Find information on Karlovassi in our Travel Guide covering sights, foods and nightlife plus more...
Karlovassi is the second largest resort on the island and lies on the northern coast of Samos over thirty kilometres from Samos town. It has fairly distinct parts, the old town, the middle town, the new, the harbour and the bay. It was in the past an affluent area, with a thriving leather processing industry and there are fine old buildings reflecting this. Now it is a popular tourist resort with a long sand and pebble beach providing water sports, good accommodation and a wide range of restaurants and tavernas. Since it is a university town, nightlife is fairly lively throughout the year.
Karlovassi is a lively town with a large, bustling harbour. It is surrounded by the green fertile hills for which Samos is renowned. The hills are covered in pine trees, olive groves and vineyards. A Karlovassi holiday offers many hours of hot sunshine each day, sand and shingle beaches and clear blue water. Tavernas and restaurants along the harbour provide shade and refreshment.
A Karlovassi holiday is popular with a wide range of people. Families enjoy the beach life and young people are attracted by its student atmosphere.
The season lasts from April to October with the hot dry summer months being the most popular time to visit Karlovassi.
Most of the villages around Samos lie in areas of great natural beauty and Karlovassi is no exception. Surrounded by the dark green hills of pine trees and olive groves, with white houses gleaming in the sunshine on the lower slopes and the brilliant blue water in the foreground, it is an extremely picturesque town. A good place to enjoy this panoramic view is from the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, built high on a hill above the resort. There are many beautiful buildings and fine churches reflecting the former glory and affluence of the area.
The beach at Karlovassi is long and comprised of sand and pebbles and offers a variety of water sports. Small tavernas behind the beach provide refreshments.
There are many restaurants and tavernas in the town providing a very wide range of menu from fast foods to traditional island fare to international cuisine. They surely cater for even the most pernickety and conservative of palates.
A variety of shops provide a more than adequate choice of goods from essential provisions to holiday mementoes.
There are many places of interest in the vicinity and Samos Town is only a thirty-three kilometre bus ride away. There are excursions from the harbour to other islands and to the Turkish mainland.
A Karlovassi holiday offers hot sunshine, a choice of beaches, good accommodation and restaurants and a wide variety of recreational activities.
While the nightlife on Samos could be described as low key, Karlovassi is fairly lively with an array of venues offering music and dance. Owing to the fact that it is a university town, having the faculty for mathematics and computer sciences from the Aegean University, it remains lively throughout the year. Those seeking more sedate evenings will find many small restaurants and tavernas in the old town. Here peace and tranquillity can be enjoyed under the stars.
Karlovassi has a good number of stores providing a range of goods. There is the usual abundance of gift and souvenir shops where you can purchase the obligatory holiday mementoes. If you need a wider choice of merchandise you can take a trip to Samos Town where the narrow streets are filled with every type of shop. Popular souvenirs include painted ceramics, leather goods, embroidered cloths and jewellery.
There are many tavernas and restaurants in Karlovassi serving a wide variety of food and catering for all tastes. Fish is obviously an important part of an island’s gastronomy and tavernas provide a wide variety of fish as well as meat dishes. There are a number of excellent family restaurants along the quayside in the harbour. A good way to experience traditional food is to order Mezedes, the Greek equivalent of the Spanish tapas, which includes a variety of bite-sized fish, meat and vegetables.
Local wines are pleasant and inexpensive.
Children are always made very welcome and their tastes and portion sizes are usually accommodated.
