Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Naxos

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Beaches

A dog on a lead can go onto any unorganised beach and into the sea. Organised beaches admit dogs only where the operator puts up a sign allowing them, and Blue Flag beaches are a no. On Naxos that means Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios and Agia Anna, the three Blue Flag beaches, all close to town. Plaka runs for several kilometres south of Agia Anna, is only partly organised, with long stretches that have no sunbeds, and further south Mikri Vigla, Kastraki, Aliko and Agiassos are quieter again. If you're staying at Agios Prokopios or Agia Anna, walk the quieter ends or head south to Plaka.

Hotel terms

Laguna Coast Resort, 18 Grapes Hotel and Naxos Cave Suites all take dogs, and none publishes a weight limit, a fee, a number of dogs or where the dog can go. Ask all four questions by email before you pay. Medusa Suites on Plaka beach has closed permanently and can't be booked.

Ferries

Blue Star Ferries has kennels, a limited number of pet cabins and the open deck, where dogs must be muzzled and on a lead, and dogs don't go into the lounges, bars or restaurants. Seajets' fast boats are mostly enclosed, so a dog under 10 kg goes in a carrier and bigger dogs go in the kennels. Every dog needs its own ticket, which is free, declared when you book, and the pet cabins go first.

Getting around

KTEL Naxos runs buses every half hour from the port to Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna and Plaka, and out to Halki, Filoti and Apiranthos, but it doesn't publish a rule on dogs. Plan on a small dog in a carrier and ask at the ticket office by the port, where you buy tickets before boarding. A hire car is the easy answer with a bigger dog.

The Portara

The marble doorway of the Temple of Apollo stands on the Palatia islet, joined to the harbour by a paved causeway. It's free, fenced to protect the marble and open at all hours, so a walk out with a dog at sunrise is easy. At sunset in July and August it's crowded.

Getting there

Olympic Air and Sky Express fly Athens to Naxos on small turboprops. A dog up to 8 kg with its carrier flies in the cabin for EUR 35, and bigger dogs can go in the hold on the ATRs, up to 25 kg with the crate on Sky Express. No airline flies a pet dog into the UK in the cabin, so the ferry from Piraeus and a flight from Athens is the usual route.

Heat

Summer averages around 26 degrees, and the meltemi wind makes it feel cooler than it is, which is exactly when a dog overheats. Beach sand and the harbour paving burn by midday in July and August, so walk before 9am and after 8pm and carry water. The marble paving in Chora holds the heat into the evening.

Vets

Naxos Vet Center at Loukaiki, near Naxos Town, is run by Christos Rozos and Markella Karousi, on +30 22853 01653. It's open Monday to Saturday mornings 9am to 2.30pm and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings 6pm to 9pm, with hospitalisation on site and emergencies seen first. Efstathios Pittaras in Naxos Town is on +30 22850 24664. There's no 24-hour animal hospital on the island.

Best walks

The causeway out to the Portara at sunrise, the Stelida headland and its lagoon edge near the hotels, then the harbour front and the lanes up to the Kastro in Naxos Town. For sand, the long unorganised stretches of Plaka and Mikri Vigla, the sheltered bay at Sahara behind Mikri Vigla, and the wild cedar dunes at Aliko in the south. Agiassos in the south west and Abram in the north east are quieter still. Inland, the Tragea valley around Halki and Filoti, by car, where the cooler air makes the mountain villages the best summer walk on the island.

When to go

May, June, September and October. The sea is warm enough to swim from June, the island is quiet and the sand is cool enough to walk on. July and August bring the heat, crowded ferries and organised beaches full to the edge, and the Blue Flag beaches near town are a no for dogs through the season. From November to March the wind and rain come in and many places close, though the beaches are empty. Most hotels close from November to March or April, and 18 Grapes opens from 4 April to 2 November, so check dates for a shoulder-season trip.