Antiparos travel guide: beaches, boat trips and getting there

Getting to Antiparos via Paros, which beach for which day, the cave and a boat trip to Despotiko. Plus where to stay: The Rooster.

The car ferry from Pounta takes about seven minutes to reach Antiparos. It docks in the main village, opposite the white church of Agia Marina. The lanes of Chora start just behind the harbour, with two beaches within a ten-minute walk.

Stay in the village and you can explore on foot. At The Rooster, above Livadia Bay on the west coast, you’ll want to think about transport before you arrive. This guide helps you choose: how to get here, four very different beaches, a boat trip to Despotiko and two places to eat.

Getting to Antiparos: which ferry?

Every route goes via Paros. Flights from Athens take about 45 minutes and land in the south-east of the island; ferries from Piraeus and Rafina come into Parikia, the main port. Which of the two crossings to Antiparos suits you depends on where you arrive and whether you’re bringing a car.

• Car ferry from Pounta, on the west coast of Paros: every day, all year round. Tickets are sold on board only, cash or card, and you can’t book ahead. With a car or motorbike, you drive on first and pay once you’re aboard. KTEL Paros buses run to Pounta from Parikia, where the bus station is right by the port.
• Passenger boat from Parikia: summer only, foot passengers only, about 30 minutes straight into Antiparos harbour. The easiest option if you arrive in Parikia by ferry without a car.

Buses connect the airport with Parikia; check the timetable against your arrival time. The ride takes about 30 minutes, and from Parikia you carry on by boat, or by bus to Pounta. A taxi will take you straight to Pounta. Times change with the season; you’ll find current timetables on Antiparos Ferries and KTEL Paros.

Do you need a car on Antiparos?

Not for the main village and its beaches. In the village, make time for the castle, built by the Venetian Leonardo Loredan after 1440 to keep pirates out. It has no wall of its own: the backs of tall houses form its outer sides. Psaraliki and Sifneiko are within walking distance, and buses run from the harbour to the cave and to Agios Georgios. The whole island is just 38 square kilometres, and 13 waymarked trails follow old donkey tracks and farm roads to wetlands, olive groves and abandoned mines.

The west coast is another story. Livadia is a 15-minute drive from the village, and so is Soros on the south coast. If you’re staying out there and want a different cove every day, hire a car and bring it over on the car ferry.

Which beach suits your day?

In summer, the meltemi, the strong north wind of the Aegean, usually decides which beach is right for the day. Four beaches for four kinds of day:

• Psaraliki, for families and your first day: two beaches ten minutes’ walk from the village, with shallow water, coarse sand, shade under the trees and a café on the first. The second is a shallow, sandy bay that suits families, and The Rooster teaches beginners to water-ski and wakesurf here. When the wind picks up, the first beach belongs to the windsurfers.
• Sifneiko, for the evening: a cobbled path takes you from the village to this west-facing sandy beach in ten minutes, with Sifnos across the water. Trees give shade and there are no sunbeds, but two bars and a raised viewpoint with benches make it a good spot for sunset. The bay is exposed to the wind, so save it for a calm day.
• Agios Georgios, for calm water: a small sandy beach on the sheltered south-west coast, about 11 km from the village, with shallow water, a few umbrellas and sunbeds, and a beach bar. The bus comes out here, fish tavernas are a short walk away, and boats for Despotiko leave from the jetty.
• Livadia, for wind and waves: the bay below The Rooster is open to the north-west. When the meltemi blows, the waves build and a small surf crowd turns up; the hotel’s instructors get beginners up on a board too. There’s nothing to buy on the beach, so bring a parasol, water and something to eat.

Visiting the Antiparos cave

In 1673, a French ambassador celebrated Christmas Mass inside the cave. The eight-metre stalagmite used as an altar still bears the name. Today, the visit starts with a descent of more than 400 steps — and ends with the climb back up.

Even in August it’s cool and damp down there, so wear sturdy shoes and bring water. In summer a bus runs up from the harbour. The cave is open daily in season until the end of October; in winter, visits are by arrangement with the municipality.

Despotiko: by boat to the sanctuary of Apollo

The uninhabited island of Despotiko lies some 700 metres off the south coast. On a peninsula on its north-east side, facing Agios Georgios, the city of Paros founded a great sanctuary of Apollo in the Archaic period. It’s the largest in the Cyclades after Delos, yet no ancient writer mentions it. Archaeologists from the Ephorate of Antiquities have been excavating here since the late 1990s.

Boats leave from the little jetty at Agios Georgios, right by the tavernas. Captain Sargos, the fisherman Giorgos Marianos, makes the crossing several times a day in summer. But he goes to Livadi, the swimming beach in the south of the island, not to the sanctuary. To see the excavation, book a private boat and arrange in advance to land on the north-east coast. Either way, you’ll need to book.

On land, a gently sloping visitor path, laid out in 2020, climbs up from the shore and works for people with limited mobility too. Talk to the skipper beforehand about getting on and off the boat. Finds from the sanctuary, including the head of an Archaic kouros, are in the Archaeological Museum of Paros in Parikia, worth a stop on the day you arrive or leave.

Eating on Antiparos: two places outside the hotel

Elia Kafenes, a few steps from the harbour, is a good first stop for breakfast before heading to the beach. When Panagiotis Vlachakis opened it, it seated just 14, and people told him it wasn’t a restaurant but a kiosk. Today breakfast, with an American twist and vegetables from the island, starts at 9am. In the evening the kitchen switches to modern Greek cooking. The menu changes twice a season, and the wine list is mostly Greek. Book ahead in summer.

Captain Pipinos in Agios Georgios is one of the oldest tavernas on the bay, going back to the days when you could only get here by boat. The same family still runs it, and their own boats bring in the catch. The day’s fish is laid out whole: you pick yours and pay by the kilo, and if you come for lunch, they’ll keep one aside for your dinner. The terrace faces west, towards the sunset. After a boat trip to Despotiko, come here for grilled fish and a long lunch by the water.

Staying at The Rooster

There are no rooms at The Rooster, just 16 houses spread across some 12 hectares of gardens, wild hillside and dunes above Livadia Bay. The hotel was founded by Athanasia Comninos, and the architects VOIS modelled the houses on the katikies, the island’s simple farmhouses. Each has its own pool and outdoor shower.

You can eat in the restaurant, at the bar, in the Secret Garden or in the tipis in the dunes above the bay. The head chef is Simos Triantafyllou. At The Farm, the kitchen cooks in a wood-fired oven and over an open fire, with vegetables from the hotel’s own gardens.

Spend your days swimming, paddleboarding or walking the island’s old paths. Bikes, paddleboards, beach chairs and parasols are included, and the hotel can arrange jeep tours, guided walks and trips out with Captain Sargos on his wooden kaiki. Afterwards the kitchen turns the catch into kakavia, the islands’ fish soup. For dinner in Chora, arrange transport there and back.

When is the best time to visit Antiparos?

The Rooster opens seasonally, roughly from May to early October. Confirm the 2027 dates with the hotel before booking your journey.

The island’s season is longer. The car ferry from Pounta runs all year, the cave is open daily until the end of October, and Elia Kafenes is open seven months of the year. The boat from Parikia and the trips to Despotiko only run in summer, which is also when the meltemi blows.

Before you book

• Transfer: The Rooster will collect you from Paros airport or port for €150 per house, each way. Send your flight or ferry number and arrival time at least 48 hours ahead.
• Houses: not all of them have sea views; some look out over the countryside. Families should look at the two house types for up to five guests, or the Farmhouse for up to six. The spa is for over-18s only.
• Captain Pipinos: open daily in season from noon to 11pm, with food served all day.
• Archaeological Museum of Paros: 8.30am to 3.30pm, closed on Tuesdays.
• For more on the hotel, see our portrait of The Rooster.

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