Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Plane -- Olympic Airways (tel. 210/966-6666 or 210/936-9111; www.olympic-airways.gr) has at least two flights daily between Paros and Athens; in Parikia, call tel. 22840/21-900 for flight information.

By Boat -- Paros has more connections with more ports than any other island in the Cyclades. The main port, Parikia, has connections at least once daily with Piraeus by ferry (5-6 hr.) and high-speed ferry (3-4 hr.). Confirm schedules with the Athens GNTO (tel. 210/327-1300 or 210/331-0562) or Piraeus Port Authority (tel. 210/926-9111). Boats are notoriously late and/or early; your travel or ticket agent will give you an estimate of times involved in the following journeys. Remember: That's estimate, as in guesstimate. Daily ferry and hydrofoil service links Parikia with Ios, Mykonos, Santorini, and Tinos. Several times a week, boats depart for Folegandros, Sifnos, and Siros. There are daily excursion tours from Parikia or Naoussa (the north-coast port) to Mykonos. The high-speed services usually take half as long and cost twice as much as the slower ferries. There's also overnight service to Ikaria and Samos several times a week. (From Samos you can often arrange a next-day excursion to Ephesus, Turkey.) In high season, there's hourly caique service to Andiparos from Parikia and Pounda, a small port 6km (4 miles) south of Parikia, with regular connection by bus. The east-coast port of Piso Livadi is the point of departure for travelers heading to the "Little Cyclades." Ferries depart four times weekly for Heraklia, Schinoussa, Koufonissi, and Katapola.

For general ferry information, Santorineos Travel in Parikia (tel. 22840/24-245) is excellent, or try the port authority (tel. 22840/21-240). Many agents around Mavroyenous Square and along the port sell ferry tickets; schedules are posted along the sidewalk.

Visitor Information

There is a visitor information office on Mavroyenous Square, just behind and to the right of the windmill at the end of the pier. This office is often closed, but there are numerous travel agencies on the seafront, including Santorineos Travel (tel. 22840/24-245; fax 22840/23-922; santorineos@travelling.gr) and Parikia Tours (tel. 22840/222-470). The municipality information office in the Parikia town hall can be reached at tel. 22840/22-078. The island has a number of helpful websites, including www.parosweb.com and www.paroslife.com. The monthly English-language newspaper Paros Life (2€) is very useful.

American Students Here? -- The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts (www.aegeancenter.org) offers courses in painting, photography, music, creative writing, and other artistic endeavors, including two 3-month sessions. You'll see the mostly teen and 20-something students all over Parikia and out on the island.

Getting Around

By Bus -- The bus station (tel. 22840/21-395) in Parikia is on the waterfront, left from the windmill. There is often hourly service between Parikia and Naoussa from 8am to midnight in high season. The other buses from Parikia run frequently from 8am to 9pm in two general directions: south to Aliki or Pounda, and southeast to the beaches at Piso Livadi, Chrissi Akti, and Drios, passing the Marathi Quarries and the town of Lefkes along the way. Schedules (not always up-to-date) are posted at the stations.

By Car & Moped -- Paros is large enough that renting a car makes sense. There are many agencies along the waterfront, and except in July and August, you should be able to bargain. Iria Cars and Bikes (tel. 22840/21-232) and Santorineos Travel (tel. 22840/24-245) get praise from travelers. Expect to pay from 50€ per day for a car and from 20€ per day for a moped. Be sure to get full insurance and check the brakes.

By Taxi -- Taxis can be booked (tel. 22840/21-500) or hailed at the windmill taxi stand. Taxi fare to Naoussa with luggage should run about 12€. Be sure to agree on a fare before you set out.

Fast Facts

The American Express agent is Santorineos Travel, on the seafront 100m (328 ft.) south of the pier (tel. 22840/24-245; fax 22840/23-922; santorineos@travelling.gr). There are five banks with ATMs in Parikia on Mavroyenous Square, and one in Naoussa; their hours are Monday through Thursday from 8am to 2pm, and Friday from 8am to 1:30pm. The private Medical Center of Paros (tel. 22840/24-410) is to the north of the pier, across from the post office; the public Parikia Health Clinic (tel. 22840/22-500) is on the central square, down the road from the Ekatondapiliani Cathedral. Internet access is available on the Wired Network (www.parosweb.com) at eight locations around the island; you can buy a "smart card" that stores your personal settings and provides access at any of these locations for about 6€ per hour. The main Wired Network location -- often noisy and crowded -- is in Parikia on Market Street (tel. 22840/22-003). Cyber Cookies (tel. 22840/21-610), just past the square with the ficus tree and Distrato Cafe on the nameless street that runs from the cathedral into Market Street, is much nicer and charges nothing for Internet use when you eat there. That said, much of Paraika now has Wi-Fi.

The Laundry House is on the paralia (shore road) near the post office (tel. 22840/24-898). For the Paraikia police, call tel. 22840/23-333; in Naoussa, call tel. 22840/51-202. The post office in Parikia (tel. 22840/21-236) is left of the windmill on the waterfront road, open Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 2pm, with extended hours in July and August. Parikia's telephone office (OTE; tel. 22840/22-135) is just to the right of the windmill; it's usually open daily in summer from 7:30am to 2pm. (If the front door is closed, go around to the back, as wind direction determines which door is open.) A branch in Naoussa has similar hours. It is much easier to make a phone call with a phone card, on sale at almost all kiosks.

Check Your Calendar -- The Feast of the Dormition of the Virgin (Aug 15) is one of the most important religious holidays in Greece -- and the most important, after Easter, in Paros. Pilgrims come here from throughout the Cyclades to attend services at the Panagia Ekatondapiliani, which is dedicated to the Virgin. If you come here then, make reservations well in advance, or you will probably find yourself sleeping rough. And on the subject of dates: If you want to visit Paros to see its famous butterflies, remember that they come here in May and June.