One of the great pleasures of the Cyclades is being able to island hop, either during the course of a multi-island itinerary or on day trips. Ferries leave regularly and while they are scarcely the last word in luxury, sitting on the top deck in the sunshine watching the Aegean slide past is invariably a delightful experience.

From Paros, it is possible to visit Siros, Ios and Sifnos, as well as popular islands like Mykonos and Delos, all of which are less than two hours away. On our recent trip, however, we opted to visit the two nearest islands: Antiparos and Naxos.

Antiparos

Paros’ sister island is located less than a mile off of Paros’ western coast and is reached by regular seven-minute ferries from the port of Pounta and more infrequent ones from Parikia. Seven miles long and 3 miles wide, Antiparos has a population of around 1,200 and, other than in August, it is peaceful and low key. This is doubtless the reason for its popularity with movie stars — Tom Hanks owns a house here; Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are among the A-list renters — as well as European celebrities who prefer to be out of the public eye while on vacation.