Amorgos
Amorgos is at the eastern edge of the Cyclades and sits a long way from anywhere. The ferry from Piraeus is at least eight hours; the easier route is via Naxos. That distance is the point. Fewer travellers make the trip, and those who do tend to come back.
The single image of the island is the Hozoviotissa monastery, a whitewashed eight-storey wall built straight into a sheer cliff three hundred metres above the sea on the southern coast. The current building dates to 1088, and the handful of monks who maintain it have a tradition of welcoming visitors with psimeni raki, a sweet, herbal version of the spirit unique to the island, and a small piece of loukoumi. The climb up from the road is steep. Cover knees and shoulders.
The sea here is unusually deep and unusually clear, which is why Luc Besson chose the cliffs of Agios Pavlos for the underwater scenes of Le Grand Bleu in 1988. The film made the island briefly famous in France and quietly re-introduced it to the rest of Europe. The wreck of the Olympia, which appears in the opening of the film, is still visible on the rocks of the eastern coast.
Two settlements: the hilltop Chora, a tightly packed cascade of whitewashed houses crowned by the remains of a Venetian kastro, and Katapola, the working port set in the curve of a deep bay. Hiking trails connect them and continue to the smaller villages of the interior. Three nights is the minimum that makes the long journey worthwhile, four is better, and you should come in May, June, or September.
House Notes
Arrival
No airport on Amorgos. The considered approach is via Naxos — air from Athens, then ferry on to Katapola; the Seajets fast service runs the Naxos crossing in about 1 hour 10 minutes, the Blue Star Naxos slower at roughly 1h25m. The direct Piraeus ferry runs 5h40m on the fastest summer sailing and longer via the Small Cyclades. Yacht arrivals dock at Katapola or Aegiali.
Aegialis Hotel & Spa
The only 5-star address on the island, above Aegiali bay on the northern coast. The Lalon Idor spa is the largest thalassotherapy centre in the Cyclades — sea-water indoor pool, hammam, sauna, jacuzzi. The cliff-side rooms look out over the whole northern bay; the property runs April through October.
The kitchens
Liotrivi at Chora — stone-built on the hillside with windmill and Venetian-kastro views, the considered dinner of the upper village; the owner distils his own raki. Vitsentzos at Xylokeratidi for fish by the sea below Katapola — house specialty fisherman’s spaghetti. Kastani in Chora, in a 500-year-old building running as a taverna since 1962 — goat with rosemary, pork with thyme, grilled octopus with Amorgian fava.
Hozoviotissa, in detail
Eight storeys built into the cliff at 300m above the bay of Agia Anna, on the central east coast below Chora. The icon is held to have arrived from Palestine in the 9th century; the present building dates to 1088 under Alexios I Komnenos. 271 steps from the road. Open 08:00–13:00 and 17:00–19:00. Long sleeves and long skirts required; rental robes hang at the gate.
Le Grand Bleu, on the ground
Luc Besson’s 1988 film was shot on Amorgos. The childhood scenes are Agia Anna, the rocky beach below the monastery — directly underneath Hozoviotissa. The Olympia, the freighter that ran aground in February 1980 in Liveros bay near Kalotaritissa on the south-western corner, still rests on the rocks; the wreck appears in many scenes of the film and is now a regular dive. Kalotaritissa bay itself was also a filming location.
The beaches
Three quieter alternatives to Agia Anna. Mouros on the southern coast, 15 km south-east of Chora and 3 km from Kamari — pebbled, sea-caves carved into the cliffs at the back of the cove, a short steep walk down from the parking. Levrosos on the northern Aegiali bay, sandy, a 20-minute walk from the harbour. Kalotaritissa at the south-western tip, sheltered, with the day-boat to the Gramvousa islet.
The Aegiali–Chora kalderimi
The Palia Strata — route 1 in the island’s numbered network, the old donkey path from Chora down to Hozoviotissa, then north through Kapsala and Asfontylitis to Aegiali. About 20 km, four hours one way, the traditional line along which people and goods moved before the asphalt road. Walkable in segments; the Melania loop in the north (route 4, Aegiali through Langada and Stroumbos to Tholaria) is the considered half-day if a full traverse is too much.
Amorgion
The island’s spirit is psimeni raki — raki boiled with honey and a clutch of Amorgian herbs, sweet and amber. Amorgion, on the Katapola–Chora road, patented its psimeni and rakomelo in 2003 and turned the latter into a wider trend; its distillery and winery open for guided tasting through the season. The honey, the loukoumia, and the wines come from the same house.
Katapola and Aegiali
The two ports anchor the two ends of the island. Katapola, the main port, sits in the central deep bay — 5.5 km from Chora and the closer base for Hozoviotissa. Aegiali, the second port, lies 16 km north along the road; Aegialis Hotel sits above the bay here, and the freediving centre is on the beach below. Most guests choose one base and don’t cross more than once.
The window
Three nights minimum, four better. May, June, and September are the windows — boat services run reliably, the heat is reasonable, and the Naxos connection runs daily. Aegialis Hotel runs April through October. In winter the Piraeus ferry holds at two or three weekly sailings; December and January are the silent months.