After visiting Santorini, I wanted to chill out and relax on a beach before I headed back to Athens. I had heard from a friend that Naxos was a great island because it was less commercial and pretty underrated.
Naxos is one of the less common Greek islands to visit, but also one of the most inhabited. It’s a good place for a vacation especially when staying near a beach like Saint George!
Here were the things I ended up doing while I was there…
8 Things To Do in Naxos, Greece
1. Saint George Beach
I stayed at Vakhos Apartment, which was conveniently located 1 minute walking distance from Saint George Beach. Each day I’d bring my laptop over, eat a 2 Euro tuna sandwich (and sometimes a smoothie) and just work, chill out, looking over the waves.
And upon further exploring, you can walk down and check out this abandoned restaurant. The view is quite spectacular there.
2. Dinner on the Beach
I don’t know about you, but I love seafood! On my first night, I ended up ordering some grilled fish on the beach, and the chef even showed me the fish he was going to make for me.
I got to eat this meal:
With this view!
Naxos is a great place to really enjoy life and do it affordably.
3. Go-Karting!
My friend took me go-karting (a bit random). It was extremely fun but kind of scary in my opinion, cause the cars looked slightly less reliable than American go-karts!
4. Portara
At night, I walked over to check out Portara, a landmark that somewhat confusingly is either dedicated to Apollo or Dionysus.
It is quite nice walking over and hearing the waves crash at night.
5. Old Town
There’s an area in Naxos with a bunch of little, narrow streets and alleyways. I went at night when things were closed so I didn’t really do much shopping, but it’s definitely worthwhile to explore because of how uniquely small the streets are!
I believe the city center sort of counts as Old Town as well:
I liked eating around the dock to enjoy the views. There’s not much of a nightlife scene, but we’d sometimes enjoy cocktails near the water as well.
6. Kastro
As you walk past the narrow streets and continue walking uphill, you’ll find Kastro, a small but charming castle:
7. Moped or Take a Car Along the Coast
One of my favorite things to do was to hang out with locals who took me driving along the coasts of the island. There are a bunch of beaches all around Naxos and they’re all gorgeous!
Sunset views…
8. Agios Prokopios Beach
I went to Agios Prokopios kind of late at night so I didn’t get to experience the best beach weather while I was there. However, it is supposed to be one of the best beaches in Naxos.
Conclusion
To be honest, I enjoyed Naxos over Santorini! It really depends on what you want to do, but Naxos was perfect for me because I wanted to relax. This island is a great place to chill out and eat good food for less, while not having to worry about excessive amounts of tourism. If you want to experience a laid-back, beach-filled Greek island with less tourists, Naxos is a great choice!
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