Naxos with teens?

[mindymindy]

We’ve never been to Greece (usually stay in the wild, western algarve) - would Naxos be a good location with 2 teens (17, 15) and a 10 year old? My husband and I like to explore and swim, whilst the girls are BORED with this and want a bit more interest! Any tips or suggestions gratefully received - or other places to consider? We’d definitely be looking for a villa rather than a hotel. Thanks!

It’s perfect for exploring and swimming! Not sure what else the girls would do though.

I think they'd be bored. The main village is small. The stuff to do is hiking and swimming with smallish archaeological sites quite widely spaced. It's beautiful though with good food. It's where Greeks go on holiday and the big cruise ships can't get in so it's civilised.

Thanks both - sounds like it’s one to keep for another time when it’s just the two of us! Any suggestions for more suitable places?

What do the teens consider not boring and how much are you prepared to pander to them?

We've had good holidays in Tarragona (water park at Salau, day trip to Barcelona, archaeology, hiking, beach) and Öztal (epic river water park, mountains, spa, Ötzi museum, mountain biking).

Crete is a great option and I hear Zante is popular with young people

There are a couple of clubs on Naxos, in Chora the main town. Some music bars on the main street by the harbour. There is a maze of little back alleys, all selling little trinkets and jewellery which is not expensive, good shopping for clothes (an AMAZING bikini shop!) and its all very safe, so your teens could go off and explore on their own whilst you sit in a bar. Theres a sweet shop where you can watch the sweets being hand stretched, and get exact copies of Birkinstocks and Hermes slides that are beautifully made in the shop next door to it.
There is a horseriding centre, sailing and snorkeling trips to be done and, although this sounds really naff, theres a really interesting olive oil museum (in Egarres) that has a short 20 minute tour explaning the history of olive oil production, and giving samples and you can buy it to take home. It was suprisingly really interesting! Nice little cafe too.
Defintely hire a car. Naxos has the best beaches, (Prokopius, Agia Anna and Plaka) most of which have cool little beach bars selling great food. (Cafe Picasso at Plaka being an example and does incredible Mexican food). Further along you have Mikri Vigla which has kite surfers taking off and landing in the waves and is really instagramable. Beyond that is a place called Alyko which has an abandoned old hotel which has been turned into an unofficial art gallery with amazing paintings all over the walls and is worth the trip.
Inland are 2 really fab villages, (Filoti and Aperanthos) whcih are made of marble, and have again all the alleyways winding through the place with cafes and little shops.
Naxos is a fabulous island, my favourite (as you can probably tell) and has something for all ages. It has no water park and no other obviously touristy things for teenagers, but if your girls like exploring and shopping and nice food, then it's a great place for them. And like I said, its really safe. Lots and lots of Greek children out surprisingly late at night playing on the streets, quite safely.

I went to Naxos once in September. It pissed down nearly every day. I have never been as bored in my entire life. We just got slaughtered every day as there is nothing to do there.

Go somewhere with stuff to do apart from sunbathe.