A road trip in Paros is the ultimate way to explore the best beaches and towns that the Greek Island has to offer. Being located in the heart of the Greek Cyclades, it is often overlooked due to its popular neighbouring islands of Santorini and Mykonos. Due to this Paros is not as crowded which makes for the perfect road trip destination.
Paros has its own unique charm with its traditional villages, quality beaches, delicious Greek food, and amazing sunsets. No matter what your travel style is; relaxing on a beautiful beach all day, drinking cocktails and taking in the sunset, or searching the island for adventure, Paros has got you covered. It is a great destination for family vacations, romantic trips and for solo adventurers. And having your own set of wheels for the day is going to allow you to explore a whole lot more!
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This 1 day road trip in Paros will see you beach hopping your way along a stunning coast, exploring villages, and still having enough time to watch the sunset with a cocktail in hand back in Naoussa. You will cover the majority of the Eastern coast of the Island which has some of the islands best beaches.
The fishing village of Naoussa is where this itinerary will start. However, you can just as easily start in the port town of Parikia. You will then head out to the beautiful beach of Santa Maria to start your beach hopping road trip. After this, drive down the coast stopping at a variety of beaches such as Ambelas, Molos, Kalogeras and Golden Beach. For the last stop you will be making your way inland to the town of Lefkes before returning to Naousa to see out the last of the afternoon. Overall this 1 day road trip in Paros has less than 2 hours of driving for the day.
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Contents
Where to Stay in Paros
There are two main towns in which travellers stay in in Paros; Parikia which is the port town, and Naousa which is a nearby fishing village. These two towns are both great places to base yourself for your time in Paros, however we prefer the town of Naoussa. It has a very authentic Greek village feel, with picturesque alleys, great bars and delicious seafood, as well as close proximity to some of the islands best beaches. Of course if you do only have a very short time, staying in Parikia might make things a little easier being close to the ferry port. Keep in mind that it isn’t a massive island, so Naoussa is only a 10 minute drive or 20 minute bus ride away from Parikia. We will give you some accommodation recommendations at the end of the article.
Hiring A Car for your Road Trip in Paros
There are plenty of places to hire a car, quad bike, or buggy from Naoussa or Parikia. The first thing you need to know is having an international driving licence is going to make your life a lot easier when hiring a vehicle in the Greek Islands. We however, did not come prepared with our international drivers licences and at my first two preferences to hire our car from in Naoussa we got turned down for not having one. My two car hire preferences in Naoussa were ‘Galanakis Rent a Car’ and ‘ML Rent a Car Paros’.
Since then we have both got our own International drivers licences which were $40 AUD from our home country of Australia through a very simple process. Each country will have varying prices and processes though.
So we ended up hiring a little golf buggy car at a smaller hire place that although didn’t feel too legitimate they didn’t require us to have an international driver’s license. It actually turned out to be super fun driving around the island in the open air of the buggies too!
Also, on a side note, learn from the mistake we made and make sure you don’t mishear the instructions about needing to get petrol straight away for the car… of course it doesn’t help when your hire doesn’t have a fuel gauge.
Get Ready To Road Trip in Paros
The earlier you can hit the road the better. So pick up your car or buggy as the hire place opens and pack your swimmers for a good day of beach hopping!
Stop 1 – Santa Maria Beach
Drive approximately 15 minutes East of Naousa to Santa Maria Beach. This beach has a long golden strip of sand and crystal clear shallow waters. There are sun beds available as well as a few beach bars which also offer watersports. I would suggest just going for a nice morning swim and save the water sports for later in the day.
Stop 2 – Molos Beach
Hop back in the car and drive about 30 minutes along the main road ‘Naoussas – Marpissa.’ Although I have said ‘main road’, do not expect a big maintained motorway, it is only a small Greek Island remember. The last section of your drive here will be on an unsealed road but it is fine for any car/quad to drive on. Molos beach has a very deep blue water colour and a good view of Naxos Island, however it can be a little windy. Take your choice whether to have a swim or just take some pictures of the view and the Greek church at the end of the beach.
Note: You can drive along the roads closer to the coast, however this will take a considerable amount of time longer and the road quality isn’t of the same condition as the main road.
Stop 3 – Kalogeras Beach
Drive a short few minutes up the road to Kalogeras Beach. This was one of my favourite beaches of our road trip in Paros. The beach is surrounded by red coloured cliffs, which seem to make the water appear even more stunning. This beach is quieter than the previous beaches so it is a nice spot for a calm swim and to relax. It is a good idea to bring along some snacks too. You can’t have a road trip without snacks! Another cool thing about Kalogeras Beach was that the cliffs are made of clay, so you may see some people using the water and rubbing the clay all over their body. After letting the clay dry you of course then wash it off and hope it does your skin some good. Get amongst it!
Stop 4 – Golden Beach
A 15 minute drive down the East Coast will lead you to Golden Beach which is regarded as one of Paros’ best beaches. This beach is great for watersports, in particular windsurfing which I was super excited to try! If you are there in early August there is also the PWA windsurfing world cup competition back around the cove at ‘New Golden Beach’ which would be awesome to check out. This is also a good spot for a late lunch at the ‘Blue Restaurant Bar’ or ‘Pacific Coast’. It is the perfect spot for the last beach of your beach hopping road trip in Paros!
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to make it to this last beach stop, it might have been because we got stuck at Santa Maria Beach for 2 hours longer than expected… Remember when I mentioned the not knowing we had to fill up our buggies with petrol straight away? Well we went to hop back in the buggies which would not start. Luckily the rental place eventually ran out a bit of petrol for us to make it to the nearest petrol station. It definitely wasn’t a bad place to be stuck with no petrol but it did mean we didn’t make it all the way up to Golden Beach. So if your vehicle doesn’t have a fuel gauge make sure you fill it up with a bit of petty!
Check out our road trip itinerary of Southern Portugal – another great European road trip destination – here
Stop 5 – Lefke Town
The town of Lefkes is a 15 minute drive back towards Naousa and was the original capital of Paros island before Parikia. It is almost a secret village wrapped up in the mountains surrounded by greenery which makes the white houses draw you in even more. You simply can’t help but stop your car and get out and explore the town and head down to the idyllic church. It is a great stop for a peaceful afternoon stroll before heading back to Naousa.
Back to Naousa
Enjoy your last 20 minute cruise of your road trip in paros as you make your way back to the fishing port of Naousa. Depending on where you are staying, choose to drop your rental back first or do what we did and drive to your hotel get changed for night on the cocktails and then drop the car back.
Naousa Tips and Recommendations
As I have previously mentioned Naousa is one of my favourite places in Paros. Here are some of our favourite places to go to in Naousa.
Our favourite places to eat and drink:
Sante Cocktail Bar → A neat little cocktail bar in the middle of town. They have a great cocktail list and a super cute courtyard to soak in the village vibes.
Alley Cocktail Bar → Located in the backstreets they have delicious fruity cocktails and a very friendly owner. It has nice lounges out the front to relax and share a laugh with friends.
Panorama Cafe Bar → A great place to watch the sunset and to also grab a bite to eat.
Mario’s → A romantic spot for dinner on the waterfront of the village where they serve great local seafood. It is a little pricey but worth a visit.
Accommodation Recommendations
Daphne → A budget hotel located right in the main hub of Naousa town. They offer clean, simplistic rooms for a great deal. Booking.com rating of 9.4
Sea House → A more expensive hotel that has a great location with a beautiful patio overlooking the ocean and with a view of the main town. Booking.com rating of 9.5
Hotel Senia – Onar Hotel Collections → An accommodation option closer towards the luxury end of things. It offers a range of spacious rooms with modern décor at different prices. It has a beautiful pool and is in a great location very close to town. Booking.com rating of 9.0
Let us know how your road trip in Paros goes!
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