Naxos Best travel tip for Greek Island Beach vacations

Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades the group of islands in
the center of the Aegean. The island is eighteen miles in length and 12 miles
wide and is oval in shape.

It is also the most fertile, and this makes it one of the most beautiful. But
it is the miles of unbroken golden sandy beaches that attracts the majority
of the thousands of summer tourists that flock to Naxos every year.

For the holidaymakers who can drag themselves away from the glorious beaches,
Naxos provides a wealth of ancient Greek remains as well as plenty of Byzantine
and Venetian history. The island's capital, also called Naxos, has a Venetian
fortress as well as an ancient Greek temple to Apollo.

This temple is usually the first thing that a tourist sees when visiting Naxos
by ferry because it stands proudly on the tip of the island, marking the way
into the busy ferry port. The temple dates back to 522 BC but its ruinous appearance
is not because much of it has been lost to the passage of time, but rather because
the ancients never finished building it.

Naxos town is very picturesque port with a maze of whitewashed streets and alleyways,
designed with the frequent invasions from Aegean pirates in mind. Its typically
Cycladic architecture blends with the Venetian and every turning invites the
visitor to explore.

With such romantic charm and mystique, it is little wonder that Naxos has long
been popular with writers and artists. Lord Byron visited in his youth and never
forgot the experience, referring to it in his writings as the 'Dream Island'
and often saying that he would love to return some day.

Naxos has 41 villages and most are worth exploring. They are found in the green
fertile, valleys that are sandwiched between the rugged, arid mountains. Many
of these are over 2000 feet high and the highest, Mount Zeus is 3,200 feet.

Naxos enjoys the economic rewards of being a tourist island but it does not
depend on them for its prosperity. A great deal of farming takes place in its
rich valleys and the cultivation of lemons is especially successful. In addition
to lemons, Naxos produces cherries, pomegranates and other fresh fruit. It also
produces olives, nuts and potatoes whilst its grapes make some of the best of
Greek wines.

Naxos is deservedly popular with discerning tourists but unlike nearby Mykonos,
it is not in danger of being turned into a mass tourism resort. What has saved
it from doing so is its lack of an international airport. There is however an
excellent airport providing domestic flights and some tourists, mainly Greek
holidaymakers, arrive in Naxos this way, flying from Athens. The majority of
tourists arrive by ferry however, and there is no better way to start a Greek
island holiday than this. You can sail all the way from Athens but it will take
at least six hours. Or you can fly to Mykonos and get on a ferry that takes
only two hours. Both options have their pros and cons. We flew to Mykonos one
year only to find all the ferries were booked. Another travel tip, whichever
route you choose, is to be careful that you get off at the right island. The
first time we visited Naxos, we misheard a landing announcement and got off
the ferry only to see a sign that read 'Welcome to Paros'. Luckily,
we had enough time to re-board and complete the remaining minutes of the journey
to neighboring Naxos.