Are you planning a trip to Samos, Greece and wondering what Samos Island Tours to take? The good news is you have endless options! Book wonderful tours that show you the beauty of Samos – either by land or sea. OR you can opt for a tour that takes you to neighboring islands for the day!
You can’t go wrong, but we know the choices can be overwhelming! After traveling to Samos regularly for over 30 years, we’ve seen it all and are excited to share some great ideas with you.
In this post, you’ll find the 4 amazing Samos Island Tour ideas!!
Samos Island Boat Tour
One of the best ways to see Samos is by boat!! You get an entirely new perspective that you simply can’t see from a car.
Interested in a day of eating delicious Greek BBQ, sailing the Aegean on a traditional Greek boat, and swimming in the crystal clear waters off Samos?! Then we strongly recommend this 8 hour day tour from Pythagorion! We took this exact tour almost 10 years ago, and we were thrilled to see that it’s still running and highly rated!!
Tour Samos by Land
Don’t have a lot of time in Samos? Or maybe you’re on a budget and can’t rent a car? Consider taking this Full Day Island Bus Tour!! It’s only $65 per person and covers a lot of the main attractions on the island! They will take you to the Monastery of Megali Panagia, the famous waterfall hike, a winery, an olive oil museum, and more!
This is truly the perfect option for anyone with only 1-2 days on this beautiful island.
Samos to Ephesus Tour
Samos is unique in its nearness to Turkey! And just 2 hours by boat from Samos, you will find the historical site of Ephesus. Not only has Ephesus been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its astonishing Greek and Roman ruins, but it is also an important pilgrimage site for many Christians.
This can absolutely be done as a day trip from Samos, but it might be difficult to do on your own. You are literally crossing an international border, and therefore you go through passport control. Given the different languages involved, we would strongly recommend booking an organized tour to help everything go smoothly!!
Our family has used Rhenia Tours before to make this excursion, with a great experience! Though you can buy the tour through Rhenia Tours directly in either Karlovasi or Vathy, we would strongly recommend booking it online in advance through an app like Get Your Guide. That way, you get all the information and tickets downloaded right to your app. Also, it makes communicating with the tour company much easier.
Samos to Patmos Tour
The famous island of Patmos is only about 1.5-2.5 hours from Samos by boat! This beautiful island carries immense biblical significance and is most famous for its UNESCO World Heritage site, an amazing Monastery perched above the port. Additionally, you can visit the famous cave of St. John, where he had his visions of the apocalypse and wrote the book of Revelations.
Aside from religious history, Patmos is also known for its picturesque old town. Winding alleyways and traditional white homes with brightly colored doors twist their way down from the monastic fortress to the sea. Every corner is a picture-perfect moment!!
We’ve made this day trip from Samos to Patmos twice before … once without a tour guide (we just booked the ferry tickets on our own through FerryScanner and got a cab to take us up to the monastery), and once with a tour guide.
Overall, we would strongly recommend doing a formal tour, particularly if you don’t speak Greek, so you can get the most out of your visit. Otherwise, it’s hard to fully appreciate the meaning of all the art and artifacts you’ll encounter here.
This is a great option for a Samos-to-Patmos Day Tour led by Rhenia Tours, which brings you from Samos to Patmos and back within about 9 hours. Rhenia Tours has offices in Samos – in Karlovasi and Vathy – where you can book, but we strongly recommend booking through Get Your Guide before getting to Samos. This way, you get the tickets downloaded on your app and it makes communicating with the tour company much easier.
We hope you’ve enjoyed these 4 Samos Island Tour ideas!
Wondering what else there is to do in Samos, Greece? Check out this post on 51 Things to Do in Samos.
