Fourni Korseon is a small group of islands in the East Aegean Sea and is idyllically located between the islands of Samos, Ikaria and Patmos. On the 30.5 km² main island Fourni about 1,500 people live, on the small neighboring island of Thimena about 100 people, the other islands of this archipelago are uninhabited.
“I almost feel a little like I’m on a journey through time, 20 years into the past. Two villages and a few small settlements, simplicity, countless small bays and beautiful lonely beaches, fantastically clear turquoise sea and the simple, tranquil island life – that’s Fourni.”
Tourism still has little presence on Fourni, most of the inhabitants live from fishing. For island adventurers and explorers looking for a quiet yet very original island, Fourni is a very special experience.
#1 From Samos to Fourni: Arrival at the island idyll
Fourni has been on our bucket list for a long time, because we love to discover new small Greek islands again and again, where tourism is not yet so widespread and we get to know even more of the original life of the islanders.
Our journey begins in Pythagorio on Samos. With the high speed ferry of the Dodekanisos Seaways we arrive after 1.5 hours of beautiful crossing in the port of Kampos, the main town. Kampos is often simply called Fourni, just like the island itself.
What an idyllic sight. In front of us is the small village with a harbour full of colourful fishing boats, taverns with chairs in all colours, a tree-lined main street and the low houses of the village that gently stretch up the slope.
I walk across the footbridge and feel an impulse that I follow: stop for a moment and pause, internalize this sight, arrive consciously and enjoy the moment, just let it sink in for a few moments. How beautiful.
Spend the night on the tiny island
This time we pre-booked a room, as the accommodations on the small island are very scarce. However, sometimes things turn out differently than you think and unexpectedly the booked room was suddenly not available after all. The landlord calmly offered us a frappé in his tavern to bridge the time until the other room was ready.
Well, on such small islands, some things work differently – flexibility is the order of the day. Sigá sigá – only with calm, as the Greeks like to say.
The accommodations on the island are very simple, clean and functional, you should not expect too much comfort or style here. We are lucky with our accommodation, because it has a beautiful balcony overlooking the fishing port and the sea. We enjoy this especially in the following days when we have our breakfast there.
As soon as we have checked in, we take care of a rental car and ask both car rental companies – we just get the very last vehicle. We are grateful for this, because being mobile is important to us.
💡 Travel guide recommendation: The travel guide about Samos from Michael Müller Verlag contains a small chapter on the island insider tip Fourni with some practical travel tips. View on Amazon: Samos Travel Guide*
#2 Kampos: The island’s capital
The Port area with the small sandy beach at the southern end is quite busy almost all day. In the morning we have breakfast on our terrace at the northern end of the harbour area with a wonderful view of the many small fishing boats.
Around the jetty there are some restaurants and small shops, here we like to enjoy a frappé in one of the cafés during the day. It is particularly exciting when a ship docks, which is the highlight of the day for the residents, then it feels like the whole place is on its feet to bring something, pick it up or just to observe. The fine sandy beach in the harbour area is ideal for jumping into the sea in the morning or late afternoon.
The town centre and the Platia of Kampos
We find the most beautiful main street of Kampos, which leads from the port to the Platia. It’s a real avenue, which is really particularly beautiful. Here you will find some cafés, small shops, taverns and a bakery.
On the Platia there is a church, a monument and an ancient sarcophagus. Around the square are some taverns and the bakery. During the day it is very quiet here, only in the evening do the restaurants fill up. We really like to eat on the Platia in the evening, stroll a bit and end the evening on the terrace of a bar.
Fortunately, there is a good selection of vegan vegetable dishes everywhere in the taverns. We find briam, the Greek oven vegetable, fasolakia and the okra “Bamies”, which we ate here for the first time, particularly delicious. The people are very friendly and accommodating when we ask about the ingredients and are honestly happy to offer us their vegan delicacies.
The Mini Markets on Fourni are very small and do not offer any special vegan foods, such as plant-based drinks etc. For example, we brought oatmeal and oat drink for our breakfast from Samos. We get fruit, vegetables and bread in a wonderful variety directly on site in the fruit shop or at the bakery.
Favorite cafes and taverns in Kampos
We visited many taverns and cafes in Kampos and everywhere we ate very well, whether at the harbor or on the platia. Each place has its own special charm. Nevertheless, there were two restaurants that attracted us again and again because of their special flair.
Café Bar Sto Steki tou Skevou
It is located right at the beginning of the main street on the left and we are immediately attracted by the colorful chairs and the nice ambience. It will be our favorite café on the island and we have certainly visited it at least once on every day of our stay.
Xenichtis Platanos
We felt the same way about the grill tavern Xenichtis Platanos on the Platia under a huge plane tree – there is no menu, but a very nice service, some grilled vegetable variations, vegan pita and patates, very good wine and water and very well-kept place setting – just a beautiful place to linger.
#3 The sleepy mountain village of Chrysomilia
The mountain village, which lies steeply on the slope, has about 100 inhabitants, according to Internet research. We stroll through the narrow streets between very old and partly newly renovated houses and discover a single tavern, which is unfortunately closed and seems to have just been renovated.
In fact, we don’t meet a soul in the village. Many beautifully painted stairs lead up and down, past colorful flower pots, relaxed cats and giant cacti.
Finally, the highlight in Chrysomilia are the funny “long-eared goats” in the rock walls, whose attention we obviously attract by the clicking of the camera.
#4 Beautiful beaches on Fourni
Kamari Beach
A beautiful beach is Kamari Beach in the northeast of the island. Apart from us, there is only a fisherman and a little boy here. We are lucky to discover the quaint Tavern Almyra, which is absolutely quiet and right on the beach, and where we are the only guests.
Under a tamarisk tree, after a friendly welcome, we enjoy delicious fava, Greek salad, delicious bread and refreshing drinks. I want to stay here forever, the food, the peace, the view of the sea, Greek music in the background … it’s a small oasis, just to feel good – top recommendation.
Kampi Beach
Probably the most popular beach in the bay about 2 km south of the main town of Kampos is Kampi Beach. Directly at the restored windmill on the hill, a narrow path with many stairs leads down to the beautiful sandy-pebble beach.
The path ends directly in the pretty beach bar. We first want to jump into the beautiful turquoise sea and settle down a little away from the bar in the shade of a large tamarisk tree. Right in front of the bar there are sun loungers and umbrellas and very comfortable chairs, right to enjoy and chill out with relaxing Greek music.
Up the hill and also directly on the beach we discover a few small accommodations, here you can live, right? At this sight, the imagination gets a real kick and the dreaming of the pretty little house by the sea takes its course. Well, I have enough time… and when the head is as clear as it is here on the island, it likes to fill itself with great visions.
Evening atmosphere in the windmill
At the northern end of the bay we visit a nice café – restaurant in the late afternoon. We sit comfortably under a tamarisk tree right by the water, eat, drink and chat with the owner. He tells us that there is also a small excursion boat that can be used to reach Kampi Bay from the port in Kampos. How I would like to drive off with it now instead of climbing the steep stairs with a full belly.
It went better than expected. The view and the atmosphere are just so beautiful that we stop for a drink at the bar in the windmill. I can definitely recommend this to you.
The Karidomilos Cafe Bar in the windmill has a pretty modern terrace with a breathtaking view of the sea. You can’t miss this, time to simply enjoy and let this beauty and tranquility work its magic on you. For me, this has the same effect as meditation – a deep inner peace and gratitude fills my entire body. A magical moment.
Small coves in the south-west of Fourni
Narrow, dusty gravel roads lead away from the paved road in the southwest of the island, to small beautiful beaches and bays. Some we can only reach via a footpath. But it pays off and it is a pleasure to inhale the beguiling scent of the thyme and sage bushes with the overwhelming feeling of freedom.
Here we meet no people, at most a few wild goats, who watch us curiously and then continue to eat the fragrant wild herbs.
The beach bays are mostly made of sand and gravel, are really lonely and fantastically beautiful. It is a small adventure to discover these paths and coves.
#5 Dance and music at the island festival
Of course, we will let the island festival on August 28th, in honor of Agios Ioannis, in the far south-west on the island of Fourni. The Panigiri (patron saint festival) takes place in the settlement of Ag. Ioannis takes place in a beautiful churchyard, in the center of which stands a large plane tree.
As guests, we sit on the stone steps, which are arranged like in an amphitheater. A beautiful ambience and a great atmosphere on this balmy night. Most Greek families sit at reserved tables around the plane tree and on the platia.
After a previous mass, there is celebrating, eating, making music and dancing. The festival starts slowly at 9:30 p.m. and lasts until the early hours of the morning. A very nice event.
#6 Excursion to the island of Thimena
Thimena, the small neighboring island of Fourni, can be reached by boat in about 10 minutes. When it leaves was not so easy to find out and of course it was not written anywhere. Shortly before 2:00 p.m. we discover it in the harbor and in no time at all we are on board together with two young soldiers.
The three-hour stay is just enough to get a first impression, take a tour of the quiet village and enjoy a meal in a small, quiet taverna.
The tavern keeper is very nice and makes us a fava, Greek salad with caper leaves and bread. It is very tranquil and as in many places in the last few days, it is also very very quiet here. A board opposite the small mini-market indicates a private accommodation, which really surprises us that this exists at all on this tiny island.
We stroll through the village in the narrow steep streets, high up to a small church that is idyllically located on the slope. The view from here of the Fourni Korseon archipelago and the sea is magnificent.
Music or a few voices can be heard from the tiny houses, otherwise it is very quiet on the small island. The rest of the time we spend on the beach next to the jetty. At 5:00 p.m. we return to Kampos. It seems to be the only boat connection – too short for hiking, but more than enough for the small village.
My insight, which I take with me from the small island of Fourni:
“When you were on Fourni, you not only discovered the small original island, but also a piece of your own hidden self.”
More information and travel tips for Fourni
Accommodation on Fourni
On the island, there are some studios and apartments to choose from in the main town of Fourni or Kampos, but they are quickly booked up in the high season (July/August). On Booking.com* you can get an overview of the accommodations on Fourni.
Getting around Fourni
Small islands like Fourni are best explored on a wheeled vehicle, on foot or by bike. In the main town of Kampos there are Rental company for small cars, quads and two-wheelers. During the holiday season, it is worth booking a rental car in advance or reserving a vehicle through the accommodation on Fourni.
How to get to the island of Fourni
The small island of Fourni does not have its own airport and is therefore only by ferry arrive-able. As a travel option, you can take a flight to the neighboring island of Samos and then take the ferry from Pythagorio to Fourni (approx. 1 hour). Alternatively, it is possible to fly to Kos and from there via Patmos to go to the island.:
➲ To book your flight with Skyscanner*
Alternatively, you can fly directly to Athens and then take a small plane on to Fourni’s neighboring islands of Samos or Ikaria. There are also ferries from Mykonos and Kos (including Blue Star Ferries and Dodekanisos Seaways) that stop at Fourni. On the Ferryhopper* portal you can search for suitable ferry connections:
➲ To the ferry booking with Ferryhopper*
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→ More information and inspiration about island hopping in the North Aegean can be found in our article: Greece Island Hopping
About the author:
Our guest author Silvia is a travel blogger and mindset mentor for personal development and ease. Her first trip to Greece in 1987 to the island of Paros immediately sparked her fascination for the relaxed, free lifestyle of the islanders. Together with her husband, she has visited more than 45 Greek islands since 2005. Since 2017, she has been reporting on her Austrian travel blog Sheep&Ouzo primarily about the magic of the small, lesser-known Greek islands and their effect on the attitude to life and mindset.
✐ More travel tips from Silvia can be found here: Sheep & Ouzo and onInstagram and Facebook
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