Cycladia | Island Practical Info

CLIMATE

The climate in Samos is Mediterranean with mild winters and warm -but not too hot- summers, full of sunshine. During the winter, there is plenty of rain because of the island’s high mountains, who hinder clouds from leaving the Samos territory. During the summer, the main characteristic is the strong northern winds, which mainly affect the northern part of the island.

In general, the northern part of the island is more humid than the northern part. Samos has about 2885 hour of sunshine per year, with the months May to September having a least 300 hours each. From April to October there is rarely any rain. Due to the strong estate winds, the temperature is usually 30 °C during the summer. In general, the weather in Samos is pleasant and mild all year long.

TELEPHONE

The national prefix for Greece is +30 if you are calling from abroad. All numbers in the capital Athens start with the prefix 210 and are followed by 8 digits (e.g. 210-3227400).

The Area Code for Samos is: +30 22730. If you wish to call abroad, you have to start by dialling the other country’s national prefix (i.e. 0049 for Germany, 0044 for England etc.) and continue with the area code and the number where you wish to call.

CURRENCY

Euro €

Euro Coins: 1 and 2 euro coins (gold and silver color), 10, 20 and 50 cents (gold color) 1, 2 and 5 cents (copper color)

1 euro = 100 cents / centimes.

Euro Bank Notes: Are available in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500. It is not always easy to receive change for 200 and 500 Euro Notes.

BY AIR

Samos has an airport, which is connected to the Athens International Airport and several airports around the world (with charter flights during the summer). The flight duration is about 45 minutes. During summer Samos is also connected by air to Thessaloniki, Lesvos, Chios, Rhodes and Crete.

Samos Airport Tel: +30 22730 87800

BY BOAT

Samos is connected by boat and high speed boat with the port of Piraeus. The conventional boat trip lasts about 12 hours (the boat stops at various islands in between). The high speed boat trip lasts 6 to 8 hours. Moreover, Samos is connected by boat to Kavala, Northern Greece, and many Aegean islands: Chios, Lesvos, Syros, Tinos, Mykonos, Paros, Ikaria, Fournoi, Patmos, Kos, Leros, and Kalymnos. It is also connected by boat to Kousandasi in Turkey.

For accurate timetables and ticket costs, please visit:

Nel Lines: www.nel.gr

Aegean Speed Lines: www.aegeanspeedlines.gr

LOCAL BUSES

Samos is a big island with a quite well organized network of public transportation means. There are buses that connect Vathy and Karlovasi to most of the beaches and to the biggest island’s villages. There are also monthly bus cards available with a discount of 30%, whereas the local buses’ company organizes special tours upon request.

KTEL of Samos Tel: +30 22730 27262, www.samospublicbusses.gr

TAXI SERVICE

Taxis are available at multiple spots on the island:

Samos Taxi Services: +30 22730 28404

Vathy Taxi Services: +30 22730 91100

Karlovasi Taxi Services: +30 22730 30777

Marathokampos Taxi Services: +30 22730 31000

Pythagorio Taxi Services: +30 22730 61450

Kokkari Taxi Services: +30 22730 92585

Mytilenioi Taxi Services: +30 22730 51400

BOAT

Samos has some amazing isolated beaches, especially on the western coast of the island, which are accessible only by boat. Boats trip services are available at Karlovasi.

BANKS & ATMs

There are many bank branches at Samos (also hosting ATMs), situated in Vathy and Karlovasi. So visitors should not have any problem in case a bank and ATM is needed as banking services on Samos are more than abundant.

MONEY EXCHANGE

Money can be exchanged at all bank branches.

POST OFFICE

The Greek post office is called ELTA and you can find the main post offices of the island in Hora where there is also a branch of the Hellenic Post Bank. Post Boxes in Greece are YELLOW for normal post, usually with 2 slots for INTERNAL POST (meaning inside Greece) and post for ABROAD. RED Post Boxes are rarer and they are used for URGENT mail. You shouldn’t expect to find such boxes in the island. REGISTERED mail is always handled and given a receipt for at the POST OFFICE.

The Post Office in Samos is quite organized and has branches in several places:

Samos (Vathy) Post Office: 151 Themistokli Sofouli Street, Tel.: +30 2273027304

Neo Karlovasi Post Office: 23 Themistokli Sofouli Street, Tel.: +30 22730 35444

Pythagorio Post Office: Despoti Kyrillou Street, Pythagorio, Tel.: +30 22730 61304

There are also post offices in Marathokampos, Mytilenioi and Pyrgos Samou.

POLICE STATION

Samos (Vathy) Police Station, Tel.: +30 22730 22100

Karlovasi Police Station, Tel.: +30 22730 33333

MUNICIPALITY OF SAMOS

The Municipality of Samos has an excellent website in terms of information provided: www.vathy.org.

Tel.: +30 2273050112

Radio Taxi: +30 22730 28404
Municipal Police: +30 22730 81100
Samos Port Authority: +30 22730 27318, +30 22730 27890
Hellenic National Meteorological service: +30 2109699101-3
Elpa (Car breakdown tourist information service): 174

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Police: 100
Fire Department: 199
Ambulance: 166

HEALTH

Samos Hospital Tel: +30 22730 83100

Vathy First Aid Tel: +30 22730 22222

Karlovasi First Aid Tel: +30 22730 32222

PHARMACY

There are about 20 pharmacies on Samos, situated in Vathy, Karlovasi, Pythagorio, Marathokampos, Pagondas, Mytilenioi, Pyrgos, Hora and Kokkari.