We are finishing a Rick Steves' Tour at Kusadasi in Turkey on September 17th, and then taking the ferry to Samos before starting some Greek island hopping. Any suggestions as to where to stay at Samos for maybe only a night as I see from others that we may want to head out shortly to more exciting locations. Suggestions for next island to visit after Samos?
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3320 posts
A terrif small family hotel is to y our left as you get off the pier, along the water, about 300 yards or so (notify ahead and they'll pick up at pier). It's HOtel Pythagoras, 20 rooms balcony looking on bay, and small sandy beach below & to your right; roomsa bout 30€ per night. Stelios & wife are wonderful hosts tell them Janet from Philadelphia sent you --
http://www.hostelz.com/hotel/1148-Pythagoras-Hotel
there's a restaurant next door, tables right on the water for spectacular sunsets
-- SAMOS is certainly worth a couple of days, don't scant it! Those "others" have never tried it! Vathy (Samos Town) has an upper (Ano Vathy) stunning view of the bay, looks like one of those stunning italian lake, with teal-blue water, terracotta roofs, cypresses. Vathy has best small museum in NE Aegean: Check public bus office, there's a cheap round the island tour too!
There's a good ferry -- Nissos Mykonos about 4/5 mornings per week, a 4+ hour ride to NAXOS, the perfect island to start any Cycladic Island-hopping you want. Naxos is my FAVORITE isle: in my 8 Greece trips, only one I go to each time; here's a friends slide show of its delights
http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/551723884HJciFG
stay in St. George (Ag. Giorgios) beach directly adjacent to Naxos Town ... there are tons of on-beach hotels: try St. George, Asteria, Glaros, Galini.
From Naxos, it's an easy 2-hr ferry to Santorini, which is good for 2-3 days; but after Samos & Naxos, you'll have a basis for comparison (it's beautiful, but so many people who rave about it have never been to any other isles). These 3 isles are good for Sept. visits... smaller islands are beginning to "close down."
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2126 posts
We had a terrible experience at Hotel Pythagoras in September of 2007. No welcome whatsoever. We had to stand around the lobby for 45 minutes while the girl at the bar called the owner to come check us in, and he never spoke to us again for our four days there. The hotel was almost deserted; it was very hot and no air conditioning so we opened the windows at night and were devoured by mosquitos. Tiny room with no room to walk around. No redeeming qualities whatsoever about this hotel. I could not recommend it to anybody.
Samos was OK but probably our least favorite island. (We've seen about a dozen.) We found Ikaria to be much more beautiful, Leros had the most fabulous food, and our favorite of all is Lesvos.
Where to go next depends on how many days you have, what you've already seen, and the type of activities you're interested in.