After our wonderful trip in June to Greece, we wanted to choose the next destination for our summer holidays. As both of us, wanted a +1 on the country-list we visited, we went for Malta, as we haven’t been there yet. Sadly, and luckily at the same time, the government of Malta decided a week prior our departure, to close their borders, and only grant access for vaccinated people to their country.
My girlfriend and I, we wouldn’t fulfill the requirements at the time yet, which meant our summer holidays were canceled. As we have already been several times to Spain, Portugal, and Italy… we didn’t hesitate to throw Greece in the room. As we really had enjoyed our time while doing island hopping in June, falling in love with the Greek cuisine, nothing would be wrong, to make it back to the Cyclades only one month later.
Obviously we wanted to discover two new islands. We could have debated for hours, which island would be the best one to visit, as there’s an endless amount of options. We knew this wouldn’t be the last time either, so opted for Syros & Paros.
Syros.
As Athens makes it pretty convenient to reach it from Luxembourg, we spent the first night in the capital, because we were looking forward for another great dinner in the city.
It felt like a déja-vu, as we experience the same lovely dinners only a month ago. We decided to make it a short night, as we had to get up early, take a cab, and make it onto the ferry.
Syros was only 2 hours away from Athens. Syros might have the most exciting approaching view, while the ferry starts its docking routine onto the shore. The hills and tall buildings of Syros gives its the city that antic vibe as we know it from ancient italian cities. The buildings look pretty much alike, just different than the usual white houses.
Because Syros seemed to be and look different than its neighboring islands, it seemed more intriguing than just “another island”. Sadly it wasn’t that much special. First of all, it seemed almost dead throughout half a day, the streets remained empty and most shops were closed after lunch until 5pm. So the best hours to visit the city was in the morning or in the early evening.
The restaurants were mostly just packed at night. Throughout the city didn’t seem very attractive.
Before making it to Syros, we read that it offers numerous shopping places. In my own personal opinion the shops were pretty dull, nothing that would catch our interests. Unluckily we also managed to have a drink and some tapas/mezes at two awful places. This was the first time where we got to have bad food. And thankfully it remained the only one.
Syros’s streets made it easy to walk around with a stroller, as the streets had marble sidewalks. Besides two very scenic view points, and its two charming public bathing spots, there wasn’t really much left to discover. The whole vibe of the city just seemed boring and touristic.
The nightly dinner close to the water were alright, but nothing special. It would get quite busy at night though, compared to a dead city during midday, people seemed to enjoy the lower temperatures, followed by a windy breeze.
I felt pretty disappointed, as I expected a lot more. The hotel we stayed at, offered a perfect location, and the staff was super friendly. However besides a couple of charming corners on the island, we missed the scenic view from Mykonos or Santorini. Obviously those are hard to beat.
We spent one afternoon at one beach, which isn’t worth writing about. The water was clear and warm, however the beach was packed and there was barely no space to move around on the grey thick stoney sand.
Syros to me, felt more like the harbour area of Italy, or Spain. It didn’t give me the wow effect we experienced on our first Greece trip. I won’t complain too much about it, as we are still satisfied that we could see something else, and maybe not the most typical tourist destination in Greece.
Paros
After 3 nights, we moved on to Paros. We didn’t really know what to expect from Paros, except for its charming harbor in Naussa, that reminded us of Mykonos. We left the ferry in Parikia, which didn’t blow us away either. Too many people were jumping off the big ship, and it was barely impossible to get a cab, that would bring us 3 to Naussa. After the first taxis had left the ferry terminal, we were walking around to find a cab, without any hope. I called the hotel, and we were told, due to the high amount of tourists in Paros this year, everybody was fighting for a ride. We were told to wait at the taxi stand, and pray for a drive to show up. After half an hour we got lucky and made it to Naussa.
Our hotel Parian Lithos Hotel, was just amazing! A natural wellness spot, that offered cosiness and quietness. I instantly fell in love with it. From our room’s terrace we had a view onto the agean sea. Walking down the road and a tiny path, within a minute you could jump into the water, and have a dive around a little cove, a hidden gem, that attracted 2-3 people in the morning or in the evening at sunset. It felt like a private cove, that belonged to us, … skinny dipping would have been an option.
Every morning after waking up, I tried to dip into to water for 10 minutes, take a shower, and share the breakfast with our little family.
Walking up-hill, to follow the paths along the beach towards the center of Naoussa took us 10 minutes to reach the buzzling streets of the town. On our first night we were amazed how many people were enjoying their nights on the island. Too many great restaurants too list. The area around the harbor was a tourist magnet, everybody was rumbling to get a table close to the water, and under the lights, that gave this place a special tough. It just felt like the perfect place, to have the perfect dinner, in the most greek harbour village. What in experience. We were mesmerized by what we saw in front of us.
It was just the complete opposite of Syros. It felt so much more like Mykonos, flowers, white walls, octopus hanging on a rail next to the water, countless fisherboats, the sound of waves crashing. We just fell back in love with Greece, like we did during our first trip.
As for myself, I could have spend a week in Naoussa, eating & drinking the homemade wine by our hotel. Everything looked so photogenic in Naoussa.
We decided to rent a car, as we had planned to spend 3 full days on the island. While driving around it felt a little bit like Santorini, big deserted areas, with not that much to do. As it was burning hot during the middle of the day, most traditional villages remained empty, except for a couple of tourists trying to get some shots of the colorful doors and houses.
The beaches were alright. We visited the closest to our hotel “Kolympethres Beach” which just felt like a local beach with crystal clear water, and the rather fancy “Faragas Beach” that looks actually a lot nicer than on the photos online. Under the umbrella at Faragas, you had a push-button to order drinks from the bar. It was the best beach we had experienced in Greece so far.
We were looking forward to visit Anti Paros, the little island just next to Paros. Sadly we didn’t make it, as we were struggling with the results of our Antigen Tests on our last day on the island.
We didn’t visit Parikia either, because we enjoyed it so much to spend our time in Naoussa. It’s hard to describe why we would recommend you to visit this special place, as it doesn’t offer that many touristic attractions, however it’s the vibe and busy life that happens within the small village of Naoussa.
The food was exceptional. Some fine dining places, were just a bit more expensive than the usual greek cuisine you would get. Expect to pay around 100€ for two people without too many drinks. The nights get quite busy, and on specific days through out the week, you really need to book your table. We were looking forward to eat at “BARBAROSSA”. Their terrace might be the most bustling spot among the restaurants, and it definitely attracts the customers. We fancied one night to spoil ourselves. The service was impersonal and quite bad, as all the waiters work with headsets, and they barely interact with you. The food was a blast ! Without a doubt it was one of the best restaurants we tried during our trip. However is it worth the money and its lame posh customers? I can’t tell. However the scenic spot where you eat, is worth the money.
I wish that we can make it back someday to that beautiful island, and get the chance to spend a couple more nights at Parian Lithos Hotel. Check out their hotel, you won’t be disappointed.