Had a rough old ferry crossing from Milos which took about 2 hours. Some heavy waves and strong winds created an experience we’ve not had before. People being sick all over the place, crew running around with sick bags and so on. Luckily we survived ok.
Anyway we got to Paros and first impressions are excellent. Parikia where we are staying is the port town, very busy and buzzy, looking forward to exploring. We are staying about a 20 minute walk from the port, lovely little property with a great sea view.
Organised a hire car for 5 days and then walked back to the port and on past where the boats come in to a nice little beach called Livadia.
On day 2 we picked up our little car and headed off to Aliki, a little town on the south west of the island. Very pretty little port with restaurants and cafes, so had a nice walk around but it was a very windy day so the beaches weren’t suitable there, so after a coffee stop we drove to Faragas a bit further down and this was beautiful. A fairly large main beach with an excellent beach bar, and two smaller coves to the right of the main beach. This was more sheltered from the wind so we spent a lovely afternoon here.
Day 3 we headed inland and up into the hills to a town called Lefkes, which used to be the capital of Paros. Amazing town, built in the traditional greek way, with whitewashed stone walls and blue shutters and windows. REally enjoyed pottering about and admiring the gorgeous views as you walk down the little alley ways, and also so amazingly quiet. Enjoyed an Cappuccino freddo before heading off to the east coast to find the beach of Molos which we hoped would be a bit protected from the strong north winds. It was ok but the wind still caused a bit of a problem so after a couple of hours we headed up to Langeris beach which was definitely more protected from the wind.
Day 4 was a much calmer day so we found a lovely little beach on the west coast called Voutakos. Quite secluded, not a tourist trap so mainly just locals go there. Good spot for a skinny dip if you fancy that, beautiful water as always. Last night we also strolled into Parikia to see what the town was like at night, it’s another beautiful place amongst all the other beautiful places we’ve seen. Greece and the islands just keep on giving.
Day 5 the wind picked up again so decided to go back to Langeris beach, but tried a different part of it. Loads of nice sandy dunes to get protection from the wind, loads of nudists about too, but we didn’t mind and just joined in. Had a lovely day with a picnic, and a couple of beers.
Day 6 it was even windier, think this is a common thing in the cyclades and it always seems to blow from the north, so we drove back up to the top of the island to find a beach called Kolympethres. It’s quite unique with interesting rock formations surrounding 3 small coves. It does provide protection from the wind, but the space is quite small and the sand quite hard, but sunbeds are available if you want comfort and don’t mind forking out some cash. We stayed for a couple of hours and then headed back to Parikia and spent the afternoon on Lavidia beach, which is a nice town beach with the northern part providing some good wind protection.
On our last day in Paros the wind did not relent so we planned on getting a little ferry boat across the port to a beach called Krios, which is protected from the north winds. However the ferry wasn’t running due to the weather so we walked round which took about an hour. Lovely easy walk with some great views and it was worthwhile because the beach was lovely.
On our last night in Paros we went to a popular restaurant called Bountaraki which was very good. They don’t take bookings, and there is a queue from 6.30 until 9pm to get in, so go early. Very good authentic greek cuisine.
