Cyclades Greenest Cyclades Quiet beaches Car hire

Andros, Greece: The Chora, Batsi, Villages & Beaches

Andros is one of the largest and the greenest of the Cyclades islands, mountainous and rough, reached by ferry from Rafina near Athens in about 2 hours. The island keeps green valleys, tree-topped hills, sheltered bays and small villages around every corner, a lively neoclassical capital in Andros Chora, and many clean, unspoiled beaches that stay quiet even in season. Andros is easy to reach, yet far less touristy than its Cycladic neighbours. Hire a car to reach the parts of Andros the buses miss, covered in our Andros car hire guide.

Group: Cyclades
Ferry from Rafina: ~2 h
Capital: Andros Chora
Main resort: Batsi

The island of Andros

Andros is mountainous, rough and large, so it takes time to see all of it. Compared with the other Cyclades it stays remarkably green, with green valleys, tree-topped hills, sheltered bays and small villages everywhere, and its many springs keep the interior well watered. It has a beautiful capital in Andros Chora, unlike most Cycladic capitals, with big mansions, a sandy town beach, restaurants and museums. Gavrio on the north-west coast is the ferry port, Batsi the main resort, and in the south-east lie the Bay of Korthiou and the village of Ormos Korthiou. One of the island's great advantages is its many uncultivated, clean and often empty beaches.

The beaches of Andros

Andros has many beaches spread around the island, prettier, cleaner and clearer than on the other Cycladic islands, with far fewer parasols and sunbeds. Driving the few kilometres from Gavrio to Batsi you pass a new beautiful beach around every corner. The largest sandy beach is at Batsi itself, usually not busy, with some sunbeds and parasols for rent, while a little further on the beaches are often empty and unspoiled. The full run, including the naturist coves, is set out in the Andros beaches guide.

The sights of Andros

The sights of Andros gather around the neoclassical Chora and the ancient sites of the interior. A few kilometres south of Batsi lies ancient Paleopolis, the capital of Andros for twelve centuries, with an Archaeological Museum opened in 2013. The Chora holds three museums and the statue of the Unknown Sailor, the Monastery of Panachrantos stands at 750 metres in the south, and the springs and waterfalls of Menites and the Sariza spring at Apoikia water the green interior. The marquee sights, monasteries, museums and the island's walking routes are covered in the Andros sights guide.

Villages of Andros

Andros keeps its life in a handful of villages, led by the neoclassical Chora on the east coast and the ferry port of Gavrio on the north-west. Batsi is the main resort and holds most of the island's beds, Ormos Korthiou sits in a quiet bay in the south-east, and Stenies is a green village of old sea-captains' mansions just north of the Chora.

Andros Chora (Andros Town)

Andros Chora, the island capital, sits about an hour's drive from the ferry port of Gavrio on the east side, a lively neoclassical town of beautiful mansions, shops, tavernas and museums built on a peninsula around a Venetian castle. Its main street is paved with marble and runs among Byzantine, neoclassical and Venetian buildings, and the old centre is closed to cars. The remains of a Venetian castle from 1207, built by Marino Dandolo on a small islet linked to the peninsula by a bridge, and a lighthouse on a rock pillar in the sea stand at its tip. The town holds three museums and beaches on both sides, Nemborio and Paraporti, with most of its rooms at Nemborio. The museums and monuments are described in the Andros sights guide.

Batsi

Batsi, 7 kilometres from the port of Gavrio, has grown from a tiny fishing village into a cosmopolitan resort, with shops, restaurants, nightclubs and cosy bars around its great beach, plus a bank and a post office. It sits on two hills in a sheltered bay overlooking the Aegean, built amphitheatrically with whitewashed, tiled-roof houses and colourful windows and doors, and it keeps a picturesque little port with fishing boats. Most of the island's beds are here, in the form of studios and apartments, listed in the Andros hotels & villas guide.

Gavrio

Gavrio is the main ferry port of Andros, on the north-west coast, with a couple of small islands lying in its bay. It is not the most inviting port in the Cyclades, with cars lined up along the harbour front, but it is a busy little village with tavernas, car-rental offices and a good supermarket on the quay, and it is the place to buy your onward or return ferry tickets. Its long, narrow beach has rather hard sand, flushed by the ferries, though just outside Gavrio towards Batsi lie many fine sandy beaches, and a little to the north is the unspoiled beach of Felos. The Hellenistic Agios Petros Tower stands above the village.

Ormos Korthiou

Ormos Korthiou lies in the Bay of Korthiou in the south-east of Andros, a quiet village with a long sandy beach called Mylos Beach, named after the old windmill that stands on the sand near its centre (mylos is Greek for mill). The beach is sometimes simply called Ormos Beach. It can be windy here and the waves can run high, and the beach is unorganised, with no sunbeds or parasols for rent and few facilities beyond the tavernas of the village. It suits travellers who want a calm base away from Batsi.

Stenies

Stenies is a traditional village just north of Andros Chora, known for the grand mansions built by the island's sea captains and for its green, well-watered setting among gardens and trees. Below it lies the small bay and beach of Gialia. It makes a quiet, scenic stop on the way between the Chora and the north of the island.

Where to stay

Most beds on Andros are in Batsi, in studios and apartments, with more hotels in the neoclassical Chora and self-catering villas scattered at quieter beaches such as Achla and Zorkos. Batsi puts you on the island's largest sandy beach with the widest choice of tavernas and bars, the Chora suits a base in town near the museums, and the villas suit travellers who want privacy by an empty beach. Compare the options in the Andros hotels & villas guide, which covers the island's hotels and its self-catering villas.

Where to eat

Andros serves its food in the lanes of the Chora, along the waterfront at Batsi and at the harbour of Gavrio. The Chora keeps cafes, tavernas and cheap, good fast-food places, Batsi lines its bay with restaurants and bars, and Gavrio feeds ferry travellers on the quay. The places Hans ate on the island are set out in the Andros restaurants guide.

Getting to Andros

Andros is reached by flying to Athens and taking a taxi or bus about 30 minutes to the small harbour of Rafina, then the ferry, on which Andros is the first stop, about 2 hours away. Another option is to fly to Mykonos and take the ferry from there, roughly 1.5 to 2 hours. Several ferries run between Rafina and Andros each day, most leaving in the morning and late afternoon, and they arrive at the port of Gavrio, where several car-rental companies operate. A car helps on an island this large, since the best beaches lie far apart.