Advice for Amorgos?

August 17, 2017 11:13 AM

I'm going to Amorgos! I know nothing about Amorgos! Any advice?

I'm going on a yoga retreat from August 25th to September 4th, on the Greek island of Amorgos. Basically we have yoga in the morning and evening, with the rest of the day free to do whatever we want.

Normally when I go on a trip, I do a ton of research beforehand and have all kinds of things planned out but... life has been crazy busy lately and I just didn't have a chance this time. Can anyone suggest some stuff to check out on the island? From the few minutes I've spent googling and reading my Lonely Planet book, it looks like the primary thing to do on this island is hike and see historical buildings. Which is great, but what else might I be missing?

And more importantly...what is stuff to do on nearby islands that are easily accessible? Not looking for more than a two hour boat trip away from home base (unless its the most amazing thing of my life). People with Greece experience, how easy is it to bop around from island to island? Is it as easy as catching the Staten Island Ferry, or is it more of a production with long lines, waiting forever, only one boat leaving a day and if you miss it, you're doomed, etc?

Things I like include kayaking, hiking, museums, live music, festivals, and the strange and unusual :)

posted by silverstatue to Travel & Transportation around Greece (2 answers total)

Best answer: Hey, I love Amorgos! I lived on Paros for a year and Amorgos is a popular weekend destination for locals who want to deal with fewer tourists. Really, the Aegean islands are extremely walkable and pleasant even when there aren't specific sights you want to see. Good food, long floats in a salty ocean.

At any rate, ferries are easy. You can order tickets online and plan most of your trip online in English, or you can stroll over to the ferry office and see what's close and cheap. Sometimes there are transportation strikes, so if you're planning a day trip, ask the ferry office if there are any strikes planned, and if you want a backup plan, make sure you have a phone number or website for a cheap hostel or hotel at your destination in case the ferries are delayed.

https://tickets.ferries.gr

Naxos and Paros and Antiparos are very close to Amorgos, and have some interesting archaeological stuff to visit (Archilochos' cave on Paros is a fun hike from the main town of Parikia, the cave of the Cyclops is reputedly on Antiparos). Naxos is bigger and I've actually not spent a whole lot of time there but I know it's popular and it's where Dionysos was born (and where Zeus was raised and given thunder, apparently).

There are amazing and easy snorkelling trips from the major ports on all of the islands I listed above and there is so much to see in shallow water around the islands, artifact-wise (giant olive oil and wine urns, old marble quarries).

If you want to take an unplanned vacation, you picked the right place - you basically can just walk around all day and be highly entertained and within steps of great food and wine.
posted by annathea at 12:17 PM on August 17, 2017

I've never been to Amorgos, but I love it because of the poem by Nikos Gatsos; you can read about it, with excerpts, in Anita Sullivan's piece about translating it, here's an excerpt translated by Kimon Friar, here's a translation by Sally Purcell (click on "excerpt" to see an excerpt), and here's the whole thing (pdf) in facing-page Greek and English.
posted by languagehat at 1:26 PM on August 17, 2017