I’m terribly sorry for my last ironic post. Karpathos is one of the dreamiest islands I’ve ever been to. There’s everything you’ll need for the perfect summer holiday – most beautiful bays, cool sport activities, relaxed and oh so friendly people, enchanting villages (especially Olympus in the dawn, a sundowner in Arkassa, long nights in Pigadia…). Here’s a more detailed guide to Karpathos! And yes, point four of my 10 things I hate about Karpathos post is true! Amandine and I will fly back in autumn to look for some land. Why not?

So let’s do this! Everything you’ll need to know about Karpathos!

How to get there

We flew with Aegean Airlines directly from Athens to Karpathos and then via Athens back to Munich. For my South Tyrolean readers, there are also direct flights from Verona, which is amazing.

Best time to go there

We visited Karpathos in the beginning of June, which was perfect. The beaches were still calm. Locals told us that the best time would be in October and November, when all the tourists will have gone. The weather is still nice and warm.

How to get around!

To rent a scooter or car is always the best idea on Greek islands. We rented our car from Euromoto Karpathos and it was just amazing to explore the island by car. If you book early, you’ll definitely get a great deal. Usually, rates for renting a car are around 35€ on-site.

Where to eat

Isn’t Greek food delicious everywhere? Still, there are enough tourist traps all over the islands. We were so lucky to be brought to some insider tips around the island.

• Please refer to my ‘Restaurant guide to Karpathos’

Overview of Karpathos villages

THE NORTH

In my opinion it is absolutely worth driving all the way up to the north – you’ll drive past traditional villages, pine-grove fields, rocky landscape. Although you might need some patience to take the curvy streets all the way up north. For me, it was a lot of fun to drive though!

Olympos: one of my favourite villages with enchanting sunsets, windmills on the cliffs and great local food.

Diafani: is located in the north and has the second most important port of Karpathos.

Sarìa: a beautiful island in the north of Karpathos, where I highly recommend taking a bout tour to.

Here are a couple of impressions from Olympos:

beautiful sunset with view onto Olympos visiting a goat farm in the North of Karpathos

… fresh goat milk!

Karpathos has a lot of protected indigenous species, which you’ll only find on the island women harvesting fava bean in Avlona in the corn fields of Avlona Diafani

boat tour to Sarìa and visiting the ruins of the island

THE MIDDLE

The middle part is perfect for a little roadtrip from the south.

Menetes: small village on the rocky hills, which is famous for traditional music and authentic architecture

Lefkos: in the region around Lefkos, there are a lot of sandy small coves and clear blue water

Mesochori: the amphitheatric village is situated on rocky hills. You’ll find a lot of small paths leading through the white houses along small chapels. ≻ Walk down to the Virgin Mary church and have a coffee at the local café Dramountana.

village of Mesochori Menetes

Karpathos beaches

Karpathos has over 180 beaches, but still there are so many which haven’t been discovered yet. These were the beaches we visited, which I highly recommend.

• Amoopi
• Lefkos
• Apella
• Kyra Panagia
• Kastelia
• Saria

one of my favourites – the Kastelia bay beautiful Apella beach Kyra Panagia Lefkos beach

THE SOUTH

The south has a lot to offer be it for sports activities, restaurants and going out.

Pigadia: the main city of the island, which is always busy. Lots of lovely restaurants and shopping streets. The port is very beautiful and, especially in the morning, it is nice and calm.

South-East – Amoopi, Kastelia…: I loved the flair around Amoopi. A little hidden gem is Kastelia, where we went diving for the first time. Such a cute little bay.

Arkassa: cute little town with lots of restaurants. I highly recommend having drinks at Stema bar – absolutely the coolest bar in town!

Amopi: a beautiful tourist resort with breathtaking bays and hip cafés and restaurants.

Best places to stay

We stayed two nights at the beautiful Sitarena Cottage up in the mountains of Menetes. Our guides from Karpathos didn’t understand why we wanted to sleep up there. It was absolutely in the middle of nowhere, which we loved so much. After some blustering days in Athens, the calm was perfect.

The last two nights we moved down to Amoopi. The Silene Villas lie close to the beautiful Amoopi bay and have such a beautiful interior. The owners were so nice too.

If we’d had more time we would have stayed a couple of nights up in Olympos and then a couple of nights in Lefkos.

Sport activities

All first timers on the island!

We went diving for the first time with Dino & Renate of the Karpathos Diving Center. They’re both so lovely! We dove in the beautiful bay of Kastelia. I must say that I’m a little bit afraid to stay too deep underwater but our instructors took all the fear away. They patiently guided us through the beautiful underwater life. Karpathos has a lot more beautiful bays to discover.

Tip: if you’re not into diving, but still want to see the underwater life, you can take a tour with the glass bottom boat in Pigadia. It costs 10€ and was absolutely worth it!

Moreover, I wanted to try windsurfing after such a long time and we took a beginner course at the ION Club Karpathos. Also, I highly recommend the 3 hours sunset bike tour with the club. We drove all the way up the hills and down to Arkassa for a cold beer and then back to the bay. Absolutely beautiful! It feels so good to do some sport on your holiday! We could’ve also tried kite surfing, but the last days weren’t so windy.

Well, that was it! I hope you’ve enjoyed this more detailed article about Karpathos!

Don’t forget to check out all Karpathos articles!

My map of Karpathos