About Kythnos Island

Kythnos is one of the Greek Cycladic islands in the Aegean Sea. It can be reached by ferryboat from both the port of Piraeus and that at Lavrion. From Piraeus, the boat ride is about 3-1/2 hours; from Lavrion, 2 hours if the boat comes directly, or 3 hours if it makes an intervening stop at Kea.

In area, the island is about 100 sq. km. It is shaped somewhat like South America, and has numerous beaches along its more than 100 kms of coastline.

There are two main settlements, the village of Kythnos (pop. 676 in 2001 census), known locally as Hora or Chora, and the village of Driopis or Driopida (pop. 517), also known as Horio. Both villages are notable for their winding and often stepped streets, too narrow for vehicular traffic. 

The villages are very picturesque but in different architectural styles. Hora has the more-typical flat roofs of the Cyclades, while Driopida's rooftops are slanted and tiled.

There is also a growing coastal settlement called Kanala on the east side of the island, and many of the larger beaches are settled by a handful of residents. Aghios Dimitrios, at the southern tip of the island, is a mostly modern settlement, with small vacation houses dotting the hillside above a wide beach that is dotted with sea daffodils. On the northeast end of the island lies Loutra (pop. 63), a village famous for its thermal springs, which are said to have curative properties. Although the large tourist hotel there has been closed for several years, the bathhouse is still functioning, and visitors may soak in its marble tubs for a modest fee.

The port town is called Merichas (pop. 289), its population significantly fluctuating during the year. Before the 1970s, there were no year-round residents in recent history; my Greek fisherman friend Manolas Psaras and his wife Foto were the first to live in the port year-round. Today, there is a growing year-round population, and, especially during the peak of the summer tourist season, the town becomes quite busy. Many residents of the port speak at least some English. 

Construction of a new mole was begun in 2005 to accommodate larger ferryboats and was completed in 2008. Kythnos was, until recently, considered to be one of the last Cycladic islands unaffected by the impact of tourism, but this is inexorably changing. Still, the island has not yet been overdeveloped, and the traditional lifestyle of the fishermen and shepherd families is relatively unchanged.