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Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Our Itinerary for the Cyclades
We wanted to visit 4 of the Cyclades islands during our 3 month European road trip. However, I found out that it was expensive to take cars on the ferries.
I therefore looked into leaving our car in Athens and renting cars on each island. Unfortunately this worked out to be even more expensive so I reverted back to using our own car.
By using our own car we were more restricted in our choice of islands as there aren't car ferries between all the islands. I used the Ferryhopper website to determine which islands had car ferries running between them.
We didn't want to visit touristy islands like Mykonos and Santorini. I eventually devised a circular route to 4 Cyclades islands with only Naxos being touristy. Our itinerary was Athens (Piraeus) - Syros - Naxos - Tinos - Andros - Athens (Rafina). We stayed 4 or 5 nights on each island.
I have done blogs on the other 3 islands that we visited: Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide, Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide and Andros, Greece: Travel Guide.
1.2. Why we chose to visit Syros
The Rough Guide says "Syros is a living, working island with only a fleeting history of tourism, rendering it the most Greek of the Cyclades".
Ermoupolis and Ano Syros seemed to be very attractive and interesting Greek towns.
There were convenient car ferries going to and from Syros.
The Tripadvisor forum mentioned that the hiking trails were excellent.
1.3. Is Syros worth visiting?
The Rough Guide states that "the villages don't sprawl widely with new developments". We found that there was a lot of sporadic development along many of the roads in the southern part of Syros. It spoiled the scenery and it was a bit scruffy.
Ermoupolis was an interesting town and wasn't touristy. We didn't find Ano Syros very interesting but like Ermoupolis it looks very spectacular when viewed from a distance. There weren't any other interesting towns and villages apart from Ermoupolis.
There were several nice beaches on the island but it wasn't beach weather while we were there.
There are some good hikes with clear signposting. Like on other Cyclades islands the trails aren't always well maintained and can be overgrown. The Alltrails website and App show many of the trails and reviews by hikers will indicate if there are problems.
We found our 4 night stay on Syros to be long enough.
2. Ermoupolis
2.1. Parking
Parking can be difficult in Ermoupolis. The owner of our apartment recommended parking at the port and we had no problem finding a parking spot there.
You take a ticket when entering and pay at a machine when leaving. It cost us Eur 2 for about 3 hours. You can locate the parking by entering "Ermoupolis Port Parking" in Google Maps.
2.2. What to See
We spent 2 to 3 hours looking around Ermoupolis. It is a large and interesting town so you could spend more time exploring. Most of the shops and restaurants cater to locals rather than tourists. Unfortunately all the churches were closed.
The Town Hall is the most impressive building on the main square Platia Miaouli. The main shopping area is between the waterfront and the square. The street running along the waterfront is packed with restaurants.
From the square we walked north east up to the Appollon Theatre and then onto the Church of Ayos Nikolaos. Both were built in the mid 1800's.
We continued walking up to the north east and entered the Vaporia district, which is where the wealthy used to live. We then walked to the top of the hill to see Anastasi Church which was built in 1870. It was closed but there are good views from it.
3. Ano Syros
The main road northwards from Ermoupolis climbs up the hill, passing near the top of Ano Syros before continuing. We parked in a small free parking lot at the top. There is also parking along the road on the way up.
It was a short walk to the Anastasi Church at the top of Ano Syros. The church was open but the terrace was closed. This was disappointing as there would have been good views from it.
There wasn't much to see at the top of Ano Syros. We met a couple who had walked up. From the photos they showed us I am not sure if it is worth the walk up. It wasn't even worth driving up.
4. The Western Villages: Finikas, Galissas, Kini & Delfini
4.1. Kini
Kini is a pretty village with a harbour, several beachside tavernas and a free parking lot off the waterfront.
There is a scenic walk along the coast from Kini to 1 kilometre north of the nudist beach at Delfini. After that the path ends and the terrain becomes rough. The walk there and back took us 1 hour and 15 minutes. Most of the route is shown on the AllTrails website.
4.2. Galissas
The village is a bit scruffy. It is in a flat and not very scenic area but has a good sandy beach in a very sheltered bay. There is plenty of free parking.
4.3. Finikas
We stayed near Finikas and liked it. It is a pretty village with beaches, several restaurants and a large free parking lot next to the supermarket. There is a pleasant walk southwards along the seafront.
5. A Hike to Komito Lighthouse
5.1. About the Komito Lighthouse Hike
We did a 1 hour 15 minute circular hike from Komito beach to Komito lighthouse which is on the most southerly point of Syros. It is a very scenic hike with open sea views all the way.
If you wanted to extend the hike you could start from Finikas but this section is developed.
There is parking at Komito Beach which is a pretty beach. There are umbrellas, which were free in May but there may be a charge in the main summer season. It would be a good place for a swim after the walk.
5.2. Route Details
From Komito beach you can see 2 trails going up the hill:
The first path starts at the south end of the beach and goes left up the hill. It is the most direct path to the lighthouse. We came back on this path. The AllTrails website and App shows this path and you can follow it on your phone.
The 2nd path is a bit further on and it is the route we used to walk to Komito lighthouse. Walk 100 to 200 metres along the jeep track that follows the coast and then follow the trail to the left that climbs steeply up the hill. The jeep track ends shortly afterwards at a house so you will know if you have gone too far. The trail goes above and around this house. The trail is fairly high above the sea and follows the coast until you reach the lighthouse.
After the lighthouse walk back a couple of hundred metres until you reach the left turn to the path you came up on. You can either turn left, and return the way you came, or continue straight on. Before doing either of these climb up the hill to the right for a good view.
If you continue straight on at the junction you will eventually see the house at the end of the jeep track near Komito beach below. At this point look for a clear path to the left with red markings and follow it. It descends to Komito beach.
6. Cape Dhiapori Hike
6.1. About the Cape Dhiapori Hike
The southern half of Syros is developed, whereas the northern barren and mountainous part has very few settlements. Cape Dhiapori is the most northerly part of Syros. There is a scenic circular 3 hour 15 minutes circular walk to the Cape from the end of the northern road.
This walk is on the AllTrails website and app. It is useful to download the route onto your phone as there are a couple of places where the trail isn't clear.
6.2. Route Details
You can park on the side of the road where it ends at the village of Kambos. There is a very clear trail continuing on from the end of the road.
After 5 to 10 minutes there is a signpost in Greek. The path to the left leads to a couple of beaches. Continue straight on for Cape Dhiapori. You walk high above the east coast of Syros and have great coastal views.
It takes about 1 hour 40 minutes to reach the Cape. The trail is relatively easy to follow except in a couple of places. The path is marked by stones with red spots.
The final section of the path became very rocky. There was no clear path around so we didn't do the circular traverse of the Cape.
On the way back we took the trail above the west coast. At one point the trail was not clear and we relied on the AllTrails app. We would have eventually found our way without the app but it made it easier.
The 2nd half of the trail was also very scenic. There are 3 inviting beaches off the trail. We didn't descend to the beaches but they would be good for a swim at the end of the walk. At least one of them had umbrellas. Eventually there is a steep climb back up to the signpost at the start of the trail.
7. Car Ferries to and from Syros
7.1. From Athens to Syros
At Piraeus we got to the port an hour and a half before departure. It was very confusing. The large Blue Star car ferry was already at the dock but there was no one around to tell us where to wait. Lani went to ask someone and they directed us to a small waiting area by the ferry.
We waited there for an hour watching trailers being driven onto the ferry. Lots of cars arrived after us and many of them were directed to drive straight on to the ferry. We were wondering if they had forgotten about us.
Finally we were told to drive onto the ferry. It was not a roll on roll off ferry. They wanted me to do a lot of manoeuvring and it was stressful as they didn't communicate clearly. When reversing they wanted me to only look at their hand signals and not where I was going.
It is important to arrive at the stipulated time when boarding the large ferries at Piraeus. The ferries can be packed with vehicles. Vehicles going to the furthest islands will probably board first. I doubt that these vehicles would be allowed to board late as they would block vehicles getting off earlier islands.
7.2. From Syros
The ferry tickets state you should arrive at the port at least one hour before departure. When we were departing from the islands very few cars arrived more than 30 minutes beforehand. It was often even less than that! At Syros there was a ferry official at the dock when we arrived an hour ahead of the departure time.
On the other islands the officials would arrive much closer to the departure time. It was always worrying as we weren't sure if we were in the right area.
8. Accommodation in Syros
We booked a 2 bedroom apartment through Booking.com for Eur 79 per night and we really enjoyed our 4 night stay. We took advantage of an off-season free upgrade to a 2 bedroom apartment. My review of this accommodation is on my blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2".
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