Samos Map: Every Town, Beach and Road on One Page

By the Samos-Island.com editorial team · Last verified 26 September 2026 · How we work

Short answer

Samos covers 477 km2 and runs 43 km from east to west. One main road, the EO 62, follows the coast from Karlovasi in the north-west to Pythagoreio in the south-east, with Vathy, the capital, in the north-east. Two mountain massifs sit in between, so where you sleep decides how long you drive.

Samos has no grid of roads. One main route circles the island, and two mountain massifs, the Kerkis in the west and the Ampelos in the centre, cut across it. That layout decides where you should sleep, what you visit in the morning and how long you spend driving.

Read the map before you book. A room in Pythagoreio looks close to Kokkari on a screen, but the two sit on different coasts with Vathy between them. This page places each village, gives its distance from Vathy and shows which stretches of road need time.

Distances come from OpenStreetMap road data and are measured from Vathy unless stated otherwise. The driving times are automatic calculations raised by about a fifth for mountain roads. A hire car on the EO 62 will not match a route planner, so treat the tables as realistic, not optimistic.

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The island in figures

Samos covers 477 km2. It measures 43 km from east to west and 13 km across at its widest, so it is long and narrow rather than round. That shape matters: most journeys run along the length of the island, and crossing from one coast to the other means climbing.

Two massifs shape the map. Mount Kerkis rises to 1,434 m in the west and is the highest point on the island. The Ampelos massif, 1,095 m, fills the centre. The road goes around them or over their shoulders, which is why straight-line distances mislead.

The 2021 census counted 32,642 residents, split since 2019 between two municipalities: Eastern Samos with 20,021 and Western Samos with 12,621. Vathy, Karlovasi and Pythagoreio are the main centres. To the east, the Mycale strait separates the island from the Turkish coast, hardly two kilometres wide at its narrowest.

The north coast, from Karlovasi to Vathy

The north coast is the most populated side of the island. Vathy, the capital, sits at the eastern end with the main port. Karlovasi, the second town, closes the western end. Between them come Kokkari, Agios Konstantinos and, just past Karlovasi, the waterfalls at Potami.

This is where the EO 62 is easiest to drive. It stays close to the sea for most of the way, with few climbs, so the times in the table below hold up better here than anywhere else. Kokkari is the natural base if you want this coast within short reach.

Distances from Vathy (Samos town) on the fastest road
Place	Where it sits	From Vathy	Worth it for
Vathy (Samos town)	North-east corner	Reference point	The capital: main port, archaeological museum, ferries to Kusadasi
Kokkari	North coast	~10 km / 12 min	Fishing village, beach in the village, Tsamadou and Lemonakia around the headland
Agios Konstantinos	North coast, west of Kokkari	~17 km / 18 min	Quiet seafront village between Kokkari and Karlovasi
Karlovasi	North-west corner	~31 km / 35 min	Second town of the island, university, ferry port
Potami	North-west, near Karlovasi	~33 km / 35 min	Waterfalls, gorge walk and two small lakes

The south-east, from Vathy to Pythagoreio and Ireon

The south-east corner concentrates the airport, the ancient town of Pythagoreio and the Sanctuary of Hera at Ireon. Psili Ammos and Posidonio face the Turkish coast across the strait, and Mytilinioi sits inland in the valley south of Vathy. Everything here is close together on the map.

Pythagoreio makes a practical base if you arrive by air, since the airport is 3.5 km away. It is not a base for the north coast. Kokkari lies on the other side of Vathy, so every trip there adds both legs shown in the tables to your day.

The south-east, distances from Vathy
Place	Where it sits	From Vathy	Worth it for
Mytilinioi	Inland valley, south of Vathy	~11 km / 15 min	Wine village in the middle of the island
Pythagoreio	South-east coast	~11 km / 14 min	UNESCO town, harbour, tavernas, airport 3.5 km away
Psili Ammos	South-east coast	~12 km / 18 min	Long sandy beach, tavernas on the sand
Posidonio	South-east coast, closer to Vathy	~9 km / 11 min	Beach village used by people staying in Vathy
Ireon (Heraion)	South coast	~18 km / 25 min	Sanctuary of Hera, beach, end of the road

Kokkari harbour and waterfront on Samos

The west coast and the mountain villages

On the slopes of the Ampelos and west of Karlovasi, the map stops being flat. Manolates, Vourliotes and Platanos sit high above the north coast. Further south-west, Marathokampos and the beach at Kampos Votsalakia lie under the Kerkis, the island's highest massif, where the road climbs steeply.

This half of Samos rewards a car and punishes a tight schedule. Mountain villages look close to the coast, yet the road reaches them through bends and gradients. Of all the times in the table below, these are the least reliable, so plan fewer stops per day here.

The west and the interior, distances from Vathy
Place	Where it sits	From Vathy	Worth it for
Manolates	Ampelos slopes, north side	~21 km / 30 min	Mountain village, views over the north coast, crafts and tavernas
Vourliotes	Ampelos slopes, north side	~21 km / 30 min	Village above the coast, wine and views
Platanos	Ampelos slopes, above Karlovasi	~21 km / 30 min	Quiet village on the road across the massif
Marathokampos	South-west, Kerkis slopes	~34 km / 40 min	The mountain village, base for walks on the Kerkis
Kampos / Votsalakia	South-west coast	~34 km / 45 min	Long beach, seafront tavernas, start of the Kerkis trail

Turquoise sea and a pebble beach on Samos

Ports, ferries and the airport

Samos has three ports. Vathy, in the north-east, is the main one and handles the ferries to the Turkish coast. Karlovasi, in the north-west, serves Piraeus and the Cyclades. Pythagoreio, in the south-east, is a passenger port beside the ancient town. Check which one your ferry uses before booking.

The airport, coded SMI, lies 3.5 km from Pythagoreio and 14 km from Vathy. Arriving by air therefore puts you in the south-east, while a ferry to Karlovasi lands you at the opposite end. If your room is on the far side, count that drive into your first day.

Arrival points on Samos
Arrival point	Where	What it is for	Useful distance
Vathy port	North-east	Main port, ferries to the Turkish coast and to other islands	In the capital
Karlovasi port	North-west	Second port, ferries to the Cyclades and Piraeus	~31 km from Vathy
Pythagoreio port	South-east	Passenger port next to the UNESCO town	~11 km from Vathy
Samos airport (SMI)	South-east, near Pythagoreio	Seasonal and year-round flights	3.5 km from Pythagoreio, 14 km from Vathy

Reading the roads: what the map does not show

The EO 62 is the spine of the island. It links Karlovasi in the north-west to Pythagoreio in the south-east along the coast, and a full loop of Samos covers roughly 110 to 120 km of road. Most visitors never need another route, but the loop is longer than it looks.

The driving times on this page come from an automatic calculation, raised by about a fifth to reflect mountain roads. A route planner assumes you hold the limit on every bend. A hire car on the EO 62 will not, especially on the climbs in the west, so trust the adjusted figures.

The map will not show which stretches lack barriers or lighting, or where gravel collects after rain. Drive the mountain sections in daylight, leave a margin before a ferry or flight, and treat a short distance on the screen as a slow one on the ground.

Frequently asked questions

A full loop on the main road covers roughly 110 to 120 km. The mountain stretches in the west slow you down more than the distance suggests, so allow a full day with stops, or split the loop over two days.

Choose by the coast you want to explore. Vathy and Kokkari suit the north coast, Pythagoreio suits the south-east and the airport, and Kampos suits the west. Avoid sleeping on one coast to spend every day on the other.

For beaches and mountain villages, a car is the practical choice. Most places in the tables sit away from the main towns, and the mountain villages lie on climbing roads. Check local public transport if you stay in a main town.

Vathy, in the north-east, is the main port and the one used by ferries to the Turkish coast. Karlovasi, in the north-west, handles ferries to Piraeus and the Cyclades, and Pythagoreio serves passenger boats in the south-east.

Samos airport (SMI) is 3.5 km from Pythagoreio and 14 km from Vathy. Marathokampos and Kampos lie at the far western end of the island, so plan a longer transfer if you stay there.