Paros and Antiparos
PAROS This 196 km gem in the Cyclades offers a more subdued environment compared to the other nocturnal islands around it. A great place to focus on your mindfulness while soaking up some truly beautiful beaches. Fun fact: Paros has a history rooted in Parian marble which is known for its fine and consistent texture. Extra tip: rent a car for this leg of your journey the island has many towns, villages and beaches and you can maximize your time there by having your own means of transportation. Car rentals are a 3 minute walk from the ferry terminal. THE HOTEL: Using the same research tools we have discussed we stumbled upon the Minois village hotel and spa. Located about 15 minutes from the central ferry terminal in the Capitol city of Parikia, this hotel was ideal in its location. In addition it sits just about 300 meters from parasporos beach. Overall the hotel is designed as a set of villa style residences and suites that offered us the most stunning view of the Aegean Sea. The rooms are clean, cute but could likely use a touch of updating. The villas surround a beautiful salt water pool and dining accomadations that were amazing to come home to each afternoon. The crowd is a good international mix and everyone was super friendly. I sensed that this particular village was more family/children friendly and even had a playground on its premises. Dining: we only had breakfast at the hotel and that offered a good spread at a convenient time. A stunning view was readily available while enjoying your greek yogurt. *as a note the actual Restaraunt on the premises is stunning with great design and the most amazing sunset. While we had reservations in the towns you could give it a try. Your guest manager will encourage this but then again her husband is the chef! The Spa: we had a deep tissue massage, I found it more relaxing than deep tissue and my partner also had some noise and temperature issues in his room. Overall we would not recommend it. There are great and much more affordable traditional Chinese massages to be had on the beaches. The staff: overall we found the staff to be friendly, helpful and always available. Unlike our prior hotel they did not exude the same open warmth and general interest in your day. The TownsParikia: the Capitol city offers he classic Cycladic architecture with narrow cobblestone paths, plenty of shops and restaraunts. Many of our reservations happen to be in the town. Overall we found this town to be more a quaint beach town without the high end feel of Mykonos. **Naousa: Located on the northeast corner of the Island. We generally loved wandering the small streets of this village. We found some great fashion and deals to be had. This was our preferred village on this island. THE BEACHESParasporos: a quiet but established beach quaint, calm waters with a great taverna with wonderful greek food. Has some beach chairs and umbrellas to settle into. **Kolibithres: by far one of my favorite beaches of the entire trip! It's unique rock formations create three distinct coves with a significant stretch of calm, and shallow waters making it a great family destination. Get your selfie sticks ready you will need them here. There is a gem of a taverna Anemos which offers a view othe beach with great traditional greek food and the most relaxing vibe. Golden Beach: A 700 meter stretch of beach on the south eastern part of the island. A great place to get your windsurfing and kite surfing groove on. Lessons availableDINING Soso: tucked away on the most precious of cobblestone streets deep in old town Naoussa this was a truly romantic gem! The food was divine and flower petals were falling around us as if we were part of natures movie set. Reservations a must the places was booked for at least 4 nights after our reservation. Levantis: LocTed in Parikia town this was a more modern take on greek with a clean crisp decor. Ranked highly on multiple sites this experience was just "ok"for us. Little green rocket: walk past the main strip of restaraunts along the busier parikia waterfront and you will find this great Restaraunt with a more hip flare to it. A cross between a more tendy LA meets Brooklyn vibe this place is ranked number one on trip advisor. The food was an interesting Mexican theme applied to greek dishes. The fries are a mus devoured the Halumi burrito. Service was awesome. ANTIPAROS We were casually told by a fellow American that they felt as though antiparos was "anticlimactic." Then again what do Americans know about traveling? Antiparos makes it onto our must do day trip recommendations!The community on this island was founded in 1914. As a fun fact pirates once seized the daughteof the venitian vice consul. In world war 2 it was used as a secret submarine base.Getting there: Ferries run from the main port but if you have a car I would suggest driving the Pounda port from which ferries depart about every 30 minutes. The ride is about 10 minutes and you can take your car and or Atv on board the ferry. I would highly recommend havin a car. For the adventurous this is the best place to fine tune your ATV skills as island traffic is minimal and you are unlikely to be knocked off the road by a tour bus. We only spent a day on Antiparos so I will keep my list to the must do items:
Ride to the very end of the island to a beach called St. George. You will find the well known captain pipinos where fresh octopus hang for all to see.
Take a dip in the secluded St George beach. Shade worshippers take note this beach has no beach umbrellas or shade so bring your own or take a quick dip like we did and get back on the road.
Drive back in the direction of town until you see a sign for Soros beach. Definitely have lunch at the Restaraunt here the food is delicious and the Restaraunt is estetically pleasing with great service. I recommend getting a beach chair and umbrella first as there aren't so many to go around. Hang out in the shade of some of the small trees if there are no umbrellas left.
Head back towards town until you see signs for the cave. Take a ride up and take in the breathtaking views before heading into the dark cool cave. It will cost you 5 euros to go down the steps of the cave
There are also boat tours should you choose this option which we didn't get a chance to do.
Overall we found the tranquil vistas of this island boosted our relaxation factor tremendously and left us thinking about nothing but peace and quiet and a life far away from the bustle of nyc.