Fourni Hotels & Villas: Where to Stay
Accommodation on Fourni is small in scale and concentrates in and around Fourni Town. The island has no large hotels and no swimming pool, so most stays are small guesthouses, studios and apartments, along with two family-run hotels: the Archipelagos on the harbour and Bilios Resort on the hillside above the village. In August the island is usually fully booked, because it is popular with Greek visitors, so book early.
- On the harbour
- Archipelagos
- Above the village
- Bilios Resort
- Most stays
- Studios & apartments
- Busiest month
- August
Archipelagos Hotel, Fourni Town
The Archipelagos Hotel is a three-star superior hotel on the harbour of Fourni Town, opened in 2007 and open all year, where Hans stayed on his visit to the island. It is small, with 12 rooms, 9 doubles including one adapted for guests with disabilities and 3 triples, and every room has a balcony with a view over the harbour and the bay. There is a reception, a bar and a good restaurant with a terrace in front of the hotel and on the pier opposite. The rooms have air conditioning, satellite TV, a safe, a fridge, a modern bathroom, good beds and a flat-screen TV, and the building is finished in natural stone and wood, with fossil ferns showing in the floor tiles. Breakfast is cheap, from 3 euros 50, and the hotel sits at the quieter edge of the town.
Bilios Resort, Fourni village
Bilios Resort is open year-round and takes an elevated position in the traditional village of Fourni. Its rooms look out over the port, the sea and the village, and the suites sit right on the hilltop with panoramic views of the village and the sea. The air-conditioned rooms have a TV, a kitchenette, a fridge and a balcony. The resort stands in the main village, the centre of activity with its fish tavernas and cafes, and a small beach lies on the far left side of the port, with the beach of Psili Ammos a 10-minute walk away.
Villas & self-catering
Fourni has no large villa estates. Its self-catering is small in scale, a matter of studios, apartments and guesthouse rooms rather than private pool villas, and there is no swimming pool anywhere on the island. Most self-catering rooms sit in and around Fourni Town, with a handful more on the neighbour islet of Thymena and in the northern village of Chryssomilia. The areas below set out where to base a self-catering stay.
Fourni Town
Fourni Town is the main base for a self-catering stay, with most of the island's studios and apartments in and above the harbour village. Rooms here keep you a short walk from the beach, the ferry, the shops and the tavernas of the main street, so you can manage without a car on an island that has none to rent. It is the most convenient choice for a first visit to Fourni.
Chryssomilia
Chryssomilia, the second village in the north of the island, offers a much quieter self-catering base for travellers who want to be away from the harbour. It clings to the mountain above the sea and is reached by a long footpath over the hills or, more easily, by boat. It suits walkers and anyone happy to organise their trips around the boat rather than a road.
Thymena
Thymena, the inhabited neighbour islet, keeps a handful of rooms in its single village of about 140 people, for the quietest stay in the archipelago. A monastery stands above the village and small beaches lie nearby, and you reach the island by the ferry from Samos or by the water taxi and small boats from Fourni. It is a base for travellers who want near-total calm.
Where to stay
Where to stay on Fourni depends on the calm you want. Fourni Town puts you on the harbour within walking distance of the beach, the ferry, the shops and the tavernas, and holds the two hotels and most of the studios. The village above the harbour, around Bilios Resort, keeps you close to the centre with a wider view. Chryssomilia and Thymena are for travellers who want to be far from everything and are happy to travel by boat. Wherever you stay, plan to explore on foot or by small boat, since there is no car rental on the island; the walks and coves are covered in the Fourni beaches guide and the whole island in the Fourni island guide.