Samos

Linda,

My first suggestion would be to have a look at the website www.greektravel.com as that will provide a good description of the different areas on Samos. Once you've established which area to stay, check TripAdvisor for Hotel recommendations.

Good luck and happy travels!

It's a big island even if you have a car.

I'd stay in Pythagorio or Samos Town - both are large
enough to give you lots to do and both have a good
selection of hotels.

Pythagorio is the prettiest (IMHO) and you can catch
a ferry to some of the tiny islands for a day trip.

Samos Town has a GREAT little museum - really worth
a few hours.

We were there after a tour that ended the second
week in October and outside of the two towns a
lot of things were winding down; 'end of season'
was a common comment!

We rented a studio for two weeks but stayed at the
Samos hotel b4 catching the ferry back to Turkey.
V. nice hotel with a lovel roof-top plunge pool
and view over the harbour.

Manolates is a lovely little hilltop village but
you either hike or drive up a mountain to get there.

We stayed in Ormos Marathokampos in the south west for 4 days in late September. We found it a lovely quiet fishing village, though if you are after nightlife I wouldn't recommend it. Very friendly - small enough that we were soon known at the supermarket, but big enough to have amenities.

Limnionas beach nearby is excellent and we spent an entire day there. You do really need a car to get around the beaches though.

We stayed in Sokrates Apartments which was great value at 38 euro per night for 2, it's part of the Kerkis Bay Hotels. If you're after beach relaxation somewhere quiet I would highly recommend Ormos Marathokampos. Though not if you are allergic to cats as they swarm the main street and the outdoor dining areas!

We also stayed one night in Samos (Helen's hotel I think, which was good) but after Ormos it seemed large and impersonal. Depends what you are after though.

Linda, it would help us give better advice if you would give pertinent details, i.e., WHEN in Spring?? That matters if you hope to swim... I once tried the waters off Samos on May 9 and almost got hypothermia.. another visit, I swam about May 16, and it was much better. And HOW LONG do you plan to stay? 2 days? a week? It matters. If it's a SHORT stay, and you want to see the Island, I'd say, stay in Samos Town (also called Vathy). I loooove a little family-run hotel there, right on Vathy bay to the left of the quay as u face inland.. HOtel Pythagoras (google it). It has a cute little sandy beach just below its balconies. Check out the town, the little museum (it has the LARGEST Kouros in the world), walk up hill to Ano ("High") Vathy, views are superb! The public bus service runs a half-day bus tour of the entire island... you'll have to visit the bus station to find out when it runs (only complaint about Samos, its visitor information is lame). If you want a hiking & village experience, then follow previous advice: rent car, go to Limnonias Beach; Studios Joanna there http://www.studiosioanna.com/ are super. You can walk through inland villages that Time Forgot. This could become your Dream Greek Island!

On janet's (travellerjan) advice from another forum,
we stayed at Joanna's in Limnionas; nice lady, great
spot, but in October it is definately winding down!
And you need a car - the busses have their own
island agenda!

Most nights we went into Ormos or Kampos to eat -
Ormos is a cute little town w/tavernas on the water
front.

Don't know if Samos would ever be my "Dream Island"
but for a few days R&R after a busy tour it would
be ideal.