What’s left of the evergreen Eden of North Evia after the wildfires of 2021? An island of simple and pure pleasures that is our second home, we share the attractions that remain to be enjoyed.
Last updated 6 June 2025
The 2021 inferno that engulfed North Evia was the biggest Greece has ever seen. Once a lush mountainscape of pine, oak, fir, and olive trees, 51,000 hectares of primary forest went up in flames in eight days. Along with the livelihoods of resin collectors, bee keepers, olive oil producers, and other agribusinesses.
Ours was a farm of almond trees. So heavy with fruit their branches almost grazed the ground. After seven years of waiting for them to mature, they were ready to supply their first yield. But rather than the bountiful harvest anticipated, we walked through scorched rows of skeletons scavenging for nut hulls that looked salvageable.
We planned to take the girls for their first forest walk through Drymonas and its waterfalls at the start of the summer. But everything changed within a week. There is little left of its magic for this generation to enjoy.
WHY NORTH EVIA?
Various reasons may continue to bring you to North Evia: It’s a gateway to the Sporades (Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos) from Mantoudi’s port, the evergreen road to which was untouched by the fires. You might also be on a healing pilgrimage to Prokopi, also unharmed after a freak shower of rain uncannily occured after believers gathered at its church to intercede for a miracle. Limni and Agia Anna may have lost their trees, but their endless sea views are still a scene of beauty. And then there’s Edipsos – with its thermal springs and a renowned spa hotel – which escaped unscathed.
FIRST STOP: CHALKIDA
Entrypoint to Evia on the island’s closest point to the mainland, Chalkida is picturesque and petite. Sizable enough to support basic city conveniences for its 100,000 strong population, locals might be able to get their fill of Zara and Oysho, but have to head out to Athens for the cinema.
The city’s feature is a waterside promenade lined with cafes-bars and restaurants that is perfect for family strolls and kiddie scoots. Continuing past the old sliding bridge where you can witness the “crazy tidal waters” that riddled Aristotle himself, and you will find Asteria. An expansive outdoor waterfront bar and restaurant that hasn’t forgotten little ones, its family appeal include a fenced playground positioned within clear view of a section of dining tables. If we needed accommodation in Chalkida, we’d look between this part of the promenade and the center, or one of the seafront Airbnbs in Alykes.
Alykes is Chalkida’s summer highlight for us – a child-friendly beach only the locals seem privy to. With clear blue waters that lap over soft golden sand, it’s impressive for these parts (Evia’s beaches, for me, are nothing to shout about, and usually of the darker variety). Settled by an assembly of cafe-bars for every taste, Daluz at the far right corner (as you face the sea) is our favourite with wood-framed sunbeds, breezy electro tunes, and a gently sloping seabed clear of rocks.
THE ROAD TO MANTOUDI – GATEWAY TO THE SPORADES (SKIATHOS, SKOPELOS, ALONISSOS)
After exiting Chalkida, the drive north involves 40-minutes of dizzying twists (bring Dramamine for the car-sick prone) through pine-carpeted highlands, before meeting Kireas river. It used to be prettier here, with water-loving plane trees crowding its banks, filtering the light through leafy, cut-out canopies. But a recent imported sickness bringing targeted death to this tree species swept through, leaving skeletons in place of dense greenery.
Prokopi is the first village of interest you will meet, where many visit for the hope of healing at the church of one of Eastern Orthodoxy’s great saints, John the Russian. Tourist-geared shops stocked with Evian pine honey and other “traditional products” border its square, anchored by the church.
Mantoudi’s village center is a 10-minute drive from here. Once a proud regional center, magnesite mining factories used to drive the local economy. Now, like many Greek villages, it steadily diminishes in size and feels somewhat forlorn for the lack of upgrades. While not for sightseeing, it still harbours some exceptional stops: Stamatis – a first-class ouzerie serving mezze plates of fresh shellfish (also try the shrimp pane and fried peppers) in the corner of the main square, and a sizzling Souvlaki shop owned by the butcher next to it. On the village’s edge, you will also find Legola-nd, where the girls wobble through the forests and fields of Mantoudi on horseback with owner Thanassis.
Kimasi beach and port, a five-minute drive from its center, is where you can catch daily summer ferries to the Sporades. Of the high-speed variety, you can get to exotic Alonissos marine park in an impressive 40 minutes.
AGIA ANNA – A FAMILY-FRIENDLY COASTAL RETREAT
Our preferred swimming beach in North Evia is where yiayia (Grandma) is from. An endless sweep of charcoal shores, Agia Anna is Evia’s longest beach, looking out into the gentle outline of Skopelos in the horizon. Pebbly on the “organised” end (i.e. providing sunbeds and food service) with cafes and taverns lining the boardwalk, the sandier, wilder bit is where four-star, simple-but-sleek Thalatta resides. Bringing a surprise bit of flash when it first arrived on the nonchalant village scene, its now a seaside destination in itself, fitted out with family-sized rooms (just be careful of stairs with toddlers), airy restaurants, and a rave-worthy kids club.
A tourist “hotspot” by North Evia’s laidback standards, Agia Anna has given us some of our most relaxed family outings. Including coffee and homemade banoffee under the Mulberry trees of Remetzo, while the girls play on the vaulted horse of a tree stump in front. Or dinners at Maistrali with a prime beachfront position and bushes to play hide and seek around. There’s also Trata for fresh seafood.
Some menu tips in these parts: order thrapsalo instead of fried calamari – distinctly more tender and tasty. And trade lobster in for crayfish – sublimely sweet and delicately succulent. The region is also famed for its specialty shellfish like gialisteres, chténia scallops, and razor clams.
COASTAL DRIVES, SEASIDE TOWNS & THERMAL SPRINGS
A once especially scenic seaside road runs from Limni to Rovies and Edipsos in the northeast. And while the fires consumed Limni and Rovies, it self-extinguished in Ilia before reaching the thermal spring spa town and port of Edipsos.
Built on the wealth of ship captains, the seaside village of Limni is North Evia’s prettiest. With increasing tourism interest, once derelict neoclassical houses have morphed into slick cafes and cocktail bars, dotted with traditional tavernas in between. Because the waters of Limni (“lake” in Greek) are so still, there’s a particularly calming effect as you sit here for dinner or sundowners. Clear to its rocky depths, children catapult bread bits to feed a frenzy of fish, while ducks leave disappearing trails as they drift, and kaiki (wooden fishermen’s boats) bob on its ever-gentle surface.
While you might find teens dive bombing off Limni’s pier, we gravitate towards Kochyli’s supersized family umbrellas for swims when Agia Anna gets too wavy. Calm and washed over by crystalline waters, its waters are good for tots with some care, as its pebbly seabed gets steep quickly.
If you’re looking for somewhere to combine a swim with lunch or dinner instead, drop your google map pin at Paralia one beach down. Complete with umbrellas, sunbeds, a bar, and a seaside taverna, there’s also a little playground next to it (albeit one that’s a bit run-down). Considering staying in these parts? Boutique resorts Elimnion and Eleonas with its 35-hectare organic farm sit on its hillside.
A 30-minute drive from Rovies is North Evia’s most famous draw. The thermal springs of Edipsos drew all from Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius to Winston Churchill by the curative powers of its rich mineral content. A stately 19th century Thermae Sylla Wellness Hotel dominates the small spa town. Natural wells fill its pools daily with enriching waters saturated with metals and chemicals. While its indoor pool is only for guests over 15, infants and young children can enjoy it’s outdoor pool with sea water mixed into its spring waters. If you’re not a hotel guest, you can still enjoy the area’s therapeutic waters in the beach fronting the hotel where spring waters spill into the sea.
FROM EDIPSOS, TO OMPHALOS
Also a small port, from Edipsos you can cross over by ferry (which also transports cars) to the mainland port of Arkitsa in 45 minutes. Why? Because in another hour-and-a-half by car you can find your way to omphalos – the center of the ancient world. Kings, warriors and other supplicants similarly journeyed here seeking guidance from the oracle of Delphi at the Temple of Apollo. Carved into the towering rocks of Mount Parnassus (also a winter ski destination), the temple ruins continue to elicit wonderment. Best visited with a guide, walk its expansive grounds in the cooler months of spring and autumn.
GETTING THERE
Connected to the mainland by bridge, Evia is easy to get to. Chalkida (its capital) is a good day trip destination from Athens in under an hour’s drive. It’s also served by small ferry ports in Mantoudi, Edipsos, Agiokampos in the north, Kymi in central Evia, and Marmari and Nea Stira down south. There is no airport on the island.
