The next morning we had breakfast and coffee and then headed out from Karavostamo in the north to Seychelles Beach in the south. According to Google maps it only takes 45 minutes to do the 23 km (14 mile) journey. However, with the tight squeezes through the towns, long stretches up through the mountains and the switchbacks along the way, it took a lot longer.

Seychelles Beach

After the winding route we evemtially arrived at the parking lot for Seychelles Beach. The parking lot was unpaved and with minimal signage but at least it was free. It was filling rapidly when we arrived around 11 a.m.

From there we crossed the road and started the long scramble downward towards the sea. We met some people who were wearing flip-flops which didn’t seem like a good idea with the rocky path ahead of us. Some went back to their car to change their shoes.

It took about 20 minutes to get to the bottom. The trail was mostly easy to follow although it was not level ground.

Getting to the actual beach is a bit tricky as we had to climb down some large boulders to get onto the narrow sandy area. We took a few routes to try getting down before finding the best way to get there.

There was a fellow selling cold drinks from a cooler on the tiny beach, but other than him there were no vendors, no washrooms and no parasols. One boat visited and dropped off a few more people. While it wasn’t crowded, it wasn’t quiet either.

After staying for awhile we headed back up from Seychelles Beach and drove back to Karavostamo.

We had dinner at a local restaurant overlooking the sea. It was one more chance to enjoy Ikarian wine. Along with the local honey, Ikarian wine is promoted as being one of the contributors towards longevity. While we weren’t around long enough to truly enjoy the benefits, we didn’t need convincing to try both of them We picked up the honey (great with nuts and fresh Greek yogurt) and wine in the local supermarket.

Therma and the trip back to the airport

The next morning we drove towards the airport. Once again we cut across the island but this time we went towards the south-east. The trip went uphill and we seemed to be driving in the clouds. It was quiet and peaceful with few cars and no pedestrians around. We stopped off a few times just to enjoy the scenery.

After winding our way down we spent an hour in the town of Therma. It was famous for its hot springs but on this occasion we couldn’t find them. Instead we had a drink and watched swimmers enjoy the harbour.

From there it was a drive to the airport at the eastern end of the island, where we dropped off the car and waited for a flight to take us back to Athens. Ikaria was a peaceful end to the trip. We enjoyed all of the Greek islands for different reasons; Ikaria and Samos were quieter than Kos and Rhodes, but they all had ancient sites and good swimming spots as well. The Turkish portion of the trip was much more frenetic, but there was no shortage of ruins, great swimming spots and great food along the way.

The next travel location will be somewhere completely different.