Paros travel guide: how to plan your trip
Paros sits in the middle of the Cyclades and connects to almost everything, which is why it works as a base rather than only a stop. It has two proper towns rather than one, and the ferry crossroads position means the island next door is always an easy day out.
Getting there
Two ways from Athens, and the ferry is the usual one.
- High speed ferry from Piraeus, from around two and three quarter hours on the fastest catamaran.
- Conventional ferry from Piraeus, around four hours, cheaper and steadier when it is windy.
- By air, a short hop from Athens on a small aircraft with a small baggage allowance.
Long multi-stop sailings exist and can take three times as long as the fast boat, which is the trap on this route. Durations vary by operator and season, so we check the live timetable for your dates.
Who Paros suits
Everyone, and Paros gets away with that claim for a specific reason rather than a vague one. It has two towns that feel nothing like each other, quiet coast beyond both of them, and a position in the middle of the ferry network that means a day out can supply whatever the island itself is not giving you.
So two people who want different holidays can share this one without negotiating, which is the practical version of suiting everybody.
Where to stay
Three answers, and which one is yours depends on what the trip is for.
Naoussa, for most people
It gives you the best evening on the island, with enough restaurants and bars and enough going on that you are not getting into a car every night. It is also the prettiest town here and the one that looks like the Cyclades of the photographs: cobbled lanes, bougainvillea over the walls, whitewashed houses stacked into each other.
Parikia, if you are island hopping
You are right by the port, which stops mattering the moment you stop catching boats and matters a great deal while you are.
Golden Beach, Logaras or Piso Livadi
If your idea of a holiday is waking up and walking straight onto the sand, stay around one of these and do exactly that.
How many days
Four nights is about right.
Paros is big enough that you can spend a few days exploring without feeling like you are repeating yourself, and that is not true of every island this size.
It is not somewhere we would deliberately put you for a week, unless a very slow holiday is the point. Four nights buys beaches, villages, a long lunch or two, and a proper evening in Naoussa.
The beaches people are not expecting
Long golden sand, which is worth saying plainly, because a great many Greek islands give you a small bay of rock and stone and call it a beach. People arrive in the Cyclades braced for exactly that.
The beaches are one of the reasons Paros works as well as it does, and the strength is the variety rather than one spectacular beach and not much else. Some are good for swimming. Some are better on a windy day, which in the Cyclades is not a rare day. Others are about finding a quiet spot and staying in it all afternoon.
So do not lock yourself into one beach before you arrive. Let the wind and your mood decide on the morning.
Combining Paros with another island
Naxos is our favourite. They are close enough to make the journey easy and different enough to make the hop worth making at all, which is the whole test. Paros has the more social, stylish feel. Naxos gives you space, villages, countryside and a stronger hold on traditional island life.
If you have only one extra night, take Antiparos instead. It is an addition rather than another major move, and it is a good change of pace for very little effort.
Beyond those two, almost any of the Cyclades pairs with Paros, because from here most of them are reachable as a day trip rather than a move. That is the advantage of the crossroads position: you can add islands to the trip without adding hotels to it.
Featured day tours
Two of the 13 we run on Paros.
Best time to visit
| Month | Sea | Crowds | What it is like |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | Cold | Very quiet | Green and windy, with many places still shut. |
| May | Bracing | Quiet | Walkable heat and everything opening up. |
| June | Warm | Building | One of the two months we book most often. |
| July | Warm | Busy | Hot, and the meltemi is at its strongest. |
| August | Warmest | Busiest | Book months ahead or choose another month. |
| September | Warmest | Easing | The other month we book most often. |
| October | Warm | Very quiet | Beautiful, with things closing week by week. |
Paros questions we get asked
By sea from Piraeus, which is how almost everybody arrives, or by air to the island's small airport.
- High speed ferry from Piraeus: from around two and three quarter hours on the fastest catamaran.
- Conventional ferry from Piraeus: around four hours, cheaper and steadier in wind.
- Long multi-stop sailings: exist and can take three times as long, which is the trap on this route.
- By air: a short hop from Athens, on a small aircraft with a small baggage allowance.
Durations vary by operator and season, so we check the live timetable for your dates rather than working from last year's.
They are neighbours, about twenty five minutes apart by boat, and they are not the same holiday. Paros is more polished and has the livelier evening. Naxos is bigger, greener and cheaper.
Most people who ask this should be doing both, which is a straightforward ferry hop and something we plan constantly.
Three answers, and which one is yours depends on what the trip is for.
- Naoussa, for most people: the best evening on the island, with enough restaurants and bars that you are not getting into a car every night. It is also the prettiest town here.
- Parikia, if you are island hopping: you are right by the port, which matters a great deal while you are catching boats.
- Golden Beach, Logaras or Piso Livadi: if your idea of a holiday is waking up and walking straight onto the sand.
Four nights is about right. Paros is big enough that you can spend a few days exploring without feeling like you are repeating yourself, which is not true of every island this size.
It is not somewhere we would deliberately put you for a week unless a very slow holiday is the point. Four nights buys beaches, villages, a long lunch or two, and a proper evening in Naoussa.
Yes, and they are one of the reasons the island works as well as it does. Long golden sand rather than the small bay of rock and stone people brace for in the Cyclades, and the strength is the variety rather than one spectacular beach and not much else.
Some are good for swimming, some are better on a windy day, and others are about finding a quiet spot and staying in it all afternoon. Do not lock yourself into one before you arrive. Let the wind and your mood decide on the morning.
Naxos is our favourite. Close enough to make the journey easy and different enough to make the hop worth making at all, which is the whole test. Paros has the more social, stylish feel; Naxos gives you space, villages, countryside and a stronger hold on traditional island life.
If you have only one extra night, take Antiparos instead: an addition rather than another major move, and a good change of pace for very little effort. Beyond those two, almost any of the Cyclades works, because from here most are a day trip rather than a move.
June or September. Warm sea, everything open, and neither the August prices nor the August crowds.
July and August work if the dates are fixed by school holidays, but they need booking months ahead and they are the windiest weeks of the year here.
How we can help in Paros
A hub is an entrance to the place, not only to the day out. These are the parts of the trip we book around it.
Private transfers on Parosport and airport runs, and the cross-island drive between the two towns.
Hotels and villas across Greecewe book the room, and we know which side of the building to ask for.
Greek island ferry bookingsthe hop to Naxos, Antiparos or Mykonos, which from here is a short crossing rather than a day.
Private catamaran chartersAntiparos and the small islands south, which is the Paros day people remember.
Car rental in Greecearranged with the trip rather than at a desk by the port.
Private Greek island hoppingParos is the natural hinge of a Cyclades route, which is most of why people start here.
Planning a trip to Paros
Tell us your dates and roughly what you want the trip to feel like, and we will come back with a plan and a price. We are a licensed Athens agency and we have been doing this for thirty years.
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