Karpathos

Introducing Karpathos

Like an elongated bridge between Rhodes and Crete, Karpathos (kar-pa-thos) offers a winning mix of size, scenery, beach scenes, food and culture, making a visit to this southern Dodecanese destination a winner. While off the beaten track somewhat, the island is well served by transport and even attracts a slow but steady trail of packaged visitors.

It’s an island with an anonymous history and doesn’t feature prominently in the chronicles of the region. Many of its inhabitants migrated to the USA, from where they slowly trickle back and invest their overseas earnings into their homeland. It’s an island with a pleasant feel – a comfortable mix of mountain, sea and plains. It showcases some stunning beaches with excellent diving, while windsurfing devotees flock to its windy southern shores to engage in fast and furious water fun.

The north of the island is an almost separate destination. Isolated for years from the south by an atrocious and precipitous road, it stubbornly survives and proudly sports a village that is as culturally idiosyncratic as anywhere in the Aegean.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009