AMORGOS: THE BIG BLUE

Amorgos is a wonderful island in the Cyclades island complex, an island with relaxing vibes, alternative crowds and simplicity. 

Awesome Chora (main town), delicious food, crystal clear amazing waters and picturesque villages!

The 3 main areas on the island are :

• Chora, the capital of Amorgos
• Katapola port & village with beaches around
• Aegiali port & village with 1 main beach & other beaches close by.

Angel’s tip: Katapola is the biggest port of the island but both Katapola and Agiali have connections with Piraeus port (in Athens) and other islands close by.

 

CLOSEST AIRPORT: Naxos and Santorini

Angel’s tip: I used the ferry company Seajets and it took me 1,5 hr to travel from Santorini to Amorgos island by ferry. You can book your tickets here: Ferryscanner.com

 

CHORA OF AMORGOS

This is the medieval capital of Amorgos, situated 400m above sea level. Surrounded by lovely windmills and full of beautiful churches, outspread white houses and stone paved little streets, Chora has an incredible and particular atmosphere.

It is an amazing village actually hidden behind the mountains, dominated by a 13th century Venetian castle, the Kastro. 

FUN FACT: To enter the Venetian Castle of Amorgos in Chora, you must first get the key from “Loza Cafe”. Then you climb up the few stone steps to the church of Agios Georgios & open its small door. Now you can enjoy the breathtaking view ! (Visit during day time)

FUN FACT 2: Did u know that it became a world-famous island after having been used as a filming location for the 1988 movie “The Big Blue”, starring Jean Reno?

 

MUST DO IN AMORGOS

-Stroll around Chora and enjoy the view from the windmills.

-Visit the Holy Monastery of the Virgin Mary Chozoviotissa, the most incredible & famous sightseeing in Amorgos!

-Taste the local Greek food. I loved Amorgos cheese pie as per picture below and baked raki. Greek salads are always my favorite too!

-Explore the crystal clear waters and the stunning views. Below you can see how many beaches the island has and I can assure you they are all super clear!

-Visit a panigiri if you are there during summer and high season (usually). If you are in Amorgos August 14th and 15th , panigiria take place in Lagkada village and Katapola port, so amazing!! May 08th, June 23rd, July 01st, July 25th, August 06th, August 22nd, September 14th, September 26th, November 11th are some famous dates for Panigiria on the island. Ask the locals!

To be clear for those who don’t know, “Panigiri” is called the local festival in a village (to celebrate usually a saint of the Greek Orthodox church) with live traditional Greek music and local drinks, usually wine or in this case baked raki. It is often till early morning hours and you can find local food as well, meat, Greek salad, potatoes etc

ACCOMMODATION

I think you should spend at least 5 days on the island! There are 3 main options but you can find studios in other places as well like Agios Paulos which was nice.

1^st option: Chora, where the options are very limited and it’s difficult to find something even if you start looking several months in advance. In my opinion staying in Chora is the best for 2 reasons. Firstly, it is soooo pretty and many bars and restaurants are there, so you can spend all the nights there. Secondly, because most of the roads pass through Chora in order to visit some of the main beaches, the ports or the villages. For example, you pass through Chora if you head from Katapola to Aegiali port or from Aegiali to Agia Anna beach and Kalotaritissa.

2^nd option: Katapola port, which is quieter and 10 minutes by car from Chora. Angel’s tip: There is a camping site 1.5 km from Katapola port called Kastanis.

3^rd option: Aegiali port which is famous for the nightlife and the great vibes since the main camping spot of the island is there.

Angel’s tip: If you are young and want to party or do camping choose Aegiali. If you are a couple, you can choose other options as well. I don’t do camping and I wanted to be closer to Chora and the port for some island hopping, so I think my choice to stay in KATAPOLA was perfect!

TRANSPORTATION IN AMORGOS

The island is big with distances and I totally recommend you to have a car in order to make your life easier and visit the villages and the beaches easily. The bus service is excellent though and there are plenty of taxis you can use. Please note that there are many companies you can rent a car as well , I used one called DIASINO that owners were the same with the studio I stayed to. (I don’t recommend a scooter) Angel’s tip: In case you don’t want to move around a lot or you can’t , you can arrive for example by ferry in Aegiali port directly,  stay there, go for swimming in Aegiali beach or Levrosso by boat and enjoy the nightlife and restaurants there!  

ATTRACTIONS

• The Holy Monastery of the Virgin Mary Chozoviotissa.
• Shipwreck of Olympia in Kato Meria.

VILLAGES OF AMORGOS

-Tholaria, very beautiful with many cute restaurants.

-Lagkada which is very picturesque and has great vibes and restaurants.

-Potamos which actually does not have many things to do, so you can skip if you don’t have time. It has an incredible view from above though, after you go up a few stairs that are in the entrance of the village.

BEACHES

Most of them are not organized so have with you ideally an umbrella/tent and water :

In the north :

• Agios Paulos which is pebbly but quite impressive. It has a hotel with swimming pool and sunbeds there that you can swim as a guest with 5 euros.
• Aigiali with beach bars, easy for families
• Psili Ammos close to Aigiali
• Levrossos , organized (a beach bar at the back of the beach) close to Aigiali.
• Mikri Vlyxada (walking distance from Tholaria village)

In the south 

• Agia Anna , small and narrow beach below the monastery 
• Mouros  Angel’s tip: don’t miss the caves on the right side of the beach. Swim till there!
• Paradisia, great for sunset as well.
• Kalotaritissa, organized-sandy
• Plakes , rocks to jump from
• Maltezi – boat from Katapola
• Agioi Saranta – boat from Katapola (there is often garbage at this beach brought by the sea)

ISLANDS OF AMORGOS

There are 2 main small uninhabited islands that you can go by boat and enjoy the beaches there:

• “Nikouria” from Agios Paulos beach with boats every 30-60 minutes and cost of 5 euros round trip. It has a small beach bar with some sunbeds you can rent.
• “Gramvoussa” from Kalotaritissa dock with round trip 10 euros and duration 6-7 minutes. (there are sunbeds 12 euros per set)

NIGHTLIFE

There are some nice bars in all 3 main spots of the island. In Chora and Aegiali usually open till later than Katapola. During summer they organize many events, so make sure you check the public walls or the electricity poles for posters, in order to find out where there is live music or a party etc.

-CHORA: Botilia cocktail bar was my favorite , Triporto, Giasemi, Tzitziki wine bar are some other options too.

-AEGIALI: Amorgialos for early drinks & psimeni raki, Maestro & Embassa for drinks. Don’t miss Disco the Que as well, which is the most famous in the area.

-KATAPOLA: Bastet and Moon Bar for drinks and cocktails.

Angel’s tip: Visit “Amorgion wine distillery” for a small tour and wine/liqueur tasting of theis famous local products! Don’t miss the Chrysafenios -orange wine-!

FOOD

I don’t think that anyone disagrees that Greek food is absolutely amazing! But every place in Greece has specialties that sometimes you can find only there. Amorgos is well known for many things, some of them are:

1. Patatato: the signature specialty of the Greek island of Amorgos. This dish is a combination of meat & potatoes! The rest are a secret 🤫
2. Psimeni Raki (roasted raki) is a local homemade alcoholic beverage that you can find everywhere on the island and it is great for a gift too ! Raki is distilled and mixed with honey, clove and cinnamon, and is usually homemade.
3. Amorgos cheese pies (fried) are delicious 🤤
4. Amorgos has many local cheeses mainly made of goat’s milk (many goats around the island) like xynomyzithra, myzithra, malaka, kefalotiri, kopanisti…
5. Fava: Amorgian Fava (yellow split pea puree) comes from Pisum Sativum, which is a variety of peas, which is why it is called “katsouni” or “magirema”. The fava is eaten warm, most of the times with onions, oil, capers and lemon.
6. Pasteli is sesame seed and honey bar and famous as a sweet in Amorgos ! The annual pasteli festival takes place in Chora, on the main square of the village called Loza, during August.

Restaurants:

• Tranzistoraki, Kastanis, Byr..zolaki, Parvas cafeneio in Chora.
• Petrino for Italian in Chora.
• Nikos and Moschoudaki in Langada village.
• T’Apanemo in Kalofana village, maybe my favorite on the island.
• Ston Pyrgo for small plates meze & Marouso in Arkesini village.
• To limani tis Kyra Katinas for seafood in Aigiali.
• Panorama for meat & Kali Kardia for small plates meze  in Tholaria village.
• Georgalinis in Vroutsis village for meat.
• Almyriki & Mouragio in Katapola for seafood & Youkali for modern cuisine.
  

  Almyriki is an expensive great restaurant next to the sea in Katapola

• To steki tou Machaira in Asfontilitis village (reservation in advance since they open only for you and people who call and ask them!)

Angel’s tip: Please note that you can find mainly meat dishes on the island, with local products.

Desserts:

• Kallisto for handmade sweets and ice cream in Chora.
• Glykanisos & Tratarisma in Lagkada.

SUNSET TIME

• In the west side of Amorgos , for example in Kaatapola or Aegiali.
• In the windmills in Chora.
• In several west beaches of the island like Paradisia.
• Embassa bar and frou frou in Aegiali.
• Kokai bar in Kastelopetra close to Katapola.

 

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