Lovely boat trip to Saria Island in Karpathos, Greece

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A lovely boat trip to Saria Island in Karpathos! We boarded from the resort of Diafani in the morning, and then were out almost a full day. Saria turned out to be a gem with crystal clear water and the opportunity for both snorkelling and historical sights.

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Saria Island in Karpathos, Greece

Saria is a mountainous island located just north of the island of Karpathos, to which it also belongs administratively. Today, no people live here, but no less than five civilisations have populated the island over the ages: prehistoric groups, ancient Greeks, Byzantines, Muslim pirates and modern-day humans.

Nowadays, however, people mostly come here as day-trippers. The island is also populated by goats, donkeys, seabirds and monk seals.

The island of Saria is located just north of the island of Karpathos, with only a narrow strait between the two islands, in the Aegean Sea in Greece.

Departure from Diafani on Karpathos

We started the boat trip at 10am from the resort of Diafani, located at the northern end of Karpathos. By then, however, the boat was already more or less full of tourists who had boarded earlier, for example in the main town of Pigadia.

45 minute boat trip

For us, it was a 45-minute boat trip aboard a comfortable boat, where you can choose to sit inside or outside. The captain told us that he has been driving boats all his life.

And all of a sudden there it was, the narrow strait that separates the main island of Karpathos from the smaller uninhabited island of Saria.

First stop on Saria Island: Palatia Beach

The first stop on the tour was at a beautiful little bay, with a nice beach and crystal clear green shimmering water. The place is called Bay of Palatia, suggesting that this natural harbour was once the gateway to an ancient city, beautiful as a palace.

Church and pirate village

We, and a group from the boat who had booked the same tour, started by joining our local and very knowledgeable guide Nicholas (@dream_travel_seeker_ on Instagram), to learn about the history of the island. Firstly, we visited a small church, where we were able to see how some of the Orthodox traditions are carried out.

Nicholas then took us to the ruins of the pirate village that once stood here. The pirates who lived in the village were Muslims, of somewhat unknown origin. The architecture of the peaked houses is reminiscent of old building styles that can be found in Syria, for example.

The ruins show that the settlement that once existed here was large. Walls and gates still remain, as well as rooms for storing food, or similar.

Sun and swimming

After the guided tour there was "free time" with the opportunity for sunbathing and swimming in the nice little bay.

Snorkelling tour in caves

There are some interesting caves in the area and the guide took Peter and a Danish tourist to snorkel in the caves.

You could swim into the caves from one side, and out via another exit. A really cool and delicious experience according to Peter!

Lunch on board

After sunbathing, swimming and snorkelling, lunch was served on board. The staff grilled chicken skewers that were served with raw vegetable salad, tzatziki and bread. Delicious! A small bar was on board for those who wanted to buy something to drink.

A goat waited patiently on the rocks throughout lunch. After the staff cut up the melon for the guests, they went out with the melon rinds to the squatting goat.

Second stop on Saria Island: Alimounta Beach

The next stop was only five minutes from the first. Alimounta Beach turned out to be another beautiful bay with cliffs, shingle beach and clear green shimmering water.

This was a more relaxed stop - an hour for sun and swimming.

Then it was time to head back. For us it was a 45-minute boat journey to Diafani, where we stayed at Hotel Glaros. Tourists staying further south on the island had a longer boat journey ahead of them.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

In addition to taking a boat trip to Saria Island, there is of course much more to see and do in Karpathos. You can driving a car on Karpathos, discover beautiful beaches in Karpathos and visit cosy restaurants in Karpathos. You can also head to charming mountain villages such as Menetes and Ólymbos.

Have you travelled by boat to Saria Island in Karpathos?

Have you done a boat trip to Saria Island in Karpathos? Do you like to do boat trips when you are on holiday?

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