Paros has over 50 beaches, ranging from organised resort strips to wild coves accessible only on foot or by small boat. Staying at Antiparos Houses puts you 10 minutes from Agios Georgios beach and just 20 minutes by ferry from Parikia — from there, Paros' best beaches are all within 30 minutes by car or scooter. The range is remarkable: you can swim in sheltered granite pools in the morning, watch world-class windsurfers in the afternoon, and end the day at a harbour taverna in a sleepy fishing village. Here's our honest ranking of where to go and when.
Kolymbithres ★★★★★
The most distinctive beach in the Cyclades, and arguably in all of Greece. Wind and sea have sculpted the granite headland into surreal rounded boulders — smooth, enormous, almost alien — that divide the bay into sheltered natural pools of turquoise water. No photograph quite prepares you for it. You round a bend in the road and suddenly there it is: this other-worldly landscape of grey granite and luminous blue, 4km from Naoussa.
There are three small coves separated by rock formations; the middle one has a beach bar and sunbeds for hire, while the outer coves are quieter and largely free. The water is shallow between the boulders, which makes it excellent for children and nervous swimmers — you're wading in warm, crystal-clear pools rather than open sea. The snorkelling around the rock formations is some of the best on Paros.
Arrive before 10am in July and August — by noon the parking is full and every sunbed taken. Reached by car (limited parking along the road) or by water taxi from Naoussa port (around €5 return, boats run all day from 9am). The water taxi is the better option in peak season: it drops you directly at the beach and saves the parking headache.
Monastiri
Inside the protected Paros Park nature reserve, Monastiri is the antidote to Kolymbithres: no sunbeds, no beach bar, no crowds — or relatively few. A long sandy beach backed by dunes and low scrubby hills, with the ruins of a Byzantine monastery on the headland above. The water is shallow, calm, and a deep shade of blue that feels almost unreal against the pale sand.
This is a beach for people who want to feel like they've found something. Go before 9am to have it almost entirely to yourself, bring your own water and shade (there is nothing on site), and plan to stay a while. The Paros Park coastal trail runs from here along the headland — it's worth combining a morning swim with a short hike for views over the northern coastline that most visitors never see.
Golden Beach (Chryssi Akti)
On the eastern coast, this 700-metre stretch of golden sand is the windsurfing and kitesurfing capital of the Cyclades — and has been for decades. The meltemi, the strong north wind that sweeps down from July onward, hits the eastern coast at an angle that creates near-perfect conditions for board sports. The Professional Windsurfer Association held its world championship here, and several watersports schools operate on the beach through the summer.
Full facilities: showers, sun loungers, several tavernas and beach bars, a watersports school with equipment hire. The honest caveat: on a full meltemi day, the waves get choppy and it's not ideal for families with young children who just want to paddle. But for watching elite windsurfers carve through the water at speed, or for learning the sport yourself under experienced instruction, it is unbeatable. Book a lesson at least a day ahead in August.
Santa Maria
Paros' best family beach, and one of the most consistently pleasant on the island. The sand is fine and pale, the water shallow with a sandy bottom for a long way out, and the beach is organised without being overcrowded — there's space to spread out even in high season. The northern section near the headland is noticeably quieter than the main beach and worth the extra five-minute walk.
Several good tavernas sit in the small village immediately behind the beach, and the service is genuinely friendly rather than tourist-factory efficient. 7km from Naoussa, easily reached by car or scooter. Santa Maria is our recommendation for anyone travelling with children under ten — the calm water and shallow gradient make for an easy, relaxed day.
Logaras & Piso Livadi
Two adjacent beaches on the east coast, sheltered from the meltemi by the shape of the coastline. Where Golden Beach gets choppy in the afternoon wind, Logaras and Piso Livadi stay calm and warm — the water here feels almost Mediterranean in its stillness, even in the middle of August. Both beaches are sandy, lightly organised, and pleasantly unhurried.
Piso Livadi has the added bonus of a pretty little fishing harbour right behind the beach, with a handful of fish tavernas serving whatever came off the boats that morning. The combination of a late-afternoon swim at Logaras followed by dinner at a harbourside table in Piso Livadi — watching the sun drop behind the Antiparos hills — is one of the better evenings you can have on this island.
The meltemi blows from the north from mid-July through August, sometimes strongly. Beaches on the south and east coasts — Golden Beach, Logaras, Piso Livadi — are calmer on high-wind days, while the north-facing beaches (Santa Maria) can get rough. From Antiparos Houses, add 10 minutes for the ferry crossing to Parikia, then drive. A scooter or small hire car is essential — the bus service covers the main routes but on schedules that don't suit a beach day. Most of the beaches above are 25–40 minutes from Parikia port by car. Parking at Kolymbithres fills by 10am in peak season; everywhere else is manageable.