If you missed Part One (from our time in Santorini) you can find it here!
Day Three: Traveling from Santorini to Naxos
I don’t have many photos from this day because it was primarily a travel day! That, and I had SEVERE anxiety from around 10am to 13:00 so I wasn’t thinking much about taking photos. AND we spent over an hour waiting in line for our ferry to arrive, and then board it. Ah, the glamour life of the nomad!! Haha.
Pro Tip: don’t drink a double espresso with only leftover salad + an apple for breakfast. You will regret.
But also, once we were boarded onto the ferry, it was AMAZING. Next time I’m in Greece, I’ll probably ferry instead of fly to/from the islands because it’s so much nicer & a really neat way to travel. Felt like luxury! We took a SeaJets ferry, around 43€ per ticket, but got us there in about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Above: a cruise ship. Not our ferry haha!
Below: the inside of the section where we sat. You have assigned seats, like a plane, but you can walk around or get food/coffee, etc. So much fun!
Upon disembarking from our ferry, we found the taxi service our hotel had arranged for us. It was so lovely to just hop in the car, get to see the town as we drove through, and check in to our room. We stayed at Iphemedia, just on the edge of Chora (town). The gal who checked us in was so friendly and helpful (although we were pretty overwhelmed from the trip and probably looked a bit stoic, oops). She gave us a list of places in town and all over the island to check out, and got us settled in our room. Kinsey and I changed and immediately went out to the pool (after almost getting locked out of our room, whoops!). Then we freshened up, and caught a ride into town (our gracious host, Mike, gave us a lift in!).
We ate dinner at Nissaki 1971 while watching the sunset. It was the perfect ending to a fairly stressful (on my part) day. The food was tasty, the beer refreshing, the grapes at the end of the meal a perfect Naxian touch. A local cat even gave our table a visit, and watching the moon rise over the sea calmed me down & reminded me that we’d be just fine. A new island to explore can be nerve-wracking when traveling, but also exciting, and I was ready for this next leg of the trip!
our first view of the harbor and Naxos Chora
eating dinner at Nissaki Restaurant
blue pool towels when in Greece!!
dinner at sunset with Kinsey at the Nissaki Restaurant on St George’s Beach
Day Four: Plaka Beach, Naxos
Since we booked this trip (and possibly before!), Kinsey and I had dreamt of lazy days on the beach. Specifically, on Plaka Beach at Nomad Naxos. It’s literally an Instagrammer’s dream come true, with the white sand, teal water, blue sky and aesthetically pleasing decor! They’ve got a pretty extensive list of cocktails, coffee, and food options… so you should be content, whether you’re there for 2 hours or 2 days!
If you want a beach lounger, be prepared to pay a minimum of 15€ per person. Not that hard to budget for, if you plan to get a drink and a meal!
Evening in Naxos Chora
We watched the sun set over the water and all the tourists up on the hill at the Portara taking photos. Instead of heading straight to dinner, because the restaurant Kinsey found online wasn’t open (!??) we stoped for happy hour drinks (5€!). It was fun to people watch & enjoy the lingering sunset. We wandered up — through the castle ruins and all the markets & shops it houses!— and landed on dinner at Lucullus Taverna. The food was SO GOOD, and the prices were even better! 10/10 recommend this place.
happy hour at “Captain’s” cafe/bar right off the main stretch in Chora Naxos!
Dinner at Lucullus Tavera in the castle area of Naxos Chora. So affordable, great food, amazing servings of wine, and free dessert — yogurt with honey! My very favorite thing :)
Day 5: Exploring Naxos Chora
Kinsey and I walked in to town, and decided to grab breakfast …somewhere! One of the very first spots we happened on, at the edge of town, was Flisvos Sportsclub. They had outdoor seating where one could people watch tourists on the boardwalk, beach, and water. The yogurt with fruit & honey was INCREDIBLE, and I adored our waiter. (We even spotted him in town later that day, after his shift! Such a small world, really.) After the necessary sustenance, we continued on to explore the town!
a favorite view on a pretty restaurant in the old castle area of Naxos!
Lunch at Sergiani Restaurant. As always, TOO MUCH FOOD! 90% of the time, the servings were larger than I expected (or needed). Sharing is caring, apparently, in Greek meals! ;) After lunch, we had a hot & sweaty walk home, another pool hang, and prepped for my evening session with Brittany & Hans!
SIDENOTE: On our first night on Naxos, I did some searching on Instagram to see if I could find any other American or English-speaking tourists in the area, possibly staying the same timeframe as us. One of the local accounts I followed had re-shared a gal named Brittany’s posts, so I made a mental note to message her the next day. Once we got to the beach and hooked up to wifi, I sent her an Instagram message. She actually was hanging out at the same beach spot (Nomads) and walked over to introduce herself! We made plans to connect the next evening for a small photography session of her & Hans, to capture some of the heart of Greek culture!
a preview of the photos I got to do for Hans & Brittany! SO fun to work with them!
We found ourselves, spontaneously, on the edge of the castle ruins, and decided to eat dinner with a view of the sea and sky. Since it was dark, I don’t have any meal photos 😂but trust me that we LOVED the options and service at Taverna Kastro.
Day 6: Beach Day #2 and Saturday Evening at Portara
another beach day- because they don’t have anything like this in Iowa!!!
beach or bar view—- take your pick! both are lovely at Nomads.
our favorite little stray kitten
Shower/nap/freshen up and then back into town for our last evening on the wonderful island of Naxos!
One of our more disappointing experiences (below) was stopping by Honey & Cinnamon Bar. We’d seen it the day prior on our first daytime adventure through the castle area of town, and I thought it was SO cute. However, when we stopped in for a drink on Saturday night, the menu was lacking a list of “signature cocktails”. The waitress misunderstood Kinsey’s order, making for an awkward exchange. The decor is cute, and the crepe was HUGE, but the drinks? Overpriced for what the experience was.
Sunday: Day 7… Travel back to Athens/Home
Kinsey and I originally hoped that Sunday would be our last full day on Naxos, but we realized that none of the flights to the mainland would get us there in time to catch our “big” flight home. So, we took a small flight over midday (from the tiniest airport I’ve EVER seen!) on Sunday and then used that time in “Athens” (which we didn’t see, like, at all) to take our at-home Covid tests and catch up on journals. We stayed at Tina’s Aptmts.
Not the most exciting day, it almost didn’t count as a day abroad, but that is part of the travel experience!
