Karpathos: May 2018
Never heard of Karpathos Island? Neither had I! Here is my Guide to the best places on the stunning Karpathos Island.
The only reason we picked this island is logistically it was the only island we could go to and reach Turkey in time for a sailing trip. Wow, am I glad the logistics brought us here!
This is the land of dramatic mountains covered in giant trees falling and the most beautiful beaches and the bluest water I have ever seen. We spent about 5 days exploring this hidden treasure in the Greek Islands.
Now let’s get into it! Here are my top places to visit on Karpathos Island:
1. Appella Beach
The first destination on the island was Apella beach. I had heard through Pinterest and different blog posts as well as from locals that it was the best beach on the island and wow it did not disappoint.
It was a windy and mountainous drive to get there but once we came around a bend and got a view of the beach from above my mind was basically blown. I live for finding treasures like this when I travel! The pictures speak for themselves.
As we drove down and started walking along the path to the beach it became apparent that this was, in fact, the most beautiful beach I have ever been to. The combination of mountains, trees, rocks, pebbles and the most striking clear blue water I have ever seen made this beach unbelievable.
The water was so clear I actually struggled to stop swimming and I took about 1000 photos. There’s something so special about diving under, opening your eyes and being able to see clear blue water all the way ahead.
We sat at the far right end of the beach away from the chair and umbrellas. We stayed the entire day until sunset (lucky we brought food with us!) and we even saved a day at the end of the trip to come back again.
The other beaches had beautiful water and scenery but what made this one special was its isolation from any town or buildings. There was just one restaurant above the beach.
2. Kira Panagia Beach
The next few days we spent beach hopping around the island in search of a beach to match or beat Apella (didn’t happen). We mostly explored the east side of the island as these beaches are more sheltered and more cove like with rocks and pebbles.
Kira Panagia is the next beach we went to which is set at the bottom of a small town. There is a cute church on the hill overlooking the beach. There are plenty of restaurants and accommodation here.
It was also quite busy with other tourists and day boat trips. We went to the left end of the beach with is much more secluded and so beautiful with the rocks, water, and fishing boats.
3. Achata Beach
Achata beach was the next beach on our list. This beach is smaller and less developed then Kira Panagia. The rocks, pebbles, and water again were stunning. This beach was beautiful but less to look at scenery wise.
4. Nikolaos Beach
Next, we visited Nikolaos Beach. The most amazing thing about this beach was the drive down to it from the mountains. The view of the little town, bay, and mountains stretching down the island was spectacular. The beach itself was nice as well set on a small fishing town.
We also visited the beaches at Amoopi on the south coast and Leftkos on the west (windy) side. The best part about Leftkos was the amazing and cheap food we had a a seaside restaurant there called Ammos. The greek salad was exceptional.
5. The mountain top village of Olympos
Another place on the island that is worth visiting is Olympos. It’s an old town build high up on the mountainside in the north of the island. The people who live here still wear the old traditional greek clothes, which is cool to see (even if it’s just for the tourists!). It’s got a rustic Santorini vibe!
The main adventure of seeing Olympos was actually the drive there. It was definitely the hardest drive I have ever done and afterward I was completely exhausted!
The road there is very high up on the cliff edge of the mountains and very windy, rocks are all over the road from falling from the cliffs and the barriers are broken in places and there were potholes around the place. Luckily there were hardly any other cars on the road!
Once we got to Olympos we were greeted with more amazing views of the town perched upon the mountains. As we began to walk through the streets and explore a bit we definitely got some very weird, creepy vibes off the place.
It felt a bit like an abandoned, haunted ghost town which is not well maintained like other touristy places in Greece. It was cool to see but we were pretty happy to leave and get back to the comfort of our apartment!
6. Eat fresh Greek Food in Pigadia
We were able to have some beautiful fresh food while we were in Karpathos. There was a few fruit and vegetable markets right at the end of our street. We had a full kitchen so were able to have fresh fruit everyday (the grapefruit here were unreal!) and make salads and greek inspired curries.
I was also able to practice yoga on the big patio every morning over looking the bay, it was so magical. We really enjoyed trying some of the local food down at the Pigadia Port which was lively during the evening.
Travel Tips for Karpathos
Getting there
It was quite the journey from Milos, we had to catch a ferry to Santorini and stay for one night (and witness the best greek sunset I ever saw!) and catch a very early, long and slow ferry to Karpathos. In May there is only one ferry a week so it required a lot of planning!
Accommodation
When we arrived in the Port of Pigadia gone were the charming white buildings of the Cyclades. Karpathos is more rustic and less developed for tourism. We stayed at Renata’s Villa’s which is up on the hill overlooking the bay of Pigadia.
We loved our stay at Renata’s, we had a beautiful one bedroom apartment with a fully equipped kitchen and an outdoor area with a beautiful view. There was also a lovely outdoor sitting area.
The staff were amazing as well, the owner always went above and beyond to help us. Even though I kept breaking things the maintenance man always fixed everything with a smile! It was very quiet (and reasonably priced!) in May.
Withdrawing Cash and paying by card
You can withdraw cash easily from Pigadia. A number of shops also accept card but for paying for small things in shops and restaurants it’s much better to carry cash
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Getting around Karpathos
We hired a car for the entire time we were in Karpathos. There is really no other option to be able to see the island as there is very limited or no buses at all.
We managed to find an automatic car for about 35 euros per day. To be able to legally drive in Greece you need to have an international drivers license if you are not part of the EU. Ruth didn’t have one so I did all the driving, on the wrong side of the road!
There you have my guide to the best places on Karpathos Island.
Overall Karpathos is a road tripping beach hopping dream island! It was the biggest surprise of the trip and I really can’t believe that more people don’t go here.
It feels very authentic due to the lack of mass tourism and it is wildly beautiful! It’s also relatively inexpensive compared to other islands, especially in shoulder season.
Karpathos also has an airport which makes it easily accessible from Athens and is a gateway to get to Turkey as it is part of the Dodecanese islands.
I can’t recommend visiting Karpathos enough, don’t miss it off your itinerary on your next Greek Island adventure!
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