Naxos Beaches: The Long West Coast and the Quiet East and North
The whole western coast of Naxos is effectively one long beach, and its miles of soft, broad sand rank among the best in the Cyclades, with quieter sandy and pebble beaches on the east, south and north. Naxos is the biggest of the Cycladic islands, so renting a car for a few days is worthwhile to reach the beaches spread around the coast. This guide runs from the busy west-coast family beaches near Chora to the remote south and the quiet north. For towns, sights and getting around, see the Naxos island guide. Hire a car to explore Naxos at your own pace, covered in our Naxos car hire guide.
- Group
- Cyclades
- Nearest Chora
- Agios Georgios
- Best-known sand
- Agios Prokopios
- Naturist
- Plaka to Alyko
West-coast beaches: Chora to Pyrgaki
The nearest beach to Chora is Agios Georgios, a busy family beach; south of it lie the airport and the popular Stelida beach with its taverna, then the long sandy beaches follow in order: Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna, Golden Beach (a large naturist beach), Plaka, Mikri Vigla, Kastraki and Pyrgaki, with the harder-to-reach Kalando and Rena further south over dirt tracks. Mikri Vigla Beach, 16 km from Naxos Town, is two sandy beaches split by a mountain; its northern beach catches the wind and draws windsurfers, while the southern beach, also called Sahara Beach and running towards Kastraki, is more sheltered and used by naturists, with room for naturism on the smaller bays between Plaka and Mikri Vigla too. Kastraki Beach, about 17 km from Naxos Town, is long and mostly textile, with naturists on the southern stretch and a few tavernas nearby. Glyfada Beach, about 19 km out, is a quiet sandy beach with a few accommodations and tavernas but no sunbeds for hire. Aliko (Alyko) Beach, about 19 km from Naxos Town, is a set of small turquoise coves of white sand backed by a protected cedar forest and sand dunes, reached by car or by bus six times a day, with no sunbeds and good for peace and for naturists even in high season. Pyrgaki Beach, about 20 km out and 1 km beyond Aliko over a dirt road, is a beautiful quiet sandy beach with dunes and cedar trees, a shallow sea and the Psili Ammos taverna 50 m away renting umbrellas and sunbeds. Agiassos Beach, about 21.5 km from Naxos Town and 3 km from Pyrgaki over a dusty road, is a long, unorganized sandy beach with a hotel, a few fish tavernas and a shallow sea.
The east and southeast beaches
Moutsouna Beach, on the east side of the island, is a textile beach beside the village of the same name, the port of Apiranthos that once shipped Naxos marble; it has no sunbeds and little shade, a few hotels and several tavernas, a paved road but a poor link to Naxos Town about 40 km away, so a car is best, and the bays and coves just north give naturists their own beach out of season. The four main beaches in the southeast are Psili Ammos, Klidos, Panormos and Kalandos. Psili Ammos ('thin sand'), the northernmost, is a very quiet beach of thin white sand reached by a 12 km asphalt road from Moutsouna with the last 150 m on foot, no sunbeds but plenty of shade under tall cedar trees, and secluded coves nearby for naturists despite a 'no nudity' sign. Klidos (Kleidos) Beach, south of it, is a long sandy beach divided by rocks for privacy, ringed by cliffs with a small taverna and a view over Koufonissia. Panormos Beach, below Klidos and 54 km from Naxos Town, is a small, quiet sandy beach in a protected green-tinged bay reached via Moutsouna and Kanaki (9 km, asphalt road), a textile beach with occasional naturists on the left, palm trees, a small cantina and the remains of an Early Cycladic acropolis on Amygdalion nearby. Kalandos (Kalantos) Beach, probably the most remote on Naxos, is a very large sandy beach in the far south reached by your own transport, paved as far as the 15-metre marble Chimaros Tower of the 4th century between Filoti and Kalandos and then dirt track; it is a nudist beach with no facilities, though a port was being built on the left of the bay in 2014.
The north and northwest beaches
Pachia Ammos (Pahia Ammos) Beach, on the west side near the Faneromeni monastery of 1606 and about 13 km from Naxos Town, is a long, quiet sandy beach without facilities where the waves can run high; also known as Amity, Amyti or Amites Beach, it is mixed and has room for naturists, with more beaches in smaller bays to the northwest. Agios Mamas Beach, just north, is small and quiet with a small taverna that also rents rooms, and off-season naturism until the taverna opens. Abrami (Ambrami) Beach, 25 km north of Naxos Town, is an easily reached, quiet sandy beach with some small pebbles among trees and bushes, a few accommodations and a taverna but no sunbeds. Just north lies the very quiet pebble beach of Limenari Kiras, unsigned and reached from Abrami on foot up steps and along the cliff path, or by car down a rough path near the Venetian castle. Apollonas Beach, in the north 38 km from the capital by the coastal road, is a beautiful quiet beach of white marble pebbles and white sand with tavernas, accommodation and shops, near the 10-metre Kouros statue from the 6th century BC by the old mine. Lionas Beach, in the northeast in front of an almost deserted former marble-port village and about 40 km from Naxos Town, is a white-pebble beach with no sunbeds, reached by a paved but narrow, winding road through pretty scenery past old mines.
