DAY 4
Ferry and Sunset at the Villa
The majority of day 4 was spent in transit from Athens to our first island stop, Naxos. The Cyclades are a good distance southeast of the capital city — even a high-speed ferry takes four or five hours.
Our ferry departed around 12 and arrived at 4:40pm. Once off the ferry in Naxos Town, we picked up our rental car and headed on to the hotel.
Where we stayed: first night at Naxian Sunset Luxury Villas and remaining nights at Seven Suites Naxos
We’d originally booked a room at Seven Suites Naxos for all three nights, but as it turned out, they were overbooked for our first night and put us up for the night at one of their private villas.
By the time we checked in, the sun was nearly setting, so we quickly dropped off our bags and headed to a small grocery in a nearby town to pick up some ingredients for a simple dinner at the villa. We made it back just in time to fire up the grill and watch the sunset from the terrace over beautiful Naxos.
DAY 5
Villages of Chalki and Filoti
For our first full day on Naxos, we decided to go for a driving tour of the island to check out several of Naxos’ charming villages.
The first stop of our driving tour was the town of Chalki. Naxos is famous for its villages and this one is its most visited, and for good reason — of all the villages we visited, it was definitely our favorite.
Chalki is tiny… you can easily walk the main street and check out all of the village’s attractions in under an hour.
After stopping for some tasty pizza at Mitos ARTernative Bar, we decided to go for a walk.
We followed signs for a Byzantine church on the outskirts of town called check out the Byzantine church on the outskirts of town called Saint George Diasoritis.
As we left the village, the path turned from cobblestone to dirt and took us by several olive tree groves, with the occasional herd of goats grazing on the fallen olives.
After about 20 minutes, we reached the church. A massive olive tree shaded the front courtyard, and every inch of the interior was covered in frescos from the 11th century.
After Chalki we headed on to another village, Filoti, just a short (but beautiful) drive away.
On the way we saw several tiny white churches with blue roofs. It seems the number of churches surely must outnumber the number of residents. We heard that at one time, the municipality would waive taxes for residents that built a church, so that may explain why they’re found on nearly every hillside.
Filoti’s town center was even smaller than Chalki’s, although the residential areas surrounding the village seemed to have more sprawl. We did a short stroll down the main street lined with tourist-filled cafes and swung by the Church of Panagia Filotitissa before making our way back to the car.
We made one more stop at the village of Apiranthos, but found it a bit underwhelming in comparison to Chalki and Filoti. We took a quick stroll down the main street before heading back to the car to continue on our way.
With some extra time to kill, we decided to extend our drive beyond the last town until we reached the coastal town of Moutsouna. The drive to the coast was probably the most beautiful stretch of the day — definitely worth doing.
Once we reached the water, we turned around and drove back toward the hotel.
After freshening up, we headed out to Naxos Town and ended the day with a fantastic dinner at restaurant Nostimon Hellas. The food was tasty, and the courtyard at the rear of the restaurant was adorable.
DAY 6
Mount Zas Hike, Naxos Town, and Sunset at Portara
For the 6th day of the trip, we started off with a nice poolside breakfast at our hotel.
After breakfast, we set out for Saint Marina Holy Chapel, where we’d pick up the Mount Zas trail.
The full hike actually starts in at the Fontaine d’Aria, but after reading other people’s experiences, it seemed the first leg was mostly unremarkable (aside from Zeus’ cave) and that the most efficient way to do the hike was to start at the chapel.
The hike up took is only an hour but had lots of variety. I was surprised by all of the vegetation that we saw along the way — very different from the landscapes we’d see later in the trip at Milos and Santorini.
Afterward we learned that Naxos receives more rain than other islands in the Cyclades thanks to Mount Zas. Unlike other islands in the region that are fully reliant on tourism, Naxos’ climate is able to support a fair amount of farming as well. The restaurants on the island are able to use locally-sourced produce and meat, which is why the island is so well-known for their cuisine.
The last stretch to reach the summit was over really rocky terrain. This part took a long time, simply because we had to be careful with our footing and take the time to avoid twisting an ankle… oh, and being 6 months pregnant didn’t help either.
We eventually reached the top and were rewarded with an incredible 360-degree view of the entire island and several neighboring islands off in the distance.
We retraced our steps back down the mountain until we reached the car. We drove back to the hotel and rested by the pool for a few hours.
Around 6pm we drove over to Naxos Town (also known as Hora) to do some exploring and catch the sunset at the famous Portara.
We parked our car toward the south edge of the town and walked north toward the Venetian Castle. The castle dates back to the 13th century and is the heart of Naxos Town.
Once inside the castle walls you feel instantly transported to another time. A network of meandering, pedestrian-only streets fills the castle — it’s the perfect place to wander aimlessly and let yourself get lost.
Just before sunset, we reached the edge of town and spotted the famous Portara off in the distance. We followed the long walkway from Naxos Town to the small plot of land where the ruin stands alone, perfectly framing the view back toward the town.
This is the most popular spot to watch the sunset, and the view of Naxos Town from the base of the Portara at the top of the hill is equally iconic.
A steady stream of sunset-watchers slowly filled the small island. We laid claim to a small batch of grass and enjoyed the view of Naxos Town as the sky turned from blue to pink.
For our last meal on Naxos, we headed to To Elliniko Restaurant. The restaurant’s outdoor terrace was absolutely packed, so we were glad to have made reservations in advance.
We had a fantastic meal — in fact, it was the 2nd best of the trip (Oh! Hamos! on Milos had the #1 spot). We ordered a number of traditional Greek dishes, like stuffed peppers, hummus, goat kleftiko, and one gigantic Greek salad.
We were a bit sad to discover this place on our last night in Naxos. I think we would have definitely returned for lunch if we had more time!
Don’t miss it…
This post is a part of a larger two-week trip around Greece. Check out the full itinerary and an overview of the trip here!
