A Paros kayak tour paddles the bays and rocky shores of Paros in a sea kayak. Routes follow quiet coves, small islets and the strait toward Antiparos. It is one of the paddle tours in Greece on Greece VIP.
This post covers what a Paros kayak tour includes, where tours start and how paddlers cross to Antiparos. It also covers the sea caves and rocks, beaches, sea life and islets on the way. Safety, winds, what paddlers wear, the best season and common questions come last.
Each section ends with a Paros kayak tour or a nearby sea tour that can be booked online.
What does a Paros kayak tour include?
A Paros kayak tour includes a kayak, a paddle and a stretch of coast. Hulls differ in outline, and paddles differ in weight. The word kayak means man’s boat or hunter’s boat. The first kayaks were built by hunters for their own use.
Hulls on a Paros kayak tour differ in outline, front to back. A symmetrical hull is widest halfway along. A fish-form hull is widest ahead of the middle, and a Swede-form hull behind it.
Light paddles are prized, and a paddle of 910 grams or less is common. Very expensive paddles weigh as little as 620 grams. Lighter blade ends help more than a lighter middle.
A crank, a bend in the shaft, makes a paddle more comfortable. It also eases wrist strain. On a Paros kayak tour, the paddle steers too, by pushing harder on one side.
Sit-in kayaks have a closed cockpit, where the paddler sits. They give more protection from water and weather. They are popular for day trips and touring, such as a Paros kayak tour.
On a Paros kayak tour, the coaming is the cockpit’s raised rim. On ships, it means a raised edge that keeps water out. A kayak can fit snugly at the hips or rely on thigh braces, where the thighs press. Foam pads, called shims, make the fit tighter.
On a kayak, the skeg is a movable fin. Its depth in the water can be set freely. That setting changes how far the wind pushes the boat sideways. The name comes from skegg, the Old Norse word for beard.
- First boats: Stitched seal skins covered a wood or whalebone frame.
- Size: Inuit builders made a kayak three arm spans long.
- Frames: Western Alaskan builders used wood, while eastern Inuit used whalebone.
Old kayaks were personal craft, each built by its hunter to fit his size. That fit made the boat easy to turn. A Paros kayak tour uses boats made for sale.
Where does a Paros kayak tour start?
A Paros kayak tour can start from a beach with a ramp, a jetty or a small marina. Livadia has a boat ramp. Parikia beach has a concrete jetty. Piso Livadi, on the east coast, has a marina for fishing boats.
Livadia beach runs 730 m and faces west. It lines a closed bay 2,300 m long. Sand covers both the beach and the seabed, which suits a Paros kayak tour.
The first metres are shallow, and the seabed slopes gently. The 5 m depth line lies about 120 m out. The island’s nautical club keeps a boat ramp to the north.
Parikia beach lies in the southern part of the Bay of Parikia, like Parasporos. It fills an open bay 180 m long. A concrete jetty 15 m long stands in its centre. To the west, small private boats anchor in a fishing port.
Parasporos beach runs 100 m, in an open bay 650 m long. Its seabed drops steeply to 5 m about 50 m out. A Paros kayak tour can pause here for snorkeling on Paros.
On the north coast, a Paros kayak tour finds the bay of Naoussa, open to the north. The little church of Agios Nikolaos stands at the entrance to the small port of Naoussa. It faces the Venetian castle, and fishing boats moor right in front of it.
- Piso Livadi: The beach fills a closed bay 170 m long.
- Depth: The water reaches 5 m about 60 m out.
- Seagrass: Seagrass meadows, flowering plants of the sea, grow offshore.
Piso Livadi lies about 18 km south-east of Parikia. Natural boulders form a pier at the west end of its beach. A marina for small fishing boats sits at the east end. Between them, a Paros kayak tour can begin.
How does a Paros kayak tour cross to Antiparos?
A Paros kayak tour crosses the straits of Antiparos, the sea channel between the two islands. The northern entrance opens between the northern tip of Antiparos and the western shore of Paros. The southern entrance is friendlier to sailors.
On the Paros side, Pounta beach fills an open bay 180 m long. Its shore is natural, with no building work. A 10 m wooden jetty in its centre serves small boats.
For a Paros kayak tour, this strait works like any strait. It joins two seas, and water can flow through it either way. The shape of the land squeezes that flow somewhat.
Revmatonisi sits near the midpoint of the strait, about 360 m from Antiparos. South of it, rocks and shallows lie hidden. The Antiparos municipality calls the strait risky for new sailors.
A Paros kayak tour using the southern entrance passes a chain of three islets, the Panteronisia. North of them lies Anavathi, a rocky reef. It marks the midpoint between Paros and Antiparos.
Saliagos holds the first early farming site of the Cycladic culture, the island culture of the Cyclades. The islet also has one of the earliest systems of defensive walls in Greece.
Diggers found over 25,000 obsidian objects on Saliagos, among them over 1,100 blades. The obsidian, a sharp stone, came almost all from Milos, 60 km away. Tuna led the settlers’ diet.
- Port: Molos, the Antiparos village port, is full of small boats.
- Kaloudia: This is the shallowest sandy beach on Antiparos.
- Psaralyki: This strait beach is 270 m long and faces south.
Psaralyki serves swimming, motor sports and sailing, and a sailing club works from its sand. A Paros kayak tour that lands there shares the water with both sails and engines.
Which sea caves and rocks does a Paros kayak tour reach?
A Paros kayak tour meets sea caves, steep cliffs and rocky capes. Sunset paints the Cave of Archilochus in rainbow colours. Cliff paths run above the north and east coasts. Rocks also frame the ends of the sandy beaches.
The Cave of Archilochus changes as the day ends. The sinking sun throws colours like a rainbow across it. Then the cave falls into darkness. A Paros kayak tour at dusk can catch this brief show.
The Environmental Park of Paros covers a peninsula at the northwest tip of the island. Paths run along a rough cliff above the sea. The view reaches Mykonos, Syros, Tinos and Naxos.
North of Ampelas, the shore turns to rocky ground. A dirt road leads to a headland, or point of land, facing the Filidi islet. South of Ampelas, a cliff path runs 1,100 m above the sea to Tsoukalia beach.
On a Paros kayak tour of the east coast, Cape Punta splits two sandy beaches. Logaras lies north of the cape, and Punta Marpissa lies south. Tserdakia beach lies north of Cape Choni.
Logaras has rocky formations in its northern part. On a Paros kayak tour, brown algae show on rocks that rise in the sea. Parasporos has rocks at its west end, with brown and green algae at both ends.
- Kalogeros: A dirt road forms the neck of a small peninsula, bright with rainbow colours in spring.
- Lolantonis: In the afternoon, cliffs on the left side of the shore cast plenty of shade.
- Punta Marpissa: Rocky formations stand at both ends of this sandy beach.
A Paros kayak tour therefore follows a shore of light, stone and shade. Capes split the coast into separate bays. Cliffs and rocky points give paddlers clear landmarks from the water.
Which beaches does a Paros kayak tour pass?
A Paros kayak tour passes beach after beach, from Parikia bay to the east coast. Marcello faces Parikia across the bay. Parasporos Megalos and Agia Irini sit on the west coast. Logaras, Piso Livadi and Drios line the coast to the east.
Marcello beach lies across the bay from Parikia. It is reached by road or by kayak, which suits a Paros kayak tour. Kaminia is the third beach in a row at the north end of Parikia bay.
On a Paros kayak tour, Krios stands out for its calm, cold water. Underground streams change the temperature there. The beach runs 440 m, averages 15 m wide and faces south-west.
Souvlia, 2 km from Parikia, is a small, sandy beach shaped like a triangle. It faces north. A Paros kayak tour finds a different shape of shore at almost every bay.
Parasporos Megalos lies 3 km south-west of Parikia. It runs 260 m, averages 20 m wide and faces west. It has no shelter from the main winds, so strong waves can build.
A Paros kayak tour on the west coast also passes Agia Irini. The beach is 125 m long but only 3 to 5 m wide. Its floor slopes gently to 5 m deep about 200 m out. Palms, olives and tamarisks grow along its edge.
- Votsala: This pebble beach beyond Aliki is good for exploring underwater.
- Drios: The pebble beach runs 160 m, inside an open bay 750 m long.
- Piso Aliki: The sea off this beach stays shallow for a long way out.
A Paros kayak tour therefore passes beaches of every shape. Narrow strips sit beside long sandy bays. Pebbles replace sand in spots. Lolantonis, with no organised services, counts as the farthest beach from civilization.
What sea life does a Paros kayak tour meet?
A Paros kayak tour meets life above and below the surface. Herons, egrets and cormorants use the island’s wetlands. Gulls cross the sky over the open sea. Cuttlefish and jellyfish of the Mediterranean share the water below the boat.
Paros has ten wetland areas. They host about 200 bird species, among them herons, egrets, storks and cormorants. The Kolymbithres swamp is a protected Natura 2000 site. At Monastiri, wild birds at times shelter in shallow water.
The name cormorant comes from the Latin corvus marinus, meaning sea raven. These birds catch fish by diving from the surface. Under water, they push with their feet. Certain species dive as deep as 45 m.
After fishing, a cormorant goes ashore and holds its wings out in the sun. On a Paros kayak tour, that pose makes the bird easy to name. The little egret is normally all white.
On a Paros kayak tour, sea birds abound, including herring gulls. Buzzards lead the list of their hunters. Out at sea, horse mackerels lead the open-water fish catch of the central Aegean.
The common cuttlefish lives on sand and mud floors across the Mediterranean. It spends spring and summer near the shore to spawn, or lay eggs. In autumn and winter, it moves down to 100 to 200 m, far below a Paros kayak tour.
- Barrel jellyfish: A normal one spans up to 40 cm, and its sting burns only mildly.
- Egret plumes: In the breeding season, adult little egrets grow two nape plumes about 150 mm long.
- Cuttlefish: Camouflage is its main defence, and a found cuttlefish jets away and inks.
A Paros kayak tour therefore shares the water with birds, fish and drifting life. Wetlands, sand floors and open sea sit close together. A quiet paddle keeps the animals at ease.
Which islets lie on a Paros kayak tour?
A Paros kayak tour paddles among the Antiparos group, a cluster of 25 islets and rocks. The cluster splits loosely into three groups. These lie north, south-east and south-west of Antiparos. Paros adds its own ring of small islets.
On a Paros kayak tour, the north group holds nine islets and rocks off northern Antiparos. Part of this group frames the northern mouth of the strait, a narrow sea channel.
Diplo sits opposite Vorino, the northernmost cape of Antiparos. A passage 150 metres wide parts it from the shore. At its shallowest point, the water is about half a metre deep.
Kavouras, a single block of rock, rises north-east of Diplo. A sandy shallow links the two islets. Their facing shores form a cove open to the east, where small boats moor.
A Paros kayak tour meets the south-east group of 11 islets and rocks, closer to Paros. Preza, also called Mikronisi, carries a small chapel. Tigani has a second name, Tseska. Kampana, a smaller islet just south of Tourlos, is also called Tourna.
The south-west group holds five islets and rocks: Xifias, Tsimintiri, Despotiko, Strongylo and Kalika. Antiparos farmers use Despotiko, even more than Diplo, as pasture for goats and sheep.
Strongylo, in the south-west group, rises to 187 metres in the north. A Paros kayak tour sees high, steep shores there. Ruins of a Neolithic, or New Stone Age, settlement survive.
Agia Kali is a small rocky islet in the middle of the bay of Naoussa. It lies north-west of the town, and its highest point reaches 15 metres. Since 1981, the census has listed it as a separate settlement. Yet no census has found anyone living there.
- Feira: Upper and Lower Feira are empty islets opposite Cape Vorino.
- Agios Antonios: This rocky islet, 250 metres off Antiparos, holds a chapel.
- Despotiko: Sailors call the deep water off its beaches hanging waters.
Paros keeps its own islets too, such as Drosonisi, Makronisi, Pateronisi and Fitzi. Gaidouronisi lies north of Xifara.
How do paddlers stay safe on a Paros kayak tour?
A Paros kayak tour stays safe by knowing where rocks hide and how sea rules work. Small craft must not block large ships in a narrow channel. Radio and lighthouses add more safety. Local fishing rules protect swimmers too.
Kavouras is risky for a beginner on a Paros kayak tour. Sandy shallows ring the north and east shores of Kavouras. Rocks there stick out or hide under the surface.
On a Paros kayak tour, night approaches to the islets are dangerous. Boats need radar, an echo sounder for depth and a gyrocompass for direction. An up-to-date chart completes the list.
Greek and foreign charts disagree slightly on islet positions here. The gaps are small but important. The state Hydrographic Service, which maps the sea, issues the official charts for this area.
Two lighthouses mark key points for boats. One stands on the southern tip of Strongylo, the southern edge of the whole group. Another crowns Cape Koutsouras, the eastern point of Despotiko.
Sea rules give no boat a right of way. One boat gives way, while the other keeps a steady course and speed. Holding course is a duty, not a privilege.
- Distress button: A DSC radio sends a digital distress call that names the boat.
- Spear guns: On Antiparos, spear guns must be unloaded on shore and stay unused after sunset.
- Charts: Chart 423/2 and the Greek Pilot, volume B, cover approach and anchoring here.
Swimmers on a Paros kayak tour gain from local rules too. Fishing within 200 metres of swimmers is banned on Antiparos.
How do winds affect a Paros kayak tour?
A Paros kayak tour feels the meltemi, the strong north wind of summer. The wind can make the sea dangerous for amateur sailors. It builds through morning and afternoon, then dies down by evening. Sheltered bays offer calmer water.
Antiparos shapes the wind on a Paros kayak tour. The island is mostly flat, which helps strong winds build. Sifneiko beach is known for high waves raised by those winds.
The bay of Despotiko lies between Antiparos and Despotiko. It serves as an anchorage, a safe place to stop a boat. The bay blocks wind from every direction except the south.
Other spots on Antiparos also break the wind. Apantima beach is sheltered from the winds. Under the chapel of Faneromeni, huge crags form a sheltered haven for a Paros kayak tour.
Philip II of Macedon timed his wars around this wind. Southern fleets sailed north only slowly while it blew. In the southern Aegean, it blows from the north-west.
Local breezes reach a Paros kayak tour. A sea breeze seldom forms against an offshore wind, one blowing from land to sea, above 8 knots. That limit equals about 15 km/h.
- Height: A sea breeze reaches 1 to 2 km up into the air.
- Reach: A sea breeze stretches 10 to 100 km from the coast.
- Sifneiko: This beach takes its name from Sifnos, seen from its shore.
On a Paros kayak tour, the wind decides which shore stays calm. A sea breeze adds its own push. It grows stronger as the gap between land and sea temperature widens.
What do paddlers wear on a Paros kayak tour?
A Paros kayak tour calls for clothes that dry fast and shade the skin. Boardshorts and a light synthetic top make a good base. Cotton stays wet and heavy. A legionnaire hat and a neck gaiter guard the head.
Boardshorts suit a Paros kayak tour. These loose shorts reach about the knee. Strong, smooth polyester or nylon helps them dry fast. Their name comes from board sports like surfing.
Boardshorts have no elastic waist. A rigid waistband with a front fly and a lace-up tie holds them on. This double safety system stops a wave from pulling them off.
Cotton fibre is almost pure cellulose, a plant material. Fibres like this hold far more water than the majority of synthetic ones. Once soaked, cotton becomes very uncomfortable to wear.
Moisture-wicking fabric works another way on a Paros kayak tour. It draws sweat through the cloth, a pull called capillary action. The water spreads over the outer face and dries fast.
A legionnaire hat has a wide brim and a flap at the back. Both shade the forehead, ears, neck and shoulders. The same hat suits a kayak tour on Crete.
- Hat name: It honours the French Foreign Legion, founded in 1831.
- Neck gaiter: This closed tube of fleece, merino wool or wicking cloth slips over the head.
- Tuilik skin: A traditional tuilik is sealskin sewn with sinew.
Inuit hunters paddled in a tuilik, a sealskin jacket sealed at face, wrists and cockpit. It let a paddler roll upright after a capsize and stay dry. In summer, paddlers used a spray skirt called an akuilisaq instead.
When is the best season for a Paros kayak tour?
A Paros kayak tour meets its clearest skies from June to September. Cloud almost disappears in July and August, and thunder is rare. The stickiest air comes in late summer. October brings more thunder and much shorter days.
Long-term records come from the Naxos weather station, 9 m above the sea. They cover 1961 to 1990 and rate cloud cover in oktas, or eighths of the sky.
July and August average just 0.5 oktas. June sits at 1.3, September at 1.2, October at 2.9 and January at 4.9. A summer Paros kayak tour paddles under open sky.
Thunder rarely troubles a Paros kayak tour in summer. The station logs 23.6 thunder days a year. July has 0.2 of them and August 0.3. June has 0.5 and September 0.8. December tops the year at 3.7.
Every thunderstorm brings lightning, yet the American National Weather Service issues no lightning warnings. It urges boaters to stay ashore when storms are possible. Storms tend to be brief, so waiting beats riding one out.
Hail is rarer still, at 2.3 days a year. None falls from June to September. January brings the highest share at 0.7 days, and October already has 2.8 thunder days.
The dew point is the temperature where cooling air starts to form dew. At 20 °C, almost everyone feels sticky. Naxos averages 18.6 °C in August and 18.5 °C in July, against 7.0 °C in February.
- July: On 15 July, the sun is up from 06:11 to 20:39.
- September: On 15 September, sunrise is at 07:01 and sunset at 19:28.
- October: On 15 October, sunrise is at 07:27 and sunset at 18:43.
These times come from United States Naval Observatory tables for Parikia in 2023. By 21 December, sunrise slips to 07:29 and sunset to 17:06. A summer Paros kayak tour has longer days.
What do travelers ask about a Paros kayak tour?
A Paros kayak tour sparks questions beyond kit and weather. Travelers ask how old the kayak is and how far one has gone. They wonder why it floats and how salty the sea is. Tides come up too.
How old is the boat behind a Paros kayak tour?
The oldest surviving kayaks sit in the State Museum of Ethnology in Munich. They are shown in its North America department. The oldest one there dates from 1577. Such boats were skin-covered, unlike the modern craft of a Paros kayak tour.
Has a kayak like the one on a Paros kayak tour ever crossed an ocean?
Yes. In June 1928, Franz Romer left Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. His folding kayak carried a sail. He reached Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands after 58 days. No one on record had crossed the Atlantic by sea kayak before.
Why does a kayak float on a Paros kayak tour?
Archimedes’ principle explains it. Water pushes up on a hull with a force equal to the weight of water pushed aside. Archimedes of Syracuse wrote this around 246 BC, in a work called On Floating Bodies.
Is the sea saltier on a Paros kayak tour than in the ocean?
Ocean water averages about 3.5% salt, or 35 g per litre. The Aegean around a Paros kayak tour is one of fifteen smaller seas inside the Mediterranean. Evaporation there far outweighs rain and rivers. So the Mediterranean is much saltier than the Atlantic.
Does salt water lift a boat higher on a Paros kayak tour?
Yes. For ship load lines, fresh water counts as 1000 kg per cubic metre and seawater as 1025 kg. Denser water pushes up harder. So a ship floats deeper in fresh water than in salt water. Mediterranean salt also rises toward the east.
Do tides change the water level on a Paros kayak tour?
Hardly. Tides in the Mediterranean basin rise and fall by only a small amount. Its largest tides sit close to its narrow links with the Atlantic. Strong currents in the Euripus Strait and the Strait of Messina once puzzled Aristotle.