Read all about Andros, a lush Cyclades island with a rich tradition, in this detailed guide offering information on accommodation, food, recreational activities, entertainment and swimming. Direct access to the beauty of Andros is promised.
Andros, possessing a great maritime tradition, is balanced between cosmopolitan, classic and alternative ways. The island’s cultural aspect and naval past are discernible everywhere. Andros’ many museums, archaeological sites, medieval mansions and exceptional gastronomy offer a complete experience for visitors. The island’s tremendous variety, on all levels, is a key reason why many Athenians have decided to build or purchase holiday homes on Andros.
Strong local winds, which are common all over the Cyclades, are not a deterrent for visitors, but, instead, serve as an incentive for water sports and related activities. The island’s numerous beaches offer plenty of choice, sure to satisfy all preferences. The range includes golden sandy beaches with shallow water, secluded coves ideal for diving, beaches offering lavish experiences, including luxury sunbeds, as well as the freedom to simply lay your towel under a tamarisk tree.
Andros offers impressive greenery, mountains, fertile plains and running waters, features that distinguish the island from more barren settings typically found in the Cyclades, without breaking it away from Cycladic charm and style. Andros’ landscape offers changing images and experiences.
Hora, the main town, is dominated by neoclassical mansions, marble paved streets, churches and museums, all making for fascinating strolls around the town’s alleys, a delightful experience filled with historical references.
Heading down to the coast, the island’s vibe alters and is shaped by tavernas, hotels and bars. These spots all generate a vibrant scene at the town’s entertainment hub, offering food, dessert and drink choices for all ages.
Andros’ dense greenery offers serenity. The natural setting includes numerous trails, ravines, waterfalls, as well as picturesque villages with tower houses, water mills and chapels. Trekking enthusiasts, in particular, can expect to find an extensive network of trails totaling 180 km. Uphill and downhill stretches, as well as routes alongside running water, are all part of the trekking experience. The Andros Route, as it has been dubbed, has become well known amongst trekkers. This route has been given “Leading Quality Trails – Best of Europe” classification, based on the high standards set by the European Ramblers Association.
Where to stay
Krinos Suites Hotel: A renovated 19th century building at Batsi, it has been transformed into a hotel. It is located very close to the village centre and beach (Batsi, +30 2282042038, www.krinoshotel.com)
Micra Anglia: This boutique hotel is housed at a restored 19th century neoclassical building with art nouveau features. It offers a main swimming pool with sunbeds and a spa. (13 M. I. Goulandri, Hora, +30 2282022207, www.micra-anglia.gr)
Onar Residence: Individual, minimal-style stone houses, situated very close to Ahla beach, are set in greenery. The hotel offers a restaurant as well as yoga sessions. (Ahla, +30 2108074324, +30 6956292915, www.onar-andros.gr)
Casa di Fiori Andros Suits: A stone-built accommodation facility, it is situated just off central Andros, to the east. This spot of minimal Cycladic architecture offers views of the mountain, sea or hotel garden. (Hora-Gavrio road, +30 6942627550, www.casadifioriandros.com)
Where to swim
Andros has numerous beaches, both serviced and free, without sunbeds and shops, catering to all visitor preferences. A list of the island’s best-known beaches follows, in no particular order of preference.
Batsi: The island’s biggest seaside village, Batsi offers lots of cafes, fish tavernas, restaurants and beach bars. The beach is sandy with calm, shallow waters. Many sunbeds and some water sports options are available.
Vitali: A small beach with pebbles and sand, its turquoise, transparent waters are deep. The seabed is covered with large, rounded stones. Sunbeds and beach bars are offered.
Zorkos: This beach of impressive waters is vast and combines golden sand with pebbles. It is reached via a mostly paved road running from Gavrio, the island’s main port. The final 5-km section of this route is a dirt road. A section of the beach is serviced, offering a beach bar and taverna.
Ahla: Ahla beach is renowned for its impressive waters and forest with centuries-old plane trees, a wildlife refuge of rare fauna and flora. A river of the same name flows into the waters of Ahla beach, creating small waterfalls ideal for dips. Reaching this beach is challenging, requiring 4×4 vehicles. Alternatively, boat service is offered to the beach from Hora.
Agios Petros: Andros’ biggest beach, Agios Petros is sandy with shallow waters, making it a favourite spot for families. It is serviced. Water sports are offered.
Ateni: A sandy beach with sand dunes, its waters remain shallow many metres from the shoreline. Ateni features two beaches, both shallow and easily reached from Batsi. The bigger of the two beaches is serviced, offering sunbeds and beach bars. The spot is particularly popular amongst surfers. The final 3-km section heading downhill to the two Ateni beaches is a dirt road.
Hrysi Ammos: Andros’ most popular beach, it is covered with fine sand. A serviced beach, it offers water sports and is popular among families as well as young people.
Agios Kyprianos: An entirely free beach, without any services, Agios Kyprianos has clean, transparent waters. The location is relatively windless, while shade may be found at rocks to the side.
Kolona: A sandy beach at the village entrance, Kolona offers a beach bar and sunbeds. A dirt road, running slightly downhill but not challenging, reaches this beach, preferred mostly by couples.
Halkolimnionas: Getting to Halkolimnionas beach is easy and ample parking space is available. The beach is surrounded by rocks and offers a view that reaches as far as Syros and Kea. It is serviced, has shallow waters, and is favoured by families.
Tis Grias To Pidima: One of Andros’ best-known beaches, Tis Grias To Pidima is covered with fine pebbles and offers sensational waters. It is not serviced. Visitors need to walk along a trail to reach this beach. Make sure you are equipped with all essentials if choosing this beach.
Vori: Vori is mainly preferred by groups of friends without families as it is detached. It is located in the island’s east and is not serviced. Three shipwrecks here have made Vori beach an attraction for scuba divers. Part of the way to the beach requires covering a dirt track.
Apothikes: A cove with sand and deep waters, Apothikes has beach umbrellas and a beach bar. It is an ideal spot for spearfishing and scuba diving. The biggest section of the road leading to the beach is a dirt track.
Fellos: This beach is vast, has clean waters and is serene. Access is easy. Fellos is not serviced, so take along your essentials. The shore is sandy while the seabed is covered with fine pebbles.
Pisolimnionas: A large and relatively remote beach, Pisolimnionas offers clean waters and a sandy shore. It is not serviced. Take along water, food and a beach umbrella. Reaching this beach, which is generally quiet, is easy.
Mylos: A wide, serviced beach, Mylos is ideal for surfing and windsurfing enthusiasts as a result of its appropriate winds.
Kypri: A beach with golden sand, Kypri offers a beach bar with sunbeds. It is ideal for watersports such as windsurfing, waterskiing, wakeboarding and canoeing. Lessons by qualified instructors are offered for all these disciplines.
Neiborio: Neiborio, the bay surrounding the main town, is a welcoming, sandy beach with shallow waters. It is fully serviced, infrastructure including showers and changing rooms. The spot is ideal for families with young children, as long as it is not too windy.
Embros Gyalia, Piso Gyalia: Embros Gyalia beach may be reached via a road. The Pytharas river, well known for waterfalls its forms close to the village Apoikia, flows into the sea at Embros Gyalia beach. Poplars and plane trees reach the shore here, offering shade in the afternoon hours.
Piso Gyalia may only be trekked to. Visitors can only drive up to a certain point and leave vehicles by the main road. The beach may also be swum to from Embros Gyalia. Piso Gyalia is endowed with golden sand and blue waters. It also offers a popular beach bar with music. Young people like to gather here. Beach parties are commonly thrown.
Gastronomic identity
Andros, as is generally the case around Greece, has distinctive features. The island has fertile meadows with orange trees, lemon trees, mulberry trees, pomegranates, fig trees and orchards growing vegetables. Olive oil, wine and raki are produced on the island, along with citrus fruit-flavoured digestif liqueurs, made by local cooperatives, as well as pontzi, a local honey-and-raki beverage.
Citrus fruit is used to make a wide range of sweet preserves, all particularly popular. Local figs are used to make a sweet called pastelaria (dried figs with grated walnut, cinnamon and sesame). The island’s amigdalota (almond cookies), sprinkled with floral water and icing sugar, are a renowned local sweet, as are the sweet kaltsounia (tarts) with honey, walnuts and pine nuts, and the pastitsakia (baked almond flakes).
The local honey, a key ingredient in Andros’ cuisine, is of exceptional quality. In more recent years, beekeepers have been using traditional methods, winning awards at related trade fairs.
Andros, like all the Cyclades islands, is also renowned for its charcuterie. Try the louza, pork marinated in sweet red wine, flavored, and then smoked. Cut it into very thin, almost transparent slices for maximum satisfaction.
The island’s sausages are spicy, smoked and feature an intense aniseed flavour. Cheese varieties are important in the local diet. Try the armexia, malahto, volaki, petroti, ladotyri, krasotyri and kopanisti, to be found at all restaurants and tavernas on the island, often incorporated into recipes.
Andros’ most distinctive dish is the froutalia, or fourtalia, a hearty traditional omelette.
Wines and drinks
Numerous grape varieties, over 30, have been cultivated at the island’s vineyards over the years. At present, Andros’ best-known grape varieties are:
Maloukato: Resilient and late-maturing, this grape variety has a high concentration of sugars and a good level of must acidity.
Begleri: Late-maturing and high-yielding, Begleri offers wines of mild alcohol content, discreet acidity and particular aroma.
Armeletousa: This red grape variety, possibly Andros’ most characteristic, offers potent wines of medium colour intensity and mild acidity.
Koummari: A red grape variety, it is also known as Koumariano or Koumaria. Maturing relatively early, it yields wines of fine colour, high alcohol content and satisfactory acidity. It is also appropriate for sweet wines produced with sun-dried grapes.
Mavrostyfo: A deep-coloured grape variety with thick, sour-tasting skin, it yields dry wines of good alcohol content.
Kontoura mavri: Mandilaria grapes, also known as Mavrokountoura on the island.
Tsipouro: Always a favourite spirit, its distilling method is very much like the procedure carried out in the past. Tsipouro is used as a base for local liqueurs, including sour cherry, pomegranate, and Andros’ specialty, kaisi, an apricot variety.
Where to eat
To Balkoni Tou Aigeou/The Aegean Balcony: Diners here may enjoy meals with views of the sunset and the Aegean Sea. The spot is renowned for its meat dishes. Menu selections include rooster in wine sauce with homemade pasta, grilled pork, as well as a variety of other grilled meats served with fresh potatoes. The taverna uses its own homemade dairy products and bread, baked daily. Don’t miss out on trying the traditional froutalia omelette.
Ano Aprovato, +30 2282 042 064
Kossis: This taverna is situated close to Andros’ harbour but is not easy to find. Ask a local for directions. Meat-based dishes, such as kid goat, lamb, pork chops, and liver, are served. For dessert, the spot serves yoghurt and homemade sweet preserve.
Ano-Kato Fellos, +30 697 200 2975
Endohora: Endohora, on the main pedestrian street, offers standout menu selections such as pastitisio, briam (roasted vegetables) risotto with mildly sour cheese, spaghetti served with local delicacies, tagliata, lamb shanks, and octopus. Meals here are topped off with a shot of mastiha liqueur or soumada.
Hora, +30 2282 023 027
What to see
Andros is a distinctly cultural island courtesy of its tradition, archaeological museums, as well as significant art galleries, attractions for art lovers.
Andros Archaeological Museum: Discoveries resulting from excavations on Andros, which date from the Neolithic to Byzantine periods, are on show at this museum. Artefacts include a marvellous collection from the geometric settlement at Zagora. Hora, +30 2282 023 664
Contemporary Art Museum: The museum hosts temporary exhibitions featuring work by prominent artists from all over the world, and also maintains its own art collection. Hora, +30 2282 022 444.
Folk and Christian Art Museum: Housed at an old ice factory, Mantzavelakis, this museum includes items reflecting life on Andros and copies of significant Christian art. Hora, +30 2282 022 187
Cyclades Olive Museum: Visitors to this stone building, an example of Cycladic architecture, may learn about the traditional ways of olive oil production. Pitrofos, +30 6932 731 77
Archaeological sites
Strofilas archaeological site: This is the biggest settlement of the late Neolithic era to have been discovered in the Aegean. Extensive rock art representations, linear motifs, pictorial motifs, narrative scenes, and a sanctuary floor are among the most significant discoveries here.
Palaiopoli archaeological site: Dating back to the 7th-6th century BC, this spot served as the island’s capital. Wall sections, a temple dedicated to Pythian Apollo, and cemeteries are among the discoveries here.
Zagora settlement: A vast settlement, Zagora dates back to between the 10th and 8th centuries BC, the Geometric Period, and is surrounded by a wall measuring 110 metres. Remnants of old houses, gathering places and storage facilities have survived.
Agios Petros tower: A Hellenistic-era tower, one of the period’s best preserved in the Cyclades, Agios Petros was built entirely with local slate. Metal mining facilities surround the tower.
Monasteries: Andros’ monasteries, renowned for their architecture, stretch back to a period ranging from the Byzantine era to the final years of the Ottoman empire. Important relics of Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity have survived.
Zoodohou Pigis Monastery (Batsi, Andros, +30 2282072459)
Agias Marinas Monastery (Apoikia, Andros, +30 2282024074)
Agios Nikolaos en Vounenois Monastery (Vourkoti, +30 2282022190)
Panahrantou Monastery (Fallika, +30 2282051090)
What to do
Andros, an island of many dimensions, is great for numerous recreational activities. Visit the Pythara waterfalls at Apoikia, reached via a smooth trail surrounded by dense greenery. Abundant water cascades with force, creatig an amazing ecosystem that serves as habitat for many birds and amphibians. Rare plant species and wild flowers grow alongside the creek.
Go river trekking in Gerolimni, at the Ahla river, take boat trips on traditional wooden boats, explore the island, and go mountain climbing (www.exploreandros.gr)
Hire equipment for water sports and head off for sea adventures, after checking on weather conditions with authorities (National Meteorological Service, Tourist Police, Port Authority). If you are not experienced, certified instructors provide lessons for various water sports. www.wesurfin.com, www.scuba-andros.gr
Trails
The island features an extensive network of trails, which, at many sections, are cobbled. In the past, they served as routes linking the villages
In 2009, a group of volunteers began preserving the existing network and clearing trails that had become inaccessible over the years. The initial effort was followed up by the addition of new routes, resulting in an extensive network of trails now measuring a total of 180 kilometres. They cover all of Andros. Of the 180-kilometre total, 100 kilometres constitute the Andros Route. Marked in blue on island trekking maps, it runs from north to south and passes through areas of natural beauty as well as by monuments.
Experienced trekkers can expect to require about ten days to cover all the island’s trails, if trekking for between four to five hours a day. The degree of difficulty of Andros’ trails ranges from moderate to considerably difficult, but the rewards offered in return are plenty, including picturesque villages, chapels, creeks, old olive groves, stone bridges, water mills and castles, all set in dense greenery.
Inexperienced trekkers interested in trying can take shorter, easier routes for a gradual entry into the world of trekking. These simpler routes are all marked out on maps for beginners. Whatever route you choose, make sure to check on the weather forecast before taking off. More information on the network of trails is available here. If, due to lack of experience, you would prefer expert guidance, organised group excursions are offered at www.androsroutes.gr, https://onefootforward.gr.
Whatever you decide to do on Andros, the island has surprises in store!
Read also:
Gerolimni lake, lush natural wonder in the Cyclades with running waters
Andros: Surrounded by sea –Louisa Diapouli takes us on a tour of her mansion and island
Sailing at the Small Cyclades -Aegean’s most impressive waters, sea caves, secluded bays
