Antikythera
Off the ferry at Potamos, swim at Xeropotamos and Kamarela, walk up to ancient Aegila, dinner of wild goat at Myronas'.
Antikythera is as far as you can get from anywhere in Greece and still find people. 20.5 km² of windswept limestone in the open channel between Crete and the Peloponnese, with around 20-45 year-round residents depending on the season and the count. The lozenge-shaped island has one real village — Potamos, the small natural harbour where the ferry ties up — and two near-empty hamlets, Galaniana and Charchaliana, scattered up the mountainside. There is one taverna (Myronas', which doubles as the mini-market, post office and the centre of island life), a scatter of guest rooms, a police station, a doctor, and the largest breeding colony of Eleonora's falcon on Earth. In 1900 sponge divers found a Roman-era shipwreck off the coast and recovered the Antikythera Mechanism — a geared bronze device that calculated astronomical positions, now called the world's first analog computer. That single object made this dot on the map famous. Come for absolute silence, ancient ruins, and the feeling of being at the very edge.
Getting there
No airport — only a heliport for emergencies. The remotest inhabited Greek island, reached on Ablemon's ferry between Piraeus and Kissamos (Crete), which calls at Antikythera a few times a week via Kythira.
Read full route
From Kythira (Diakofti) it's about 2 hours; from Kissamos on Crete about 2 hours; from Piraeus around 9. Sailings are weather-dependent and often cancelled.
Tip: Day trips are essentially impossible — ferry timings don't allow a same-day return. Plan to stay at least two nights and keep your schedule flexible; wind can strand you or skip the island entirely. Book a room ahead and bring cash.
When to Visit
Antikythera is the most remote inhabited island in Greece — around 20-40 people, one village, a famous shipwreck. Come for total silence and a sense of the edge of the world. Realistically open June-September; the ferry runs only a few times a week and weather cancels it often. June and September are the windows. The Agios Myronas festival (17 August) is the one time the island fills up. Don't expect anything beyond a taverna, a few rooms, and the ruins of ancient Aegila.
1-day itinerary for Antikythera
Day 1: Potamos, the Beaches & Ancient Aegila
- · Potamos Port & Village
The only real settlement and the harbour where the ferry ties up. A natural cove with water so clear you can see fish between the moored fishing boats, a handful of houses up the slope, a police station, a doctor, and Myronas' taverna — which is also the mini-market, the post office and the social heart of the island. Every ferry arrival is an event, watched by the same few faces. Most of the island's 20-40 residents live here. - · Xeropotamos Beach
One of the island's few sand beaches, a short distance north of Potamos, framed by verdant rocks and crystal-clear water. It sits close to the ancient fortified city of Aegila (Kastro), so you can combine a swim with the ruins. On an island this exposed, a sheltered swim is precious. - · Kamarela Beach
The island's most beautiful beach — a small cove on the east coast with turquoise water and sculpted rock formations, including a natural stone arch. About a 30-minute walk from Potamos: turn at the Charchaliana intersection and follow the dirt road past the helipad. Bring a mask; the underwater rock is the draw. Almost always deserted. - · Ancient Aegila (Kastro)
The fortified ancient city on the north of the island, dating to the 4th century BC, once a base for Cilician pirates until Pompey the Great destroyed them. Walls and steps carved into the rock lead up to the acropolis, with the Sanctuary of Apollo nearby — a statue of Apollo found here in 1880 is now in Athens. Active excavations run in summer. A circular hiking route links the ruins with panoramic Aegean views. - · Andronikos Watermill
A remarkably preserved two-hundred-year-old watermill near Potamos, built from cut sandstone at the start of the 19th century. Its cistern — capacity 60-70 cubic metres, fed from a nearby spring — is still intact. It usually worked in winter. Five 19th-century windmills are also scattered across the island, relics of a time when more people farmed this rock. - · Dinner — Myronas' Taverna
The island's one taverna, in Potamos — and also its mini-market, post office and snack bar. Myronas is known for wild goat slow-cooked with herbs and wine; he hunts the goats himself in the rocky hills, keeping an ancient tradition alive. Some travellers come all the way to Antikythera just for this dish. Cash only — card terminals don't always work out here.
Top beaches of Antikythera
Kamarela Beach
The most beautiful and emblematic beach on Antikythera — a small cove of turquoise water framed by sculpted rock formations, including a natural stone arch you can swim through. The underwater rock and clarity make it a snorkeller's spot. Almost always deserted; the 30-minute walk filters out all but the determined.
- Type
- Pebble cove with rock arch
- Length
- 60 m
- Depth
- Medium — clear turquoise
- Wind protection
- East-facing — mostly sheltered from the meltemi (the summer N/NE wind); can be choppy on the strongest NE days
- Facilities
- None. 30-minute walk from Potamos via the Charchaliana dirt road past the helipad. Bring water, shade and a mask.
Xeropotamos Beach
One of the island's few proper sand beaches, surrounded by green-tinged rock with crystalline water. Its position right next to ancient Aegila makes it the natural pairing of a swim and a walk through the ruins — the best of Antikythera in one short stretch of coast.
- Type
- Sand
- Length
- 120 m
- Depth
- Shallow — gradual
- Wind protection
- North-facing — fully exposed to the meltemi (the dominant summer N/NE wind); often choppy June–September
- Facilities
- None. Near the ancient city of Aegila, a short distance north of Potamos.
Halara (Potamos) Beach
Also called Potamos beach, this is the one you see to the left of the harbour as the ferry pulls in — a narrow strip of sand and pebbles with calm, transparent water. Not the island's most dramatic beach, but the most convenient: you can swim, then walk thirty seconds to the taverna for a frappé.
- Type
- Sand and pebble
- Length
- 80 m
- Depth
- Shallow
- Wind protection
- South-facing — sheltered from the meltemi (the summer N/NE wind); calm in summer, exposed only to rare southern winds
- Facilities
- Closest to the village — taverna and rooms a few steps away. To the left of the port as you arrive.