Paros sits at the centre of the Cyclades and makes an excellent base for island-hopping. Antiparos is the obvious first choice: a small, quieter island just ten minutes by boat from Pounta on the west coast of Paros, with a large stalactite cave, a good village, and some excellent beaches. A day trip by small ferry or water taxi is easy.
Naxos is thirty minutes by fast ferry — bigger and greener than Paros, with better ancient ruins and the massive unfinished marble doorway of the Temple of Apollo standing on a promontory above the town. You can do Naxos in a day but a night or two is better.
