Having booked a week's holiday in Santorini and being extremely disappointed (dirty, very touristy and way overpriced!) a friend and I decided to escape to Naxos.
The journey was quick (2 hours by ferry) and Naxos was almost the complete opposite of Santorini.
We travelled in early October, ... Read review
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Advantages: excellent food, cheap, golden sandy beaches Disadvantages: outside of Naxos town there is very little nightlife
...(2 hours by ferry) and Naxos was almost the complete opposite of Santorini.
We travelled in early October, but whilst the winds of Santorini were raging, the sun beat down on Naxos' beautiful (and completely deserted!) white and golden sands.
We found accomodation by walking across Naxos town towards Agios Georgios Beach. We found the Galaxy Hotel after 10 minutes walking near the beach (there's a link to this hotel on www.naxos-greece.biz). ... ...10 euros in Santorini!
Naxos Town was wonderful, full of friendly locals, a smattering of Scandinavian toursits, cheap restaurants - and all the food we tried was the best I have ever had in Greece! Much of the town is a labyrinth of the tiniest streets where it is impossible to find anything.
We hired a car, arranged by the hotel, and managed to see most of the island.
Highlights were Kastraki and Pyrgaki for the beaches but ... more
Having booked a week's holiday in Santorini and being extremely disappointed (dirty, very touristy and way overpriced!) a friend and I decided to escape to Naxos. The journey was quick (2 hours by ferry) and Naxos was almost the complete opposite of Santorini. We travelled in early October, but whilst the winds of Santorini were raging, the sun beat down on Naxos' beautiful (and completely deserted!) white and golden sands. We found accomodation by walking across Naxos town towards Agios Georgios Beach. We found the Galaxy Hotel after 10 minutes walking near the beach (there's a link to this hotel on www.naxos-greece.biz). As it was almost completely empty, they let us have a beautiful room overlooking the pool for 50 euros a night (30 quid!). This included an ample buffet breakfast, which included honey and yoghurt that we couldn't get for less than 10 euros in Santorini! Naxos Town was wonderful, full of friendly locals, a smattering of Scandinavian toursits, cheap restaurants - and all the food we tried was the best I have ever had in Greece! Much of the town is a labyrinth of the tiniest streets where it is impossible to find anything. We hired a car, arranged by the hotel, and managed to see most of the island. Highlights were Kastraki and Pyrgaki for the beaches but be warned, many of the roads peter off into impassable dirt tracks - but they are still listed on many maps, so we often found ourselves wasting a lot of time doubling back. The interior of the island contained beautiful mountain and valley scenery but I must admit that many of the villages were disappointing - mainly due to the fact that there were so few people about! Shopping opportunities are all in the main town, although who goes to Greece for the shopping? (I've always come back from Greece with less than I went out with). Still, what we wanted from the holiday was peace and quiet, good food and beaches - all of this we got, and at rock-bottom prices. Highly recommended! Final warning - it may not be as tourist-free most of the time - we discovered that we were actually there for the final week of the season. A lot of businesses just close down around Mid-October which could explain some of the bargains we got!
Advantages: A Bit Of Unspoilt Greece Disadvantages: None!
Having spent two weeks in Naxos last year we decided to do a two centre this year with a week in Paros to start followed by a week in Naxos. I must say that although Paros was beautiful I was itching to get to Naxos!. Paros's main town Parikia is a bustling port - with endless ferries coming into the harbour. The old town is a beautiful little maze, nice boutiques and expensive restaurants - sometimes well over our budget. We found an excellent fish taverna in the old square. After visiting Noussa - I have to say I would have prefered to have stayed in this resort, more condensed, a beautiful harbour - ( with squid drying) and lots to do. (Water taxis to excellent beaches).
Then to Naxos - the sunsets, the people, the food, the ambience, absolutely fantastic, we played backgammon watching the sun go down and enjoyed Greece coffee ...
Advantages: nice places Disadvantages: Don't travel in August
If you want to see the best part of Greece,that is the place to first visit.There are so many islands :Mykonos,Santorini,Paros,Antiparos,Naxos,Ios,Kalimnos,Milos etc.
The first one it should be Mykonos.Very busy during the summer plenty of night life and the sea is just fantastic.
Santorini:The volcanic island with the small roads and the archoelogical sites offers one off the most spectacular sceneries in the Cyclades.There are no cars or motorbikes just mules to travel you around.
Paros:Is the same story as Mykonos but bigger island.Nightlife great places to go around and very large population during the summer time. ...
Advantages: Close to The Beach Disadvantages: The Rooms in the Original Building are Quite Dated
The Choice...
My passion for browsing holiday brochures on cold dismal nights continued, the hubby fancied the Cyclades- a group of Greek Islands scattered across the Aegean sea of Greece - for a change from our usual choices of Crete, and Kos etc.- and as ever it was left to me to choose the appropriate dwelling for our two weeks.away. I decided on Naxos, only accessible by ferry via a chartered flight to Mykonos (if partaking in a package), the largest Island in the Cyclades..
The week before Christmas of 2004 I booked and paid a small deposit of £90 to Kosmar - a Greek holiday specialist in the UK - the balance of £600 was due the following June - plenty of time to save. The hubby wanted to book flights and accommodation separately but I like the security of a package holiday!
The Outbound Journey
We leave Brum ...
gizmogizmo 31.10.2006 (03.03.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hotel Spiros, Naxos
