Chios Arrival: First Impressions, Practical Tips & Start of My North Aegean Trip

This post covers my arrival in Chios, how I got into town, and my first impressions before heading to Oinousses

I’ve had the idea of this trip for some time. Chios so far, has always eluded me. It has never been quite close enough to visit from other islands or I have been travelling in the opposite direction. Chios is closer to Turkey than it is to Samos or Lesvos, the larger islands to the North and South of it. Single destination trips are a rarity for me, but my preference has always been to mix it up, and see as much as I can in however long I have allocated. (and how much money saved!). So with Chios finally in my sights, I began plotting a route to the neighbouring islands.

Sitting on either side of Chios are two small islands. Psara to the West and Oinousses to the East. Oinousses is an island that we feature as part of the Hidden Greece portfolio, but one that we don’t get much interest in from our clients – probably because it’s a bit of a faff to reach – Psara even more so. I’m on a mission to find out what all three islands have to offer and to prove that the effort is worth it.

Finding accommodation on Psara and Oinousses wasn’t without its challenges, but I’d managed to book somewhere. There is limited accommodation on both islands (unlike Chios), and not much is available through Booking.com. Time to dig deep and root out some contacts. I discovered that the accommodation on Oinousses was made up of 1 hotel and several rooms and apartments. From September to June, these are booked up by teachers and students attending the naval academy on the island. I did, however, through some sleuth-like work, find somewhere with availability. Using the same tenacity, I also found somewhere on Psara, which was all confirmed via Facebook or WhatsApp messages — a very Greek way of booking a room.

I arrived in Athens at 11pm after an hour’s delay. I’d pre-booked an overnight stay at Apartments Tina, close to the airport in Spata where airport transfers were included in the rates. Great if you want a stress-free travel experience. It’s set in a quiet neighbourhood (apart from the overhead planes that is), with few facilities around but the price also included breakfast.

The hosts were very friendly and told me what a busy season it had been. Post-COVID, travel to Greece had increased exponentially. I think we all appreciate what was denied to us during that time. She told me that her friend on Santorini, who also had a hotel, would be closing next week as they’d “had enough”.

The room – and especially the bed – were comfortable and I had a great night’s sleep. This is how I rate a room now – comfort of the mattress and whether I wake up refreshed or in need of a good session with my chiropractor.

Breakfast was ready from 4am. I’m not up quite that early! I’d arranged to be taken to the airport at 9.30, so am up and ready by 8.00. The breakfast was simple but adequate and taken in the pretty garden with a trickling water feature.

I was a bit twitchy about getting to the airport just over an hour before it departed, but my host reassured me that when I get there, I would think that I was early! And do you know what – she was right. Check-in was very fast, and I had plenty (too much) time at the airport before we departed.

I had seat 1a on the little prop plane. Both of my bags were in the overhead locker. The flight attendant asked me if I was English and then went on to tell me that if anything should happen during the flight, it would be my responsibility to open the emergency exit next to me. She told me to read the instructions on the door. So apparently my front-row seat came with extra duties!

We took off and headed out across Evia. The dark green landscape was crossed with high-peaked ridges lined with strings of wind turbines, barely visible in the photographs. Tufts of cumulus clouds cast their shadows onto the hills below. I must visit Evia one day – though with such a large island, I’ve no idea where to begin. A question for another day.

After Evia, there was nothing – just sea. I knew Andros and Tinos were down there somewhere, but maybe to the right of the plane. I love tracking my journeys by identifying the landmasses below. When Psara and the coast of Chios came into view, I knew we were close. Soon after, we were over Chios and began our descent. The landscape of Chios looked incredibly rich and verdant with huge swathes of agricultural land. I was more than ready for this!

Thankfully, our flight went without mishap, and my emergency exit duties weren’t required. I followed the crowd (more a group of people) through to the small luggage reclaim area. With only around 30 people on the flight, it took no time at all.

Once outside the airport, I found a taxi to take me the 3km to Chios town at a cost of 10€. There is also a bus stop across the road. I am staying at a place called CityZen Studios, located just behind the harbour front. I had decided to stay here for 1 night before heading off to Oinousses the following day for 7 nights. But I knew I’d be back on Chios to unravel its secrets in more detail later.

CityZen Studios has a contactless system for picking up the keys, I daresay prompted by the advent of Covid. There’s nothing like a pandemic to bring Greece kicking and screaming into the digital age! There was also a reception next door during office hours, so I went there, where Eleni gave me a warm welcome and showed me to my room. It is small and compact, but modern and clean. It looked newly refurbished, mercifully free of a clingy shower curtain, which is always a bonus. Being in such close proximity to the harbour road and the street outside made it noisy. The traffic noise did permeate into the room, but for an overnighter, this wasn’t a problem.

My first mission was to buy my ferry ticket for my journey to Oinousses. There is just one agency that sells tickets for the local boat to Oinousses. Sunrise Travel is located on the main harbour front close to where the Oinousses III and Psara Glory moor. I’m informed that the Oinoussai III would depart at 12.00 the following day. Before my arrival, I’d been in communication with my host-to-be, Despina, who also advised me that there was also a water taxi service from Lagada, just north of Chios Town. It sounded like an extra unnecessary layer, but it was good to know, should the need arise.

https://www.sunrisetours.gr/

My next task was to scope out the location of the bus station, which was conveniently to the port as I knew I’d be using the service frequently. Just behind the bus station, I caught a glimpse of the bastion of Chios Castle, part of the defensive walls that once protected the old citadel. I was so tempted to go in and explore, but I will put my curiosity on hold until I can give it more attention. Instead, I headed back onto the harbour front, lined with busy cafe bars, tavernas, and cloth shops. Already, I could sense that this was a busy town full of life

At the other end of the harbour sat the striking modern sculpture overlooking the water’s edge called the Monument to the Chian Fighters of the National Resistance. It’s an abstract piece that looks like curved fins or flames. I wasn’t entirely sure what the artist intended, but it was a nice landmark to walk to. I then ventured further into the town and its vibrant shopping centre. It reminded me of so many ‘ordinary towns’ that I’d visited in Greece, with elements of Patras and Sparta and the motorbike noise of Pothia on Kalymnos. This wasn’t a criticism. There’s something familiar and comforting about ordinary towns that helps you to acclimatise gently.

I knew that the hidden gems of this island were further afield, but these will have to wait!