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What is Paros Like:
Paros has a beautifully intriguing barren landscape with mountains, valleys and rolling hills. It is a Cycladic island that is known for its beautiful villages and beaches and is a ferry ride away from other famous Cycladic islands like Santorini, Mykonos and Naxos. I travelled here in May 2022, ‘post’ peak COVID and booked and planned the trip in one evening while staying in Athens.
Parikia and Naousa (Naoussa) are the main villages on Paros and the most populated. Both consist of old towns, narrow streets with small boutiques, white homes with vibrant flowers and occasionally you will spot your classic blue roofed shuttered home and church. There are definitely a lot bars, and lounge type place on the island so night life here is not to be missed. At night, the main villages of Parikia and Naousa are flooded with people of all ages enjoying the restaurant and bar scene on the island. Don’t be surprised to see people at young at 17 on the island travelling for their High School graduation trips.
How we got around:
We rented a car! Car rental seems to be one of the most prominent and booming businesses on the island. The island is small with well paved roads and several villages that are much easier to access with your own car instead of relying on public transport and paying frankly very expensive taxi rides (considering most places you will want to get to are absolutely no more than 30 minutes away). You can rent online before you arrive or rent while you are already on the island. Remember to shop around online or on the island, we noticed a HUGE discrepancy in prices from vendor to vendor. I would also recommend picking your car up at the airport when you land (if you arrange this online). Renting from the airport allows you to avoid the €25 minimum fee for a one way airport ride to Parikia (and higher if you are staying in further villages). Picking up and dropping off your car at the airport ensures you are able to drive yourself to and from the airport. If you plan on visiting numerous places on the island, or simply want more flexibility with your choice of dining and site seeing locations, a car rental is perfect. You may have to do the math yourself to see if it is worth it for you or not. If you are in Paros and plan on simply doing organized tours everyday, or spending your entire time on a beach or resort, a car rental may not be necessary.
In Paros there is free parking everywhere! Just read signs or google parking lots depending on your location. In May, the island was not as busy as I know it will be come summer. Parking was never stressful when we visited the island and there were always parking spots in abundance. There were several half filled or empty parking lots just outside of old town in Parikia. That being said, during peak season I can almost guarantee the island may be plagued by choked roads, overcrowded parking lots and increase in road collisions. Please drive with caution!
We used SurPrice car rental.
What we did
We were in Paros for a total of 3 nights and 3 days but this is a 2 day itinerary because on the day we arrived, we spent the better part of the day working from home and on our last day on the island, we left early.
If you are looking for a wonderful 2 day itinerary in Paros that allows you to both see the whole island and enjoy some time on the water, keep reading! Skip to the 2 day itinerary here.
Where we ate:
There are a lot for restaurants in each village and some more remote restaurants scattered around the island. Like most places on the Greek islands, they are easily googleable. Just search ‘restaurants’ on Goolge Maps in Paros and a ton of restaurants near you will appear and they have all mostly been reviewed. Of course always take Google ratings with a grain of salt and don’t be afraid to wander into a place that looks welcoming.
On the day we arrived we had lunch at Mana Mana which we stumbled upon while walking through the old town. It was the busiest place in Parikia Old Town that afternoon and I think is a very popular spots for visiting tourists. It had a lot of breakfast food options and lunch plates which were pretty tasty. It is nothing crazy fancy but you will get exactly what you ordered with no surprises or disappointments. That first night, we had dinner at Boutraniki which was a mom and pop restaurant. They served homey dishes, in a very cute restaurant atmosphere. It is a bit secluded from the pain Parikia strip of restaurants but no more than a 5 minute walk down the beach to it. They had great grilled calamari.
On the day we were exploring the island (first day of the 2-day-itinerary) we had breakfast at Symposium which was a cute cafe in the middle of old town. It had an extensive breakfast menu at reasonable prices. For lunch we stopped at Gialos in Pisa Livadi for lunch which was spectacular, 10/10. We had the best octopus of our trip here. The food was upscale, well plated and definitely pricier than some of the other restaurants in Parikia we dined at the day before. We stopped form drinks at Glafkos Taverna in Naousa which had an extensive food and drink menu, tasteful music and lovely lounge chair right by the water. For dinner we ate at Opus, which is another mom and pop shop, dimly lit and no frills. There is a tiny grill on the outside of the restaurant (which actually drew us in) where the restaurant owner take out octopus tentacles and grill before serving it to us.
On the second day of the 2-day itinerary, Captain Yiannis boat tour provided a souvlaki lunch. We had dinner that night at a restaurant that was a 10 minute drive outside of Parikia towards the airport called Les Amis. Les Amis was our favourite dinner with incredible dishes and impeccable service. Les Amis was similar to Gialos in terms of immaculate presentation of food. Les Amis was located at the port where the ferry takes you to Antiparos. It was quite quiet at the restaurant and definitely not the bustling atmosphere you get if you eat in Parikia or Naoussa. If you are going to Les Amis, it is for a relatively quiet night with good food and wine.
Where we stayed:
We stayed at Nautillus Apartments, apartment style suites located about a 10-15 minute walk from the heart of Parikia Old Town. Reviews for the apartment said it was less than a 10 minute walk but two of the restaurants we ate at while in Paros were on the furthest end of the beach so walking back took about 20 minutes. The rooms were clean and were perfect for what we needed, a large quiet space that had a lot of room for two people to do work. There was room service at Nautillus which was nice. Nautillus apartment did lack personal touches and interaction with friendly staff that I think boutique hotels have. It also had no amenities on the compound though it was priced very reasonable at the time of our visit.
There are several pool side luxury resorts and boutique hotels located along the beaches as well as hotels located in the heart of Naousa and Parikia old town. If we go to Paros again, we might pick a different type of accommodation that is a bit more upscale along the beaches or perhaps right in the heart of either Parikia or Naousa old town. Naousa and Parika have some beautiful hotels designed by world renowned architects that are worth visiting so do you research. It would be interesting to see what kinds of rooms are hidden behind the narrow streets in Parikia and Naousa or along their beautiful beaches. If renting a car, the location of your accommodation becomes less of a hinderance if you are willing to drive everywhere you go. If you stay at a resort that is a bit far from the city centre, prepare to walk.
Below is how to spend 2 full days in Paros.
2- Day Paros Itinerary
Day 1: Personalized Tour of the Island
1. Explore Paros Old Town
– Breakfast at: Symposium Cafe
– Church Saints Constantine and Helen
– Walk around Paros Old Town
– Visit Panagia Ekatontapiliani (Church)
– On this first day if you are feeling very adventurous, you can even try and squeeze in a boat right to Antiparos before you leave to explore other villages.
2. Drive to Lefkes, Paros’s Old Capital
– Snack at Καφενείο Η Ωραία Πλατεία (Cafe The Beautiful Square)
– Visit Agia Triada (Church)
3. Visit Piso Livadi & Aliki
– Drive along the southern coast, and pass the villages of Alyki and Drios and
– Lunch in Piso Livadi at any of the following:
– Gialos restaurant
– Ouzeri Halaris
– Markakis Restaurant – Piso Livadi Paros
– Soiree Cafe Restaurant
– The Sailor
4. Drive to more smaller villages
– Stop in and explore:
– Kostos & Marmara
– Prodromos
– Maripissa
5. Explore to Naousa
– Visit the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin
– Drinks at Glafkos Taverna
6. Dinner in Parikia
– Dinner at Opus
Day 2 – Full Day On The Water
1. Captain Yiannis One day Boat Cruise €70 (without transport)
– Enjoy an organized full day boat tour booked online ahead of time.
– Drive yourself to Pisa Livadi where the tour embarks, park in the free parking lot near the port and head to the boat to meet fellow your tourists for the day.
– Transport your self home from Pisa Livadi where the tour disembarks, you make take public transport back or call a taxi back if you don’t have a car.
– Boat tour review here
2. Dinner outside Parikia
– Dinner at Les Amis – 12 minute drive from Parikia
– You can take advantage of your car rental and drive pretty much anywhere on the island for dinner on your final day. You just have to make sure there is a designated driver if you plan on drinking or just opt to not have any drinks for the night.
Day 2 Alternative:
– Spend the morning continuing to explore Paros island, going to places you missed from the day before
– Antiparos is is a short 7 minute ferry ride so you could plan a trip here.
– Afternoon and evening at the beach, partaking in a beautiful sunset boat tour (several departing from Naousa)
– Visit a local winery
Beaches (examples)
Wineries
All in all…
Overall Paros is a great island! A lot of different types of places to stay in (resorts, spa hotels, apartment style suites, luxury boutique hotels, some close to the centre of villages and some far away. Regardless of where you stay I recommend getting a car for at least one day if you are on the island for more than 2 days and depending on the activities you want to do and places you want to visit. Taxis are expensive for the distances they travel. That being said, it wasn’t peak season so I assume it gets a whole lot busier in the middle of summer when everyone is using the roads and parking lots. We really our big driving day to visit the villages in Paros. I also recommend getting on the water in some shape or form! The boat trip was definitely a highlight if you like swimming. The crystal blue water were so refreshing and bonus, we saw dolphins near the end of the boat tour.
