If you search for the best beaches in Paros you’ll likely find Monastiri Beach listed among them. Located on the northern coast of the island, this beach is known for its clear water, nice views, and trendy, but kind of expensive beach club.
Having visited Monastiri during my 5-day trip to Paros, I decided to write this post to share everything you need to know and what you can expect before your own visit to this beach.
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General info on Monastiri Beach in Paros
Monastiri Beach is a small cove in the northern part of Paros. This means it’s protected from the strong Meltemi winds that the islands in the Aegean are subjected to from roughly mid-May to mid-September (unlike Golden Beach for example).
The beach got its name from the Monastery of St. John’s of Deti which is located on the eastern edge of the cove. A short hike there can be a nice addition to your beach time as you’ll get some nice views from the white and blue-domed monastery.
Out of respect for the locals and their religion, I recommend you make sure you’re appropriately dressed when going there though.
Aside from the eponymous beach club (more on it later on) that dominates the cove and a watersports center (Ntrl High), there isn’t much around as Monastiri is located in the Environmental and Cultural Park of Paros.
The sand on the beach itself is not the best (it’s quite compacted), especially in the few spots where you can lay your own towel (most of the space is occupied by the sun lounges of the Monastiri Beach Club), but once you enter the water it’s quite fine.
The sea is quite shallow for about 100 meters from the shore so from this point of view, it can be a good beach for families (if you don’t mind the music and the general party vibe).
The water has different shades of emerald and turquoise and it’s fairly clear, but I’ll admit I liked Santa Maria and Kolymbithres beaches better in this regard. I found that the color is prettier as it gets deeper.
Monastiri Beach Bar & Restaurant
The Monastiri Beach Bar & Restaurant has a bit of a reputation as one of the more expensive and posh beach clubs in Paros. If you want to make sure you get a sun lounge, I’d recommend you reserve it on their website ahead of your visit. You can also book online tables for lunchtime.
For reference, I went during the first week of September (I have a habit of visiting Greece in September for beach time) and it was the only place where all the sunbeds were occupied, which was a bit of a surprise for me as they generally cost more than at other beaches.
The prices vary depending on the type of sun lounges you want to book, their location, and whether it’s high or low season. Currently, the price list is as follows:
| May – June 14th & September 16th – October | June 15th – September 15th | |
|---|---|---|
| First & second row set* | 60 € | 80 € |
| Third & fourth row set | 50 € | 70 € |
| Fifth – tenth row set | 40 € | 60 € |
| Beach sofas | 50 € | 70 € |
| Cabanas** | 70 € | 90 € |
**they’re basically double beds with roofs
If you arrive in the afternoon (after 4 PM) from June 15th until October 15th, you can save some money as the cost of a sunbed set of two is just 30 €.
I didn’t get a sunbed myself since I was only there for about 2 hours and the place seemed fully booked anyway, but the sun lounges looked better than at other beaches and the mattresses were quite thick. Bathrooms and showers were also available.
As for the music, it gets fairly loud (so this isn’t the place to find some peace and quiet), but I personally liked the mix. Expect to pay around 15 – 20 € for a cocktail.
All in all, Monastiri Beach Bar & Restaurant is a good option if you are looking for a nice beach club or a Mykonos party-like vibe at a lower price tag. However, you still need to shell out quite a bit of money for it.
How to get to Monastiri Beach
You can get to Monastiri Beach by car/ATV/scooter or water taxi. There’s no public bus as far as I’m aware.
If you go for the first option, you should know there’s a fairly decently sized free parking lot right near the beach. However, I went by water taxi from Naoussa’s harbor (exact location here) as I didn’t have a rental.
The boat leaves hourly starting at 10 AM and it costs 5 € per person one way and 10 € return. It leaves you at a pier on the west side of Monastiri beach. The last one back to Naoussa is at 6 PM.
A small warning for people who get seasick: the boat is not very big, so sometimes you get to feel the waves fairly well.
Also, from the schedule I had the impression that there’s a boat that goes around to all 3 beaches listed, but they’re actually different boats going to Kolymbitheres and Monastiri, and none (at least at the time of my visit) for Laggeri.
Where to stay if you want to visit Monastiri Beach
Honestly, the island of Paros is small enough that you can visit Monastiri Beach from pretty much anywhere if you have a car.
Having said that, staying in picturesque Naoussa has a clear advantage due to the proximity of the village and the fact that you don’t need to get a rental as you can also visit the beach by water taxi.
I stayed at Villa Irini which has a lovely pool and view over the village as it’s located up a hill. The accommodation is close to Piperi, one of the 2 local beaches in Naoussa so that’s also a plus. It takes around 10 minutes to reach the village on foot from the villa.
Do be aware that it’s not the easiest thing to go up the hill in the scorching heat, so if you have mobility issues you might want to find accommodation in the center of Naoussa.
Even though it took a few extra minutes, we used this path with steps instead of the road going directly down to Piperi as we found the stairs more manageable (there was also a bit of shade on the path) and we also wanted to avoid walking on the beach itself when going out to eat.
