Submitted by Dara McNally on the 2022 spring semester program in Athens, Greece…
This week, I went island hopping over the weekend to Naxos and Paros! I wasn’t originally intending to, but I changed my mind Friday evening and booked ferry tickets and a hotel that night for the next morning. It worked out surprisingly well!
Naxos is a summer destination so in February a lot of things weren’t open yet. But there’s a beach perfect for wading about a 10-15 minute walk from the port! There’s also an old castle! Though beware, the last call for the museum is at 13:40 because it closes at 14:00. If you plan to visit, get there early!!
Paros is far quieter than Naxos. Rather than leisurely meandering along the beach, I decided to go for a hike after looking around a nearby museum! And what a hike it was! There’s a little map by a school to the right of the port with trails and landmarks so you can plan out a route. I would strongly recommend taking a picture of it before you start heading off!! I’ve attached an image of the route I took (Order: red, blue, green). After getting lost about a dozen times, the whole route took me about 5 hours, but the views were amazing! I would definitely go there if you’re interested in hiking and ruins. Bring comfortable shoes, layers, and lots of water because you can go from sweating to chilly very quickly if it’s windy or about to rain!
