Get some inspiration for your Greek island hop stop in Paros with our Paros Guide. From Naoussa, to Parikia, to ATV rides, we hope this gives you some ideas for your adventures. We only stayed in Paros for one night but we tried to see everything we could in the short time.
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How to get there
We arrived to Paros after our stop in Mykonos. Make sure you check Ferryhopper to find the best way for you to get over to the island.
Trip time from popular islands via fast ferries:
- Athens: 2 hours 54 mins
- Mykonos: 35 mins
- Santorini: 1 hour 45 mins
- Crete: 4 hours 20 mins
Ferry terminals (especially when you are arriving on a mega ferry) can be crazy. If your hotel is not in walking distance, I would highly advise arranging transportation in advance. We arrived in the early afternoon and were picked up at the ferry port by the driver that we coordinated with our hotel ahead of time and this saved us so much stress.
Where to stay
The two main areas of the island are Naoussa and Parikia. We chose to stay in Naoussa, mainly due to Instagram influence.
From the ferry port it takes a 20 – 30 minute car ride to get to town. Thanks to an early ferry ride, we were checked into the Adonis Hotel just after noon. The options of early and late ferries heavily assisted in our ability to visit so many islands on our island hop.
The Adonis Hotel is small but perfectly located on the outskirts of the busy Naoussa area. It offers a great complimentary breakfast and a very helpful and informative staff. With the white building and the flowering bougainvillea trees, this hotel gave out major Greek vibes.
This hotel is also just a short walk to the main area of Naoussa so we were able to start exploring the town immediately after dropping off our bags.
Naoussa
Naoussa is a fisherman village turned adorable Instagram hotspot that comes to life in the evening. We had a great seaside lunchtime snack at Barbarossa where we took in the fishing boats and the great feel of the harbor. After exploring the town a bit, we ended up at Moraitis Winery. My husband and I may have had too much fun with their wine tasting menu and then subsequently a bottle (or two) of their delicious Rose.
We ended our night back in the main harbor area where we dined on some extremely large shrimp (we’re talking 4-biters) and maybe another bottle of wine while watching the sunset. The town seemed to be just waking up but we were winding down – we tried our best to stay up to 11 when the insta-famous Linardo’s opened but just couldn’t get there. Our 30 year old, wined out selves had to crash out early.
Things to do in Naoussa:
- Have dinner in the main square and watch the sunset over the fishing boats.
- Walk over to Moraitis Winery and sip on some local wine.
- Dip your toes in the water at Agioi Anargyoi Beach.
Parikia
The next day we decided to hang around the main port town of Parikia which is much busier then Naoussa. If you are visiting Parikia on your way to catch your next ferry, I would highly recommend dropping your bags at the hotel right across the road from the ferry (near the windmill). Extremely cheap and it allows you to roam handsfree!
This Paros guide had to include Parikia as it is everything you expect from a Greek island. Whitewashed streets, windmills, and churches galore.
If you are planning on grabbing some food in town, make sure get away from the main ferry area. I would recommend walking south along the main coast road and finding a quiet restaurant on the water to eat some gyro.
After a snack, walk a little farther south and see the adorable Saint Anna Holy Orthodox Chapel. A little off the beaten path and we had the entire area to ourselves.
If you want to relax on a beach, Parikia is also where you can take a short boat ride over to Krios and Marcelo beaches for just a couple Euros.
Rent the ATV
After a couple of hours of exploration we made one of the best decisions we did on the trip – we rented an ATV. Now, we may not have done this in high season, as I have heard that the streets get a bit crazy, but in May, it was fantastic. I am telling you, exploring Paros is the best in an ATV.
First stop was in Lefkes. This is a quiet and more traditional village in the center of the island. It is home to a large orthodox church and this street intersection below that you have probably seen all over Instagram. Next stop was our favorite for the island: Piso Livadi. Here we relaxed at the Vrohas Café and took in the sites and vibes. We truly wish we had more time to spend in Piso Livadi but it was time to start the drive back to Parikia to catch our ferry to Milos.
What to pack
When it comes to packing, I would say to pack the usual for a beach / warm weather vacation.
- Something nicer for dinner: flowy dresses and skirts for the ladies / linen button ups for the guys
- Swimsuits and cover ups
- Comfortable (but of course stylish) shoes for walking around town
- Jean jacket or other light jacket option (if you are traveling in shoulder season, it can get cool in the evening)
- Ibuprofen – if you plan on overindulging on wine (like us)
Check out the best and cheapest travel tool for packing for a long trip in a carry-on suitcase.
Suggestions
Prior to our trip, we were told that Paros was “Mykonos without the crowds”. I honestly cant agree or disagree with that due to the time of the year. It is very similar to Mykonos, but we didn’t experience the dreaded crowds in Mykonos since it was the end of May.
We hope that this Paros guide helps you plan your stop here on your Greek island hop. We had a great time exploring Paros but here are some things that we would have done differently:
- Stayed near Piso Livadi – we loved this quiet town
- Rented the ATV immediately when getting off the ferry and kept it the whole time
- Relaxed on a beach
- Visited Anti-Paros
Read about the rest of our 10-night island hop and save this article for later on Pinterest:
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