Agios Efstratios Island, Greece: A Remote North Aegean Island
Agios Efstratios is a remote, rocky island in the North Aegean, lying south-west of Limnos with hardly any ferry connections and few visitors. Agios Efstratios covers 43 square kilometres and has around 300 inhabitants, a single town and good beaches, so it suits travellers who want somewhere really quiet. The island stands out as a grey rock of low scrub and a few oak trees among the green, wooded islands around it.
- Island group
- North Aegean
- Area
- 43 km²
- Population
- ~300
- Nearest island
- Limnos
The island of Agios Efstratios
Agios Efstratios takes its name from a saint who was exiled to the island and died here. Agios Efstratios once served as a camp for political prisoners in the 1930s and has never been a popular place, and a 1968 earthquake demolished most of the houses, which were replaced by concrete prefabricated buildings laid out in military formation after the old settlement was bulldozed. The island is quiet and rocky, with low scrub and a scatter of oak trees mostly in the folds of the hills, yet it is a fine place for walking and has some good beaches.
The town and beaches
Agios Efstratios town is the island's only settlement and shares the island's name. The town has a pleasant beach, a couple of simple tavernas and some rooms for rent, and visitors also pitch tents on the beach, since free camping is said to be allowed. Further along the island lies a very nice sandy beach called Velia, and the surrounding sea supports a fishing economy, a few pretty bays and churches, the ruins of a medieval wall and some remains from Roman and Byzantine times.
How to get to Agios Efstratios
Reach Agios Efstratios by ferry from Lesbos, Samothrace, Agios Konstandinos, Kavala on the mainland or Kimi on Evia, and always check the schedules in advance because the connections are few. Once on the island you travel on foot, because Agios Efstratios has no real roads and no buses.
