Travel Primer

Sea ferries to Samos from Athens’ port of Piraeus (daily, stopping first at Karlovassi then Vathy) take anything from 11hrs for the better ones (Hellenic Seaways Lines) to 15hrs+ for the dodgy old ones (GA Ferries Lines’ infamous Romilda and Rodanthi).



Good thing is you can usually get one leaving in the afternoon, get a cabin or sleep on the deck overnight, and arrive fresh and bright (and salty if on the deck) next morning. Prices are around E28 for a deck single or from E45 for a (shared) cabin per person. Depending on the day, ferries stop at some (or all) of the following islands: Syros, Paros, Naxos, Mykonos, Ikaria & Fourni.

Needless to say, this is by far the nicer way to come if you can spare the time.

Alternatively, flights from Athens (with Olympic Airways) come and go four times daily, and at about 45mins flying time are much quicker. The planes are turboprop ATRs with 60-odd places each so availability can be an issue. Prices are around E180 return, which pisses off the people in Samos no end (Olympic having an effective monopoly on the route and charging the moon).

From The UK

If coming from the UK, TUI/Thomson and Excel sell packages direct from the UK to Samos, flying in and out once per week. So you come in on (say) a Wednesday or Thursday and leave one or two weeks later, though meantime you can of course tour around! Tour operators like TUI and Excel usually sell flight plus accommodation packages that come in at decent prices, however you could get the flights only and find accommodation locally (more on this soon).
Prices on these packages as you will know will vary from agency to agency (eg Sunvil ) so do shop around.

I am currently looking into the possibility of a block booking from the UK via an agency which would give better prices – check here again soon. Also please let me know about any good agencies/deals that you dig up, so I can post it here and let everyone know.

Other sources of direct flights are LTU and AirBerlin from Germany and BelAir from Switzerland.

Car Rental

The other thing you will need travelwise in Samos is wheels! Public transport is very slim, and although it is perfectly lovely to stay put in one place and relax, a couple of days of touring will reward you highly.

Unless you plan to come with your wheels on the ferry, you will need to rent, but worry not! As it happens, our landlord Mr Savvas Perrris runs a business renting small cars, open-topped Suzuki 4WDs and scooters from Kokkari (but can deliver anywhere). Savvas is a great guy and entirely dependable.. and also promised us preferential rates. We know this is a big plug, but don’t at feel at all obliged, go elsewhere if cheaper or more convenient, the place is crawling with rentals.

NB This is a blog-style website, so if this is your first visit, start reading from the bottom!