The villages of Samothraki: two drives round the island

Samothraki has no big town, only a port and a dozen small villages, most of them a short drive apart. Each has its own character: the old capital on the mountainside, hill villages known for their tavernas, olive-grove hamlets, and the green north coast under the forest. The island splits naturally into two drives, each an easy day by car or scooter, with plenty of stops.

The south-west: Chora, the hill villages and Pachia Ammos

Chora, the old capital, climbs the slopes of Mount Saos about 5 km by road from the port, built out of sight of the sea against pirates. Walk its narrow lanes up to the medieval castle, look into the Church of the Assumption, the island’s main church and home of its 15 August feast, and in summer the Folklore Museum, a 19th-century stone house kept as island homes once were. For a break, Lefkos Pyrgos is a café and dessert place known across the island.

Below Chora, Alonia is a quiet village of houses and gardens among olive groves, about 4.5 km from the port. Further along the south-west side, Xiropotamos is a small hill village where a shaded path follows its stream past the old water mills, with its own café-taverna for lunch.

Profitis Ilias, about 12 km from the port, is the hill village known for its tavernas serving local goat, and for the view over the sea at sunset: most people drive up for dinner. Lower down, Lakoma sits in olive groves on the road to the beach, and Makrilies has the island’s only cheese dairy, with a small farm shop. Dafnes, in the olive groves of the southern slopes, has Melmar, the island’s winery.

The road ends at Pachia Ammos, the island’s long sandy beach, with the chapel of Panagia Krimniotissa on the rock above it. The south coast is the sheltered side when the summer north wind blows.

The north coast: Palaiopolis, Therma and the far east

Palaiopolis, about 6 km from the port, was the island’s ancient city. The Sanctuary of the Great Gods, where the Winged Victory was found in 1863, and its museum are here, with the Gattilusi towers standing above.

East along the coast road, Kariotes has stays near the sea, and Therma, about 14 km from the port, is the green village under the forests of Mount Saos: the hot springs, the walks to the Fonias and Gria Vathra waterfalls, the start of the climb up Saos, and a small harbour with boat trips.

Beyond Therma and the Fonias gorge, Ano Meria is the island’s far east: scattered farms and plane-tree valleys, with the little chapel of Agia Paraskevi in its own cove. The road ends about 23 km from the port at Kipos, a wild pebble beach facing the Turkish island of Gökçeada, with a beach bar for lunch.

Good to know

• To see the villages in a day you need a car or scooter. Local buses leave the port for Chora, for the north coast and Therma, and for Alonia, Lakoma and Profitis Ilias: see getting around without a car.
• There is no road along the south-east coast: Pachia Ammos and Kipos are both dead ends, so the two drives don’t join up.
• Every village name above leads to its page, with what is near it and where to stay.