Amorgos has been inhabited since the Early Cycladic era of the third millennium BC. In antiquity it was unusual in holding three separate city-states. Minoa, Arkesini and Aegiali, which together formed a commonwealth known as the Tripolis, each with its own government and coinage. Their remains, on scenic hilltops across the island, along with the … Read more
Amorgos is a long, mountainous island whose beaches. Villages and ancient sites lie far apart and are served by only a handful of buses. For most visitors a hire car is the key to seeing it. Renting a car or scooter turns the scattered highlights, the wild beaches. The mountain villages and the two ends … Read more
Aegiali is the second port of Amorgos, set on a broad bay in the north-east of the island, framed by towering cliffs and backed by mountain villages. It has the island’s best and longest sandy beach, a relaxed, faintly bohemian atmosphere. The loveliest mountain villages. Langada and Tholaria, rising just above it, making it the … Read more
Katapola is the main port of Amorgos, a relaxed harbour town wrapped around a deep, sheltered bay in the centre of the island’s coast. Formed of three whitewashed hamlets around one calm natural bay, ringed by fishing boats, tavernas and rooms. It is the island’s most central and best-connected settlement and the practical gateway to … Read more
Amorgos has some of the clearest, deepest water in the Cyclades. The sea that Luc Besson chose for The Big Blue. It is one of the finest Greek islands for diving and free-diving. Dramatic underwater walls, caves and reefs. A rich marine life and a dedicated dive centre on the bay of Aegiali make the … Read more
Amorgos is inseparable from The Big Blue, Le Grand Bleu. Luc Besson’s cult film about free-diving that was largely shot on the island and brought its deep, clear waters to a global audience. The images of impossibly blue sea and stark Cycladic light made Amorgos famous, and the film’s legacy still shapes the island’s diving … Read more
The villages of Amorgos are strung along the island’s long mountain ridge and around its two bays. Whitewashed clusters of houses, blue-domed churches and shaded squares kept quiet and traditional far from mass tourism. Above the bay of Aegiali rise the loveliest of them, the mountain villages of Langada and Tholaria, while the ports of … Read more
The food of Amorgos is hearty, rustic and rooted in the island’s rugged land and long tradition of livestock farming. Meat is at its core, above all the slow-cooked goat stew patatato, alongside home-made cheeses, the island’s own fava, cured pork and sausages, wild-herb honey and the famous psimeni raki. It is a cuisine of … Read more
Amorgos has a warm, dry Mediterranean climate and a long season. The best time to visit depends on what you want: late spring to early October for the beaches and the sea. Spring and autumn for hiking and green landscapes, and the shoulder months of June and September for warm weather with thinner crowds. High … Read more
Amorgos lies far to the east of the Cyclades and has no airport. Reaching it means a ferry: direct from Piraeus near Athens. Or, more quickly, by flying to Naxos, Santorini or Mykonos and sailing on from there. The island has two ports, Katapola in the centre and Aegiali in the north, and the crossing … Read more