Holidays in Mikri Vigla, Naxos

Two whole weeks on one Greek island!? Thanks to the enthusiastic recommendations of a friend from Naxos, we were persuaded to spend our whole summer break on the island, and it was a good choice. We spent the first week based in Chora in a small hotel up by the Venetian fortress (the Anixis), and we hired a car for 8 days. The old town and citadel above the touristy harbour front are largely unspoilt, and there is good exploring to be done in the back streets, but don\'t stop there. It is worth hiring a car: there are valleys and villages, tower houses, churches and monasteries in the interior which are worth seeing, and some of the best tavernas are in Halki (Ioannis) and Apiranthos (Leftheri). There are mountains made entirely of marble, and almost everywhere apart from the south west coast, there are beaches with few people: mostly sand, and some with marble pebbles. Naxos is unusual in that in the interior, the valleys are quite green even in the summer compared to some of the very parched smaller islands, with fruit and olive orchards, and small fields. Spend some time exploring the back lanes around Halki on foot: very worthwhile.We wanted then to be somewhere not too developed, so spent the second week in Mikri Vigla, at Coralli Beach Apartments. Once we had no car, we used the local bus service: goes three times a day to Chora and takes an hour approx (half an hour in your own car). But mostly we lazed.Coralli Beach Apts deserves its good reviews: we had a studio, and it was spacious, clean, attractive, well equipped (including wi-fi if you have your own laptop), and had a great view of the sea from its large sheltered balcony. There are no buildings between CBA and the beach. Mario the owner is extremely kind and helpful, as is his father. Our only reservation about Naxos is that it\'s quite windy, but... we\'re not windsurfers, and to be honest it made the temperature really pleasant even in August. Mario says normally the wind drops in September, so that would be my tip: come to the Coralli Beach, and come in September.

Review of traveler: Kristy