Greece Trip: Naxos
We woke up on Milos – and went to bed on Naxos courtesy of another trip on a high-speed ferry. This one made many stops, but we learned from the previous ferry to mind where we stored our luggage so as not to confuse with all those disembarking on other islands. We sat with a couple that have been going to Naxos for 8 years and they were excited to review our plans and give us additional suggestions for what to do, where to go, and where to eat.
We were met at the port by our the Be A Greek transport and taken to the Cyano Suites – the owner also has the Adriani hotel, Michalis Kritikos, who was super hospitable and also happy to share recommendations for our visit. This place is perfectly located near Old Naxos town, so we quickly unpacked and settled into our beautiful suites with incredible views and then just a short walk for lunch at Kozi – guess what we had? A litre of white wine, fried local cheese, assorted local cheese w/grilled bread, gyros, and a new take on the rusk/dakos salad – yum!!
Now off to explore a little bit before our Naxos Town Private Cultural Food Tour (highly recommend booking) – we found the famous “cake boy” street art and took the obligatory ‘surprise’ photos (you’ll find him near the 1st Primary School, just before the restaurant "O Apostolis" – which is also a good place to eat and where we had dinner that night!) – made a stop for a pair of handmade, traditional Greek sandals from Pagonis Greek Sandals – took lots of pics of lots of cats – we already love Naxos!
We meet our guide, Elizabeth, who is a local from a nearby village on Naxos – she shares a wealth of information about the history and culture of Naxos while taking us on an amazing exploration of the town – starting with a cheese and wine tasting! (go to Koufopoulos and see for yourself!) – we went on to another spot to try a warmed citron with sweets – then around the Venetian castle to the top of the Old Town for incredible sunset view and another local “digestive” – wandered our way back down through beautiful little alleyways and ended with a full spread of a traditional taverna Naxos style – O Apostolis – started with the recommended Rose wine, Greek salad (in a bread bowl - no lettuce!), famous fried potatoes topped with Naxian cheese, meatballs, and fried zucchini balls – in the end we felt a bit rushed and would have liked to have had a little more wine and time to savor the different dishes – but we were not expecting dinner, so this was a bonus! We did go back down to the port area for a final taste – kitron shots – and review of all the local products courtesy of Promponas and kherete to Elizabeth.
Day 2 Naxos – we rented a car in order to tour some of the villages – the main roads are good – navigating the narrow streets through the villages is for the experienced drivers – no fear here!! Be sure to park just outside in the marked lots. But if you are not confident, there are plenty of tours and local buses that are easy to use. We started with the furthest away – Apeirantos the “marble village” – the walls and walkways are all marble and just breathtakingly beautiful. We grabbed a frappe and did the self guided walking tour. So many interesting shops with works from local artists. We made some special purchases and took a sangria & chips break at Berdema Café with a great view! Next stop was part of the return trip, passing through Filoti and stopping in Halki (Chalki). It was recommended by our food tour guide, Elizabeth, and home to one of the famous Kitron Distilleries. Super cute with winding walkways – we wandered, shopped, and had lunch in the center under natural awnings made from trees and vines. At Yannis (Giannis) Taverna, they grill the meat right off the terrace, liters of house white wine, a few different types of local cheese with grilled bread, eggplant saganaki and fried potatoes – with a sleeping cat – we are relaxed!
Tonight we had a very special event - Full Moon Dinner in the Tranampelo Winery. See details of our Greek Wine Tasting: Naxos.
Day 3 – Full Day speed boat cruise – the winds have picked back up and we weren’t sure if the trip would be cancelled due to rough seas, but they put us on a “bigger boat” with R.I.B. Fantasy Cruisers and off we went for a day on the water and visiting nearby islands. It was an exhilarating ride but we were in really good hands with Captain George, our international boat skipper, who was confident, skilled, and a lot of fun! He even took pics for us and later text us all the details of where we went and what we did. Leonidas beach in Kato Koufonisi - Paralia Nero - Nero beach in Kato Koufonisi where took a swim and went to a multi-colored pebbly beach. Swimming and walking the sandy beaches of the uninhabited Koufonissia, Glaronisi where we took photos and videos of the beautiful "baby" caves and tiny beaches. Then we docked at the marina of Ano Koufonisi had lunch at Captain Nikolas where we had a pitcher of rose, saganaki, rusk salad, and octopus salad. Wandered the quaint little beach village headed back to the dock. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing on the boat with cups of wine then a final swim stop and watched George do backflips into the water before heading back to Naxos. Definitely need to write-up a tripadvisor review for this awesome adventure!
Beautiful evening spent in Naxos aka Chora (main town). We took a bottle of wine up to the Temple of Apollo to watch the sunset and take a few group pics. Dinner was at Metaxi Mas Taverna – right next to the Apostolis, so we’re feeling like we know the area now! They had our table ready right along the winding walkways – with a complimentary cat and accordion player! Switched it up a little and ordered liters of house red wine tonight paired with two types of saganaki, finally got one of my favorite Greek dishes, Pasticcio – SO good! Other entrees were Greek specialties of lamb, chicken, and sausage meatballs with Naxian fried potatoes. They also gave us final yamas with something that seemed like a slightly frozen limoncello shot – palate cleansed! We strolled around the port area for some nightlife sights, dessert and nightcaps – Milkato for gelato made from the local goats milk and some strong cocktails at the Lemon Café Bar.
Last Day – we are ready to relax, so we chose to pack our essentials and take the super easy walk to the other side of town to fully organized St Georges beach. We got a recommendation from a woman on the ferry to go to the Naxaki Beach Club.– rented sunbeds and umbrellas for the day – great service, drinks on the beach – lunch in their bar area – sunshine and light breezes – what more could you ask for??!!
Last dinner was at Scirocco where their motto is “Live-Laugh-Eat” – how appropriate for this trip to end on that note! Open-air dining near the Protopapalakis Statue Square – we were glad to have a reservation, as the place filled up quickly and people were standing/waiting for tables. Starting with a jug of rose, garlic bread, saganaki, and fried cheese croquettes to share. Entrees included shrimp & orzo, octopus, braised beef, and carbonara. Deliciousness down to the last bite!
We could not end the night without trying to find the super cool wine bar, Oinohoros, owned by Panos, the brother of Konstantinos of the Tranampelo Winery – just a few blocks away so we went in to say hello, have a glass of wine, and take a complementary shot of Callicounis Vermouth. Great ending to our evening!
Efkharisto (thank you) and Kalinikta (good night) Naxos! Did you miss part of our Big Fat Greek Anniversary Trip? Click to see details on our Greece Trip Athens or all about our Greece Trip Milos !!
Up and out early the next morning to catch our flights from Naxos to Athens – what an experience the little Naxos airport was! 2 gates – 1 plane at a time – weigh every bag – maybe it makes it, maybe it doesn’t!! This is life in the Greek islands….relax, everything will work out. (also, always have your necessities in a small bag on you – pills, passports, panties!)