Greece
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
476km²
Area
185km
Coastline
1,434m
Highest point
Kerkis
32,977
People
24°C
Warmest sea
August
2km
To the mainland
When to go to Samos
Best for the beach from June to September.
The sea is warmest in August (24 °C) and coolest in February (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 Aegean Sea
Samos is an island in Greece. It covers 476 km², with 185 km of coastline. Its highest point, Kerkis, rises to 1,434 m. About 32,977 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2 km away.
Getting there
- Samos Airport (SMI)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at SMI airport (Samos Island)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesPatmos - Samos (Pythagoreio), Chios - Samos (Karlovasi), Samos (Karlovasi) - Kalymnos, Samos - Kusadasi
- 2 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June 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 Samos.
- 93beachesLivadaki, Tsabou, Kampos Marathokampou Beach and 90 more
- 28viewpointsPapageorgiou family fields and 27 more
- 9lighthouses
- 5ferry terminalsSamos, Karlovasi, Karlovasi Samos (old port) and 2 more
- 5marinasMarina Pythagorio, Samos Marina and 3 more
- 7named peaksKerkis, Zastano, Karvouni and 4 more
- 4waterfalls
- 6castles and fortsTower of Sarakinis, Castle of Loulouda, Castle of Lazarou and 3 more
- 40ruins and archaeological sitesTunnel of Eupalinos, Ancient Agora, Temple of Aphrodite and 37 more
- 1dive centresSamos Sub Diving Center
- 38waymarked walking routes25 Vourliotes - Manolates - Vourliotes, 1 Potami - Mikro Seitani - Megalo Seitani, 27 and 35 more
- 1campsites
- 185hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 335restaurants, 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
Samos in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Samos, each with its own numbers.
11beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
23.9°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
11 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Órmos Megáli Lákkascove23.9°C
- Órmos Mourtiácove23.9°C
- Órmos Mikrí Lákkascove23.9°C
- Agkáli Agía Paraskevícove23.7°C
- Agkáli Galázocove23.7°C
- Agkáli Potámicove23.6°C
- Agkáli Ágios Nikólaoscove23.6°C
- Órmos Limniónascove23.6°C
3 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 311 m above the sea. 44 % of it is below 200 m.
- 12 %0–50 m
- 32 %50–200 m
- 34 %200–500 m
- 20 %500–1,000 m
- 2 %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.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Néon Karlovásion10,220 people
- Pythagóreio7,515 people
- Marathókampos2,401 people
- Mytilinioí1,982 people
- Vathý1,888 people
- Samos1,885 people
- Chóra1,218 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 13 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 28 | 23 | 18 | 14 |
| Night low (°C) | 9 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| Sea (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 138 | 101 | 61 | 44 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 46 | 91 | 120 |
| Wet days | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| Sun h/day | 4.0 | 4.8 | 6.8 | 8.6 | 10.6 | 12.4 | 13.1 | 12.0 | 9.9 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 3.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 22 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 21 |
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 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +0.7 | +1.6 |
| 2021 | +2.1 | +1.3 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +0.5 | −0.1 | −0.6 | +0.3 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −1.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | −1.6 | −0.5 | +1.2 |
| 2023 | +1.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.6 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +1.0 | +2.1 | +1.9 | +1.2 | +2.5 | +2.0 |
| 2024 | +2.1 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +1.6 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +1.1 |
| 2025 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.4 | −0.3 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +1.3 | +1.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q156882) · 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.
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