In this list of the best beaches in Paros, we’re going to cover all of the best places to enjoy the sun, sea, and sand while visiting the island of Paros, Greece.
Paros is one of the most beautiful islands in the Cycladic Island group. Compared to others in the region like Mykonos and Santorini, it receives a fraction of visitors, so you are almost always able to find a slice of sand to yourself, even in the peak summer season.
And while many visitors enjoy the beach club life in neighboring Naxos, Paros has bar far better beaches (and maybe even better beach clubs!).
The waters of Paros are calm for swimming. For the most part, the sand is soft and fine with only a few beaches made of small pebbles.
Ferries to Paros
There are ferries several times per day between Paros and Naxos, Mykonos, and Athens. You can check all ferry times and pre-book your tickets (a must during the peak summer season) on Ferry Hopper here.
How to Get Around to the Best Beaches in Paros
Paros is a very easy island to navigate around.
There is a really great bus network which operates to the main beaches in Paros as well as some of the most beautiful tucked away villages, too.
Depending on where you are staying, the best-connected bus stations are located in the main town of Parikia as well as in Naousa.
You can check the bus schedule and prices on the official KTEL website here. Note that the dates for the bus schedule are written day/month/year.
If you want to have a little bit more flexibility with your schedule and be able to visit the best beaches in Paros anytime you want, you’ll want to rent a vehicle.
Cars are perfectly easy to drive around the island, but it’s easier to park (and more fun to drive) a quad bike. They are cheaper to rent as well as being more readily available if you didn’t pre-book something before arriving on the island. You can check rental car and bike prices on Rentalcars.com here.
Please note that if you do not have a European driver’s License (so Australian, American, Canadian, etc), you will need to have an international driver’s permit to drive any type of vehicle in Greece. In the US, you can get this at any AAA location.
Parking at the beaches in Paros is free and most of the larger beaches have designated parking areas. Those that don’t have few, if any rules about simply parking on the side of the road.
Meltemi Winds in Paros
If you’ve never heard of the Meltemi Winds, fear not, most first-time visitors to the Cycladic Islands haven’t heard of it before.
It’s the wind that will ruin your beach days but will also make the island feel so much cooler than summer days in Athens.
The ancient Greeks called this the Etesian northerly wind. Etesian comes from the Greek word etos which means year as this wind without fail, arrives every year.
It results each year from high pressure over the Balkans and relatively low pressure over Turkey. It is very strong and can start with absolutely no warning at all (and leave the same way).
Unfortunately, the Meltemi tends to be at its strongest in July and August, though it’s possible that it can arrive any time between May and October.
This wind is felt most strongly in Paros, Naxos, Santorini, Amorgos, and Ios.
This, of course, will affect your visits to the different beaches in Paros and is something to keep an eye on.
During my most recent trip to the island, my weather app (the one that comes with an iPhone) showed me how many days it was going to be around and at what time of day the wind would be strongest.
The Absolute Best Beaches in Paros, Greece
The beaches are listed not necessarily in order of the best beaches in Paros. Instead, they are in a list going clockwise from the main town of Parikia in Paros (the location of the port in Paros) around the island’s coast.
This way you can mark a route on your Google Maps and hit up the best of the beaches as you circumnavigate the island. Click on the Google Maps link beneath each description to see its location and mark it on your Google Maps App and easily find the best places while you are traveling.
Parikia Beach.
1. Parikia Beach
Best beach in Paros for convenience.
Located just on the edge of Parikia town, so close to the port you can watch ferries come and go while you swim in the Aegean, this is one of the best beaches in Paros if you are staying in Parikia and don’t want to travel anywhere.
It starts off being called Livadia Beach and leads into Parikia Beach, but they are in the exact same bay so really it’s the same stretch of sand.
You can walk here from anywhere in Parikia and it so long enough that there are plenty of places to relax for free. There are also a few small vendors and beach clubs where you can pay a fee (usually about €10 for two people) to rent an umbrella and two chairs.
The biggest downside of this beach is that it backs straight onto one of the busiest roads on the island and walking to and from it can be a pain. It’s also not particularly relaxing to lay on the beach and strain to hear the sound of the waves over the sound of motorbikes whizzing past.
That being said, if you walk all the way to the far side of this beach, you can get away from the road and noise and it’s stunning.
See the location on Google Maps here.
Ferry times to Krios and Martselo.
2. Krios and Marcelo Beach
Best beach in Paros for convenience and families based in Parikia.
Located just around the headlands from Parikia, Krios and Marcelo feel a world away. The beach is also sometimes spelled Martselo or Marchello depending on the sign and translation from the Greek alphabet.
If you don’t have a car, you can take a ferry from the port in Parikia to these beaches for €8 round trip. However, the road there is pretty easy to navigate and there is plenty of parking along the road.
This bay is still close enough to town that it takes only a few minutes to get there, even if you opt to take the ferry. This means that it is usually quite busy.
Get here early to claim a spot on the sand or grab a chair at Pedro Beach Resto. They have comfortable chairs on the sand, nice cocktail options, and pretty good food. Two sun beds and an umbrella cost €15 here.
See the location of Krios and Marcelo on Google Maps here.
View of Kolympethres from the Mycenaean Ruins.
3. Kolympethres Beach
Best beach in Paros for water sports and easy swimming.
This is a really popular beach in Paros for boats to come and park up in the bay.
It is a great place to come if you want to do some paddle boarding or rent a little paddleboat. They even had paddleboats that have a slide on the back so you can have some fun when you paddle out to slightly deeper water. They also have banana boat rides here.
Kolympethres Beach is a great place for families to come because the water is so calm and really shallow. You can walk for 50 meters or so without the water coming up over your waist in some places.
The Anemos Beach Club is the main beach club here, but there are a few smaller bars along the beach as well that may have chairs for cheaper depending on the day of the week and time of year (earlier and later in the season tends to be cheaper than July and August).
If you want some adventure while you’re in the area, hike up to the Mycenaean Acropolis on the top of the nearby rocks. There isn’t much left to see up there, but it’s a short hike and the views back over the bay are some of the best available on the island. Follow the cairns (rock piles) for the best route.
See the location of Kolympethres on Google Maps here.
Paros coastal road.
4. Monastiri Beach and Monastiri Beach Club
Best beach in Paros for a luxury beach club experience.
The road that leads to this little beach is well worth driving simply to enjoy the views. If you like hiking and it’s not too hot, there are some fantastic trails all along this peninsula.
Many of them link up so you can have a full day of walking through the hills here. Check the map when you first enter the area to see all of the trails.
The beach is made up almost entirely of the Monastriri Beach Club. If you arrive early enough, you can find some free spaces at the furthest point from the parking lot to the north side of the beach.
However, the main reason to come here and what makes it one of the best beaches in Paros is the luxurious beach club here.
They have a lounge area where you can sit in comfort on the sand and relax while making relays to the sea to cool off. They have a restaurant where you can head in and dine at a table on their seriously great menu.
They have two bars and valet parking (although if you are indulging in the two bars, you may want to have them call you a taxi instead!).
You will want to make a reservation if you are visiting on the weekend or really at any time in late July through all of August. You can do so by calling them directly on this number: +3022840 53560 or through their website here.
See the location of the beach club on Google Maps here.
Piperi Beach, Naousa.
5. Piperi Beach
Best beach in Paros for proximity to Naousa.
Piperi Beach is the best beach in Paros if you are staying in Naousa and you don’t want to get on the bus or hop in the car.
But it’s not just a great beach because it’s a 5-minute walk from downtown Naousa, it’s also just a really nice beach.
It’s small, there are no beach clubs so there is plenty of space to lay your towel down on the sand. There are some medium-sized waves which is rare on the island and fun to swim in.
There are trees that line the back of the beach area so there is also plenty of built-in shade for when the sun starts to feel a little bit too hot.
Overall, this is probably one of my favorite beaches in Paros because of its ease and accessibility. When you get hungry, you can simply walk back to town and grab lunch, then head back to the beach afterward to swim some more.
See the location of Piperi on Google Maps here.
6. Agios Stefanos Beach
As you drive from Naousa to Santa Maria, there are several beaches along the way. Many of them are right off of the main road which makes them easy to get to, but also quite crowded and noisy from the traffic on the road.
However, if you take a turn off the main road towards Santa Maria, just after making that turn, you’ll pass what looks like a little peninsula on your left. Find a place to park along the side of the road and head over to this little slice of double-sided sand called Agios Stefanos Beach.
The water is calm, the sand is clean and soft. This is a great place to relax, to cool off in the shallow water, or to launch off onto a paddleboard or kayak.
The beach to the south is a popular windsurfing spot, but at Agios Stefanos you are slightly sheltered from the wind. Very few people stop here for some reason, but I personally think it is well worth visiting over the incredibly crowded Santa Maria further up the road.
See the location of Agios Stefanos here.
Coastal views in Paros.
7. Santa Maria Beach
Best beach in Paros for water sports.
The main area in Santa Maria Beach is incredibly busy during the peak summer months, but the bay continues on up the road. If you have a car or motorbike, I highly recommend continuing up the road, past the main parking lot, and grabbing a spot along the sand around here.
If you are traveling by bus, the bus will drop you off right outside of the main beach parking lot and you can easily walk in.
One of the big draws to Santa Maria Beach is that the water is incredibly calm for swimming, the sand is soft and golden, and there are also several beach clubs here to relax and enjoy an entire day of eating and drinking.
Along this beach, you’ll also find places to get a massage as well as paddleboard rentals, snorkel rentals, and a dive shop if you want to get out scuba diving while you’re visiting Paros. This is one of the best places to head off for diving on the island.
See the location of Santa Maria here.
Lefkes town, Paros.
8. Apros Gremos Beach
Best beach in Paros for peace and quiet.
This little slice of sand is perhaps my pick for top beaches in Paros. If you have your own mode of transportation, head for a seafood lunch at nearby Christiana, and then drive north along the coastal road.
That road itself is worth the visit because the coastline here is truly spectacular. However, this little beach that sits along the craggy cliffside is protected a little bit from the wind and you will likely have it completely to yourself.
Bring a towel, plenty of water, some snacks, and some goggles so that you can see all of the underwater life right from shore. It’s truly a slice of Paros paradise.
See the location of Apros Gremos here.
9. Kalogeros Beach
Best beach in Paros for a free spa day.
This beach is home not only to stunning views and a bit of shelter from the wind, but healing mud that will make your skin feel incredible after rubbing it on your skin.
Kalogeros is quite a small beach in Paros, but if you want to have some fun rolling in that healing mud and swimming in the crystal clear waters here, it’s well worth a visit.
The mud is close to the rocks at the sides of the beach. If there are other people there, you will likely see where some people have added water to the rocks in order to loosen the mud. Then you simply rub it on your arms and legs and after a few minutes rinse it off in the sea.
There are no shops or beach clubs here, but you are close enough to the town of Marpissa or the beach to the north called Molos Beach if you need something to eat.
See the location of Kalogeros here.
Piso Livadi Beach.
10. Piso Livadi Beach
Best beach in Paros for seafood lunch.
This is the place to come in Paros for the best seafood on the island. The town of Piso Livadi is almost as small as the beach, but the sand is soft and golden and the water is incredibly calm. There is also a ton of shade available thanks to the trees that line the beach.
Once you get hungry, you can simply walk two minutes to the port side of the beach and grab lunch at one of the seafood restaurants that lines the docks.
For the best around, grab a seat at Ouzeri Halaris. The seafood dishes here are exceptional and the staff couldn’t be nicer.
The nice thing about this beach is that you have complete access to the town in which the beach sits in. Most of the beaches in Paros are quite far from shops but this one is right next to them. Anytime you want a soda, an ice cream, or a plate of sardines, they are mere minutes from your towel.
See the location of Piso Livadi on Google here.
The best restaurant in Piso Livadi.
11. Logaras Beach
Best beach in Paros for relaxing all day.
Logaras Beach is just a few minute’s drive south of Piso Livadi. If you wanted to enjoy the seafood in Piso Livadi, but want a better beach than the one located right in the town, this is where you should head.
Logaras has several really fantastic beach clubs with perhaps some of the best food you can get while sitting directly on the beach in all of Paros.
Fisilanis is my personal favorite, but if you just want a great spot for drinks and day beds, Cactus and Magoo are good options, too.
See the location of Logaras on Google Maps here.
Golden Beach, Paros.
12. Golden Beach
Best beach in Paros for size and space available.
Golden beach is one of the top beaches in Paros because it is also one of the biggest beaches in Paros.
There are so many different places along the beach to find space and get away from the crowds. There are also tons of beach clubs, places to rent water sports equipment, and is one of the few beaches in Paros with lifeguards.
This is the sort of beach where you can spend the entire day swimming, beach bar hopping, relaxing on a lounge bed, and then hopping on the bus back to your hotel in the evening.
During days when the Meltemi winds are particularly strong, you may want to avoid heading here. The sand is, as the name suggests, very golden and also very fine. That means you’ll be fishing it out of your eyes, ears, and mouth all day if it’s too windy.
See the location of Golden Beach on Google here.
Tripiti Beach, Paros.
13. Glifa and Tripiti Beach
Best beaches in Paros for calm waters and to escape the wind.
I put these two together because they are both along the same dirt road and can easily be visited in the same afternoon.
The waters on these two small beaches are so calm, so crystal clear. It’s a great place to head with a snorkel set.
They are also a little bit out of the way, a little bit off the main road, so they tend to be pretty quiet compared to other beaches in Paros.
There is some shade thanks to a few trees, with slightly more shade available at Tripiti Beach.
If you are driving from north of the beach, be sure to stop at this little church and viewpoint. It is without a doubt one of the best viewpoints on the island offering views back over Naxos.
See the location of Glifa here and Tripiti here.
14. Aliki Beach
Best beach in Paros on windy days.
This is a great option for really windy days or for those that don’t like sand. The beach is made mostly of stones and small pebbles. There are some parts of the beach with flat sand, but it is not soft sand that will blow easily in the wind.
It’s located in the little fishing village of Aliki and it is just a really nice place to spend some time. There are a few shops, some restaurants, and this little beach.
It’s perhaps not the most beautiful beach in Paros, but that’s part of the appeal. There are fewer people here, the village feels quite remote despite being just a few minutes from the main road.
If you get hungry, stop in at To Balcony tou Aki for a wonderful meal. The seafood is fantastic here as well as the traditional Greek dishes on offer.
See the location of Aliki on Google Maps here.
Beaches in Paros.
15. Parasporos Beach
Best beach in Paros if you’re staying in Parikia.
A quick bus ride from the town of Parikia, Parasporos is one of the top beaches in Paros.
The bay at Parasporos makes the water incredibly calm. There are plenty of places to set up a towel and it never gets overly busy despite its proximity to the downtown.
The Parasporos Beach Club is one of the best options for relaxing on the beach or simply having lunch in the shade at one of their beachside tables. For nice cocktails and healthy food options, try Zazala Beach Bar & Restaurant.