Karpathos - Transporation?

I've just made arrangements to spend a week in Karpathos during the last few days of August/first few days of September. I am hoping that the August crowd of tourists will begin to clear out during my stay and that the weather is splendid.

My one big concern is transportation. I've been to other Greek islands on two other occasions and have never rented a car. I've always taken the bus service (which I know is super slim on Karpathos thanks to this forum) or rented an ATV or motorbike.

Because of the paucity of bus service I've chosen to stay in the main port town, Pigadia. Though Amoopi and Diafani looked enticing, I felt that that Pigadia would be best for easy access to the other areas of the island assuming I DON'T rent a car.

Here's the rub: during this part of my trip (I'll be on other islands prior to this with some friends who are headed back early), I'll be going solo. So, I'd be paying for a rental car all by myself, and for an entire week I think that price could add up. So based on that I have a couple of questions

1) Is it much cheaper to rent an ATV than a car? If so, I may consider this option.

2) If I rent a car for longer than one day, will I have trouble finding a parking space near/in Pigadia at the end of each day?

3) Can you rent ATVs/motorbikes for more than one day at a time if I choose to go that route?

Any other helpful information would be so appreciated! Thank you again and I CAN'T WAIT to explore this beautiful island. Its charms seem neverending...especially for a beach bum like yours truly.

There ARE buses: https://karpathosbus.wordpress.com/schedule/
There are also excursion boats to Apellia and Diafani (with bus connection to Olympos)
Many places in the South can just be reached by hiking. here are taxis too.

Thank you! I think I can just rent a car for a couple of days and plan the places I can go to by bus or boat for other days.

Be sure to go to your local AAA office to pick up an International Driving Permit, no test or membership required. Bring 2 passport photos to save a few dollars.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.