Paros and Antiparos: A Greek Getaway Unveiling Unspoiled Beauty, Ancient Caves, and Picture-Perfect Beaches

We stayed in an AirBnB in Paros main town around 30 seconds from the beach. This was an amazing base to have for our trip as it was really quick to walk into the centre of town and easy to get to the port and to other beaches as well.

The main town is gorgeous, with winding narrow streets, open squares, beautiful churches—both hidden and grand—boutique shops, a range of cafes and restaurants and so much more. It has everything you would want from a Greek town, down to the picture-perfect blue and white painted houses. We also found that there was something for every budget, ranging from boutique, high-end dining to more affordable, authentic local cuisine. We absolutely loved eating the fresh Greek food, fruits and juices here; if you’re a fan of pastries, be sure to buy a spiral spanakopita from one of the many bakeries in the area (our favourite was Ragoussis!). The town also has a lively nightlife scene if you’re interested in going out.

We went to multiple different beaches in the area, including Parasporos beach and Martselo beach, both of which offered amazing swimming. Martselo was more comfortable for sunbathing though, and had more of a relaxed vibe with families and groups of friends just chilling in the sun. We love walking, so we walked to both via some really scenic routes along the coast. However, there are bus and taxi options if you’d rather a more relaxed journey to and from the beach.

We also spent a day in Naoussa, the town on the other side of the island. It was easy to reach by bus and was an amazing day trip. Similar to Paros town, it had winding roads, restaurants, churches, juice bars and more. We walked up to the main church in the morning and then headed along the coast to Paros Park in the afternoon. This afternoon was one of the highlights of our trip; we first did a hike through the Park, which is an open nature reserve with multiple short trails. The trails and park itself weren’t too impressive, but you can head up to a viewpoint which is really spectacular. At the bottom of the park is Monastiri beach— we swam there at sunset and we were the only people around. It was honestly breathtaking and the water was so clear you could see straight to the bottom. We then took a long walk back along the coast for a well-earned gyros in town before getting the bus back across to our accomodation in Paros.

Overall, Paros was a great place to stay and gave us easy access to a lot of other beaches, towns and transport links (including buses and ferries). There was lots to see in the town itself, but if you’re looking for less busy areas then you can also get out of the main town to the favourite local spots on other parts of the island.

We took a day trip to Antiparos island - a small island only around 20 minutes away from Paris by ferry. The ferry ride is really scenic in itself and was a great way to start the morning

When we arrived on the island, we took a trip to the Cave of Antiparos — this is the oldest cave in Greece and one of the most iconic caves in Europe. We took the bus from the main ferry port up to the cave - it was very easy to find as there were lots of signs and people around to point it out. The drive up to the cave was really scenic, and when we got there we paid a small entry fee and were then able to pick up an information leaflet and spend around an hour exploring the cave. The cave was honestly spectacular, with giant stalagmites and stalactites, as well as engravings on the wall, many of which date back to centuries. You descend into the cave by walking down a steep staircase — you can really feel the intense history of the cave as you walk through it and I had never seen anything like it before.

We got back on the bus and got off at one of the many beach stops — I can’t remember the name of the beach, but ask the driver and they will be able to tell you when to get off. Buses come at most stops around every hour, so keep an eye on the timetable and you’ll easily be able to get around. We had picked up some pastries in Paros in the morning, so we had lunch on the beach, sunbathed and swam for some relief from the heat.

We got the bus back to the main port, watched the sunset and then hopped on the ferry back to Paros for the evening.