Paros or Naxos with kids?
Written October 2026
On Naxos the beaches are long and the water stays shallow for ages, with family hotels right on the sand. Paros has Kolymbithres, with calm water among the boulders, and Naoussa, a harbor town with the better restaurants. We'd take a child under five to Naxos, and older kids (or anyone who cares about the evenings) to Paros.
Naxos is bigger, with mountain villages to drive up to, and Paros is smaller and more polished.
Naxos, for the beaches
Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna and Plaka run one after the other down the west coast.
Agios Georgios Beach
Naxos
This is the town beach, with cafés and tavernas along the shore and Naxos Town's lanes and the Portara a walk away. A toddler can wade out a long way before it gets deep.
Plaka Beach
Naxos
Plaka is four kilometers of sand backed by dunes, with juniper shade in places. It gets quieter with every step south, from sunbeds and cafés at the north end to nothing at all at the other. The water is clear and shallow, and most of the island's family apartment hotels sit behind it.
Aqua Fun Water Park
Naxos
A small water park near Agios Prokopios, with plenty for a school-age kid's afternoon. There are slides and a kids' pool with its own slide, and sunbeds are included.
Stella Naxos Island
Naxos
The ground-floor apartments open onto the garden and the playground, Plaka beach is across the road, and kids and adults have separate pools. There are more like it in our Naxos family hotel guide.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
Paros, for the towns and the evenings
Kolymbithres Beach
Paros
Small coves sit among granite boulders, and we think it's the best beach on Paros for a small child, because the rocks make pools of still water with sand between them. Tavernas are nearby, and a water taxi runs across the bay to Naoussa.
Butterflies Nature Reserve
Paros
Butterflies fill a shaded valley of dense vegetation, and there's a small playground by the café.
Petra Farm
Paros
The goats and chickens are free-range on this organic farm. A kid who'd rather see goats than dig in the sand can do the 40-minute walk and finish with a tasting or a meal. Paros also has a horse-riding center.
Astir of Paros
Paros
Astir is across the road from Kolymbithres, with Naoussa a water taxi away. Its junior suites take two adults and two kids, and there's a kids' pool. Our Paros family hotel guide covers the rest of the island.
- Connecting rooms
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Fridge
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
More in Paros
Where to stay on Paros with kidsPhoto credits
Agios Georgios Beach: dronepicr (CC BY 2.0) · Plaka Beach: Atle1963a (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Agios Prokopios beach, Naxos: Carlo Pelagalli (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Agia Anna beach, Naxos: Tsui (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Kolymbithres Beach: rene boulay (CC BY-SA 3.0) · A Jersey tiger moth: Syrio (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Naoussa Bay, Paros: Olaf Tausch (CC BY 3.0) · Rocks at Kolymbithres, Paros: Demetria pl (CC BY-SA 4.0)