Sunset spots in Naxos
Naxos faces west. The whole island is built for this, which is why the question is not whether the sunset is good but where you want to be standing.
Last reviewed July 2026
The short version
- The famous one
- The Portara, sun through the marble frame. Crowded. Earns it anyway. Go once.
- The quiet one
- Any west-coast beach. Plaka, Mikri Vigla, Alyko. A drink, the sand, far fewer people.
- The one nobody does
- From a mountain village, looking down over the whole coast. This is the best of them.
- Timing
- Around 20:40 in late June, 20:10 in mid-August, 19:25 in mid-September.
- The real trick
- Stay 25 minutes after the sun goes. The colour arrives after it, not before.
- October warning
- The clocks go back and sunset jumps from about 18:40 to 17:20 overnight.
Santorini built an industry on its sunset. Naxos never bothered, which is lucky, because the geography here is better: the island's whole western flank is open sea, so almost anywhere on that side gives you the sun dropping into water with nothing in the way. There is no single spot you must fight for.
What follows is three kinds of sunset rather than a ranked list, because the right one depends entirely on what sort of evening you want.
What time, by month
Times for Naxos Town. Everywhere else on the island is within a minute or two, and these repeat every year, so this table does not go out of date.
| When | Sun goes | Dark | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-April | 19:53 | 20:20 | Dinner after, comfortably. |
| Mid-May | 20:19 | 20:49 | |
| 21 June | 20:41 | 21:13 | The latest sunset of the year. |
| Mid-July | 20:38 | 21:08 | Eat at 21:30 like everyone else. |
| Mid-August | 20:10 | 20:38 | |
| Mid-September | 19:26 | 19:52 | The best light of the year. |
| Mid-October | 18:41 | 19:08 | |
| Late October | 17:21 | 17:49 | After the clocks change. See below. |
| Late December | 17:04 | 17:34 | Short days, empty island, green hills. |
Stay for the afterglow
The mistake almost everyone makes is leaving when the sun touches the water. Look at the table again: there are 26 to 31 minutes between sunset and full dark, and that window is where the colour actually happens. The sky goes orange, then rose, then a deep blue that photographs beautifully and looks even better in person.
At the Portara you can watch the crowd turn and walk away the moment the sun disappears, and then have the best twenty minutes of the evening more or less to yourself. Bring a jumper and stay put.
The October trap
Greece ends summer time on the last Sunday in October. Sunset drops from around 18:40 to around 17:20 literally overnight. If you are here that week, the evening you planned for seven o'clock is over by half past five. Nobody warns you about this.
The Portara
A marble doorway, 2,500 years old, standing alone on an islet with the open Aegean behind it. The sun drops through the frame. It is the most photographed thing on the island and it is worth every bit of the cliche, once.
It is free, it is a five-minute walk from the port along a causeway, and in July and August the whole of Chora comes down for it. Practical notes:
- Arrive 45 minutes early in high season if you want to sit on the rocks rather than stand behind three rows of people.
- The causeway is exposed. When the meltemi blows it funnels straight across. Hold onto hats, phones and small children.
- The rocks are uneven and there is no lighting. Walking back in the dark in flip-flops is how ankles get turned.
- Stay after. The crowd leaves at sunset. The colour arrives afterwards.
The contrarian view: the Portara is better from a distance. Watch it from the waterfront in Chora, or from a boat, and you get the gate silhouetted against the sun rather than standing inside the crowd at its feet.
From the sand
The entire west coast faces the sunset. That is twenty kilometres of options, and on any of them you can have the same sun with a fraction of the people.
Plaka
The island's longest beach, so there is always room. Beach bars at the northern end if you want a drink brought to you, or walk south for ten minutes and have a kilometre of empty sand to yourself.
Mikri Vigla
A headland, so you get the sun going down past the rocks rather than into flat water. The kitesurfers are usually still out, which gives the whole thing something to look at besides the horizon.
Alyko
The cedar forest at the southwest tip, and the most atmospheric sunset on the island. Low light through the trees, the abandoned hotel and its murals behind you, and almost nobody there. Bring a torch for the walk back.
Agios Prokopios and Agia Anna
The easy answer if you have no car. Both are on the bus, both face west, and both have somewhere to sit with a drink while it happens. Less dramatic than the others, and perfectly lovely.
From up high
This is the recommendation worth taking. Everyone goes down to the water for sunset. Almost nobody goes up. From a village terrace in the hills you are looking down over the whole western half of the island, the coast, the beaches, the sea and the islands beyond it, all of it turning gold at once. The Portara gives you a frame; the mountains give you the whole picture.
Apeiranthos
Marble alleys, a terrace, and the light going long across the valleys below. The most beautiful village on the island and it faces the right way. Have dinner afterwards rather than driving straight back.
Filoti
Spread across the slope below Mount Zas, looking west over the Tragea. Closer to town than Apeiranthos and every bit as good for this. A square, a taverna, the valley going gold.
The Kastro
The Venetian castle at the top of the Old Town. Climb the alleys as the light drops and you get the whole town below you and the sea beyond it. No drive, no plan, and you are already where dinner is.
Stelida
The headland northwest of town, low enough to be easy and high enough to see properly. Open sea on three sides. Ten minutes from Chora and a fraction of the crowd at the Portara.
Google Maps understates inland driving times, and the mountain roads wind. Allow an hour for what the phone claims is thirty minutes, and remember you are coming back down them in the dark.
Sunset in the mountains means driving home in the dark.
Unlit switchbacks, an hour after a long dinner and a carafe of village wine. If that is the evening you want, let someone else drive it. Booked and paid online, fixed price, both ways.
- Apeiranthos, Filoti, Chalki, or wherever you want the light
- Waits while you eat, brings you home after
- Drivers who know every bend on those roads
- Fixed price, quoted before you travel
On the water
A sunset sail gives you the one angle you cannot get from land: the island itself lit up, the Portara in silhouette from the sea rather than from its feet, and no crowd at all. Trips run through the season and usually include a swim stop and something to eat on board.
For sunset cruises and boat trips we recommend zastours.com. Book a few days ahead in July and August, and check the forecast: when the meltemi is up, these do not sail.
Boat tours and day tripsAsked often
Where is the best place to watch the sunset in Naxos?
The Portara is the famous one and worth doing once, sun dropping through a 2,500-year-old marble frame. For fewer people, any west-coast beach: Plaka, Mikri Vigla or Alyko. The best of all, and the one almost nobody does, is from a mountain village like Apeiranthos or Filoti, looking down over the whole western half of the island.
What time is sunset in Naxos?
Around 20:41 on the longest day in late June, 20:38 mid-July, 20:10 mid-August, 19:26 mid-September and 18:41 mid-October. It goes fully dark 26 to 31 minutes after the sun sets. Note that the clocks go back on the last Sunday in October, after which sunset is around 17:20.
How early should I get to the Portara for sunset?
About 45 minutes in July and August if you want to sit on the rocks rather than stand behind a crowd. Out of season you can walk up five minutes before. Either way, stay for 20 to 25 minutes after the sun goes: most people leave immediately and miss the best colour.
Is the Naxos sunset better than Santorini's?
Different. Santorini gives you the caldera and an audience; Naxos gives you a west-facing island with twenty kilometres of open coast and no need to fight for a spot. If you want the sunset to yourself, Naxos wins easily.
Can you watch the sunset in Naxos without a car?
Easily. The Portara is a five-minute walk from the port. The Kastro is a climb through the Old Town. Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna and Plaka are all on the bus route and all face west. Only the mountain villages and Alyko really need a car.
Does the wind affect sunset at the Portara?
Yes. The causeway out to the islet is exposed and the meltemi funnels straight across it, hardest in July and August and usually strongest in the afternoon and early evening. It is not dangerous, but hold onto hats and phones.