Getting around Naxos
Naxos has buses, taxis, car hire, scooters and boats. It has no Uber and no Bolt. Which one you need depends almost entirely on where you sleep.
Last reviewed July 2026
The short version
- KTEL bus
- The only public transport. Station is opposite the port. Fares run €1.80 to €6.20. You cannot buy a ticket from the driver.
- Taxi
- No app to summon one. Rank outside the port and the airport. Dispatch on +30 22850 22444.
- Car hire
- Necessary if you are staying south of Plaka, inland, or want more than one beach in a day.
- Private transfer
- Booked in advance, fixed price, meets your ferry or flight. The only option that does not depend on what is waiting at the rank.
- Scooter or ATV
- Freedom without a car. Licence held two years, rider over 21.
- Water taxi
- Agia Anna, Iraklia and Koufonisi. Piso Livadi on Paros. Four days a week.
Naxos covers 429 square kilometres, about 166 square miles. It runs roughly 32km from north to south and 21km across at its widest, with 148km of coastline. That makes it more than twice the size of Paros, four times Mykonos, and around six times Santorini.
That is the whole problem. Naxos is large enough that the good beaches and the mountain villages are a real drive apart, and familiar enough in name that visitors assume they can improvise. The improvising is what goes wrong.
Almost every transport decision on this island is made at the moment you step off a ferry with luggage, at a port where every taxi has already gone. So we will start there.
There is no Uber on Naxos.
No Uber, no Bolt, no FreeNow, no ride-hailing of any kind. There is a taxi rank outside the port and a second one outside the airport arrivals gate. There is a dispatch number, +30 22850 22444. That is the entire system.
The rank works exactly as long as supply exceeds demand, which on Naxos means most of the year and almost none of July and August. A high-speed ferry from Piraeus lands several hundred people at once. The rank empties in ten minutes. There is no app that will bring another car. You wait for one to come back.
The alternative is to arrange the car before you travel rather than compete for one after you land. That means a private transfer, booked and paid online, with a driver who is already there. We recommend naxosprivatetransfers.com.
Fares are broadly fixed on the main routes. As of July 2026:
| To | Fare | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Airport (JNX) | €25 | About 10 min |
| Agios Prokopios | €25 | 12 min |
| Agia Anna | €25 | 13 min |
| Plaka | €30 | 15 min |
| Chalki | €40 | 25 min |
| Apeiranthos | €60 | 40 min |
Other guides quote lower airport fares. Those figures are old. These are the prices being charged on the island in July 2026, and they are what you will be asked to pay at the rank.
Or you can have someone already waiting.
Book and pay online before you fly, and a professional driver is holding your name at the port or the arrivals gate. No rank, no queue, no phone call in a language you do not speak. This is the transfer company we recommend on Naxos.
- Online booking and online payment, confirmed instantly
- Fixed price, quoted before you travel
- Ferry and flight tracking, so a delay costs nothing
- Professional drivers, child seats and extra luggage on request
The KTEL bus
KTEL is the only public transport on Naxos and it is better than most Cycladic islands manage. Coaches, air conditioned, reliable in summer. The station sits directly opposite the ferry port in Chora, and every route on the island begins there.
Three things catch people out.
- You cannot pay the driver. Tickets are bought before boarding, from the KTEL office by the port, or from a mini-market or kiosk near the stop. This is unlike almost every other Greek island.
- The printed board beats the internet. Schedules change through the season, sometimes fortnightly in high summer. Timetables are published at naxosbuses.com, but the board posted at the port is the one to trust.
- Buses fill. In July and August the beach routes sell out. Arrive ten to fifteen minutes early or wait for the next one.
Fares run from €1.80 to €6.20 depending on distance. There are no discounts. The most useful route for visitors runs Chora to Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna and Plaka.
The bus is excellent for the main west-coast beaches and for a planned village day. It is poor for early flights, late dinners, remote beaches, and anything spontaneous.
Full bus routes and timetableCar hire
You need a car if you are staying south of Plaka, at Mikri Vigla, Kastraki, Alyko or Pyrgaki. You need one if you are staying inland. You want one if you intend to see more than one beach in a day, or to eat dinner in Apeiranthos and get home afterwards.
You do not need one if you are in Chora, Agios Georgios, Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna or northern Plaka and are content with a beach a day. Parking in Chora in August is its own small ordeal.
A common and sensible pattern: bus for the beach days, then hire a car for two or three days to drive the mountain loop through Chalki, Filoti and Apeiranthos. Book ahead for August. Agencies deliver to the port, the airport, or your accommodation on request. We recommend naxos-rentacar.gr.
Google Maps underestimates inland driving times, sometimes badly. The mountain roads wind. Allow an hour for what the phone says is thirty minutes.
Scooters and ATVs
A scooter costs €20 to €40 a day. An ATV runs €40 to €70. Both give you the back roads and the smaller beaches without committing to a car, and both are easier to park than anything with four doors.
To hire either you need a driving licence held for at least two years, and you must be over 21. Take this seriously: if you ride without the right licence, your travel insurance will not cover you when something happens.
And something does happen. The road surface between Kastraki and Alyko is loose in places. People come off.
Naxos airport
Naxos National Airport (JNX) sits about 4km southwest of Chora. The runway is 900 metres, which is why only small aircraft use it, and why the only route is Athens. Olympic Air and Sky Express fly it, roughly 45 minutes in the air.
It is a small terminal and it is not a 24-hour airport. It operates from 06:30 to 19:00. The taxi rank outside arrivals is small and empties fast.
There is a bus, but it does not stop at the terminal. The nearest stop is Naxos Camping, 600 metres away on foot. Airport-adjacent bus service is seasonal, running roughly May to October. With luggage, in August, at midday, that 600 metres is longer than it sounds.
| To | Distance |
|---|---|
| Naxos Town (Chora) | 3.5 km |
| Port | 4 km |
| Agios Prokopios | 3.3 km |
| Agia Anna | 3.8 km |
| Plaka | 6.7 km |
| Mikri Vigla | 8.5 km |
| Apeiranthos | 26 km |
Water taxis
Water taxis are run by Kerras Cruises. Boats depart regularly for Agia Anna Beach, Iraklia and Koufonisi, and across to Piso Livadi on Paros. They run four days a week and fares are fixed for each itinerary.
They are seasonal and they are weather-dependent. When the meltemi blows, they do not run. Check on the morning, not the week before.
For boat tours and organised day trips rather than transport, we recommend zastours.com.
Boat tours and day tripsWhich one you actually need
| If you are | Take | Why |
|---|---|---|
| In Chora for two or three nights | Your feet, plus the bus | Everything in town walks. One bus a day covers a beach. |
| On the beach strip for a week | Bus, plus a car for two days | The beaches are on the bus route. The villages are not. |
| South of Plaka or inland | A car, the whole stay | Bus service thins to almost nothing. |
| Travelling with small children | A car, plus a transfer on arrival | Car seats, luggage, and the ability to leave when they melt down. |
| Arriving late, or on a ferry in August | A booked transfer | The rank will be empty and there is no app. |
| Alone, on a budget | The bus | Cheapest by a wide margin, and it goes where you want. |
| Flying out before 08:00 | A booked transfer | Airport bus service is seasonal and the stop is 600m from the door. |
If you take one thing from this page: the bus is genuinely good and you should use it, and the two moments it will let you down are the moment you arrive and the moment you leave. Those are also the two moments a mistake costs you a ferry. For those two, book ahead with Naxos Private Transfers: online booking, online payment, professional drivers, fixed prices.
Asked often
Is there Uber or Bolt on Naxos?
No. There is no ride-hailing app of any kind on Naxos. Your options are the taxi rank, the dispatch number +30 22850 22444, a pre-booked private transfer, or the bus.
Do I need to rent a car in Naxos?
Only if you are staying south of Plaka, staying inland, or want to see more than one beach in a day. If you are in Chora or on the main beach strip and happy with one beach a day, the bus is enough.
Can I buy a bus ticket from the driver?
No. Tickets must be bought before boarding, from the KTEL office opposite the port or from a shop near the stop. This is unusual for a Greek island and it catches people out. Arriving passengers at the airport are an exception and can pay on arrival in Chora.
How far is Naxos airport from Naxos Town?
About 3.5km to Chora and 4km to the port. Roughly ten minutes by car. The nearest bus stop, Naxos Camping, is a 600 metre walk from the terminal.
How do I get to the airport for an early flight?
Book a transfer or a taxi the night before. Airport bus service is seasonal, running roughly May to October, and the stop is 600 metres from the terminal building.
How much is a taxi from Naxos port to Plaka?
Around €30, a journey of about 15 minutes, as of July 2026. The airport, Agios Prokopios and Agia Anna are all around €25. Chalki is about €40 and Apeiranthos about €60.
How big is Naxos?
Naxos is 429 square kilometres, roughly 166 square miles. It runs about 32km north to south and 21km at its widest, with 148km of coastline. It is the largest island in the Cyclades, more than twice the size of Paros and around six times Santorini.