Samothraki by night: sunsets, tavernas, bars and feast days
Slow evenings on Samothraki: where to watch the sunset and when, late dinners in Profitis Ilias, Chora and Therma, the bars and beach bars, and the summer feast days that last until dawn.
Samothraki is not a party island, and that is the point. Its evenings are slow: the sun going down behind the mountains, a long dinner under the plane trees, a drink by the sea, and in summer a village feast that lasts until the small hours. Here is how a night on the island usually goes, and where to spend it.
Sunset first
The sun sets late in summer: around 20:30 in May, close to 20:50 in June and July, about 20:20 in mid-August and 19:30 in mid-September. By mid-October it is down by about 18:40.
The classic place to watch it is Profitis Ilias, the hill village in the south-west, where the light goes over the Aegean and the slopes of Mount Saos. In Chora, Meltemi Café-Bar looks out over the village and the Thracian Sea; it is a good place to start the evening.
Dinner, late and long
Islanders eat late, and tavernas are busiest after nine. Profitis Ilias is known for its goat, at tavernas such as O Vrachos, Paradeisos and I Pigi, which makes it easy to stay on after the sunset. Chora has its own tavernas in the lanes, such as Taverna Ouzeri 1900 and I Aretsa, and Therma eats under the plane trees by the stream, at places such as To Perivoli t' Ouranou and To Gefyri. Our guide Where to eat on Samothraki, village by village has the rest.
A drink after dinner
- Chora: Lydia Cocktail Bar, with a long list of cocktails, beers and wines, and Meltemi for a quieter drink with the view.
- Kamariotissa: Sxoleio ("The School"), a café-bar with cocktails, live music and themed nights.
- Therma: Saoki Beach Bar, the island's first beach bar, on Therma beach since 1997, with live music on some summer evenings.
- On the north coast: Limnidi Beach Bar, between Kamariotissa and Palaiopoli.
Beach bars open for the summer season; out of season, the cafés in Chora and Kamariotissa are where the island goes in the evening.
Feast days: the island's biggest nights
In summer the villages celebrate their saints with a panigyri: food, music and dancing into the night, and everyone is welcome. The ones with a fixed date are 26 July at Agia Paraskevi, the evening vigil on 28 July at the Altar of Saint Paul, and 15 August, the Dormition of the Virgin, the island's biggest night, with a panigyri in Chora. Village panigyria move from year to year, so ask locally. Our story on the churches and chapels of Samothraki has every feast day.
Stars
Away from the villages there is little light on Samothraki, so on a clear, moonless night the sky is full of stars. Any quiet stretch of coast road will do; take a torch for the walk back.
Plan your evenings
The travel planner and the 3D map end every day of your trip near where you stay: a sunset on the first evening, then dinner and a drink, with the sunset time for your month and the feast days that fall in it.
