Background
The island of Leros is one of Greece’s best kept secrets. There a couple of small busy towns but the rest of the island is scattered with small local villages which are relatively untouched by tourism. The land is fertile and has a wonderful country side which is easy to explore if you enjoy walking or cycling. The shoreline is a mixture of sand and shingle and it is easy to find your own secluded cove in one of the many bays.
How to get there
By air
Leros has its own very small airport but only receives domestic flights. There are daily flights from and to Athens. On Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays there are also flights between Leros and Rhodes. It is worth noting that the runway at Leros is very short and not for the faint-hearted!
Scheduled flights to Athens
Olympic airlines http://www.olympicairlines.com and Easy Jet http://www.easyjet.co.uk both offer scheduled services to Athens on a daily basis. These are useful if you wish to travel out of season [i.e. October – April]. Olympic offer the advantage of tying in the domestic flight between Athens and Rhodes so you can virtually travel straight through. Easy Jet offer lower prices the earlier you book but make sure the timings allow you to connect with a domestic flight between Athens and Rhodes. Domestic flights can be made through Olympic and Aegean Airlines http://www.aegeanair.com.
Charter flights to Kos
Charter flights run between the UK and Kos mostly on Wednesdays. Many flights tend to be during the day departing from the UK early morning so you arrive in time to make the ferry connection over to Leros late afternoon. If your flight does not coincide with the ferry then we can prebook you a hotel room in Kos Town ready to catch the first ferry the next morning.
Useful flight links:
http://www.flightline.co.uk
http://www.xl.com
http://www.flymonarch.com
Transfer between the airport and harbour
There is a taxi rank directly outside the airport.
Ferries between Kos and Leros
The Dodekanesos “Pride” and “Express” catamarans runs a daily scheduled service between Kos and Leros.
Things to do
Beaches
There are many beaches along the coastline of Leros. The main ones are Alinta, Panteli, Panagies, Xirokampos, Agios Isidoros, Mplefoutis, Agia Marina, Krithoni, Vromolithos, Agia Kioura, Koulouki, Merikia, Gourna, Dyo Liskaria, Drymonas and Vourlidia
Aghia Marina
This port is the islands capital as named by the Knights of St John back in the late 1400’s.
Architecture is again a mix of traditional Lerian buildings, neoclassical 19th century houses resulting from the successful trading of that time, Art deco buildings introduced by the Italians and other properties built under the Turkish occupation. The bay itself is then guarded by the early Roman fort, Fortress Prouzi.
This is the place to be if in the evening if you enjoy a typical buzzing Greek atmosphere.
Amenities
4 traditional Greek tavernas
An Italian pizza restaurant
5 bars/ coffee shops which have snack menus – some of which become late night clubs
2 supermarkets, a bakery, 2 patisseries
Fruit and veg market
Fish market [before 9am]
One bank with 24 hour ATM
Platanos
Spreading up from the port of Aghia Marina is the area known as Platanos. This is the islands modern day capital draped gracefully along the saddle of the hill between two mountains. The architecture is a mixture of traditional Lerian one and two storey court yarded houses that survived WW2 bombing, Neoclassical mansions, Byzantine churches and more modern buildings. Platinos town square is the oldest meeting place in the town and a good place to visit early morning to join the locals for coffee and shopping.
Overlooking Platanos is the Byzantine kastro – well worth the climb of over 300 steps to enjoy the views of the surrounding bays and town.
Amenities
Small number of bars / snack bars
One bank with 24 hour ATM
Supermarket, 2 fruit and veg shops, butchers and bakers
Pharmacy
Post office
Txi rank
Newspaper shop selling English newspapers
One tiny taverna
Pandeli
The fishing village of Pandeli is in the next bay from Platanos. Its harbour is busy with the island’s largest fishing fleet. A pretty little bay with a small beach and wonderful waterfront tavernas. In total there are four tavernas and 3 bars/coffee shops and a mini market.
Vromolithos
This is one of the island’s best beaches. It is a long sweeping bay with a sand / shingle beach and a small island in the middle. It is just 20 minutes walk from Platanos. On the beach are two tavernas, two bars, a mini market and sunbeds for hire. If you head further to the south over the headland you discover a lovely little cove and a second beach. |
