Where to stay in Naxos

The decision: the town, or the beach strip

Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades and the one with a real interior, but almost all accommodation sits in two places: Naxos town (the Chora), and the west-coast beach strip running south from it.

• Chora is a proper town - a working port, a Venetian Kastro on the hill, lanes you get lost in, and the Portara standing on its islet at the harbour mouth. You can walk everywhere and eat well.
• The west coast is a run of long, shallow, sandy beaches - Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna, Plaka - each a little further out and a little quieter than the last.
• The mountain villages inland are where Naxos stops being a beach island, and almost nobody stays in them.

This page names areas, not hotels. We have not stayed in Naxos’s hotels and will not rank them.

The areas at a glance

Chora, and why it is usually right

Area	Best for	Beach	Walkable	Costs
Chora (Naxos town)	Everything, no car needed	Agios Georgios adjoins	Yes	Mid
Agios Prokopios	The best-organised beach base	Yes, excellent	To its own strip	Mid
Agia Anna	Small, close, low-key	Yes	Yes	Mid
Plaka	Long quiet sand, space	Yes, the longest	Less so	Mid
Filoti / Apeiranthos	The real island, mountains	No	Villages	Low-mid

Naxos town is one of the better Cycladic bases, for a reason that is easy to miss: it is a town rather than a resort that grew around a harbour. There is a Venetian Kastro on the hill with families still living inside it, a covered market, ordinary shops, and an old quarter that takes days to stop surprising you.

It also has Agios Georgios beach attached to its southern edge - shallow, sandy, walkable from anywhere in town - which means you can have a town base and a swim without transport.

And the Portara, the huge marble doorway on the islet at the harbour mouth, is a two-minute walk from the waterfront. It is the last of a temple to Apollo that was never finished, and it is where the town goes at sunset.

For most first visits, this is the answer.

The west-coast beach strip

Running south from town, each of these is a short bus ride from the next:

Agios Prokopios is the best-developed beach base - a long stretch of pale sand, calm shallow water, and enough rooms and tavernas to be self-sufficient without being a resort.

Agia Anna is smaller and gentler, a former fishing settlement with a little harbour, close enough to Prokopios to walk.

Plaka is the long one: kilometres of sand backed by dunes and cedar, much emptier, and the base for people who want space more than facilities. Parts of it are unofficially clothing-optional at the far end.

The common thread on this coast is that the sea shelves gently, which is why families with small children end up on Naxos rather than on the steeper islands.

The mountains, and why to consider them

Filoti and Apeiranthos are real mountain villages - marble lanes, plane trees, tavernas serving people who live there, and Mount Zas above them.

Almost nobody bases here, and for a first visit that is probably right. But on a second trip, or for anyone who finds beach islands wearing, a few nights in the interior is the most distinctive thing Naxos offers. You will need a car.

Do you need a car?

In Chora or on the beach strip, no. Buses run frequently down the west coast in season and the beaches are close together.

For the interior, yes. The mountain villages, the kouroi lying in their quarries, the old towers - none of that works on a bus timetable. See which islands need a car.

How the areas map onto trips

• First visit, no car, want a town: Chora.
• Beach days with facilities: Agios Prokopios.
• Quieter, smaller, still close: Agia Anna.
• Space and long empty sand: Plaka.
• Second visit, or the real island: Filoti or Apeiranthos, with a car.

Getting there is in Athens to Naxos; the onward hops in Naxos to Paros and Naxos to Santorini.

Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best area to stay in Naxos?

Naxos town (Chora) for most trips - it is a real town, you can walk everywhere, and Agios Georgios beach adjoins it. Agios Prokopios if you want a beach base with facilities, and Plaka for long, quiet sand.

Is Naxos good for families?

Unusually so. The west-coast beaches shelve gently into shallow water, the town is walkable, and the island is cheaper than its famous neighbours.

Do I need a car on Naxos?

Not for the town or the west-coast beaches, which the buses cover well in season. You do need one for the mountain villages and the interior, which is the most distinctive part of the island.

Which Naxos beach should I stay on?

Agios Prokopios for the best mix of sand and facilities, Agia Anna for something smaller, Plaka for length and space with fewer amenities.

Is Naxos town worth staying in rather than a beach?

For most people, yes. It has the Kastro, the Portara, real shops and restaurants, and a good beach attached to it - so you get a town and a swim without choosing.

How many nights do you need on Naxos?

More than two. It is the largest of the Cyclades with a real interior as well as a beach coast, and a flying visit wastes both.

Next

Read the Naxos travel guide, Naxos beaches and things to do in Naxos, or compare it in Naxos vs Paros and Santorini vs Naxos.