Beaches on Naxos – our experiences of 9 different beaches

Text and photo: Helena Bergström

Long sandy beaches, turquoise water, beach bars, sand dunes and small wild coves. Naxos is a real beach island, where the beaches also change character the further south along the west coast you go. We rented a car and set out to discover some of them.

Beaches on Naxos

Naxos has plenty of beaches to choose from, from well-organized beaches near Naxos Town to much more unspoiled environments further south. Many of the most famous are strung out along the west and southwest coast: Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna, Plaka, Mikri Vigla, Kastraki and Alyko.

During our days on Naxos we managed to visit or experience nine different beaches. We didn’t swim at all of them – we’re not really the type of people who have to jump into the sea every time we see a beach. We like to take in the surroundings, take a few pictures and continue our exploration. Once we stop to swim, we tend to gravitate towards the quieter spots. Here are the beaches we visited on Naxos.

1. Agios Georgios – the beach in the middle of Naxos town

Agios Georgios was the beach we got to know best without actually swimming at it. We lived within walking distance of Naxos town and passed the beach every evening on our way to and from our restaurant visit that day.

The beach is located right next to Chora, as Naxos Town is also known, and can be described as a long, shallow sandy beach. There are sun loungers and parasols here, as well as hotels, cafes and tavernas nearby. The southern part is also popular with windsurfers.

Our evening walk was partly on a wooden boardwalk right along the beach. The boardwalk was quite uneven in places and in some places the sand had taken over – but we enjoyed the walk. There were plenty of people at the tavernas along the beach and sometimes we heard live music.

Agios Georgios looked like a really nice beach, but above all we like the location. Here you don't have to choose between town and beach – you can stay close to the restaurants and alleys of Naxos town and still have sand and sea right around the corner.

2. Agios Prokopios – from quiet to hip beach hangout

When we picked up our rental car, the real beach trip began and the first stop was Agios Prokopios, a few kilometers south of Naxos town. The first thing we noticed was the sand. It was a little coarser than on many of the beaches we later visited - almost so much so that you got a little massage feeling under your feet when you walked barefoot.

Agios Prokopios is a long beach and where we first came down to the water it was surprisingly calm. As we continued along the beach the environment changed. Suddenly there were lots of restaurants and beach bars, both along the road and directly on the beach.

There were plenty of sun loungers, parasols and large soft bean bags, and the atmosphere felt young, hip and relaxed. Lots of people, definitely, but at the same time very chill. We didn't swim here. The beach day had just started and we were far too curious about what awaited us further south.

3. Agia Anna – soft sand and classic holiday feel

The next beach south is Agia Anna, which is practically a continuation of Agios Prokopios. Here the sand has clearly changed and become really soft and fine-grained.

Agia Anna is a popular and well-organized beach with sun loungers and parasols along large parts of the beach and plenty of tavernas and beach bars. When we were here there were a lot of people and we also heard a lot of Swedish voices. To us, Agia Anna felt a little less chill than Agios Prokopios and more like a classic and popular holiday beach. Not bad at all – just a different feeling.

It's a bit funny that during the 1970s and 80s Agia Anna was instead associated with young Greek and foreign travelers who came here to camp at a much more untouched beach. Since then, the area has developed considerably. There was no swimming here for us either. We continued south.

4. Plaka – sand dunes, freedom and camping

Plaka became one of our favorites. The beach is long, the sand is soft and fine-grained and along the beach there are large dunes covered in swaying vegetation. Above all, we liked the feeling of space. When we visited Plaka, there were not many people and it was easy to find your own place without being crowded.

Some parts have tavernas, beach bars, umbrellas and sun loungers, while other sections are much quieter. We especially liked the latter. Here it felt completely natural to just spread out your towel on the sand and sit down.

Plaka has long attracted people looking for a relaxed beach environment. Here we also stopped just looking at beaches and actually jumped in the water. A really great swim!

Camping at Plaka Beach

For those of us who usually travel a lot by campervan, it was of course also interesting that the Plaka area has campsites.

We looked into both Maragas Beach Naxos and Plaka Camping and thought both looked nice. Maragas felt bigger and spontaneously gave us the impression of having better space for motorhomes. Both campsites offer the usual service for motorhomes and caravans, and you can also stay overnight in a tent or cabin.

If we had come to Naxos with our camper van, we would have happily parked it here and hung out for a few days. Beach, swimming and a relaxed camping atmosphere – it would have suited us just fine.

5. Mikri Vigla – kite and windsurfer beach

At Mikri Vigla we only made a short stop. We parked, looked out over the beach and took pictures before continuing. It was enough to understand what this beach is famous for. Out on the water we saw both kitesurfers and classic windsurfers, and there was significantly more action here than at Plaka.

A rocky headland divides the area into two sections of beach and Mikri Vigla is known as one of Naxos' most important areas for both kite and windsurfing. We were content to watch. Sometimes it's nice to let others take charge of the adventures.

6. Kastraki – peaceful and spacious

The further south we went, the quieter the beaches became. We found Kastraki to be long and wide, with soft, fine sand and significantly fewer people than on the beaches closer to Naxos town.

We considered a swim at Kastraki, but right where we went down to the water there were quite a lot of rocks and rocks where you would have to wade out and we therefore chose to wait with the swim until a little later. But the beach is long, so the bottom may very well be better in other places.

7. Alyko Beach – wild and beautiful

Now we started to approach the two beaches that we perhaps liked the most. The area around Alyko felt much wilder and more unregulated than the beaches further north. Here you park the car and walk on to one of the small beaches and coves.

No long rows of sun loungers and parasols. No tavernas right on the beach, no hotels and no lifeguards. Just beach, sea and nature, and of course some other holidaymakers who had found their way here before us. So it wasn't deserted, but it never felt crowded.

Alyko is also special because of the nature around it. The peninsula is home to a large protected forest of ancient juniper trees, whose extensive root systems help to retain the sand and preserve the dunes. The area is sometimes described as a ”cedar forest”, but botanically it is juniper.

There are several small sandy coves here, including Alyko, Small Alyko, Kedros and Hawaii Beach. Since there is no obvious service down at the small beaches, our advice is simple: bring water and preferably something to eat.

The hotel we managed to miss

There is also a strange attraction at Alyko that we completely missed. On the peninsula are the remains of a huge hotel project that began construction in the late 1960s but was never completed. The concrete ruins have since become an informal outdoor gallery for graffiti and large murals, including those by street artist Wild Drawing, WD.

Did we know when we were there? No. It wasn't until afterwards that followers on Instagram started asking if we had seen the abandoned hotel. Well, we hadn't. You can't have it all.

8. Hawaii Beach – our favorite on Naxos

Instead we continued to Hawaii Beach, and there we found our favorite. Even from above, the beach is incredibly beautiful. It is not very large and lies like a small sandy cove below the wild landscape of Alyko. The area's small coves have sandy beaches and turquoise water and are surrounded by sand dunes and juniper.

We went down, found our own little corner and spread out our beach towels on the soft sand. We stayed there. We lay in the sun, swam in the lovely water and ate our extremely well-planned (well) picnic, which consisted of water and chocolate biscuits.

Of course, you can make it much more advanced. Bring a proper picnic, fruit, something cold to drink and everything else that makes a beach day better. But you know what? Chocolate chip cookies also work really well on Hawaii Beach.

9. Apollonas – beach and village life in northern Naxos

Most of the beaches we visited are located along the west and southwest coast of Naxos, but we also managed to visit a beach on a completely different part of the island. During a guided full-day tour by bus, we made a stop in Apollonas, a small coastal village in northern Naxos.

Here we had an hour on our own. We started by walking around and photographing the beautiful beach and the small coastal town, but pretty soon we felt we had fully explored it and settled down at a tavern with a view straight out to the water.

I ordered a beer and Peter a glass of white wine. As so many times before, of course the drinks were placed in front of the wrong people and we had to switch. That's how it can go when it's the woman who likes beer and the man who likes to drink wine...

It was very enjoyable to sit there for a while and look out over the beach and the sea. There was no swimming this time either – after an hour it was time to jump on the bus and continue the trip.

Before leaving Apollonas we also stopped at the famous Kouros of Apollonas, a ten-meter-long unfinished marble statue that still remains in the ancient quarry where it began to be carved about 2,500 years ago. Then it was back to Naxos town after a long day full of experiences.

Bonus: When the hotel pool wins over the beach

After eight beaches, one might argue that there is no reason to swim in a pool on Naxos. We don't really agree.

We stayed at Astir of Naxos, a very nice hotel with a personal touch and an owner and staff who made us feel welcome. In addition, the hotel had a pool that attracted us every time we walked by.

There were sun loungers around the pool and from the pool area we had fantastic views of the mountains. After days filled with rental cars, beaches, villages, temples and other discoveries, we decided to spend an afternoon not discovering anything at all. We each settled into a sun lounger with a beer, swam in the pool and stayed.

There's something very casual – and a bit luxurious – about a hotel pool. You don't have to pack a lunch, find parking or wonder which beach is around the next bend. Sometimes, it's actually quite enough to just order a beer and jump in the pool.