Bears or Bears, the definition of a relaxing summer holiday

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A small island in the Dodecanese with turquoise sea around it, great food and cheerful people that will make you get into the relaxed atmosphere of the island from the first moment. Arkios is home to about 35 permanent residents and there is a one-room school with only one child! (summer 2022, information from a resident of the island)

How do I get to the Arkians?

There is no direct connection with Piraeus but with the other nearby islands such as Lipsi, Patmos, Agathonisi and Samos. So from Piraeus you can get to Patmos in about 8 hours and from there either with the island Kalymnos of Anek, the Zephyr of SAOS and I think the island Patmos (I don’t remember the ferry) you will find yourself in less than an hour in Arkioi.

Waiting for the boat at the small port of Arkies

What should I do to the Arquians?

As we said about Lipsi, swimming and eating are the island’s forte. Of course hiking if you want, fishing and whatever else inspires you. We didn’t struggle too much to figure out what to do. The choices are few and that alone makes us feel like we are on vacation in body and soul. Anyway, the 2 days we stayed went by very quickly and next time we will go for at least 4-5.

In front of the tavern Nikolas a small harbour of handmade boats and boats.

Okay, so, bathroom, but where?

Beaches in Arkios

As the boat arrives at the small port, you will see on your left the beach of Patelia, which you can easily reach on foot from the settlement located about 200 meters from the port. So in the village of Arkias, you will also see the dock that fills with sailing boats all summer long.

Patelia Beach next to the small port of Arkias

The first beach we went to was the famous Tiganakia. We walked the beautiful route to there and enjoyed the unique exotic colors of the sea and swimming across to the small island called Avatisto :)
The distance to the beach of Tiganakia is two kilometers and it is very easy since there is almost no altitude difference. The beach is located in the south of the island and you will find it easily as there is only one road to get there. Don’t forget that Arki is a very small island with a total area of only 6,697 km².

The beach of Tiganakia in the southern part of the island.

You can go from the settlement by car, up to a point, but also by the small boat of Captain Michalis. The only thing we didn’t like in Tiganakia was the artificial sand they had added to the original small beach, grey in colour. On the day we went, it was quite windy and as a result, this fine sand hit us (the well known “sandblasting” beach) and filled our hair and bags.

The third and probably the last good choice for swimming in Arki is Limnari beach. Although closer than Tiganakia, the access is more difficult and you will probably need a shoe or sandal with a good sole. We would suggest avoiding simple everyday slippers altogether as the latter part is through rocks and bushes. We even followed the arrow on the small wooden sign (see photo) and got stuck in a dead end as this arrow does not point to the supposed path but to where the beach is, as if you don’t have eyes to see it for yourself…

The beach of Limnari in Arki

The sandy beach is very small but with 2 trees for shade, you usually won’t find people while the bottom and the sea are excellent. I saw a small cuttlefish and after 5 minutes a small octopus in 3 meters depth. To get to Limnari beach, you will pass through the few houses in the village, cross the big barn with the “wonderful” smells and turn right. From there you will walk 5-10 minutes and you will see the beach. In total it’s 1200-1400 meters of walking, with a little bit of downhill walking a bit difficult.

Closing the beaches part, you can also have a perfect swim on the even smaller island opposite Arkios, Marathonisi or Marathi. Go by the small boat of Captain Michalis, there will surely be another way, and after your swim you will find 2-3 tavernas. Due to strong wind we didn’t attempt to go but I have seen pictures and it must be perfect. Next time.

On the path to the beach of Tiganakia. Somewhere here you leave the car

Food at the Arkioi

Few but delicious choices. We had our first meal at the Apolavesi tavern, walking back from the beach of Tiganakia. It’s about halfway down the road and is easy to find (it has a sign on the main road to go down to the sea, but it’s not on a beach). There, Mrs. Angeliki, her son and her daughter-in-law will pamper you and more.

Mrs. Angeliki at the Apolavlous tavern, Arki

After we ate and left, after about an hour we went to the central square of the settlement. There you will find two excellent taverns, Nikola and Trypa. The first night we sat in the tavern of Nikolas, which has as decoration the handmade boats and boats that you will find in the sea, in the small bay of Arki. Since we had eaten enough at Apolasis an hour before, we limited ourselves to grilled octopus, fava, squid and tsipouro or as they call it on the islands, souma from Samos. Beautiful surroundings and nice Greek music that put you in the mood of the Greek summer.

Nikolas’ tavern in the small square of the settlement of Arki.

The next night we ate at the second tavern of the Arkies, the famous Trypa. Excellent flavors in everything we got, and we got a lot because this time we sat down to dinner hungry, but we also got service. Nice lighting and lots of fun in the groups. With Anthony, who works as a waiter and manager in this family business, we had our jokes and banter more about the music.

I was even telling him that Cuban music doesn’t really fit, it was playing early one night we spent outside, and even at a somewhat loud volume, especially when you eat stuffed tzatziki for example, he called me weird and more and the fun continued until we left.

Tavern “The Trypas” in Arki

The truth is that if you get in the mood for the Hole then everything fits! And after you’re full and ready to leave, you might even hit one of the spontaneous late night parties and find yourself at 3-4am dancing zebec or why not reggae!

Accommodation in Arkii

This should be arranged in advance and of course depending on the time of year you want to go in a hurry or not. We stayed at Katie’s for two nights and booked it through Airbnb.

On the beach of Tiganakia, Arki, Dodecanese

Map of accommodation in Lipsi

Postscript from the Arkians

Do not miss to climb the uphill but easy path that starts from the village (it will be difficult to find it at first) to the chapel of Panagitsa that stands beautiful with its blue and white color and looks out over the Aegean Sea and its small or larger islands, such as Samos.

When the ship arrives at the small port of Arkias, almost everyone goes in to load and unload the products.

The view from the chapel is beautiful and worth whatever time you go. From there, you can continue on to Limnari beach or better yet, visit it on the way back from Limnari to enjoy the sunset!