Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ì
To Yerani
T
22430
61484.
Livádhia's best food, set
inland from the little bridge in the middle of the beach, but
still enjoying sea views from its large tiled terrace. Home-
cooked specialities range from delicious courgette flowers
with cheese for €4 or moussaka for €6 up to large meat
grills.
May-Oct daily 11am-late.
HÓRA
Barbarossa
T
22430
61577.
The only serious taverna in
Hóra, just as the main street starts to climb towards the
kástro. Popular for its warm, pleasant interior, and nice
terrace, it serves hearty but generally unexceptional food,
with rich meaty dishes like chicken with okra for €7.50 as
well as more substantial seafood; the salads are
disappointing.
Daily noon-midnight.
KAMINÁKIA
Linda
T
697 21
29 088.
Well-run beach taverna, which as
well as offering honest, rustic fare (salads, fresh fish and a
dish of the day) oversees a handful of sunbeds.
Late June
to early Sept, daily noon-6pm.
LIVÁDHIA
Astropelos
T
22430 61473.
With its large shaded patio,
this beachside taverna is a great place to linger over
vegetable dishes like stuffed tomatoes, but the seafood can
be expensive.
June-Sept daily 11am-late.
The east
Astypálea's wilder and less populated
eastern
half is home to the island's airport and a
small resort,
Maltezána
, but little else. Apart from a couple of south-coast beaches, the
only day-trip worth making over here is the bumpy but spectacular drive out to the
huge bay at
Mésa Vathý
.
Stenó and Plákes
Two good but isolated beaches stand on the southern shore of Astypálea's slender
central isthmus. At
Stenó
(meaning “narrow”, in reference to the isthmus), inviting
turquoise shallows stretch away from a sandy shore. There's only limited shade,
courtesy of a few tamarisks, but a
kantína
opens up in high summer.
Another kilometre east, the much quieter beach at
Plákes
has no facilities and can
only be accessed by walking a few hundred metres down from the main road. It's at the
end of the airport runways, but with barely a plane a day that's no problem.
8
Maltezána
The little resort of
MALTEZÁNA
, Astypálea's second-largest settlement, is 9km east of
Péra Yialós, under 1km from the airport. Its official name is
ANÁLIPSI
, but it's
universally known by the nickname it acquired thanks to medieval Maltese pirates. It's
a nice enough spot, with a narrow, exposed, packed-sand beach, a small fishing port at
its eastern end, and a good view south to islets.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
MALTEZÁNA
Analipsi
T
22430 61446.
Maltezána's best taverna, also
known as
Ilias-Irini's
, is a tranquil little space facing the jetty
that doubles as the fishermen's
kafenío
. The food - fried
squid, bean soup - is simple but wholesome; confirm prices
and portion size of the often frozen seafood.
Feb-Dec daily
11am-9pm.
Maltezana Beach
T
22430 61558,
W
maltezanabeach.gr.
Astypálea's largest hotel, with 48 large, well-appointed bungalow-
rooms - five of which are family-sized apartme
nts - p
lus a pool
and on-site restaurant. Closed mid-Sept to Easter.
€100
Villa Barbara
T
22430 61448.
A dozen very spruce blue-
and-white studios, all with kitchen and balcony and
sleeping 2-3, se
t a s
hort way back from the beach. Closed
Oct to mid-May.
€50
Mésa Vathý
Although the main road turns to dirt east of Maltezána, it remains just about passable
in an ordinary car, and snakes its way onwards across the exposed hillsides all the way
to
MÉSA VATHÝ
, at the head of an utterly magnificent west-facing bay 23km out from
Hóra. Much the best way to arrive at this sleepy fishing hamlet would be by boat; it's a
popular anchorage for pleasure yachts in summer. There's no town, just one little
taverna; walk onwards from the end of the road to reach a small beach.
