Which Greek island with kids?

Written October 2026 · We may earn a commission from booking links.

The Portara above Naxos Town — Photo: Manfred Werner (Tsui) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choosing which island (or islands) is hard. This guide is made to help.

Naxos, for long shallow beaches

Naxos is the biggest of the Cyclades, with Mount Zas in the middle, mountain villages like Apeiranthos with its marble lanes, and a Venetian castle on top of Naxos Town. Fewer people fly in than to Paros. It's a 45-minute flight from Athens, about five and a half hours on the ferry from Piraeus, and there are daily boats from Rafina too.

The long beaches are what make it so good with small kids. Agios Georgios is right next to Naxos Town, with fine sand and shallow water, and the coast carries on in long sandy beaches like Plaka and Mikri Vigla. Off the sand, there's the Portara, a giant marble gateway you walk out to on a causeway, and an ancient kouros lying in the old quarry at Flerio.

For more, beach by beach, there's where to stay on Naxos with kids.

Agios Georgios beach, Naxos Town

Naxos Resort

Agios Georgios beach

Pools, a separate kids' pool and breakfast included, and Naxos Town is a walk along the sand.

Cribs: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

Plaka beach, Naxos

Stella Naxos Island

Maragas, Plaka beach

Ground-floor apartments that open onto the garden and a playground, right on Plaka beach.

Cribs: Yes
Pool: Yes

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Agios Prokopios beach, Naxos

Melidron Hotel & Suites

Agios Prokopios

A 55-square-meter family suite with a king bedroom, a twin bedroom and two bathrooms. It's a three-minute walk from Agios Prokopios beach, and Aqua Fun Water Park is nearby.

Cribs: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

Paros, for calm coves and a livelier town

Paros is busier than Naxos, with the port town of Parikia, quiet villages in a green, hilly middle, and the fishing harbor at Naoussa, where the bars go until dawn. Flights from Athens take 45 minutes, and the ferry is about four hours from Piraeus or three and a half from Rafina.

With little kids, Kolymbithres is the beach: shallow water in small coves between the rocks, across the bay from Naoussa. There are goats and chickens on the farm walk at Petra Farm, a small playground by the café at the Butterflies Nature Reserve, and a playground at Aliki in the south.

If it's between these two, Paros or Naxos with kids puts them side by side, and where to stay on Paros with kids has more hotels.

Kolymbithres beach, Paros

Astir of Paros

Kolymbithres

Interconnecting junior suites of 90 square meters and a kids' pool apart from the main one, in big gardens on Kolymbithres bay, with its own small sandy beach.

Connecting rooms: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

Fishing boats in the harbor at Aliki, Paros

Parosland Hotel

Aliki

Connecting rooms with two double beds, an inside door and two bathrooms, near Aliki beach.

Cribs: Yes
Connecting rooms: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes
Laundry: Yes

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The bay at Parikia, Paros

Paros Agnanti Resort & Spa

Krios, across the bay from Parikia

An attic suite for five with two interconnecting bedrooms, and a pool with a shallow kids' section and a playground. It's up the hill above Krios beach, looking back across the bay at the port.

Cribs: Yes
Connecting rooms: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

Milos, for volcanic beaches and a boat day

Milos is volcanic, and its airport is the quietest of the seven. It has more than 70 beaches, including the white volcanic rocks at Kleftiko. From Athens it's 40 minutes by air, or about four and a half hours by ferry from Piraeus.

Sarakiniko is smooth white rock around a small shore, and a boat trip is how you see the rest of the coast, like the catamaran day around Milos and Poliegos with snorkel gear on board. In Klima the boats sit in colorful boathouses right at the water, Pollonia has a sandy beach on the village bay, and kids who like rocks can see the crystals at the Milos Mining Museum.

Where to stay on Milos with kids has the rest, in Pollonia, Adamas and on the south coast.

Pollonia from the water, Milos

Captain Zeppos Suites and Villa

Pollonia

A suite for six with a loft bedroom, two bathrooms and a full kitchen, plus a shared pool and a playground. Pollonia's beach and shops are a short walk.

Cribs: Yes
Suites: Yes
Kitchenette: Yes
Pool: Yes
Laundry: Yes

See rooms and prices

Pollonia bay from above, Milos

Delmar Apartments & Suites

Pollonia

A family suite with a king bedroom, a twin bedroom and two bathrooms, 40 meters from Pollonia's beach and a minute from an enclosed playground.

Cribs: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Kitchenette: Yes

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Adamas from the harbor, Milos

Santa Maria Village Resort & Spa

Adamas

A 180-square-meter freshwater pool, in gardens on the hill behind the port. The harbor, where the boat trips leave, is a ten-minute walk.

Cribs: No
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

Corfu, for an easy resort week

Corfu is green, all olive groves and hills, with more than two hundred mountain villages and a Venetian old town on the UNESCO list. It has the second-busiest airport here after Rhodes, mostly international flights, and it's an hour and a quarter from Athens. Ferries come across from Igoumenitsa on the mainland.

A few of the resorts have their own water park. In town there's the Old Fortress and Spianada Square, the big square in front of it, and at Paleokastritsa the Corfu Aquarium, with a semi-submarine trip from the beach behind it. Aqualand grades its rides by age and height, and at Corfu Donkey Rescue kids can brush the donkeys.

The best family hotels in Corfu has the rest of the resorts.

Acharavi beach, Corfu

Grecotel LUXME Costa Botanica

Acharavi

Its own aqua park with slides and a lazy river, and Grecoland for ages 4 to 12, on the north coast with a kilometer of sand out front.

Cribs: Yes
Connecting rooms: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes
Kids' club: Yes

See rooms and prices

Photo of Ikos Dassia

Ikos Dassia

Dassia

All-inclusive, with a crèche from six months, a club for 4 to 12 and a teen club. It has nine pools and about 600 meters of sand lined with pine and olive trees.

Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes
Kids' club: Yes

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Glyfada beach from the air, Corfu

Domes of Corfu

Glyfada

A two-bedroom suite for six plus a baby, and a splash park, on Glyfada Beach on the west coast.

Cribs: Yes
Suites: Yes
Pool: Yes
Kids' club: Yes

See rooms and prices

Rhodes, for a castle town and the big resorts

Rhodes is the biggest of the Dodecanese and has the busiest airport here, mostly international flights. The medieval city the Knights of St John built, inside four kilometers of walls, is on the UNESCO list, and Lindos has its acropolis up on the hill. It's an hour from Athens by air, and over fifteen hours on the ferry from Piraeus.

The Palace of the Grand Master is inside the walls. For kids there's Faliraki Water Park, with slides sorted by age, the Rhodes Toy Museum, with a play room and a playground, and the ducks, geese and peacocks at Epta Piges. Agathi is a sheltered sandy bay that suits small kids, and Tsambika is a golden one.

The rest are coast by coast in Rhodes family hotels.

The beachfront hotels at Faliraki, Rhodes

Amada Colossos Resort

Faliraki

A five-slide water park, a 140-meter pool and a nursery from four months, straight onto a Blue Flag beach. The sea-view family rooms put the kids' beds behind a sliding door.

Cribs: No
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes
Waterslide: Yes
Kids' club: Yes

See rooms and prices

Kolymbia beach, Rhodes

Atlantica Holiday Village Rhodes

Kolymbia

A pirate ship, slides big and small, a lazy river and a high-ropes course. The family rooms are in the quieter part of the resort, with the kids' singles behind sliding partitions.

Cribs: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes, indoor
Waterslide: Yes
Kids' club: Yes

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Rhodes Old Town and its walls from the air

Sala Historical Luxury Suites

St John's, outside the Old Town walls

Suites with a kitchenette in a historic house, and one that joins its neighbor for a bigger family. It's a ten-minute walk from the Old Town.

Cribs: No
Connecting rooms: Yes
Suites: Yes
Kitchenette: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

Zakynthos, for turtles

Zakynthos is green, with fertile valleys, and it's the loggerhead turtles' island: the National Marine Park, set up in 1999, protects the beaches where they nest. Laganas is the party strip, mostly a young crowd. Tsilivi, north of the town, has a family feel, and Kalamaki and Alykes are quieter. There's an international airport an hour from Athens, and ferries cross from Kyllini on the mainland.

At Kalamaki and Gerakas the nests have protective cages over them, and the free Sea Turtle Rescue & Information Center is 100 meters from Gerakas beach. Tsilivi has the Tsilivi Waterpark, and Fantasy Mini Golf has a toddler play area.

The best family hotels in Zakynthos covers Tsilivi, Kalamaki and the quieter coasts.

Tsilivi beach at sunset, Zakynthos

Lesante Classic Luxury Hotel and Spa

Tsilivi

Two connecting rooms for five with two bathrooms, high chairs, a kids' menu and an indoor play area. Tsilivi's beach is about 200 meters away.

Cribs: Yes
Connecting rooms: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes
Kids' club: Yes

See rooms and prices

Kalamaki beach, Zakynthos

Exotica Hotel & Spa

Kalamaki

Ground-floor junior suites that open onto their own pool, and a kids' pool. Kalamaki beach and its turtle nests are a walk away.

Cribs: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

Laganas bay from the air, Zakynthos

Domes Aulus Zante

Laganas

The KiEPOS eco kids' club, a splash pool and nature play in the forest, right on Laganas beach, a turtle nesting beach in the marine park.

Cribs: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes
Free breakfast: Yes
Kids' club: Yes

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Santorini, for the caldera

Santorini has houses carved into the cliff on the rim of the caldera and an active volcano you can take a boat out to and walk on. Its airport is much busier than the ones on Naxos, Paros and Milos, and cruise ships call there too. Flights from Athens take 50 minutes, and the ferry is about six hours from Piraeus or five and a half from Rafina.

The beaches are black and red sand. Kamari and Perissa are the beach towns on the east side, and Monolithos has shallow water. Kids can ride the cable car up the cliff from Fira's old port, see the ruins under a roof at Akrotiri, or try the Lost Atlantis Experience.

The best family hotels in Santorini has more, up on the cliff and down by the beaches.

Kamari's black-sand beach, Santorini

Rivari Santorini Hotel

Kamari

Baby Friendly Hotel certified, with a playground, table tennis and garden chess. More than half its rooms are family rooms, and baby tubs and bed rails are free to borrow.

Cribs: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

The blue domes of Oia over the caldera, Santorini

Andronis Arcadia

Oia

The ARCADemy club for ages 4 to 14, with STEAM and robotics, and a three-level family suite with its own infinity pool, five minutes' walk from Oia's main square.

Cribs: Yes
Suites: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Pool: Yes
Kids' club: Yes

See rooms and prices

Perissa and its beach from Ancient Thera, Santorini

Aqua Blue Hotel

Perissa

A family room for four with a door between the bedroom and the sofa-bed room, and a kids' pool. The beach is across the road.

Cribs: Yes
Connecting rooms: Yes
Fridge: Yes
Kitchenette: Yes
Pool: Yes

See rooms and prices

Photo credits

Agios Georgios beach, Naxos Town: Zde (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Plaka beach, Naxos: Alexander Gkionis (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Agios Prokopios beach, Naxos: Carlo Pelagalli (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Kolymbithres beach, Paros: Svein-Magne Tunli (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Fishing boats in the harbor at Aliki, Paros: rene boulay (CC BY-SA 3.0) · The bay at Parikia, Paros: Jean Housen (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Pollonia from the water, Milos: Zde (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Pollonia bay from above, Milos: GTOU (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Adamas from the harbor, Milos: Kondephy (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Acharavi beach, Corfu: Roquai (Public domain) · Ikos Dassia: Panek (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Glyfada beach from the air, Corfu: dronepicr (CC BY 2.0) · The beachfront hotels at Faliraki, Rhodes: Pjotr Mahhonin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Kolymbia beach, Rhodes: Böhringer Friedrich (CC BY-SA 2.5) · Rhodes Old Town and its walls from the air: dronepicr (CC BY 2.0) · Tsilivi beach at sunset, Zakynthos: Kell Kell (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Kalamaki beach, Zakynthos: Mrcsifkin (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Laganas bay from the air, Zakynthos: dronepicr (CC BY 2.0) · Kamari's black-sand beach, Santorini: Michelle Maria (CC BY 3.0) · The blue domes of Oia over the caldera, Santorini: Norbert Nagel (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Perissa and its beach from Ancient Thera, Santorini: Zde (CC BY-SA 4.0)