My next (and last) stop in Greece was the island of Andros, a last minute decision. I had originally left about 5 days unplanned, thinking I would be spontaneous and decide while I was traveling. But I forgot how overbooked everything is in Greece in high-season, so that meant skipping out on the more popular islands, like Mykonos and Santorini. I came across the less-known island of Andros while searching on HostelWorld — a charming little hostel called the Lemon Tree Hostel caught my eye (and more importantly, there was an available bed).

The hostel was just as cute as the reviews promised — although very basic in terms of comfort. I slept in a 12-dorm bedroom, so it was a good thing I ended up liking my roommates. The hostel is owned and run by an older Greek couple, Miltos and Elena. Most of the guests spend time lounging around on the outdoor furniture, since the entire hostel is located under a group of lemon trees (hence the name). Upon arrival, Miltos makes you his special lemonade from his lemon trees– just one touch that made the hostel feel very welcoming and homey. Every morning, Miltos and Elena make breakfast for the guests in the outdoor kitchen. Many guests there I talked to had only planned to stay for a couple days, and ended up enjoying it so much they extended their stays, or this was another annual visit. Most guests also couldn’t really say how long they’d been there — time didn’t seem to matter on the island.

Another highlight of the hostel was meeting Ion, a local friend of the couple who was helping run things for a few weeks. Ion turned out to be a retired Theoretical Engineering professor with a contagious smile and a vast knowledge in Greek history, mythology, botany, cooking… you name it. He was quite the storyteller, and an evening at the hostel was never dull with him around. He even had me try his special homemade face wash from local olive oil, honey, and olive pits (for exfoliation), which, when he found out how much I liked it, bottled some for me to take home. (I tried to convince him to start his own Greek homemade cosmetic line).

Because of how relaxed and friendly the atmosphere was, it was super easy to meet other guests. One night, while enjoying a couple beers on the porch, I met an Australian traveler, Andy, who invited me to join him on his motorbike the next day to explore the island. Since this was my summer of saying ‘yes,’ I agreed to go.

We first took the bike to a local beach with umbrellas, and enjoyed the view with some beer. I quickly learned that his motorbike wasn’t the most comfortable for the rugged terrain of the island– where most of the roads are dirt, steep, and anything but smooth. This was definitely the most *wild* of the islands I’ve visited; sometimes we’d ride for miles without seeing a single car. We had a couple close calls with the motor not starting up (a moment where you really start to wish there were people around) but nothing really fazed the Australian. (“No wozzas”)

The island’s terrain is one of the most unique I’ve seen– changing between rocky, arid desertscape on the mountaintops to lush forests and natural springs in the valleys.

By the time we finally made it to the secluded beach Vori on the north part of the island after a pretty terrifying trip down the side of the mountain, we had some high expectations. Good thing the rule of thumb in Greece seems to be the more difficult the beach is to get to, the better it is.

Although we could’ve stayed at the beach for hours, we were pretty unprepared by the time we got there (stocked with only beer and no water or food). It was hard to leave, especially when thinking about how painful it would be to get that motorbike back up the incredibly steep mountain we came down.

When we made it back into town, we went for dinner at a local restaurant with a great view of the sunset. In addition to a Greek salad, I also got a 2nd degree burn from the motorbike engine (but don’t worry, I won’t include a photo of that).

The next day I took a bus to the eastern side of the island to the old capital Chora. This town differs from other traditional Greek villages in that it has a mixture of Neoclassical, Byzantine, and Ottoman architecture. Many of the houses were built during Turkish rule and are painted different pastel colors, definitely making it the most interesting Greek town I’ve seen so far.

After three days on this island, I was happy I chose something quieter and more off the beaten path than Santorini or Mykonos. Part of the appeal of this island is how untouched by tourism it feels — so here’s to hoping no one reads this blog post!