Day trips from Chios: across the strait

We name the trips and say what each is. We print no ferry times, crossing durations or prices, because those change every season and the international crossing has its own rules. Confirm the sailings, and read the entry requirements before counting on leaving the country.

Cesme, across the strait

The crossing to Cesme on the Turkish coast is short and it is the most obvious day out. Cesme is a pleasant coastal town with a Genoese castle, a market and a long seafront, and the point of the day is the crossing and the change of country rather than a single great monument.

Be clear about that before you go. This is not Ephesus, which is much further south and reachable from Samos rather than from here. Cesme is a good day out and a modest one.

The paperwork matters more than the boat. This is an international crossing and leaving and re-entering the Schengen area is what catches people out on the morning. Visas and entry requirements covers what applies to whom.

Oinousses, the small island off the north-east

A cluster of small islands sits off the north-east corner of Chios, and Oinousses is the inhabited one. It is a quiet place with a single settlement rising from its harbour, an unusually wealthy shipping history for its size, and almost no visitors.

There is not much to do, which is the appeal. Go for a walk around the town, a swim and a long lunch, and treat the boat as the day. Sailings are local and infrequent, so check both directions carefully before you commit.

Psara, further out and harder

Psara lies further west into open sea and takes a proper crossing. It is bare, thinly populated and carries a heavy place in Greek history, and it is genuinely remote in a way that few islands this close to a large one manage.

It is not a comfortable day trip. Treat it as an overnight if it appeals, and check the sailings well ahead, because they are sparse.

The north of Chios

The trip most visitors skip, and the one we would take. The south of the island is the green half, with the mastic villages and the citrus estates. The north is rougher and more mountainous, emptier, and slower to cross, with stone villages, a much harder coastline and long stretches of nothing.

A day driving the north puts the busy south in context and shows you how large this island really is. Take water and fuel, because services thin out.

The other half of your own island

If you are based in the north or in town, the south is a full day in itself: the fortified mastic villages of Pyrgi and Mesta, and Nea Moni with its mosaics in the hills between.

On an island this size, crossing from one end to the other genuinely is a day trip. The order for all of it is in the Chios itinerary.

Where this leaves you

From Chios: Cesme across the strait for a change of country, provided the paperwork works for you; Oinousses for a quiet small-island lunch if the sailings suit; Psara only if you can give it a night. The best day that needs no boat is the empty north of Chios itself, which almost nobody drives.

Quick answers

Can you get to Turkey from Chios?

Yes, Cesme is a short crossing across the strait. It is a pleasant coastal town with a Genoese castle rather than a major ancient site, and the appeal is the crossing and the change of country. Check your Schengen re-entry position before you go.

Can you visit Ephesus from Chios?

Not practically. Ephesus is much further south and the usual jumping-off point is Samos, not Chios. From here the crossing lands at Cesme, which is a different and much smaller proposition.

What is Oinousses?

A small inhabited island off the north-east corner of Chios, with one settlement rising from its harbour and an unusually wealthy shipping history for its size. There is little to do, which is the point, and sailings are local and infrequent.

Is the north of Chios worth a day?

Yes, and it is the day most visitors miss. The north is rougher, more mountainous and far emptier than the mastic-growing south, and driving it shows you the true scale of the island. Take water and fuel, because services are thin.