Getting around on Samos

Samos is one of the best "drive-around-the-island" I know. Along several stretches of road, the surroundings are incredibly beautiful and dramatic. A good example of that is the road to Drakei which winds through a very nice landscape, sometimes it feels like you are in the "wild west". Below rests the vast blue sea and the only sound to be heard is the orchestra of thousands of cicadas.

The beautiful road that goes to Manolates.

Other spectacular stretches of road are the enchanting road to the mountain village of Manolates. The traffic is, with the exception of Samos town and Pythagorion, quite light. Around the island there are many nice excursion destinations, and perhaps the best of all is that it is never far from a beach.

We almost always rent scootets on Samos, but sometimes we make exceptions.

BY CAR, SCOOTER AND MOTO BIKE

As the island is so large, a car is preferable to a scooter. Cars, moto bikes and bicycles are available for hire in all tourist resorts. If you live in, or near Pythagorion, I can warmly recommend you to rent a car, moped or bicycle from Nicos Rentals, run by super friendly Nicos Aslanoglou and Lil Axelsen Aslanoglou. An easy way to rent a car is to book the car from home and pick it up at the airport after you've landed in Rhodes.

Book rental cars in Samos here »

At Nicos Rental on the main street in Pythagorion you can rent a car, moto bike and bicycle.

Book with Nicos Rentals online here »

BY BUS

The buses depart from Samos town. There are connections with pretty much the entire island. Most tours go to Pythagorion in the south and to Karlovassi in the north.

BY TAXI

Taxi is a good alternative to bus. Always ask for the price before you get into the car, as a rule these are fixed prices.

BY BEACH BOAT

Beach boats to the sandy beach of Psili Ammos 1, and to the small island of Samiopoula, leave every morning from the port promenade in Pythagorion.

There is beach boats from Pythagorion to Psili Ammos 1.

There are beach boats from Pythagorion to the sandy beach of Psili Ammos 1 every morning.

BY EXCURSION BOATS

Extremely popular boat trips with dancing, swimming, BBQ and music depart from the harbour promenade in Pythagorion every morning, and sometimes also in the evening. The most popular is Captain Yianni's boat. It is a sight for the gods as his boat returns to the port of Pythagorion after a day at sea. You can't miss the fact that the boat is approaching: the music can be heard throughout the harbour, fireworks go off, and Swedes and Norwegians dance on board, enlivened by wine and ouzo.

Excursion boats heading to the port of Pythagorion after a day at sea and the small island of Samiopoula.

Excursion boat to the small island of Samiopoula.

ORGANIZED EXCURSIONS

You can do a day trip to Kusadasi and Ephesus in Turkey. Kusadasi is a fairly large city with about 55,000 inhabitants, here you can shop cheaply in the bazaar quarters and enjoy good Turkish food. Although Kusadasi is a nice excursion destination, it is the ancient city of Ephesus that is the big attraction on this day trip.

Parts of the ancient city of Ephesus near Kusadasi in Turkey.

Ephesus was during antiquity an important port city with around 250,000 inhabitants. Today, the city is no longer by the water, the elevation of the land has meant that it is 10 km to the sea. Ephesus was once the economic centre of Greece and later a city of utmost importance in the Roman Empire. There were several temples here, among the main ones can be mentioned the Temple of Artemis which was one of the seven wonders of antiquity. The city also had several high schools, a large library, a stadium and several well houses and bathing facilities. According to one legend, the Virgin Mary lived her last days in Ephesus; in the harbour was a 260 m long St. Mary's Church and on a mountain south of Ephesus there is a building that is believed to have been the Virgin Mary's house.

Here I stand with my fez looking happy in the port of Kusadasi.

Large parts of the city are in ruins, excavations have been going on since the end of the 19th century, but there are buildings that are in fairly good condition. Ephesus is a fantastic place that is of course on the UN World Heritage List. A visit is highly recommended to anyone interested in history.

I will never drive the road to Taverna at the end of the world again.

HIKING ON SAMOS

Samos a very pleasant hiking island so if you like to hike you will love Samos.

Read about hiking on Samos here »

READ MORE ABOUT SAMOS