The Greek Cycladic island of Naxos is a wonderful vacation spot and incredibly dog-friendly. Most hotels, restaurants, shops, and public areas welcome dogs and there are plenty of things to do with your 4-legged family members!
Other animals in Naxos: You will meet dogs and cats everywhere on the island. All cats we encountered ran from our dog and are generally weary of people, dogs and other cats. Some dogs definetly wanted to start a fight with our dog but only one wouldn't back down and we were lucky that we could pick up our own dog to stop the fight, most however walked away or stood their ground and growled at us. Some dogs are totally scared of people but were very friendly with our dog; so in general, approach with caution. In Athens and throughout the Cycladic islands, it is sometimes difficult to figure out if the dogs on the street are "street dogs" or if they actually belong to someone but are off-leash. It is very common to see dogs on the street with collars and if you watch closely, they tend to linger around a store front (presumably their home). Some can be very protective as in the case of this little old fluffy guy who made sure that everyone knew that this was HIS place.
We meet a great pup at Lemon Cafe (see below) he spent the whole afternoon with us but he wasn't a stray, he was owned by some local fisherman who were docked in Naxos town for the day. This does not mean that Naxos doesn't have a stray animal problem, it does and some people actually set out to poison strays by leaving poison baits out in the street (so we have heard) . As such, do not let your animal consume anything they find in the street!
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Restaurants/Bars in Naxos Town (aka Chora Naxos): We never had any problem at any restaurant with our dog, so its pretty safe to assume all venues are dog friendly. At every restaurant we went to for dinner, we asked the owners to grill us a chicken breast for our dog and serve it in a container we could place on the ground. No one had a problem with this at all and everyone immediately offered a water bowl as well! (If you prefer to buy dog food for your dog, there is a large supermarket just outside of the center about 50 meters plast plaka beach, we strongly recommend it over the pet store in the city center).The list below is in no way complete but some of our favorite places on the island. Also, since we are both lacto-ovo vegetarians, a recommendation for an eatery in any of our posts means that the restaurant has plenty of delicious veggie options.
- Cafe Soulatso located on the roundabout in the center of Naxos Town is the best place for breakfast. Plenty of options and many breakfast combo specials with an excellent atmosphere.
- Lemon Cafe located on the boardwalk is the best place for wireless. Just buy a coffee, connect, and play on the web while facing the waterfront. Another great thing about Greece is that there is really no rush and you can sip your coffee or drink all afternoon (no pressure to keep buying coffee or food).
- Sottovento, located on Plaka Beach in Naxos Town, is a higher class of Italian restaurant. Although the prices are slightly higher than most other places, it is well worth the price with a variety of interesting dishes and a large selection of wine.
- Plaka Beach Bar, located on Plaka Beach in Naxos Town, is a chill beach side bar with an excellent atmosphere directly on the beach and a handful of tasty food options.
Accommodation in Naxos Town: As with most Greek Islands, very few people pre-book/reserve a room in hotel prior to their arrival. The custom is that upon arrival by boat or plane, hotel owners are gathered near the port exit and try to get you to stay at their hotel. In most cases, these people are owners of a house/apartment complex with several rooms that they rent out during the tourist season. Generally they show you pictures of and offer you a price to stay there but with so many other hotel owners around, you can definitely haggle and pick the best option. If you do not want to stay in Naxos Town, though we recommend for your first time that you should, then pre-booking your hotel is suggested.
We stayed at Studios Maria; it was clean, right near the center of Naxos Town, pet-friendly, and very competitively priced. Each room has a fridge, kitchenette (burners, fridge & a sink), private bathroom, TV, AirCon and clean sheets, towels and rooms cleaned daily. If its your first time in Greece you should really stay at a place with a pool and traditional style rooms, but these places will cost you a bit more for the nice atmosphere. For the budget-minded traveller Studios Maria is a nice place to stay and Maria herself is very friendly and helpful and will take you to and from the port by request.
Getting around on Naxos Island: Most people rent vehicles to get around, especially if you plan on visiting the beaches. It is difficult to pre-book because most of the rental agencies are local business with limited internet exposure. The benefit is that you can window shop and haggle for the best price. With our small dog, we opted for a dune buggy (and in the past we have also used a 4-wheeler), both are great, but with a larger dog, most likely a car is your best option. After shopping around, we rented from Mike's Bikes and got a competitive price and a 200 CC dune buggy (tip: if you plan on going off any of the main roads and up any of the mountains opt for 200 or more CCs). When our buggy broke down on the last day of rental, they came to pick us up ASAP and got us back to Naxos Town, no questions asked. Make sure to have a working cell phone with you if you are planning on going outside of the city. Villages are few and far between and the roads are steep!
Hiking in Naxos: Although Naxos has a hilly terrain, there are very few marked paths. After some researching and mapping out a route that was supposed to be signed, we did our best and trekked up a hill/mountain to an abandoned church. The trick is to be aware of whether you are still on a public road/path or on someone's property, which may not be clear until you are at someone's doorstep. Paying a bit extra to get a good map of Naxos when you first arrive is the best idea if you plan to hike Naxos. The quality maps have footpaths outlined but we must admit, you wont find many fellow hikers on your expeditions. Bring plenty of water and sunscreen because its hot and there is almost no shade.
Beaches: Any map of Naxos will have the beaches highlighted on them. The beaches outside of Naxos town, especially north of the city, are secluded and you may very well be the only one on them at any given time. As far as we could tell all the beaches are dog-friendly, as no one complained about our dog on the beach (when other people actually were around). Make sure to bring along a sun umbrella and some drinking water because it gets very hot and there is very little shade. The first and last images below are from Lionas beach, one of our favorites. The ride there is down a very very fun winding road from high up in the mountains to the northern tip of the island. The other two images are from Amitis beach very close to Naxos town, but remote enough that for most of the day we were alone. The drive from the main road to the beach is super quaint as you pass by small local farms. The beaches on the West side of the island are easier to get to and more visited but are also incredibly windy (at least in September when we were there) so we would advise to stick to the north and east and if you feel like being social, the beaches right by Naxos town.
These beaches also have small towns nearby and they usually have a cafe or restaurant.
Tourist Attractions
- Cave of Zeus: The Cave of Zeus is a tourist spot that is not frequented by many people because is it somewhat difficult to reach (half of the journey is on a path, however, the rest is climbing on rocks). You don't need climbing gear but a good paid of shoes is recommended. Our dog had no problem navigating the hilly terrain but we did, make sure to bring water and sunscreen. The hike takes 1-2 hours round trip after a 20 minute drive from the nearest village so make sure to leave plenty of time before sundown before you start.
The Tower of Aghia: This Tower is an interesting tourist site that is on the road to most of the beaches in the north (and if you plan on driving along the coast).
Town of Chalki (a.k.a. Halki or Chalkio): This is a very quaint town near the center of the island with excellent cafes and a wonderful atmosphere. Great for a lunch stop on your trip. Specifically the Dolce Vita cafe (sign shown below) had some of the best coffee, zucchini pie, and dessert on the island.
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Getting there: We flew Lufthansa from Toronto via Frankfurt to Athens with our 8kg dog in the cabin (September 2009). We then took a train and then the metro to the port of Piraeus in Athens. Dogs are definitely allowed on the train, but we had conflicting information whether or not they were allowed on the Athens metro. As we had our dog in his travel case we felt confident taking the metro but we are not sure whether it would be possible to do with a bigger dog. From Piraeus we took a ferry boat to the port of Naxos. Our dog was allowed to be with us the entire time on the boat and there was no extra charge for him. Allow at least 3 hours from the airport to the port.
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