Amorgos in Greece

Amorgos lies just east of Naxos, between them lies the Small Cyclades including Iraklia, Schinoussa, Donoussa and Koufonissi. On the island live about 1,970 people divided in a dozen villages. Amorgos has a surface area of 126 km2, it is the seventh largest island in the Cyclades and about three times smaller than Naxos which is the largest island in the Cyclades.

Aegiali is the best village to stay if you want near a sandy beach.

The three largest villages are Katapola (462 inhabitants), Chora (397 inhabitants) and Langada (261 inhabitants). The highest mountain, Mount Krikelos, measuring 823 meters above sea level. The main livelihood are tourism, agriculture and fisheries. The two nearest neighbouring islands are Koufonissi and Donoussa. Tourism has developed in a quiet way on Amorgos in comparison with for example Santorini and Paros, there is not so much that have been arranged for tourists, it feels more like the tourists must adapt to the local people instead of vice versa.

Amorgos. Listen to the name again: Amorgos. How does it sound? Good I hope. To me it sounds like love. No other Greek island can compare favourably with Amorgos. At least I think so, and many others. I've been to 65 Greek islands, and the more islands I visit, I become more and more convinced of that Amorgos is the ultimate island. Think about it when you read about Amorgos here on Kalispera, I might exaggerate a little sometimes.

Almost everyone I persuaded to go to Amorgos have, just like I expected, fallen in love with the island. Only two people felt dissatisfaction afterwards, they did not think that Amorgos suited them, the reason was the insignificant nightlife and the lack of sunbeds on the beaches. But, as I said, Amorgos is the perfect island for many people, the real enthusiasts come here at least once, and even twice, a year. And the enthusiasts are many.

Photos from Amorgos »

What makes Amorgos unique is hard to explain to someone who has never been there. Even we fanatics cannot agree on a reason for our love. Amorgos has an atmosphere I have not experienced anywhere else in Greece.

There is something about the mountains and the sea that affect one's mind. I cannot say exactly how it happens, but what I do know is that as soon as I get off the ferry I feel an inner peace. I know it sounds wolly. My advice is to go here, maybe you will have the good fortune of experiencing the same thing. Two more things: if you like hiking, you have come to the right island, not many islands offers such nice hikes, and if you like blue sea, you will love Amorgos, there is a reason why the movie The Big Blue partially was filmed on Amorgos!

The nightlife is like everything else on Amorgos - laid back. Are you out for dancing all night long to the latest club music under the flashing light from a disco lamp, you have come all wrong. But if you like to do just like me, you have come to the right place: after a lazy day by the sea just relax a few hours on the balcony with a drink and look out over the sea, maybe philosophize a little, read a few lines in a book or watch the ferry's on way into the port. Later, as the sun sets, slowly stroll to a taverna along the waterfront, eat some food, drink some wine and listen to the lapping waves.

When dinner have been eaten and the wine have been enjoyed just finish the evening with a little stroll, perhaps drink a drink at a bar or just enjoy the stillness and the night black sky filled with stars, and then go home and sleep and dream happy dreams. If this sounds like your style, also you will love Amorgos.

You can read more about Amorgos via the links at the enda of this page. A short summary of the information comes here:

Getting here is easy. It is best to fly to Santorini and then go on by speedboat directly to Amorgos. If there are no speadboat from Santorini, go on by ferry to Naxos and change ferry there to Amorgos. The small car ferry Express Skopelitis operates between Naxos and Amorgos almost every day during the season. You can also fly to Athens and go on by ferry to Amorgos from Athens' port at Piraeus.

I have good cause to say that all the villages on Amorgos are interesting, this is one of the reasons I like the island so much. Two of the villages are on the coast: Katapola and Aegiali. The rest of the villages - Chora, Potamos, Langada, Tholaria, Vroutsi and Arkesini - are in the mountains.

Amorgos is not a beach paradise, and it is something of a paradox, because popular islands usually have nice beaches to attract visitors. But not Amorgos. Off course there are nice beaches as well, like Aegiali beach (see photo on top), Maltezi beach and Levrossos beach. Most people who travel to Amorgos seems to prefer to swim off the rocks, which Agia Anna, Mouros, Plakes and Amoudi are examples of. Agios Pavlos is a pebble beach which is not bad.

To me Amorgos is a great sight in itself. The beautiful scenery, the scenic and dramatic mountains, the picturesque villages, the fabulous hiking trails and the prevailing stillness is enough. Amorgos also offers other sights, like the monastery of Panagia Hozoviotissa, Profitis Ilias, Ancient Arkesini, Minoa, the shipwreck of the Olympia, the monastery of Agios Theologos and Asfondilitis.

Before travelling to Amorgos you should decide which village to stay in. The opinion is divided of which village that is the best to stay in. Some prefer Katapola, while others favour Aegiali (where the best beaches are). If you have trouble making up your mind, you can stay a few nights in Katapola and some in Aegiali. Pensions are available in most of the villages on the island, so if you want to stay in a mountain village rather than on the coast, you can do it.

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