Blog - Read More About Your Favourite Islands

A long, thin island with beautiful contrasts in scenery, Karpathos is one of the largest islands in Greece yet is still only recently becoming more popular with tourists. The north of the island is mountainous whereas the south is lower lying and greener. In this article we’ll take you through the best villages to visit whilst on the island, so that we can help you see why you should add Karpathos to your list of places to visit.

How to get there
Karpathos has a small domestic airport in the south of the island which links with Athens, Rhodes and Kasos. We recommend flying into either Athens or Rhodes and then catching a connecting flight. If you don’t want to fly you can catch a ferry which runs five days a week in the summer months. We’ll help you work out where best to catch it from.  

Pigadia
Pigadia is a seaside town which is the capital of Karpathos. Contrary to the title of this article, Pigadia is a town but as a settlement with a lot to do we thought we’d include it. Pigadia is also the main port of the island, so if you arrive by ferry this is where you’ll come in. The town has a great traditional feel and as you walk around, you’ll be greeted by beautiful architecture and cafes and restaurants lining the glistening waterfront. Coming in on the ferry you’ll see Vouno Hill on which sits the acropolis of the ancient settlement of Potideon sometimes called Poseidio, named after the god of the sea. In keeping with the theme of Poseidon, take a visit to the Cave of Poseidon, a natural cave just outside the town. There’s one beach in the town and a few nearby, where you can relax and catch some sun. Pigadia has all the amenities you could need from a town and there is much accommodation here. 

Lemnos is the 8th largest island in Greece, which means it has plenty of coastline from which to choose the best beaches on the island. Due to its large amount of beaches, its tough to narrow it down to just a few. What we’ve tried to do in this article is split them up into three categories in terms of how well organised they are. We know people prefer different things when it comes to a beach so this way we’ve given everyone a few options no matter what they want, so that they can make the most of their holiday to Lemnos

Organised
Mikro Fanaraki
Located in the south of the island near the town of Moudros, Mikro Fanaraki and its neighbour Fanaraki, are some of the best equipped beaches on the island. Near to a number of hotels, it has many sun loungers and umbrellas as well as bars and food stalls to keep you happy whilst there. Its sands and shallow waters make it great for families and there are a number of sea caves to explore nearby, most famously Seagull’s Cave.

Riha Nera 
Next to the northern end of the capital Myrina, this beach is excellent due to its location to the town and the facilities that affords. With sunbeds and loungers as well as cabanas, you can stay in the shade or there is some open beach to play around on if you want a bit more space.

Plati
Not far away from Myrina in the village of Platy is its namesake beach. Curving around the bay, this beach is one of the most popular on the island. Its easy to see why, with golden sands lapped at by deep blue waves its shallow waters are safe for families to play on and it has plenty of services should you want drinks and snacks.

Avlonas
Despite having a number of facilities including a court for games and a hotel at one end, the beach is fairly secluded and doesn’t have many sunloungers. If you’re looking for a beach with some facilities but a different feel, Avlonas may be the one for you.