Paros: Who It Suits, and the Boat Day Around Antiparos

Paros sits at the centre of the Cyclades. The Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) describes expansive sandy beaches and a mix of “cosmopolitan ambience” and Cycladic tradition. At the 2021 census it had 14,520 permanent residents, and Antiparos, the smaller island a short crossing away, had 1,265 more. It is also a ferry hub on the way to Naxos and Santorini, with its own airport.

Parikia, Naoussa and the beaches

Parikia is the capital and the main port, so most visitors see it first. Its landmark is Panagia Ekatontapyliani, which GNTO calls “one of the oldest and most important examples of Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture in Greece”; tradition credits its founding to Saints Constantine and Helen. It is a place of worship, with its big feast on 15 August, so dress for a church and keep your voice down inside.

Naoussa, on the north coast, is the second-largest village. The municipality notes the largest fishing fleet in the Cyclades, part of a Venetian bastion at the harbour and an evening nightlife scene.

Two beaches face the channel between Paros and Naxos: Golden Beach (Chrysi Akti) and New Golden Beach (Nea Chrysi Akti, also called Tserdakia). Both are windsurf centres. New Golden Beach hosted the World Windsurfing Championship in the 1990s, and the municipality itself calls it long, sandy, organised and crowded.

The island’s old export was its stone: GNTO says Parian marble was used for Praxiteles’ Hermes and for the Venus de Milo, found on Milos in 1820 and now in the Louvre. The Archaeological Museum of Paros costs €5 and closes on Tuesdays in 2026.

Antiparos, a short crossing away

Antiparos is the ancient Oliaros. GNTO points to the oldest Neolithic settlement in the Cyclades, on the islet of Saliagos, and to the ruins of a large temple on Despotiko, where the featured boat stops for lunch. The island’s Hora grew up around a Venetian castle. Getting across is easy: car ferries leave Pounta every 15 minutes for a crossing of about 10 minutes, and small boats from Parikia take about 30, according to the Municipality of Paros.

Most of the boat days on this page work the coast of Antiparos rather than Paros. Three of the four boats board at Pounta, not in Parikia or Naoussa, so check the port before you choose where to sleep.

Who Paros suits, and who should look elsewhere

Paros suits a first or second Cyclades trip built around beaches and boat days, with a lively town for the evenings and Antiparos for a change of scene. It also works as a middle stop, because the fast boats reach Naxos in 25 to 30 minutes and Santorini in about an hour and a half.

No official source ranks Paros and Naxos for families or for crowds. Here is what the records show:

Pick Naxos for more room: GNTO calls it the largest and most fertile island of the Cyclades, with Zas, the highest mountain in the group, and villages such as Apeiranthos and Halki. Naxos or Paros goes further, and the two are only half an hour apart.

Pick Santorini if the caldera is the reason for your trip. GNTO calls its sunset “undoubtedly the most renowned sunset in Greece”, and it landed 1,203,052 cruise passengers in 2025 against 13,290 on Paros. Pick Milos for its volcanic coast and Kleftiko, and Mykonos if beach clubs come first: GNTO’s description of Mykonos lists beach bars, clubs and luxury shopping.

Ferries and flights

Paros airport (PAS) is a state airport of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority. Olympic Air and Sky Express fly there from Athens, and GNTO gives the flight as 45 minutes; it also lists a flight of 1 h 15 from Thessaloniki.

By sea, go by the operators’ own figures. From Piraeus, SeaJets’ high-speed Worldchampion Jet took 3 h 45 on its 2025 summer schedule, and Blue Star’s conventional ferries take 4 h 10 to 4 h 30. From Rafina, which Golden Star describes as very close to Athens airport, Golden Star takes 3 h 35. In summer 2026 Fast Ferries also extended its daily Rafina, Tinos, Mykonos and Naxos sailing to Paros, from 13 June to 13 September. Between the islands, SeaJets gives 35 to 50 minutes from Mykonos and 1 h 25 to Ios.

How long to stay

No official source sets a number of days, so this is our advice. Three full days covers a boat day around Antiparos, a day for Parikia and Naoussa, and a day on a beach. In July and August add a spare day before your flight home, because the meltemi can stop the boats; SeaJets itself advises a buffer day in those months. With five days or more you can add a night on Antiparos or a day on Naxos.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

Two national charges changed. Since 2025 the climate resilience fee on accommodation is €2, €5, €10 or €15 per room per night from April to October, depending on the hotel’s stars, €8 in short-term rentals, and lower from November to March. Since 21 July 2025 cruise passengers pay €5, €3 or €1 a person by season when they land at Paros (€20, €12 or €4 at Santorini and Mykonos); ferry and air passengers do not.

The meltemi is the other thing to plan around. The national weather service describes it as a northerly wind from early May to mid-October, most frequent in July and August and often reaching gale force, and names the gap between Paros and Tinos as a place where it is funnelled and strengthened. Operators cancel when it blows: Blue Star published weather changes to its sailings for 30 September and 1 October 2026.

The boat days, and the rest of the island

The featured day is Glaraki Cruises’ full day around Antiparos, from about $193 as of October 2026 and rated 4.9 from 651 reviews. Its boat takes at most 25 guests and boards at Antiparos at 9:30 or at Pounta on Paros at 10:00. From Parikia or Naoussa you need a ride to Pounta: hotel pickup is not included, but the operator can arrange it on request. Breakfast, a grilled lunch, three drinks and snorkel gear are in the price, and the calendar still had October dates when we checked.

If you want one boat day on Paros with the meals and drinks handled and no more than 25 people aboard, this is the one to book.

See dates for the Antiparos boat day →

PBT TRAVEL runs two boats from Pounta. Its Paros and Antiparos cruise (from $129, 4.9 from 497 reviews) leaves Pounta port at 10:00 on a wooden kaiki or at 11:00 on a sailing boat that goes out when conditions allow, with lunch and local white wine; it is not for children under 4, wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments. Its Blue Lagoon boat (from $73, 4.8 from 1,256 reviews) meets at the operator’s shop in Pounta village and makes three swim stops, without lunch. Both calendars showed nothing before 24 April 2027 when we checked.

MTM Experiences’ Antiparos and Despotiko swim cruise is the cheapest full day here, from $56 (4.7 from 793 reviews), with a traditional Parian lunch. It leaves from Paros, so check the meeting point when you book, and it is not suitable for pregnant women or anyone prone to seasickness.

On Paros itself, Sea Kayak Paros runs a kayak and snorkel trip (from $129, 5.0 from 211 reviews) from the beach at the entrance to Paros Environmental Park, for swimmers aged 12 and over who weigh under 110 kg. The cooking class in Drios run by Maria Anousaki - Anezina Village (from $141, 5.0 from 429 reviews) cooks six dishes with up to 25 guests; transport to Drios is not included.