Karavostasi

Karavostasi is the only port on Folegandros, and for most people arriving in the Cyclades by sea it is the first and last part of the island they see. It sits on the sheltered eastern coast, about 3.4 kilometres below Chora, the island's capital. The name translates roughly as "the place where boats stop", which is a fair description of what the bay has always done: it is the one stretch of coast on Folegandros where a vessel can come alongside in reasonable comfort.

Atmosphere and Layout

The settlement is small. A strip of tavernas, a few shops and rooms sit behind the quay, and whitewashed houses with blue doors and window frames climb the slope above. Ferry arrivals aside, it stays quiet; most of the island's day-to-day life happens up in Chora rather than down at the water. The waterfront is the practical centre of things instead, and it is where the local beach boats leave from, where supplies come ashore, and where crews reprovision before moving on.

Wind and Water Conditions

The prevailing meltemi blows down from the northern Aegean and can be strong through midsummer. It makes for fast sailing but calls for care when berthing in the port itself, which is open to some directions. The calmer part of the year runs from April to October, and May is the quietest month, with an average wind speed of about 10.9 miles per hour (roughly 17.5 km/h).

Water temperatures stay above 73°F (23°C) for around three and a half months, from late June to early October, peaking in August at about 76°F (24°C). Underwater visibility here is unusually good — local dive operators quote 25 to 30 metres through the summer — so the protected bays either side of the port are worth a mask and snorkel even if you have no interest in going deeper.

Beaches Around Karavostasi

Karavostasi has its own beach immediately beside the port: a pebbled shore with clear, shallow water and trees for shade, close enough to the village that nothing needs planning. Several more are strung along the same stretch of coast. Vardia is a flight of steps from the harbour and has sand and shade; Latinaki, about ten minutes on foot, is a small sandy cove looking back at the port; Vitsentzou lies between Latinaki and Pountaki and is well protected when the wind gets up; Pountaki is the smallest and the hardest to reach, and the best of the group in a northerly. None of them have facilities, and the ground shifts between sand, pebble and rock, so sea shoes are worth packing.

Katergo, on the south-eastern coast, is the beach most visitors come for: turquoise water, a pebbled shore and cliffs closing it in at both ends. No road reaches it. Access is either by beach boat from Karavostasi, about ten minutes, or on foot from the settlement of Livadi along a steep path that takes around half an hour. It is the best-known beach on Folegandros, and in July and August it fills up.

Caves and Diving

Chrysospilia, on the north-eastern side of the island roughly 30 metres above the sea, is the most important archaeological site on Folegandros. The cave runs about 300 metres through two chambers joined by a narrow corridor. Some 400 male and three female names have been recorded on its walls, written in a clay material and dating mainly to the 4th century BC; around thirty of them appear nowhere in surviving ancient Greek literature. The writers are thought to have been young men arriving from across Greece, and the visits are generally read as part of a coming-of-age rite. Roman wells, large quantities of shells and heavy stalactite formations have also been found inside. The cave is reachable only by sea and, being under the protection of the Archaeological Service, is closed to the public without a permit.

Georgitsi Cave, on the run of coast between Karavostasi and Katergo, is also accessible only from the water. It has no archaeological interest but it is a good scuba site, with striking rock formations under the surface.

The best-known dive site in the area is Posidonia Reef, named after the seagrass that carpets it. Depths run from about 3 to 38 metres, so it suits beginners and experienced divers alike, and a Second World War anchor lies on the seabed. Groupers, octopus, moray eels and nudibranchs are the usual sightings.

Folegandros lies between Milos, Sikinos and Santorini, which makes Karavostasi a stop rather than a destination in itself: a night's shelter, a resupply, a run out to Katergo and Chrysospilia. On a Cyclades route that would otherwise stay on the busier islands, it is worth a visit if you're chartering a gulet in Greece for exactly that reason.