Chapter 12: Exploring the island of Astypalea

For the full Astypalea island guide and a few more pictures thrown in, you can read the entire article on my website (Disclaimer: This link is to a website to which I contribute/have a financial interest).

Around Astypalea

After a fun day in Astypalea Town I was ready to explore the villages and beaches of the island. I had reserved a rental car for two days at Explore Rent a Car Astypalaia – which I can personally recommend.As communicated before by email, my Fiat Panda was brought in the morning to my Astypalea hotel free of charge (complimentary pick up or drop-off at the port or airport is also possible).

Looking at the map of the island, I thought it was a great idea to use my first day to explore the western half of Astypalea, followed by the eastern half the day after.

Two days were indeed sufficient to explore most of the island (with a third day added for Astypalea Town), although three days in total really is the bare minimum. If I would return, I would probably stay six days, as it would mean you can do everything at a much more leisurely pace.

It would also leave you with enough time to make a boat trip to the nearby uninhabited island of Kounoupoi, which has some great beaches and was highly recommended to me by a Greek friend. Sadly, I did not manage to visit it due to a lack of time.


Astypalea is shaped like a butterfly, with a narrow isthmus connecting the western and eastern half of the island.

To the west

My first destination on my island tour of Astypalea was Livadi (also called Livadia at times), a village just a short distance away over the hill to the south-west from Astypalea Town.

Livadi is one of the most fertile places on the otherwise barren island of Astypalea. The town’s whitewashed houses set to the green backdrop of fields and trees surely make for a lovely view when you approach Livadi by road from the island capital.





Livadi

Livadi itself is a small, low-key resort town with some small hotels and apartments. If you do not want to stay in Astypalea Town itself, this place would probably be my pick.

There is a small grocery store as well as a couple of inviting cafés and restaurants in town. The sandy beach has plenty of trees for shade and the waters of the bay are delightfully calm as it faces towards the south-east and thus is protected from the strong northerly meltemi winds which are typical for the summer months in Greece.

The town is bisected by a small river creek, which is completely dried up in summer. Thanks to the small river, the lands behind Livadi feel delightfully green and lush, forming a stark contrast to the barren hills of Astypalea.

From the beach, there are also gorgeous views over Astypalea Town in the distance.

As it was early in the morning, I decided to stop for a while in town for my first swim of the day and for a freddo espresso at one of the beachside taverns.










From Livadi, you have a great view back over Astypalea Town.






Greek mornings with a freddo espresso at the beach are the best.

Gravel roads

From Livadi, a narrow road runs further south. After a while, the tarmac gives way to gravel roads – which is common for much of the western part of Astypalea.

These roads are easily traversable with a normal car, there is absolutely no need to shell out for a four-wheel drive vehicle.

My Fiat Panda did the job extremely well and it’s a surprisingly fun car to drive. In my opinion it’s miles better than the Fiat 500 which was in the same price category, also because of the Panda’s higher ground clearance.









Agios Konstantinos

A few miles south of Livadi is the beach of Agios Konstantinos, which is named after the small church of the same name standing on a bluff right above the beach.

The views from the beach over the deep blue Aegean Sea and Astypalea Town in the background are fantastic.

Unfortunately, the beach isn’t the most suitable for swimming in summer. Facing north, it is fully exposed to the meltemi winds, which means that the waves can be a bit rough.

That said, to me it is a must-visit place on the island not only because of its picturesque location, but also because of the excellent beachside café called Al Mare Beach Bar.

It has a lovely wooden bar and some excellent seating corners underneath the trees. I can highly recommend the place, whether you just come for a coffee or for one of the tasty cocktails.












View from the church towards Astypalea Town.


Al Mare Beach Bar has a wonderful location underneath the trees of Agios Konstantinos beach






Enjoying a second morning coffee at the beach bar.

Next up: driving to the beaches of Vatses and Kaminakia, arguably the prettiest on the island.