AGIA ANNA BEACH: NAXOS'S LIVELY SOUTHERN SHORE

Agia Anna picks up directly where Agios Prokopios ends, continuing the same long run of golden sand a little further south along Naxos's western coast, roughly six to seven kilometres from Naxos Town. Where Agios Prokopios has built its reputation on size and water clarity, Agia Anna is defined by something slightly different: a small working port at its centre, a scatter of sheltered coves toward its southern end, and a village that has grown, within living memory, from a scattering of fishing households into one of the most developed and consistently lively resort settlements on this stretch of coastline.

A Fishing Village Named for Its Chapel

The beach and the small settlement behind it take their name from a modest chapel dedicated to Saint Anna, standing close to the little jetty at the heart of the village; a second small chapel, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron of fishermen and sailors, stands nearby, a fitting pairing for a settlement whose original economy depended entirely on the sea. The chapel's feast day, celebrated locally each year on July 25th, remains an active date on the village calendar, drawing a modest local panigyri, or religious festival, even as the wider settlement has grown considerably beyond its original fishing-village character.

That growth is a genuinely recent phenomenon. Through the 1970s and into the 1980s, Agia Anna was known chiefly as an informal gathering point for backpackers and campers, part of a wider wave of independent travellers who discovered the Cyclades' quieter beaches during that period and, finding an unspoiled stretch of sand with a working jetty and little else, simply pitched their tents along the dunes for weeks at a time. That countercultural chapter has almost entirely given way to conventional tourism development since, but it remains a genuine part of the area's more recent history, and a reminder that Agia Anna's current popularity is a relatively new layer on top of a much older fishing settlement.

Sand, Coves and a Sheltering Forest

The beach itself is composed of fine, golden sand, deepening gradually enough near the chapel and jetty to suit families and less confident swimmers, while stretches further along vary in character between open, exposed sand and smaller, more sheltered coves. Toward the southern end, a run of low coastal rocks breaks the beach into a series of intimate coves, several of them favoured for snorkelling thanks to clearer, calmer water and more varied underwater terrain than the open beach offers. A stand of juniper trees lines part of the coastline behind the sand, providing natural shade that few other developed beaches on this side of the island can match, and adding a distinctive, slightly wilder character to an otherwise busy resort stretch.

Conditions can vary noticeably along the beach's length: the more open, northern sections, closer to Agios Prokopios, are somewhat more exposed to the prevailing summer winds, while the cove near the port and chapel stays comparatively calm even when the meltemi is blowing elsewhere on the island — a pattern that mirrors, on a smaller scale, the same sheltering effect that makes neighbouring Agios Prokopios one of the calmer beaches on this coast.

A Working Port and a Gateway to the Small Cyclades

What most clearly distinguishes Agia Anna from the beaches on either side of it is its small port, still used by local fishing boats and, through the summer season, as a departure point for day-boat excursions. From this modest jetty, tourist boats run regular trips out to the Small Cyclades — the scattered, sparsely populated islands of Koufonisia, Schinousa and Iraklia lying a short sea crossing to the southeast — as well as excursions to Rina Cave and other stretches of Naxos's own coastline not easily reached by road. For visitors planning a boat trip during their stay, Agia Anna, rather than the larger commercial harbour at Naxos Town, is often the more convenient and considerably more relaxed point of departure.

Views Across to Paros

Agia Anna's beachfront tavernas and cafés, many built directly on or immediately behind the sand, take advantage of an open sightline west across the water to the neighbouring island of Paros, clearly visible on all but the hazier days. Sunset from this stretch of coast, watched from a beachfront table or from the chapel itself, is a regular feature of the area's appeal, the sun dropping behind Paros's own hills in a view distinct from, though comparable to, the more famous sunsets over the Portara back in Naxos Town.

A Fully Developed Resort Village

Agia Anna today supports a genuinely extensive range of visitor infrastructure: hotels, apartments, studios and rooms cluster along and behind the beach in considerably greater density than at many of Naxos's other coastal settlements, alongside a long run of tavernas, cafés, bars and, in the busier summer months, some of the more active nightlife on this side of the island. A paved road runs directly alongside the beach for a portion of its northern length before continuing on toward Plaka and the further beaches of the island's southwest coast — a convenient route for exploring further afield, though one that calls for some caution with young children playing near the sand, given the road's proximity to the beach itself at this section. A wooden accessibility ramp near the chapel provides step-free beach access for prams, wheelchairs and bicycles.

Getting There

Agia Anna is reached from Naxos Town by car, taxi, bicycle or regular public bus, with the journey typically taking a little under fifteen to twenty minutes by road. Its position immediately south of Agios Prokopios also makes it an easy extension of a day that begins at the neighbouring beach, whether by road or along the coastal footpath connecting the two. Parking is available near the port and along the beach road, though, as elsewhere on this coast, arriving earlier in the day is advisable during the peak summer weeks.

Nearby: The Rest of the Southwestern Coast

Agia Anna sits at the midpoint of one of Naxos's most continuously developed stretches of coastline, with Agios Prokopios immediately to the north and Maragas Beach, known for its own stand of shading trees and relaxed, family-oriented character, directly to the south. Beyond Maragas, the road continues on toward Plaka, Mikri Vigla and the island's further southwestern beaches, making Agia Anna a natural, well-connected midpoint for visitors planning to explore this entire side of Naxos over the course of a longer stay.

Agia Anna occupies a genuinely distinct niche among Naxos's western beaches: livelier and more built up than the quieter stretches further south, yet anchored by a working fishing port and a village history considerably older than its current resort infrastructure suggests. Between the sheltered coves near the chapel, the open run of sand toward Agios Prokopios, and the boats heading out to the Small Cyclades each morning, it remains one of the most versatile single stretches of coastline on the island.