Samos Island, Greece

We arrived on Samos Island via a ferry from Kuşadası around eleven in the morning. The boat brought us to Vathi port, the main port located in the northeastern part of the island, in the largest town on the island known as Samos Town. Samos Island is home to about 33,000 people and is 447 square kilometers in size. Tourists from Turkey often come to this island for a quick visit due to its proximity to Kuşadası. Hoping to explore more than just the island’s main port with its many visitors and crowded streets we decided to stay in the town of Karlovasi, located in the northwestern part of Samos Island. After getting directions at the port we made our way down the main road to the bus station to see about taking a bus to Karlovasi. It took us about one-and-a-half hours to reach Karlovasi by bus, which was a spectacular ride along a coastal road winding up and down hills overlooking the bright blue water of the Aegean Sea.


One of the many adorable churches in Karlovasi


Samos is known for it's lovely mansions

Once we arrived in Karlovasi we dropped of our bags at our hotel (that’s right we got to stay in an actual hotel instead of hostel because there are no hostels on the island) and went out for a lunch (I enjoyed a pork gyro pita and a coffee frappe). Following lunch we walked around the town a bit enjoying its narrow cobblestone streets and quaint red-tiled buildings. Apparently mid-afternoon on a Greek island is siesta time because most of the stores were closed and the streets were deserted. Worn out from the hills and the heat we walked back to our hotel and I spent the afternoon by the pool. Later that day we decided to go for another stroll around town and we ended up making it to the waterfront road just in time to watch the end of the sunset over the water. After a stop for some ice cream we headed back to the hotel for the evening.


Downtown Karlovasi



The next day we went our separate ways because Robby is not a fan of water or the beach so Robby head off on the bus to visit Pythagorio, home town of Pythagoras (as in the Pythagorean Theorem), in the southeastern part of the island. Meanwhile I decided to hit the nearest beach. Potami Beach is located about one mile from the center of Karlovasi and the walk there is all along the waterfront. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in a lounge chair and swimming in the Aegean Sea. The water was the perfect temperature with a nice tide. Robby and I met up at the hotel after our adventures and went out for a dinner of traditional Greek food – delicious Karlovasi, Samos, Greece


At the beach

On our last day on Samos Island we walked to the port and purchased our ferry tickets to Athens and then I went back to the beach and Robby explored the hills surrounding the town. We met back up for dinner and when we returned to our hotel there was large party going on outside on the patio near the pool. We never figured out exactly what the party was for, but we spent the evening being serenaded by a small band playing traditional Greek music.

Next Stop: Athens, Greece