Karpathos

 

Main features

Southernmost of the 12 islands of the Greek archipelago of Dodecanese along the Turkish coast.

The island is also not far from Crete. It is pretty hilly, the west coast has more sandy beaches while on the East side the coast has more pebbles and rock beaches.  It is also a good place for hiking with several marked paths.

The area between Arkasa a Lefkos has many sandy beaches and is in principle calm and suited for families with children.

The island has some nice and typical villages like Olympos, Mesohori, Othos, etc.

The area around Karpatos town and Pigadia in the south is more touristic and is there is the higher concentration of hotels and rooms to let.

The area near airport is rather windy and favored by windsurfers.  Diakoftis is a very nice white sand beach that can be reached through an unpaved road from the airport.

Few or no charter serve Karpathos directly. The island can be reached by ferry or airplane through Athens or Rodhos.

The visit to the island can be combined with a trip to Western Crete. There is a regular flight between Sitia and Karpathos

Most of the island hotels and some apartments are listed at http://karpathoshotels.gr/hotels.html

This site also has much information and pictures.