukato for dinner. While the courtyard was so beautiful, it was quite cold and windy outside, so we sat at the last available table (we tended to eat much earlier than other European tourists), and enjoyed a meal of prawns, greek salad with the local Naxos soft goat cheese called xynomyzithra and amazing local olives, and yet another meat plate.
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| Giorgis | A delicious restaurant where we enjoyed a meat tasting platter over lunch. Grilled chicken, lamb, pork, and beef – something to be enjoyed by a hearty meat eater. 🙂 The dining room has a lovely view over the nearby hillsides and the staff were so friendly and warm. While here, we actually were sat next to a lovely older couple from Sweden who had hiked there by foot after what sounded like over 8 hours through the island. The busses weren’t running, so they asked us if we could drive them back to Chora if heading back that way, so we had a chat with them over the rest of our meal, and they joined us on our way home, trading our stories of Greece. I’m really glad they were next to us and decided to ask us for a ride, as I have no idea how they would’ve managed to get back to their hotel before dark, and they were such a sweet couple.
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| Rotonda – Cafe Bar Restaurant in Naxos | Although we didn’t have the opportunity to dine here as it was closed for the season, I learned that when this restaurant is open during the tourist season, it’s important to make reservations so you can have a seat to enjoy the stunning mountainside views.
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Accommodations
| Ippokampos Beachfront Hotel & Restaurant | After looking at all sorts of options – from houses off the beach, to hotels that are beachfront, we were very happy with our choice. We stayed for a week at Ippokampos, and although the rooms are quite small, they are extremely clean, comfortable, and have great views overlooking the beach at sunset. Plus, breakfast every morning on the water was always an excellent start, with a variety of options to choose from. Parking is also available right out front or around the side, if you choose to rent a car (which I highly recommend for exploring the island).
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| Nissaki Beach Hotel | One of the most popular high-end beachfront hotels on the beach in Naxos Chora, Nissaki seems like a beautiful choice. Unfortunately, it was sold out by the time we booked, so we ended up having to go with another accommodation. |
Sites & Activities
| Agios Georgios Beach | Giorgios Beach is beautiful for sunset – it’s also a great option for those with children or people who choose to just wade in the water, as it’s extremely shallow for a very long walk out. If you’re looking for deeper water for swimming, you’ll need to head to the other beaches along the western and southern sides of Naxos Island, but when it comes to Chora itself, this beach was the best all around option in my opinion.
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| Eggares Olive Oil Museum | We managed to head to the olive oil museum on its last day of being open just before mid-October, before they were closing for the low season. Apparently, they are generally extremely busy with tourists, but since we were there during the bridge season, we enjoyed our drive from Naxos Chora around the windy roads, and then easily parked and went inside for a free tour of the history of the olive oil presses and production process on the island. The staff were so friendly and lovely, and there were all sorts of olive oil treats available to try out. Post-tour, we sat outside on their sunny patio to enjoy Greek coffee and even more treats before continuing our drive across the center of the island.
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| Saint Irene | The view from the church of Saint Irene is nothing short of stunning. At this point on the island, you’re very high up in elevation, and you can get almost 360 degree views of the hillside villages around and below. There is a little pullover viewpoint stop across the road, and a beautiful restaurant (which was closed for the low season) where you could reserve and dine on their patio (I’ve heard it gets very full as there is not much else in the area, especially with that view).
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| Plaka Beach | My favourite beach of them all was Plaka Beach. Many of the restaurants and cafes in the area were closed down for the low season while we were there, but it was a very long, white sandy beach, along with many kittens who liked to join us.
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| Apeiranthos | Apeiranthos is a cute hillside village stop in this area of the central island. One of my favourite parts of exploring a place like Naxos is to pull over, park the car, and just wander and get lost. There were trails around the area, leading to historical churches and structures – passing through a few farms with roosters and horses, and other old homes. |
| Church of St George | Again, this is more of a viewpoint that you can see if you stop in the area. You’ll be high up in the hills and have an amazing view to the church and surrounding areas.
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| Puerto de Naxos | One of the most well-known sites on the island, the “door of Naxos” is located on a little rocky outpost – it’s beautiful to watch the sunset through the Puerto from one of the many eateries nearby. You can also walk to the monument and watch right from the rock, although we never actually managed to get over there in time for sunset. |
| Mikri Vigla Beach | I LOVED this beach. It’s likely largely because no one else was there, and it happened to have both an open wifi signal and beach chairs and umbrellas that were unmanned, but the water was such a crystal clear blue. We walked Northwest slightly, to see what we could find on the nearby cliffs, and climbed up to find even more hidden swimming areas, where you could get total privacy (not that we were lacking in October), and lounge on the rocks for awhile. Right behind the beach is some sort of accommodation and restaurant, so you could easily go here for the day and be sure to find food if you don’t bring your own picnic.
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| Agia Anna Beach | One of the closer western beaches to Naxos Chora, Agia Anna is another beautiful beachfront, which we found to be the most busy still during mid-October. There were many restaurants that were still open along this beach, and thus a lot of options, but also a lot more people. So if you’re looking for more people even in the off-season, this is a good option besides staying on Agia Giorgios in Naxos Chora.
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| Aliko Beach | This was another stunning and isolated beach, located within a National Park. We parked the car and found one other RV nearby and a tent, and wandered along an old structure that reminded me of a deserted prison. There was beautiful graffiti all over the walls, and we spent quite a lot of time just wandering through and exploring to see what pieces of art we enjoyed the most. Again, if you climb down to the beach a little further west, there were stunning sandy coves to tuck into and go for a low key swim.
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| Hotelruine Kastraki | This was the stunning ruins location where you could find beautiful art adorning all of the walls. Make sure to watch your step as you walk along, and enjoy the serenity and beauty of this somewhat haunted feeling area.
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| Chalkio | Another great little hillside village where we wandered for awhile and found great restaurants. There are many stairs to manoeuvre through this very steep town – we saw an older man delivering dog food on a donkey. It’s a very quiet place, again with great views around.
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| Byzantine church St George Diasoritis (Άγιος Γεώργιος Διασορίτης) | When wandering through this village, we went down one of the side roads and found ourselves at this ancient church. It’s worth taking a stroll and seeing what you can find. This church was surrounded by a pathway with many flowers, trees, and a little stream.
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Naxos Island is definitely a great local spot to get lost explorer, especially in the bridge season in late September or early October, once all the main tourists are gone. Although it’s quite a bit cooler and extremely windy at times, it’s still a beautiful place to spend awhile, with diverse sites, multiple gorgeous white sandy beaches, and lots of delicious restaurants and friendly people.
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