In September 2024 I returned to Andros island in Greece. Here’s some of my thoughts about it.
Visiting Andros in September
I’ve often said that September is the best month to visit the Greek islands.
That certainly seems to be the case with Andros, at least judging from our experience here so far!
During the first week of September 2024, the weather in Andros is still above 30 degrees during the day, the sea is the perfect temperature for swimming, and at night you can easily sit out in a T-shirt and shorts. Nice!
Getting to Andros & Getting Around
At the beginning of September 2024, Vanessa and myself took the ferry ride over from Rafina port to Andros. While the ferry was surprisingly busier than we thought it might be, there was still plenty of room on board to find somewhere to sit for the 2 hour journey.
You can check timetables and book tickets with: Ferryscanner
As we had our own car, we drove off the ferry and straight to our accommodation.
If you need to rent a car, you might want to pre-book with Discover Cars, and have the rental car waiting for you at Gavrio port when you arrive.
Not sure if you might need a car or not? You can read here how to get around Andros.
Staying in Batsi
We decided to spend the first week in Batsi, which is the main coastal resort on the west of the island. (We’ll spend a couple of nights in Chora later on).
Funnily enough, we are staying in a studio complex we first stayed in five years ago. We even have the same room we had back then – and the owner somehow remembered us!
If you’re a longer term traveler looking for accommodation with kitchen facilities and access to a supermarket within walking distance, you might want to check it out as well: St George Studios.
Beaches in Andros
All of our recent travels seem to also involve working – at least that’s what we tell ourselves as we are checking out the beaches!
In all seriousness, it is a research trip to update our guidebook to Andros (available on Amazon). So, beaches are legitimately on the agenda.
I have to say that visually, Zorkos beach is absolutely amazing. Easily up there with some of the best beaches in Greece, and it reminded me a little of Myrtos beach in Kefalonia.
Probably my favourite so far though is Fellos beach on the north-western side of the island. It’s a lovely sand beach, easy to get in and out of the water, and not a beach bar in sight – Perfect!
My verdict on Andros
So far, I’d say Andros has been my favourite Greek island of the year.
When we visited Naxos in May there were signs that over-tourism is just a few years away, and yet on Andros, there’s still plenty of beach space not taken up by umbrella concessions. There doesn’t seem to be much over-building, and comparing what we experienced five years ago to today, nothing much seems to have changed.
Sure, the island has some worrying water issues (which Cyclades island doesn’t right now?!). All in all though, Andros seems to have ducked what has happened to Santorini, Mykonos, Paros and Naxos. For now!
A few more days left on Andros
As I write this on Saturday 7th September 2024, we have a couple more nights left in Batsi before moving on to Chora for two nights. And after that… Tinos? We’ll see!
Until next time,
Dave
– Dave BriggsDave is a travel writer living in and writing about Greece. In addition to writing this travel guide on spending September in Andros, he's created hundred's more Greek travel guides and posts on Dave's Travel Pages. Follow Dave on social media for travel inspiration from Greece and beyond: