Greece - Korina Miller [532]
Also recommended:
Captain Cook Self-Service Restaurant ( 22260 23852; mains €3-7) A bit of everything, tasty and cheap.
Taverna Sbanios ( 22260 23111; mains €4-8) Quality grills, breakfast omelettes.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Boat
Regular ferries run between Loutra Edipsou and mainland Arkitsa, and also between nearby Agiokambos and mainland Glyfa. For details Island Hopping.
Tickets should be purchased from the dock kiosk at the port of Loutra Edipsou.
Bus
From the KTEL bus station ( 22260 22250; Thermopotamou), 200m from the port, buses run to Halkida (€13, four hours, once daily at 5.30am), Athens (€12.30, 3½ hours, three daily via Arkitsa) and Thessaloniki (€22, five hours, daily at 10am via Glyfa). For more information on services to/from Athens and Thessaloniki, Island Hopping.
Limni Λμη
pop 2070
One of Evia’s most picturesque ports, little Limni faces seaward, its maze of whitewashed houses and narrow lanes spilling onto a busy waterfront of cafes and tavernas. The town’s cultural museum ( 22270 31900; admission €2; 9am-1pm Mon-Sat, 10.30am-1pm Sun), just 50m up from the waterfront, features local archaeological finds along with antique looms, costumes and old coins. Seldom visited, Limni is well worth a stopover.
With your own transport, you can visit the splendid 16th-century Convent of Galataki, ( 9am-noon & 5-8pm) 9km southeast of Limni on a hillside above a coastal road, and home to a coterie of six nuns. The fine mosaics and frescoes in its katholikon (main church) merit a look, especially the Entry of the Righteous into Paradise.
SLEEPING & EATING
Rovies Camping ( 22270 71120; www.campingevia.com/evia-holidays.html; camp sites per adult/tent €6.50/free) Attractive and shaded Rovies sits just above a pebble beach, 12km northwest of Limni.
Ostria Apartments ( /fax 22270 32248; www.ostria-apartments.gr; apt incl breakfast from €90; ) Olive trees and bougainvillea surround 10 handsome self-catering apartments across the road from a long beach, 1km northwest of Limni.
Taverna Arga ( 22270 31479; mains €4-12) Pick an outside table at this waterfront taverna and enjoy the passing parade of villagers and visitors, along with well-prepared grilled octopus, gavros (anchovies) and yemista (stuffed peppers and tomatoes).
Other village options:
Zaniakos Domatia ( 6977936698; r €25; )
Agrabeli Apts ( 22270 32312; www.agrabeli.eu; r €70; )
Ouzerie Fiki ( 22270 32411; mezedhes €2-5)
Return to beginning of chapter
SOUTHERN EVIA
Continuing east from Eretria, the road branches at Lepoura: the left fork leads north to Kymi, the right south to Karystos. A turn-off at Krieza, 3km from the junction, leads to Lake Dhistos, a shallow lake bed favoured by egrets and other wetland birds. Continuing south, you’ll pass high-tech windmills and catch views of both coasts as the island narrows until it reaches the sea at Karystos Bay, near the base of Mt Ohi (1398m).
Karystos Κρυστος
pop 4960
Set on the wide Karystos Bay below Mt Ohi, and flanked by two sandy beaches, this remote but charming coastal resort is the starting point for treks to Mt Ohi and the Dimosari Gorge. The town’s lively Plateia Amalias (Amalias Sq), faces the bay and boat harbour.
INFORMATION
You’ll find an Alpha Bank ATM on the main square, and Polihoros Internet & Sports Cafe ( 22240 24421; Kriezotou 132; per hr €3; 9am-1am) next to the Galaxy Hotel.
SIGHTS
Karystos, mentioned in Homer’s ‘Iliad’, was a powerful city-state during the Peloponnesian Wars. The Karystos Museum ( 22240 25661; admission €2; 8.30am-3pm Tue-Sun) documents the town’s archaeological heritage, including tiny Neolithic clay lamps, a stone plaque written in the Halkidian alphabet, 5th-century-BC grave stelae depicting Zeus and Athena, and an exhibit of the 6th-century drakospita (dragon houses) of Mt Ohi and Styra. The museum sits opposite a 14th-century Venetian castle, the Bourtzi (admission free; year-round).
TOURS
South Evia Tours ( 22240 25700; fax 22240 29091; www.eviatravel.gr; Plateia Amalias) offers a range of booking services including