One relaxing week in Paros, Greece
We spent a wonderful week on the gorgeous Greek Island of Paros in June 2014. Our days were fabulously slow and included swimming, beaches, lunch, naps, and horse rides. Ever since Paros, my younger daughter has been asking if we can go back. I hear you! Our week in Paros was the most relaxing holiday I can remember.
We first planned our holiday around my friend Kate’s recommendations. But I didn’t know Kate at the time. I emailed my friend Eric for some family friendly Greece recommendations and he sent me this blog post. Thanks to social media and friend’s with blogs, we found ourselves in Paros. And Kate and I finally met at a ramen shop in London’s Chinatown a few months later where I properly thanked her for her wonderful recommendations in Paros.
How we got to Paros:
We flew to Athens and stayed two nights at this hotel. The hotel was basically just a way to get to Paros. We hadn’t been to Athens as a family, so we stayed two nights to see the famous historical sites before heading for our week in Paros. More on our two days in Athens soon. Basically, we bought lots of well priced leather sandals at the shop across the street from our hotel. And we love them. If you go to Athens, buy way more pairs of leather sandals than you think you need. You will thank me.
From Athens we boarded the Blue Star Ferry, which is as big as a cruise ship. (You can take a flight to Paros via Athens, but there it a long layover in Athens.) Book the Blue Star Ferry online here.
Where we stayed in Paros:
We loved our relaxing and well located hotel, Paliomylos Hotel and Spa in Naousa. We had a simple room with a kitchen. The hotel included breakfast and our girls loved their daily swim in the pool. This is by no means a fancy all-inclusive hotel, but it has everything you need for a beach holiday.Our daily routine in Paros:
The hotel had breakfast so we enjoyed the buffet, then headed to the pool. After swimming, we headed to the beach, only steps from the hotel. After playing on the beach, we walked 5-10 minutes (the girls were 3 & 5 years old so it took a few minutes longer) to the restaurants in town. We would find a nice lunch spot and spend a couple hours having a nice casual meal. After lunch we would wander around the fisherman’s boats and get ice cream before wandering back to our hotel for afternoon naps.
It was such a relaxing week. Every afternoon when we returned to our hotel, I would say that this is the most relaxing holiday I had ever been on. It was the trifecta. Beach, hotel, food, all within easy walking distance. And since we were there the first week of June, it was not yet crowded for the summer months. I need to find more relaxing holidays like this one. A simple apartment hotel, pool, beach, and simple and good restaurants. The perfect storm.
Our favorite part of the holiday was our excursion one day for a family horse ride around the island. We still remember the names of our horses. It was absolutely gorgeous and we got to see a whole different landscape from our daily wander to the beach and back.
OK, now I want to book another holiday on a Greek Island. This continues to be our most relaxing holiday ever. Just beach, food, and family. Pretty much perfect.
Have you been to Greece? Do you have a favorite place to go with your family?
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