Chios Island Greece
26
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Azamara Club Cruises (20 Cruises)
Azamara Journey
6 Cruises
Azamara Onward
12 Cruises
Emerald Waterways (5 Cruises)
Star Clippers (1 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
At the main port of Chios town on the island's east coast, facing the nearby Turkish shore. The centre is about a ten-minute walk along a promenade lined with waterfront cafes.
A translucent resin harvested from the mastic tree, which grows nowhere else in the world with this quality. It brought the island centuries of rivalry and wealth; Greeks have chewed it since antiquity.
The castle and waterfront on foot in the morning, then a choice: Nea Moni monastery, about two hours round trip by taxi, or the mastic villages in the south, which need half a day. Both together will not fit a short call.
A mid-eleventh-century monastery listed by UNESCO, 11 kilometres from the centre in a wooded valley. It preserves gold-ground mosaics counted among the most precious in Greece.
Medieval towns in the south of the island that organised the resin harvest. Pyrgi, 25 kilometres away, covers its facades in grey-and-white geometric patterns known as xysta; Mesta, a little further, keeps its fortified layout and vaulted passages intact.
Yes, it stands north of the harbour basin, within walking distance. Built in the fourteenth century and remodelled by the Genoese and Ottomans, it holds a maze of still-inhabited lanes, the Bayrakli mosque and the remains of a Byzantine cathedral.
Not very, and that is the point. Shops serve islanders, tavernas post their menus in Greek, and souvenir shops are few. The island built its prosperity on shipping and citrus as much as on its resin.
An area of old ochre stone mansions belonging to the great shipowning families, hidden behind high walls among orange and mandarin groves just south of the capital. The detour is made by taxi on the southern road.
Reasonably. The mastic museum near Pyrgi lets children taste the resin, and the castle lanes are easy to walk. That said, the drives to the south are long for young children.
The euro and Greek. You will see little English on signs: this is an island that lives mainly for itself. Bring cash for taxis and small businesses in the southern villages.
