Greece

Paros Island

This super little island in the Cyclades is not far from Mykonos – in fact Paros doesn’t have direct flights, so we fly to Mykonos and transfer to the island by hydrofoil.

Paros is everything you’d expect a Greek island to be – you’ll find white sugar-cube villages such as Marpissa and Lefkes and pretty fishing ports like Piso Livadi. The ubiquitous windmills can be found here too and their presence tells you just how good the island is for windsurfing!

Paros is also recognised as having some of the best beaches in Greece, and Chrissi Akti – or Golden Beach – is top of everyone’s list. No surprise that this is our choice for a new Friendship houseparty – just 50 yards or so from that golden sand! Other good beaches – though you may never leave our own – include Kolymbithres, which has strange rock formations, Agia Irini and Pounda.

Aeolos Villa at Poseidon

A Friendship Houseparty

This new find on the island of Paros enables us to create a completely new holiday for Friendship Travel.

Imagine a Friendship Houseparty in our usual laid-back style – but with all the services of a 4-star hotel on hand and the warm, golden sands of a superb beach just 50 yards from your sunbed!

'Only 50 metres from a great beach - this is a hotel for beach lover' - Colum, Managing Director - Friendship Travel

The Aeolos is a self-contained little complex set about 300 metres from its sister hotel, the Poseidon of Paros. They both sit at the east end of sweeping Golden Beach on the south-east coast of Paros.

We are taking over the Aeolos on an exclusive basis, so that we can create a Friendship Travel Houseparty with style! The Aeolos, which was completed in 2005, has its own lovely pool, with a Jacuzzi, and its own pool bar where breakfast will be taken – as well as a resident Friendship Travel host.

The accommodation style is typically Cycladic – low-rise pastel-washed buildings with touches of blue to the balconies and gazebos. There are cool tiled floors and traditionally furnished rooms.

Rooms vary in size and are of good three-star standard: prices are based on a Standard Studio with garden view, with supplements payable for sea view studios, and for larger Apartments and more luxurious Junior Suites. All rooms have a tiny kitchenette with fridge.

Next-door, on the Cape of Choni at the head of the beach is the Poseidon. All the services of this small four-star hotel are ours to enjoy from the waiter service in the restaurant – where we will take dinner – to the pool bar, the floodlit tennis court, gym and spa. The large lawns overlooking the beach even have room for a heli-pad.

On the sandy, curving beach itself you’ll find a couple of beach bars and tavernas, plenty ofsun-beds and umbrellas for hire, with local operators offering windsurfing, scuba-diving, water-skiing and wake-boarding. Horse riding is also available in the area.

On the two nights when dinneris not included, you’ll find an Italian restaurant only a few minutes’ walk away, or a good choice of restaurants and bars in the fishing village of Pisso Livadi a 10-minute taxi-ride away. The bright lights of Naoussa – the island’s main tourist centre – are 20-minutes away. Your Friendship host can set up a range of excursions and activities on request – see page 27 for ideas.

Our Paros paradise is perfect if you are looking to chill out on the beach or by the pool – this laid-back island is a little gem.

The island’s history stretches back beyond the Crusaders to the ancient Greeks of legend, famous once for its quarries of fine, white marble. Parikia, on the north-west of the island, is the commercial and cultural capital of the island, a bustling ferry port guarded by a medieval castle perched on a rock. Inter-island ships connect with Athens as well as the other islands, while the main square with its ancient church is the centre of the old town. In the north, the pretty port of Naoussa also has a good choice of shops and some excellent clubs.

Although Paros has its fair share of visitors, the island is more low-key than either Mykonos or Rhodes, particularly during our late season weeks. So if you would like to drop out of the rat race, chill out in the sun and lay back on these golden sands… Paros is perfect!

Prices in £ sterling including flights