Greece
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
842km²
Area
260km
Coastline
1,297m
Highest point
Profitis Ilias
51,930
People
23°C
Warmest sea
August
14km
To the mainland
When to go to Chios
Best for the beach from July to September.
The sea is warmest in August (23 °C) and coolest in March (16 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Greek island in the Aegean Sea
Chios is an island in Greece. It covers 842 km², with 260 km of coastline. Its highest point, Profitis Ilias, rises to 1,297 m. About 51,930 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 14 km away.
Getting there
- Chios Island National Airport (JKH)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at JKH airport (Chios Island)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesChios - Oinousses, Chios - Samos (Karlovasi), Mykonos - Chios, Mytilini - Chios
- 14 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Chios.
- 68beachesMega Limionas Beach, Strand, Lilikas and 65 more
- 4viewpointsWind mill, Profiti Elias Panorama and 2 more
- 11lighthouses
- 4ferry terminalsChios and 3 more
- 6marinasgridia and 5 more
- 2named peaksPelineo, Edelos
- 50castles and fortsVigla of Vroulidia, Vigla of Agios Nikitas, Vigla of Chrysolio and 47 more
- 51ruins and archaeological sitesOReG, Steinmensch, Apollo’s temple at Fana and 48 more
- 1dive centresSea Adventure Scuba Diving Center
- 8waymarked walking routesFa - Lithi, Olympoi - Mesta, Kardamyla - Castle of Gria and 5 more
- 54hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 177restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Chios in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Chios, each with its own numbers.
53beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
23.4°C
Vroulidhia
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
53 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Papalia23.3°C
- Kontári23.4°C
- Ámpi23.4°C
- Aghia Fotia23.4°C
- Ghiosonas23.3°C
- Glaroi Beach23.4°C
- Vroulidhia23.4°C
- Mavra Volia23.4°C
45 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 294 m above the sea. 48 % of it is below 200 m.
- 11 %0–50 m
- 36 %50–200 m
- 32 %200–500 m
- 20 %500–1,000 m
- <1 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Chios23,953 people
- Vrontádos5,270 people
- Emporeiós3,704 people
- Kardámyla1,897 people
- Thymianá1,566 people
- Pyrgíon1,063 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 12 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 18 | 14 |
| Night low (°C) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 11 |
| Sea (°C) | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 17 |
| Rain (mm) | 124 | 97 | 57 | 44 | 24 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 49 | 79 | 114 |
| Wet days | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| Sun h/day | 3.9 | 4.7 | 6.8 | 8.6 | 10.7 | 12.5 | 13.2 | 12.0 | 9.9 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 3.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 24 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 24 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +1.0 | +1.7 | +1.0 | +1.1 |
| 2021 | +2.1 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +0.2 | −0.5 | +0.1 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | −0.4 | −1.0 | +0.1 | +0.8 | −0.8 | −0.7 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +1.7 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.7 | −0.3 | −0.6 | +1.2 | +1.9 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +2.4 | +2.2 |
| 2024 | +2.1 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.8 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +1.0 |
| 2025 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +1.4 | +1.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q160483) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit