Samos rewards visitors from late spring to mid-autumn, when warm, dry weather settles over the eastern Aegean island. The travel season runs roughly May through October, peaking for swimming between June and September. Each month within this span offers a different mix of heat, sea temperature, crowd levels and open services. The best time to … Read more
Mount Kerkis, known in antiquity as Kerketeas, is the highest mountain on Samos at about 1,434 metres. It rises steeply over the southwest of the island, straight from the sea above the beach villages of Votsalakia and Kampos. Bare grey limestone, deep gorges, caves and hidden chapels give the peak a wild character unusual for … Read more
Manolates is a traditional stone village high on the north slopes of Mount Ampelos on the Greek island of Samos. It sits above the coastal resort of Kokkari at around 350 metres, reached by a winding road through pine forest and vineyard. The village is known for its car-free lanes of stepped stone, its houses … Read more
Tsamadou is a pebble cove on the north coast of Samos, set just west of the fishing village of Kokkari. Pine trees run down the slope to the shore, framing clear, deep water and pale grey stones. The cove draws swimmers and snorkellers to its transparent sea, while sunbeds and a small canteen serve part … Read more
The Heraion of Samos is the ancient sanctuary of the goddess Hera on the island’s south coast, near the modern village of Ireo. The site sits about 6 km west of Pythagorio, across a flat coastal plain watered by the Imvrasos stream. In antiquity the Heraion held one of the largest temples in the Greek … Read more
Potami is a green river valley and beach on the northwest coast of Samos, a short drive west of the town of Karlovasi. A signed path leaves the beach and follows a permanent stream into a shaded forest gorge. It passes a small Byzantine chapel on the way to a waterfall and a cold rock … Read more
The Eupalinos Tunnel is an ancient aqueduct cut straight through a mountain on the Greek island of Samos. Engineers drove it through solid rock to carry spring water to the ancient harbour town now called Pythagorio. The work dates from the classical era, under the tyrant Polycrates, and it survives largely intact. Its fame rests … Read more
Pythagorio sits on the southeast coast of Samos, wrapped around a sheltered bay where the ancient capital once stood. The town takes its name from Pythagoras, the mathematician born on the island. Whitewashed lanes climb the hillside above a working marina, and ancient monuments cluster within a short walk of the quay. This guide covers … Read more
Kokkari is a former fishing village on the north coast of Samos, about 10 km west of the capital Vathy. Whitewashed houses climb the slope above a small harbour where fishing boats still tie up beside tavernas. A rocky headland closes the bay, crowned by a small chapel that marks the village skyline. Kokkari now … Read more
Samos wine is the sweet Muscat that made this eastern Aegean island a name in the wine world. Growers press Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains on stone terraces that climb the slopes of Mt Ampelos. The island earns a PDO Samos designation for dessert wines that run from fortified Vin Doux to sun-dried Nectar. This … Read more