The diary of
Karpathos

🏘️ Villages·15 Jul 2026

The harbour of Karpathos: where everything begins and ends

The harbour of Pigadia is the logistical heart of Karpathos. From here the ferries leave for Rhodes and Crete, and here arrive the visitors who choose the island by sea.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·14 Jul 2026

15 August in Olympos: the festival worth the whole trip

The feast of the Assumption of Mary on 15 August in Olympos is the most intense moment of the Karpathian year: traditional dress, the lyra, dances and a communal banquet that lasts until dawn.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·13 Jul 2026

The goats of Karpathos: everywhere, always, unbothered by everything

The wild goats of Karpathos are an ever-present feature of the island's landscape. Semi-free, they live on the rocks and produce the milk used for traditional cheeses.

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🏖️ Beaches·12 Jul 2026

Ahata: the beach that doesn't appear in the guidebooks but every local knows

Ahata is a small cove on the east coast of Karpathos, with dark gravel and intense green water. Few look for it, even fewer find it on their own.

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🍽️ Food·11 Jul 2026

The bread of Karpathos: homemade, baked in a stone oven

The artisan bread of Karpathos is still made in traditional stone ovens in some of the island's villages. Local durum wheat flour and sourdough starter are used.

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🏖️ Beaches·10 Jul 2026

The sea of Karpathos seen from below: what you don't see from the shore

The seabed of Karpathos is among the most pristine in the Dodecanese. Posidonia, colourful fish and underwater wrecks make snorkelling and diving unique experiences.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·9 Jul 2026

The archontika: the abandoned mansions that tell of those who left

The archontika are the grand manor houses built by the wealthy families of Karpathos between the 18th and 19th centuries. Many are abandoned and in ruins.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·8 Jul 2026

Karpathian emigration: why there's more Karpathos in New York than in Karpathos

Karpathos has one of the most intense emigration stories in the Dodecanese. Between the 1950s and 1970s thousands of Karpathians left for the USA, Canada and Australia.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·7 Jul 2026

Mid-August in Karpathos: when the island fills up with Karpathians again

Every August, thousands of emigrated Karpathians — mostly from the USA and Germany — come back to the island. Mid-August in Karpathos is the month of the return to one's roots.

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🏖️ Beaches·6 Jul 2026

By boat along the east coast: what you can't see from the road

The east coast of Karpathos is almost only reachable by sea. By boat you discover nameless beaches, sea caves and coves where the water turns impossible shades of blue.

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🥾 Hiking·12 Jul 2026

Kali Limni: climbing to the top of Karpathos to see it all

1,215 metres above sea level, three hours' walk from Othos: from the highest peak of Karpathos you can see the outline of Turkey.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·11 Jul 2026

A wedding in Karpathos lasts three days. At least.

Improvised songs, the dowry carried in procession through the village, the lyra leading the parade: the traditional wedding of Olympos.

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🏖️ Beaches·10 Jul 2026

Kyra Panagia: the beach you don't want to share

No paved road, no sunbeds: you reach it by boat or on foot from Spoa. Beautiful precisely because it's hard to get to.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·9 Jul 2026

The lyra of Karpathos: an instrument found nowhere else

Three strings, held upright, a sound that Europe doesn't immediately recognise as familiar: the Karpathian lyra is UNESCO heritage.

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🏘️ Villages·8 Jul 2026

Pigadia, the capital you live all year round

It's not the Karpathos of postcards: it has the harbour, the market, the pharmacies. It's where you live when you live on the island all year.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·7 Jul 2026

The churches of Karpathos: one for every bend in the road

Byzantine votive chapels scattered among the fields and hills: in Karpathos the churches aren't touristy, they're still in use.

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🥾 Hiking·6 Jul 2026

The trail between Olympos and Spoa

A stone kalderimi, 16 km along the ridge with the Aegean Sea on one side and the Carpathian Sea on the other: the most beautiful trail in Karpathos.

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🍽️ Food·5 Jul 2026

Sitaka: the goat butter that Karpathians put on everything

White, creamy, with a drizzle of oil and a teaspoon of wild honey: the most authentic dairy product of Karpathos.

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🏘️ Villages·4 Jul 2026

Diafani, the northern harbour

A small harbour, few hotels, and the feeling of having reached a border: from here you set off for Olympos and for Saria.

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🏖️ Beaches·3 Jul 2026

Afiartis: the surfers' secret

Colourful sails, wetsuits and steady wind: Afiartis is the bay the Meltemi chose for windsurfing and kitesurfing.

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🏘️ Villages·2 Jul 2026

Finiki, the fishermen's harbour

No resorts, no DJ sets: just a small harbour, colourful boats and a sunset that lasts ten minutes.

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🍽️ Food·1 Jul 2026

Souma: the traditional spirit of Karpathos

From the fermentation of wild figs to double distillation in copper stills: Souma isn't bought, it's received.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·30 Jun 2026

The panegyri: the patron saint festival of Karpathos

Live music, food cooked the night before, wine that keeps going round: the most important event of the year in the island's villages.

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🏘️ Villages·29 Jun 2026

Saria: the almost deserted island north of Karpathos

Byzantine ruins, Caretta caretta turtles and a silence you can hardly find anywhere else in the Mediterranean.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·28 Jun 2026

The Meltemi: the wind that decides the days in Karpathos

It's not a breeze: it's a weather system that blows for days on end in summer. Understanding it means choosing the right beach.

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📖 The book·27 Jun 2026

I wrote a book about Karpathos

"The Island I Wasn't Looking For": a first-person account of four returns to the island, from 2014 to 2024. On sale at the end of September 2026.

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🏖️ Beaches·6 Oct 2024

Discover the magic of Achata Beach

12 km from Pigadia, between green hills and sea caves: Achata is one of the most authentic beaches in Karpathos, ideal for snorkelling.

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🏖️ Beaches·18 Sep 2024

Michaliou Kipos: the hidden beach

Tufa rocks, embedded shells and not a single sunbed in sight: Michaliou Kipos is the wildest soul of Karpathos.

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🏛️ Culture & Traditions·13 Aug 2024

Crafts and souvenirs not to miss

Leather stivania boots, Olympos textiles, ceramics, jewellery, honey and komboloi: a guide to the authentic handmade souvenirs of Karpathos.

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🍽️ Food·29 Jul 2024

The freddo espresso, my companion every morning

Sketo, metrios or glyko: the freddo espresso is a daily ritual in Greece, and in Karpathos it has become part of my routine.

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🏖️ Beaches·13 Jun 2024

Among the beaches and sunbeds of Karpathos

How much does a sunbed cost in Pigadia, Amoopi, Diakoftis, Lefkos and Kyra Panagia? A practical guide to the prices of the island's beaches.

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📔 Travel Diary·3 Jun 2024

Back to Karpathos, six years later

As if time had never passed: the story of the first weeks after six years away from the island.

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📔 Travel Diary·24 Apr 2024

Starting again from Karpathos

A new season, a map drawn for the island's future guests, and the promise to tell the story of Karpathos step by step.

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📔 Travel Diary·24 May 2022

A rose and a coffee

A memory dedicated to my mother, who loved to travel, her Dominican Republic and her Karpathos.

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🏖️ Beaches·29 Mar 2020

Karpathos, Greece — a tour of the southern beaches

From Amoopi to Diakoftis, from Finiki to Arkasa: a tour of the southern beaches, each one different from the last.

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📔 Travel Diary·26 Mar 2020

Karpathos, Greece — how I got to know this island

It was 2014 when fate led me to Karpathos. The story of how it all began.

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🍽️ Food·12 Jul 2018

L'Angolo Caffè: my refuge in Pigadia

A moka coffee and a spritz, and the feeling of home: L'Angolo Caffè in Pigadia, Karpathos.

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🏘️ Villages·11 Jul 2018

Finiki: the little harbour where time slows down

An old harbour on the west side of the island, family-run taverns and a small beach of fine sand.

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🍹 Food·25 Jun 2018

Stemabar: the best sunset on the island

A bar in a privileged spot, excellent cocktails and a sunset that turns the sky red.

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📔 Travel Diary·21 Jun 2018

Feeling free to fly

The wind, the scent of the mountains and the feeling of home: my third time in Karpathos told in a few lines.

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🍽️ Food·14 Jun 2018

Makarounes: the dish that tells the soul of Karpathos

Handmade pasta dumplings, onion and local cheese: the most identity-defining dish of Karpathos, and where to taste it.

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📔 Travel Diary·12 Jun 2018

Flying to Karpathos

The heart racing at the airport, the wait to see the island again: the story of the flight to Karpathos.

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📔 Travel Diary·12 Jun 2018

Off we go: my third trip to Karpathos

A new journey is coming, and with it this blog comes to life too. The very first article I ever wrote.

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