Yannis Divramis 
Naxos and Koufonisia sit close together in the Cyclades, yet they offer two very different holidays. Naxos is the largest island in the group, packed with long sandy beaches, mountain villages, ancient marble gates and simple transport links. Koufonisia is a tiny Small-Cyclades island celebrated for its turquoise coves, warm shallow water and slow, car-free … Read more
The Naxos to Folegandros ferry links the largest Cycladic island with one of the archipelago’s most dramatic clifftop escapes. This crossing runs mostly by high-speed catamaran through the central Cyclades, often routing via Ios or Sikinos before reaching the small harbour of Karavostasi. The connection concentrates in the warm season, so timing matters for anyone … Read more
The Naxos to Sifnos ferry links the eastern and western Cyclades across open Aegean water. Naxos sits in the central island chain, while Sifnos anchors the western group known for its cooking tradition. High-speed catamarans handle most of this crossing, and the route rarely runs direct. Boats thread through Ios, Folegandros or Milos before reaching … Read more
The Sanctuary of Dionysus at Yria sits on the fertile plain south of Naxos Town, near the airport and the village of Glinado. Archaeologists uncovered four temples built one over another, from the Geometric through the Archaic period, each raised on the ruins of the last. This is one of the oldest cult sites in … Read more
Festivals and panigyria give Naxos its living pulse, and the island keeps more of them than any other Cyclade. A panigyri is the village saint’s-day feast, a night of music, wine, food and dancing that fills the mountain squares from June through September. Naxos layers these local feasts over the great Orthodox celebrations: Easter, the … Read more
Naxos sits at the heart of Greek myth as few Cycladic islands do. The largest of the Cyclades held Mount Zas, the peak where legend says the infant Zeus was raised in a mountain cave. Naxos was also the sacred island of Dionysus, god of wine, and the stage for the story of Ariadne, the … Read more
Naxos rewards a photographer with range. One island holds a marble sea-gate, a walled medieval town, mountain villages of grey stone, panoramic peaks, and a west coast of pale sand and shallow water. Light here is clean and direct, and the subjects sit close together across short drives. A single day can carry you from … Read more
Agersani is a small traditional farming village on the fertile Livadi plain of Naxos, sitting just south of Naxos Town near Vivlos and Glinado. Whitewashed houses line quiet lanes, a modest village church anchors the centre, and cultivated fields of the famous Naxos potatoes and vines spread across the flat plain around it. The village … Read more
Azalas beach rewards travellers who want the east coast of Naxos at its quietest. This small sand-and-pebble bay sits just north of the harbour of Moutsouna, tucked below tamarisk trees and terraced gardens that meet the shoreline. The water runs calm and clear, sheltered from the strong meltemi wind that batters the west-coast beaches. A … Read more
Psili Ammos is a remote, undeveloped beach on the quiet southeastern coast of Naxos, tucked below cedar-covered dunes near Moutsouna and Panormos. The name translates as fine sand, and the beach earns it: pale, soft grains slope into shallow turquoise water that stays clear and calm through the swimming season. No tavernas, sunbeds, or roads … Read more