Driving in Karpathos, Greece - winding mountain roads

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What is it like to drive a car in Karpathos, Greece? Karpathos is a mountainous and beautiful Mediterranean island with fantastic beaches. We travelled here by boat from Rhodes, and have since travelled around the island by rental car.

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Karpathos Island in Greece

Karpathos is a lovely holiday destination, a little quieter and more peaceful than Rhodes, for example. Here you can experience incredibly beautiful nature and a lot of interesting history, while there are plenty of cosy hotels, restaurants and shops.

Karpathos is located in the Aegean Sea, between Rhodes and Crete. The elongated island is the second largest in the Tolv Islands archipelago and is home to around 6 000 permanent residents.

Car hire in Karpathos

If you are visiting Karpathos, it is a good idea to hire a car, for one or more days, so that you can discover a bit more of the elongated island. We picked up a rental car on the first day, at a company called Euromoto, and have since had the car throughout our stay. This way we have been able to explore large parts of the island, which has been a bit of an adventure.

Why drive a car in Karpathos?

Renting and driving a car in Karpathos allows you to explore large parts of the island on your own. This way you can get to small beautiful beaches and discover cosy mountain villages and fishing villages. What's more, the car journey itself is an experience in itself.

What are the roads like in Karpathos?

The roads on Karpathos are generally of excellent quality. There are, of course, the odd minor dirt road, in the form of small turn-offs, which are of poorer quality (and where you sometimes need four-wheel drive), but you don't have to choose to drive on these.

What characterises the roads in Karpathos is that they wind through the mountains, with curve after curve after curve. It's incredibly beautiful to drive here, but you can't drive very fast because it's so winding. On the other hand, you might not want to speed on holiday either, because you want to enjoy the views!

What is it like to drive a car in Karpathos?

So, what is it like to drive a car on Karpathos? It is incredibly beautiful! For us, travelling by car has been one of the great experiences here. The landscape varies in different parts of the island, but most of the time you have a view of sea or mountains, or sea and mountains at the same time. Some roads wind their way along high mountain ridges.

Getting up to the northern part of the island, around the small village of Ólymbos, is perhaps extra special. Here the views are, if possible, even more dramatic.

You also need to be prepared to meet animals on the road. Cats and dogs, of course, but also sheep and goats.

On the northern part of the island we had to slow down and stop temporarily when we met a large herd of goats on the road.

One of them, "the leader of the gang" we think, was very interested in us in the car. Just after we took the photo below, he tried to get in through the car window, horns and claws and all. We had to firmly repel him ...

Driving on Karpathos - things to consider

So, what do you need to think about when driving in Karpathos? Well, not much really. It can be good to be aware that you can't drive that fast. Our experience is that it almost always takes a little longer to drive the routes than Google Maps indicates.

It may also be useful to know that internet coverage may be lost in some places. So you can't always count on being able to follow a map online. As a complement, it can be useful to have a paper map. Of course, you can also read the signs.

Eating places and shops are everywhere, often in surprisingly remote places. At the same time, it is of course good to have water and perhaps some snacks in the car.

Driving a car in Karpathos - where to go?

So where do you want to go in Karpathos? In fact, there are plenty of amazing places to discover. Here are some suggestions:

• Diafani is a nice little town, from where you can take boat trips to the island of Saria, in the far north.
• Finiki is a cosy little fishing village with a beach and restaurants.
• Lefkos is a pleasant town with cosy restaurants and several beautiful beaches.
• Menetes is a small mountain village in a fascinating location, where you'll find restaurants, shops and even a winery that welcomes visitors.
• Ólymbos is an incredibly charming mountain village with beautiful views, restaurants, culture, crafts and shops.
• Pigadia is the main town on Karpathos and offers a wide range of shops and cosy restaurants.
• Beaches on Karpathos - There are many beautiful beaches around the island, suitable to discover by car.

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