If you're dreaming of a trip to the beautiful Greek island of Paris, then this travel guide will cover the practical information you need to plan your trip. This is based on our own seven day trips of Paris which I'll link at the end of this video in case you're looking for ideas for how to spend your time on the island. The peak tourist season on Paris is July and August, and to a slightly lesser extent June and September. The weather during high season is dry and sunny, the sea temperature is warm and the beaches of bustling with activity. Restaurants, bars and attractions will be open and public transport will be running at full schedule. Crowds and prices will be higher though. We personally prefer to travel to locations like Paris in June or September when you hit that sleep spots for great weather and lively atmosphere with everything running at or close to full capacity, but the crowds and prices are not at their highest.

For a more laid back experience you could consider visiting during May or October, although do know that the tourist season on Paris is a little shorter than Santorini and Miquenos. You'll have more space to explore the island without the crowds and prices are typically lower during this time, but the further out of how season you go, the more of a risky take on the weather being mixed and temperatures being too cool to swim. So think carefully about how much time you plan to spend at beaches when picking your time of year. Some do visit Paris during the off season winter months which will give you a very different experience. The weather will be colder and weather so definitely not ideal for a beach holiday, although the island will be much quieter and accommodation cheaper. Many restaurants, shops and hotels could be closed for the season, especially outside of the main town of Perriccia.

If you've ever visited Paris or another Greek island during the winter then I'm curious to hear more about what it's like, so please do share your experience in the comments. Based on researching places to stay for our own trips to Paris, here are a few options you could consider. The two most popular areas to stay are Noce and Perriccia. Both are great for dining, nights life, shopping and sightseeing and are accessible by public transport especially in the summer. Perriccia, which is the island's main town and port, is the most convenient option for ferry connections to other islands and for exploring Paris without a car outside of the summer months. If you visit during the peak season, the Noce will be very busy, particularly in the evening. We found the crowds were manageable in September, although the area around the lively harbor did get pretty packed at night.

It's all down to personal preference though. If you're looking for something lively, you might love Noce in the summer, but find it too quiet as the season slows down, whereas if you prefer somewhere quieter, then you might not enjoy Noce in the summer, but like it's in October. Both Perriccia and Noce do have their own beaches, although we didn't think they were the best we experienced on the island. We preferred Crias Beach and Perriccia to prepare it on Noce. However, Noce is better placed if you're looking to visit beaches like the unusual Kalimba Thras or the popular Santa Maria. Both Perriccia and Noce offer that quintessential Greek experience of wandering through charming narrow streets, lined with pretty white buildings and vibrant flowers that so many offers picture when thinking of Greece.

Noce did feel more luxurious than Perriccia, although not quite at the level of Santa Rini or Mekunos. Noce is often said to be the more beautiful of the two, and while I would agree with this, Perriccia is absolutely lovely as well, and while the North facing Noce may be more picturesque, Perriccia faces west so you get the most spectacular sunset views. Ultimately, the choice does come down to personal preferences and the time of year, but I don't think you can go wrong with either Noce or Perriccia. If you're visiting during the summer and are looking for a beach location that's more low-key than Perriccia or Noce, then you could consider a leaky on the South Coast or Darius or Pizella Vardy on the east. We didn't visit Darius or a leaky ourselves, but Pizella Vardy was a lovely little fishing village with a small harbor, beach and several seafood cafes and savourners by the water.

There's a small beach by the harbor where you can sit and watch the boats, plus you have your pick of several of the nearby beaches, including our favourite beach of the trip, Golden Beach, which is just a short car or bus ride away. There are so many beaches to choose from on Paris. Each one offering a different atmosphere, setting and level of amenities, so you should research individual beaches in advance to find out which ones are rights for you. You can see the beaches we visited in more detail over on our Paris Itinerary video, so for this guide I'll cover off a few general things we thought it would be helpful to know when visiting the beaches on Paris. If you're planning to visit a popular beach during July or August, try to get to the beach early to secure a good spot. Some places do allow you to book lounges in advance, although we never did this ourselves.

The cost of renting a sunbed on Paris can vary massively depending on the beach, the time of the year, the bed type and the bed location, with that first row often being more expensive. In case there was any doubt though, all these beaches we are showing you are public, so you don't have to hire a sunbed if you don't want to, you can just throw a towel down anywhere for free. You'll also be able to find plenty of beaches without any beach bars at all if that's what you prefer. A really popular beach on Paris is Colimbatres, which is known for its weird rock formations. If you plan to visit both Colimbatres and Paris Park on Ministry Beach in one day, then you can buy a return ticket from the same company that runs boats from Nauza, which can be used for either destination. So for example, we caught the boat out to Colimbatres first, then caught the second boat back from Paris Park using the same return tickets.

As Colimbatres is one of the most visited beaches on Paris and there isn't much space in the small sandy coves, I really would recommend getting there as early as you can. We caught the very first boats of the day from Nauza and were able to enjoy the beach without many people at all for a couple of hours before it got busy. Our Itinerary video included an extended version of the popular Byzantine road hike. This moderately challenging trail starts in the mountain village of Lefkess and leads you through the beautiful countryside, passing through traditional villages and treating you to breathtaking views of the Aegean Sea. The version of the hike we did was around 7 kilometres long and takes at least 4 or 5 hours to complete, potentially longer depending on how long you spend exploring the villages.

The trail from Lefkess to Prodromas was well signposted, but I'll quickly walk you through our full route and then give you a few extra pieces of practical information. You can actually start the trail in Perriccia if you want a much longer hike, but we started by catching the bus in the morning from Perriccia Bus Terminal, which is just next to the ferry port to Lefkess. Then after exploring the beautiful village we followed the 3.5 kilometre Byzantine road. This is the oldest road on Paras and connects Lefkess with Prodromas. The Byzantine road starts at the edge of the village around here, and this here is the Byzantine road. If you want to finish the road, you can find the most beautiful city in the city. If you want to finish the walk at Prodromas then you can catch the bus back from here to Lefkess, however if you have the energy to keep going then you will be rewarded.

The next village, Mamara, is around 15 minute walk away. Instead of following the road to Mamara we took this footpath which was a much more pleasant and safe way to go. Take a short walk through the village, look out for the road, and you'll see the view from the top of the mountain. Take a short walk through the village, look out for the windmill on your way, before continuing another 10 or 15 minutes on to Marpisa. At this point on the route you'll be able to continue following the road or turn right up a dirt track. We turn right mainly because there will be less traffic. When you work up the hill make sure you stop and look back as you'll have some lovely views of sugarcube houses dotted across the countryside. Spend some time leisurely exploring the lovely winding streets of Marpisa before heading on.

The last 20 minutes of the walk down to Pisa Lavardi isn't the most exciting to be honest, but once you're there you can relax at the beach or in one of the cafes looking out over the harbor. When you're ready to leave you can then catch a bus from the road which is set just behind the beach. Now for a few more quick tips for the trail, first we're comfortable shoes so no flip-flops, the hike is long and parts of the Byzantine road are rocky and uneven. While the trail does take you downhill there will be one steep uphill near the start. Bring plenty of water with you as well you will pass through villages, there will be stretches of the trail with no opportunity to buy more water. We're plenty of suncream too as there is no shade across the Byzantine road. We also found it was pretty windy and exposed at times so if you're wearing a hat make sure it's secure.

There isn't much in the way of public toilets on this trail. We only spotted a portalo in our Pisa and toilets at the duck of Pisa Lavardi so if you don't fancy a scenic weed then you could use this as an excuse to work in some cafe pit stops. If you're a first time visitor to Paris then you're very likely to visit Nausa during your trip. During the summer Nausa is very busy at night however we found the village to be much calmer and quieter in the morning so it's worth getting there early if you don't find it. As Nausa is a really popular place then if there are any restaurants you specifically want to go to then if possible book in advance especially if you're visiting during the peak summer months. If a restaurant doesn't take online reservations and you can't call ahead you could either pop into the restaurant in person to book a day or two before or chance you'll look for a table after 9.30pm.

However you'll be able to find some great options without a reservation and one of our favourite meals was walking only and was well worth the queue. When you are setting up for a restaurant's reservation we've plenty of time to get there. We found it was so easy to get lost in those small winding streets and Google Maps wasn't always accurate here. I would also ask your accommodation where the near-resupermarket is. We found not all of them showed up on Google Maps and if the spending our time walking 10 minutes to the shop each day on our last day we stumbled across one that was conveniently just around the corner from our hotel. For exploring we're comfortable shoes as many of the streets are cobbled and there could be plenty of uphill walking. The currents are used on Paras is the euro.

Unlike trips we took to Greece several years ago where we would pay for everything in cash. On this recent trip to Paras we found that most shops, bars and restaurants accepted credit and debit cards. I would still suggest taking a small amount of cash with you because it's still always good to have some on you for small purchases or for any small businesses that could still be cash only. Plus unexpected issues using your card can always occur. Visiting Paras without renting a card does have limitations but in our experience using buses was a convenient way to explore the island and did not leave us feeling like we'd missed out on anything. The buses were generally on time during our trip we took several buses and they were only late once. These buses are more like comfy air-conditioned coaches that have luggage storage underneath if you need somewhere to stow your suitcase at no extra cost.

You can check bus schedules in advance on the Paras bus website which I'll link in the description below. The schedule does change over the year with buses increasing in frequency over the summer so wait until the timetable for your travel dates has been released before you finalise your plans. Alternatively you can just check bus times at the parickia and know who said terminal kiosks once you arrive. Ticket prices vary by route and distance travelled starting at just a couple of euros per ticket. You can buy your tickets either from the kiosks or from selected shops or supermarkets. You could buy tickets from the driver although if you wait to buy them on the bus it will cost you a little more. I think it's better to buy them beforehand if you can. You can also purchase as many tickets as you like ahead of time from the bus kiosks or the shops and these can be used for any route on any day as long as they are the correct value.

Paras is connected to nearby islands and mainland Greece by regular ferry services. The main port is parickia with daily connections to Athens and other islands such as Naxos, Santirini, Mekanos and Eos. This also gives you the opportunity to build your own island hopping itinerary. While most ferries are unlikely to sell out, for piece of mind personally we usually prefer booking tickets in advance just before we go to Greece. Bear in mind though that ferries can be rescheduled so always keep an eye on the ferry times. If you prefer not to book in advance you can still use a website like ferryhopper to reset your options and then purchase tickets at the ticket office. This will give you more flexibility as you won't have to commit to a specific ferry time. When planning your journey consider possible disruptions like ferries being rescheduled, delayed or even cancelled.

If you need to catch a flight after your ferry make sure you leave more time than you think you will need. You'll have several different ferry companies to choose from. While ultimately I would use departure and arrival time as the main deciding factor we personally prefer the blue star ferries. They may be a bit slower but their cheaper and their large size means they are the most reliable and they have plenty of outdoor seating which in our opinion makes the journey much more enjoyable. While you can pay to select a seat we just bought an economy ticket and found there was ample seating on the ferry deck. Finally if you plan to have a car then there are car ferries. However if you are renting a car then make sure you check in advance with the rental company whether you can take that car to another island as most companies won't allow you to do this.

Paras does have a small domestic airport that receives regular flights from Athens and Thessaloniki. Flets can be as short as 40 minutes from Athens and about an hour from Thessaloniki. If you are arriving in degrees at one of these airports then I would allow about 2-3 hours connection time just to be safe. There is an airport bus that runs from the airports a parakeer several times a day. Depending on where you are staying you could catch a bus onwards from there. If the timings of the bus don't work out for you or you just want a quicker and easier option then I would recommend pre-booking a taxi, especially if you are travelling during high season as weights could be really long. We arranged a transfer through our accommodation which cost 45 euros for 2 people to travel straight to Noza.

To be honest the prices I have seen quoted have been really varied so I am not sure how to pick August's prices. Paras is known for its strong summer winds particularly during July and August. This is known as the Multemi which is a seasonal dry wind that blows across the Aegean Sea particularly around the Cyclades Islands. This can make the sea choppy which is another reason to consider booking one of the largest slower ferries if you do plan to travel between the islands as they are less likely to be delayed or cancelled due to weather and the journey will be more pleasant if the sea is rough. In our experience in September while Paras was windy at times it was not windy every day and fortunately the wind did not disrupt any of our plans. However I would suggest packing layers as we found on a couple of evenings that were particularly blustery the temperature was significantly cooler than the other nights.

This is especially noticeable when you have been out in the lovely warm sun all day. Even if it is windy during your visits this doesn't need to spoil a beach day. Many of the beaches on Paras are in sheltered bay so are quite protected. The summer Multemi is a normally wind so beaches at the south of the island are less vulnerable. But even if you want to stay north when beaches like Calimba Thrae's, monastery and Santa Maria are still fairly sheltered. If you've made it this far then thank you. I'll link our seven day itinerary here if you want some ideas for things to do on the island. I hope you have a great trip to Paras.