Day trips from Folegandros: the neighbours

We name the trips and say what each is. We print no ferry times, crossing durations or prices, because those change every season. Confirm the day’s sailings and check the last boat back before you commit to being anywhere in the evening.

Sikinos, the quieter one still

Immediately east lies Sikinos, which manages to be quieter than Folegandros, and that takes some doing. It is a small island with a hilltop chora, a single road, a handful of tavernas and almost no visitors.

There is not a great deal to do, which is the entire proposition. Go for a long lunch, a walk up to the chora and a swim, and treat the crossing as the point rather than the cost. It is the closest thing in the Cyclades to arriving somewhere that has not thought about you.

Sailings are infrequent, so check both directions carefully.

Santorini, an hour away and the opposite of here

The obvious contrast and the most useful practical link. Santorini is about an hour by fast boat and it is everything Folegandros is not: the rim of a drowned volcano, cliff villages strung along the top edge, cruise arrivals and the most photographed view in Greece.

As a day trip it is busy and expensive, and you will spend a chunk of the day getting between the port and the rim. As a pairing, though, it is the best in the Cyclades: do Santorini first for a few nights and come here to recover. Santorini to Folegandros covers the hop.

If you do go for the day, aim for the interior villages behind the rim rather than joining the sunset crush at Oia.

Ios and Milos, on the same lines

Ios is a short hop and a complete change of register: one hilltop town with a long sandy beach below it, quiet in the shoulder months and loud in August. It suits a day if you want a proper beach, which Folegandros does not really have.

Milos is further up the western line and, honestly, is not a day trip. Its coast is long and deeply folded and the best of it needs a boat trip of its own. Treat it as the next island rather than an excursion.

The boat to your own bays

The best short trip from Folegandros involves barely leaving it. The island is steep and rocky and several of its better beaches are easier by sea than by road, so small boats run from Karavostasi in season along the coast.

Agios Nikolaos and the western bays are the usual targets, and a boat turns a long hot walk into a good morning. This is also the fallback when the wind has closed the longer crossings, which on this exposed corner of the Cyclades happens often enough to plan for.

Walking, which beats most of the crossings

Worth saying plainly. Folegandros has old footpaths running out from the Chora and down to the northern bays, and walking them is a better day than a rushed boat to a neighbour.

The route out towards Ano Meria and down to Agios Georgios is the substantial one, and it needs water, shade and something sensible on your feet. The order for the island itself is in the Folegandros itinerary.

Where this leaves you

From Folegandros: Sikinos for somewhere even quieter, Santorini for the contrast and as the practical connection, Ios for a proper beach, and a small boat to your own coast for the best short day out. Milos deserves nights rather than a day. Check the sailings first, because out here they are thinner than the central Cyclades lead you to expect.

Quick answers

What is the best day trip from Folegandros?

The small boat along the island’s own coast to the western bays. Folegandros is steep and rocky and several of its better beaches are far easier to reach by sea than by road, so a boat morning is the best-value day out.

Can you visit Santorini from Folegandros?

Yes, it is about an hour by fast boat. It makes for a busy and expensive day, and much of it goes on getting between the port and the caldera rim. The pairing works far better as a few nights on each than as a day trip.

Is Sikinos worth visiting?

If you want somewhere even quieter than Folegandros, yes. It has a hilltop chora, one road and very few visitors, and the appeal is precisely that there is not much to do. Check the sailings in both directions, because they are infrequent.

Are there sandy beaches on Folegandros?

Not really. The island is steep and rocky and its bays are mostly pebble, several of them reached on foot or by boat rather than by road. If sand is the priority, Ios is a short hop away and has a long sandy beach below its town.