Karpathos is beautiful, but have you ever heard of the small, uninhabited island next to Karpathos? The small island north of is called Saria. From Pigadia and Diafani you can take the boat to this uninhabited island.

Yes, that's right uninhabited! Only every fishermen and shepherds sometimes stay here for a short time. Saria, like Karpathos, falls under the Dodecanese archipelago. Karpathos and Saria are separated by a channel of only 100 meters. So it is very close together! The island is rocky and volcanic and you will find beautiful bays and ruins. Saria is also known for its breeding ground for the Eleonora's falcon.

Saria can only be reached by boat. From the capital of Karpathos, Pigadia or from the town of Diafani (in the north of Karpathos) you can go to Saria. During the season, boats go daily from both ports. We ourselves have chosen to depart from Diafani. From Pigadia the boat trip seemed a bit too long. Today we sail with Captain Manolis (facebook). Very nice that it is already a bit at the end of the season, because that means the boat is not so full.

Time to go sailing

We are on the boat with the family and 4 other people that we drop off halfway, because they continue on foot. After about an hour of sailing we arrive at a beautiful cave and it is immediately time for a dip in the water, wonderful! We stay here for about fifteen minutes for a swim and then continue to the beautiful bay of Palatia. You will stay here for about 4 hours.

You can choose to just swim or snorkel or you can take a walk to the old village of Argos, the Syrian pirate ruins and the Byzantine St. Sofia chapel. By the way, on the left side of the bay you will find beautiful large ones. You can swim through here and that is definitely worth it!

A simple, but above all tasty lunch is also served on the beach of Palatia. After a few hours it's time to move on. Before we go back to Diafani we stop at Alymounta where we can swim again. From there we sail back to Diafani in one go and the captain has a nice glass of raki for everyone.